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I have been greatly preoccupied with ponds recently. A client of mine has an unbelievably wet field - most of it squelches underfoot and any holes dug fill immediately with water - in which we have been digging ponds. These are not small ponds

hasten to add, that I am not actively recommending) is an electric fence smeared with cat food.My three favoured solutions are as follows:1. Investing in a very high powered water pistol: this is both effective and satisfying provided that you happen

for garden use in the 1970s. Liquid nicotine is extremely dangerous to all living creatures and was used widely as an insecticide for many, many years. It was either mixed with water as a spray or else vaporised in lamps - in which case the gardener lit

and dissolve 1.3kg sugar in it• Take off the heat and add the flower heads• Slice 2-3 lemons into a bowl (at this point you can add citric acid to prolong shelf life)• Pour the liquid over the lemons, cover and leave for 24hrs• Strain into a bottle• Add ice

their eight or so years in the field. However, they're also often treated with pesticides, which can run off into water courses. Real trees can easily be chipped and composted, and when an artificial tree finally falls apart it will have to go into landfill

knives, the hoe, the brick, trousers, the egg or the polka dot bikini.Sure it has got a great deal lighter (I used to own an old wooden one like this and you would not want to push it very far) but it is intrinsically the same.In the 1970s James Dyson

.Laois. It is the next step in shows like Chaumont in France or the (late lamented) Westonbirt show in Gloucestershire (I had a garden there in 2004).Many people are justifiably wary of the word conceptual in relation to anything, especially gardens as it is often

in clean water so probably still a bit risky!A great plant for the edge of a woodland or a large border although it does tend to seed itself in inappropriate places. The American Constitution was written in ink made from the berries of Pokeweed.

irises.I digress; my favourite roses at the moment are the Hybrid Musk roses. They were mostly bred by the Rev. Joseph Pemberton in the early 20th Century and make great shrubs and small climbers. They are soft coloured, like cowrie pink 'Penelope', clean

to defend them if they are grown in pots (these are some particularly fine ones as grown by my mother) and always make sure that they're not at all stressed - well watered and out of direct sunshine (too much sun reduces the lustre of the leaves