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looked a little alien, so I've decided that this year I really ought to finish it off. Some of the tubes need copper tops and it also needs a focal point, some sort of central bowl from which the water will overflow.I also felt that the time had come

chiloense, the water avens (G. rivale), which grows wild by streams or the wood avens (G. urbanum), which grows (and this may come as a bit of a shock) in woodland.I have three particular favourites that, for those of you keen on social pigeonholing, come

many causes of this, and sometimes the answer lies in damage to roots by factors such as water-logging, ill-advised heavy pruning at the wrong season and harm to the root zone by construction work nearby.Sometimes it is apparent that there is fungal

, nitrogen-rich ingredients sandwiched between brown, carbon-based ingredients with a very light sprinkling of water now and then). I also mentioned some optional extras that will help turbo-charge a pile like shop-bought compost accelerator, nettles, comfrey

over trees and soil in search of overwintering pests around the garden. Welcome them in with food and water, provide them with hedges and shrubs for shelter, and they'll reward you by helping control unwanted pests. What's a pest to you is food for them

, the measurements given here are imperial.i) 1 pint waterii) 6oz sugariii) Pared rind of 2 lemons, plus extra juice from 1 lemon (no rind)iv) 3-4 handfuls blackcurrant leavesv) (1 drop of green colouring, which I think is optional)Heat water and sugar together

windfalls are left beneath trees for blackbirds to peck at.Hedges and thick shrubs provide shelter and nesting sites - I could show you at least four sites around my garden where sparrows, blackbirds, robin and wren (I think) nested last year. Water

and place it tip down into the ground. Give it a little water if the weather is very dry.By the end of the summer you will find that you can dig up the end, which will have rooted, and sever it from the mother plant, ready for re-planting. You can also place

before or after? Unless I've had time to establish crops for a few weeks and they are happy in the ground, I always leave sowing or planting till after my holiday: reliable watering friends who will do more than sprinkle the soil are hard to find

cannot burrow into the soil beneath. Instead, they just sit there until some unfortunate child wheels a bicycle through the noisome mess.So I took my broom and a bucket of water and shlooshed them away. Such a waste. Oh well, I can always go and see what