Search - Articles

Who said gardening wasn't easy? Okay, maybe some parts aren't that simple - grafting, propagation, weeding on cliffs, getting rid of slugs and innumerable other things but some aspects of gardens are unbelievably straightforward.Look at this picture

is the equivalent of Christopher Columbus seeking out land upon which no mole has previously trodden.I'm not really precious about my lawn - it's mostly rough old grass and a generous helping of weeds - but a mole can cause a bit of trouble if you have a more

the cute stage and, though delightful if very many ways, can no longer be described as chubby cheeked.I also have to admit that I did very little gardening with them when they were small. I tried a couple of times to get them to help lay bricks or weed

I was a contractor) I operate a policy of minimal digging. I will dig out weeds but I will not dig in manure. I prefer to let the worms and time do it for me. Provided the muck is well enough rotted then everything will benefit. I try not to bury

organic as I do have glyphosate (for paths and serious weeds) and a miraculous weedkiller that kills nettles and thistles while leaving grass unscathed - but that's about it. I find pesticides pretty unnecessary as I have only two insect problems: woolly

to use wire or plastic netting stretched horizontally and supported by posts about 60cm high. The plants then grow through the netting. All very well, provided that you don't need to do much weeding - preparation is all. However, gardeners are nothing

and weeds. Rosebay willowherb, tangles of flowering bindweed, brambles and bright-yellow ragwort. Profligate trees like ash and, in particular, sycamore crop up and create shady areas with the wrong sort of leaves that cause train operators so much trouble

It's blackberry time - not those machines, without which many "suits" would feel emasculated, but fat berries swollen by rain and aching for crumble. The blackberry bramble is a weed, and the perfect example of a plant simply growing in the wrong

of insouciance and even the weeds are just loitering about chatting. It has an after-the-party feeling: everybody lolling about on sofas with jackets and shoes off, and previously immaculate hairstyles dishevelled from too much dancing and one glass too many

, leafless Himalayan weed sound as entrancing as drifting through a Venetian lagoon, while fireworks light the sky and nubile attendants serve rare delicacies from their navels. Roy is an outstanding writer (he just won Journalist of the Year at the 2008