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There are so few plants that do well in my small, shady garden, but those that do thrive deserve a medal. This week, honesty is taking centre stage, with its tall spires of brilliant white flowers, towering above more subtle spring blooms.I love

Learn how to prepare hawthorn berries for planting by following Monty Don's step-by-step video guide. Monty gives tips on cleaning seeds, checking for viability, and the need for a chilling period.autumnMore advice on propagatingHow to grow plants from seeds and berriesBrowse a v...

Lilies are bursting into elegant and colourful blooms at this time of year . It's a dramatic sight, and one you can prolong by simply removing the flowers as they fade.Lily plantsSecateursJuly - August10 minutesJuly - AugustTidy up the lily

.AdamAfter planting, keep the hyacinth bulbs moist during the growing season and they should reward you with flowers over a long period of time.When buying bulbs to plant outdoors, avoid those that have been specially treated to flower indoors at Christmas.More bulb

Agapanthus are easy to grow from seed and you may get flowering plants in as little as two years.Collect seed when the seedhead is becoming brown and the capsules are starting to burst. If the weather is turning cold you can collect seed prematurely

scrambling through the daisy-like plant fleabane, which will flower all summer.March - April July - September40 minutesAlpine strawberry plants x3Mexican fleabane, Erigeron karvinskianus x2Large wall potMulti-purpose compostCrocksFix the pot securely

Learn how to pinch out and pot on sweet peas with Sarah Raven's step-by-step video guide.springMore advice on growing flowersGrowing sweet peas from seedGrowing lupinsHow to create a cut flower patchPlanting out cerinthes

Pertaining to iris flowers, which have a base colour of white or yellow, with stippled or feathered edges of a contrasting colours.

buy them. All you need do is add water to set them off, which start with emerging green shoots of leaves and flower stalks, with pure white roots anchoring the bulbs down into the gravel. These are hardy bulbs, so they don’t need a warm room to get

-tailed bumblebee, but with lemon yellow bands and a white tail. Males, which emerge from June, also have yellow facial hairs. This species visits a wide range of flowers and is more common in the north of England and Scotland.White-tailed bumblebee, Bombus lucorum