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These miniscule sap-sucking insects multiply rapidly on leaves. Large colonies are immediately evident, as are the symptoms - silvery-white discoloration of the leaves and distorted shoot tips and buds.Packed clusters of tiny white insects on leaves

and there may also be white fungal growth.Spots on the leaves, fringed yellow-orange, possibly with white fungal growth beneath. Some spots might be white, others brown, surrounded by papery tissue. When the centres fall out, the leaf ends up peppered with holes

. However, I include it because it makes a good, narrow growing, multi-stemmed tree with stunning white, starry flowers in springtime followed by edible fruit and dark red leaves. Can stand a bit of wet.Number three: Sorbus hupehensis. A Chinese Rowan

in colourful mixtures, but I love growing varieties in a single colour. 'Candy Stripe' has white flowers with a pink, picotee edge, while bicoloured 'Daydream' has a deeper rose-pink centre, fading to white at the edges. For reds try 'Pied Piper Red' or the new

Keep lawn edges trimmed by cutting with a half-moon edging toolLook out for cabbage white butterfly eggs and rub them off with your fingersRemove blanket weed from pondsFeed hanging baskets and patio pots every weekPrune fast-growing hedges like

garden. (They remind me of a grubby area outside White City tube station.)I’d sooner have a garden packed with wintersweet, Chimonanthus praecox, which comes alive in later winter with drop-dead gorgeous flowers and a heavenly fragrance. Another favourite

Soft-bodied, 4mm-long mealybugs are often found on greenhouse plants and house plants such as cacti and succulents, feeding on their sap. They are covered by a white, waxy secretion, and congregate in leaf axils and other inaccessible parts

Divide irisesWere your irises lacklustre this year with precious few blooms? If so, give them a boost by lifting and dividing clumps and next year they'll flower their socks off.Keep lawn edges trimmed Look out for cabbage white butterfly eggs

've grown something unique, but there are many lovely varieties to choose from. Just to whet your appetite why not try growing:Tulipa 'Belicia', with double flowers that change colour from lemon edged crimson to white with red edges.T. 'Candy Club

.By keeping an eye on the weather forecast, I can get outside and throw a large sheet of white fleece over my wisteria, plum and cordon apples to protect the flowers when frost is due. It's not much of an effort, but it will reward me with longer flowering