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We're getting ready for winter: the chimney has been swept and the logs have been chopped. In the garden the leaves on the trees are starting to turn, marking the beginning of what I hope will be a fabulous display of autumn colour.Now is probably

) the pots won't need bringing indoors over winter. Over the years I've amassed quite a collection. So why is it that so many of them have broken?Admittedly we've had a colder winter than in recent years, but it wasn’t that cold, and I live in Hampshire

I had hoped that the ultra-harsh winter weather would decimate overwintering populations of pests. This would go at least some way towards making up for all the bay trees and mimosas that gardeners lost during the cold spell.The outcome

In early spring, there were a lot of discussions in the garden media over whether the harsh winter would have reduced numbers of garden pests.The slugs and snails were slow to appear after the cold, dry April. But most other critters, good and bad

the greenhouse at this time of year, composting or binning any winter plant casualties. Somehow after Christmas I always feel mentally tougher and better able to throw out plants I should have binned long since.Seed packets that are way past their sell-by date

stunner has really put on a fantastic prima donna show. I hope it realises the pleasure it brought as it glowed warmly in the freezing winter weather. A big thank you, from all of us.I'll be out there regularly watching to see just when this little

as a native hedging plant, but surely its time more were grown as ornamentals (with a sideline in winter liqueur production, of course). The only problem is that they self-seed and tend to spread themselves rather rapidly, but if they do grow too much

out containers ready to refill with fresh compost for autumn and winter pot displays, one of my children exclaimed "look what I've found ... one of those leaf bee things!" Sure enough, there in amongst the compost were several beautiful cylinders, each

, cardboard and anything else I can find. This will help to insulate it against the lowest temperatures and kick-start decomposition. It's especially important to have a decent amount of compost this year as I won't be buying any manure. I just hope a winter

providing them with safe places to roost and raise their young, as well as a year-round supply of food.But I'm worried. I know that feeding birds is a good thing, it helps many survive the miserable winter to live and breed the following spring. But as I