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.My colleague wasn't too distressed about her winter guest, though a lot of people are terrified of rats. How would you feel if you found one in your home or garden?

.It has, as I'm sure you've noticed, been a bit cold over Christmas — like a proper winter. The ground is too hard and the east wind too ticklish for relaxed gardening, but there is still great pleasure to be had from looking at and photographing gardens

There is something special about one-offs, whether you are in an art gallery, shopping for shoes or in the garden. Something that does its own thing always has extra appeal.So it was with great delight that we watched as this little daffodil edged

I've never been much of a lawn buff. Mine is definitely more of a patch of grass than a lawn, but even I am worried by the state of it at the moment. The wet summer and autumn and cold, wet winter have caused a lot of damage. And our heavy clay soil

stones, though. In areas with no plants I’ll sprinkle a small amount of salt, which will help to keep surfaces clear.I know I shouldn’t have left the furniture out over winter, but I’ll tackle it with a scrubbing brush in a few weeks. As for the climbing

It hasn’t been a vintage year in my garden. The growing season started off well with the warm spring – good for garlic and onions - but the weather deteriorated soon after that. So, I’m actually quite relieved now that autumn is here. I can forget

, stopping them from munching my winter lettuce.

The world of gardening overflows with obsessions, such as giant vegetables, lawns, compost, cacti and many others.One of the most extreme gardening obsessions is the art of bonsai. I was always a bit dismissive of this particular obsession until I

, and find those handy bits of cane or wire should I ever need them.I know I’ll feel better once the job is done, and then I could perhaps set about emptying out the compost bins, finishing the winter digging and tidying up behind the greenhouse. Just one

're beautiful and unique, and as I admire them I always want to call up friends and invite them round to share one of nature's winter treats.Thankfully most of our garden plants are hardy enough to withstand frost and snow, but I live in hope that temperatures