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- organic home-grown plums to eat straight from the tree with enough left over to freeze and cook during winter. My 'Victoria' plums are swelling nicely, so I just hope they have the flavour to match their appearance.Crops have certainly been affected

the tubers being eaten away by vine weevil grubs. None of my begonias has survived. Next autumn I'll remember to empty out the pots, clean up the tubers, and store them in clean dry compost for winter instead.

of the midday sun. And that's the good thing about growing trees in pots: they can be moved around through the year as weather conditions change. They can be moved to a sheltered spot for winter to protect their roots from cold, but brought back on display

, 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

runners are stored in cold conditions, which encourages flower buds to form in their crowns — just as winter stimulates bud formation in strawberries grown outdoors. Once planted in warmer conditions, the plants undergo a surge of rapid growth.I prefer

(10ft) in 14 years. It doesn't have a neat or compact shape, so now the stems at the base are bare, with leafy tips and flowers high up. It certainly attracts attention when in flower; although it's pretty widely available it's still unusual to see

grown 30-40cm tall, and I've missed the boat! Repotting and dividing them now would cause too much damage to the new leaves, so I'll have to do it next winter instead.Planting hostas in pots is a great way to produce stunning patio features. My Hosta

, and no master plan that will dictate the garden design for years to come. Plants in pots are mobile, and can be shifted around, enjoyed in a variety of locations where they can fill gaps, and at the end of summer move back under cover for winter

way into a crevice, clearly finding a cosy spot that provided protection through winter.After such a good summer for butterflies, their populations should have been boosted, so let’s hope for even more next summer.