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in the back of my car overnight; the plant was young and had only a single flower but the scent in the car was almost unbearable. Like being dipped in vanilla. Another corker is winter-flowering honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima. Not a climber but a medium

them off for good. Which is right now, sigh.Inspired by the discovery that it's Herb Day in the USA on Saturday 13th October (check out this blog: www.topveg.com for chitchat about herbs and herb day) I've been doing a spot of research as to how I

What a surprise it is when the Japanese aralia bursts into bloom in December. Quite why anything should naturally be programmed to flower at this time of year always puzzles me, but perhaps this native of Japan and South Korea is just confused by our seasons.Any late-flying insec...

It amazes me how ladybirds survive winter outside - hibernation is an extraordinary phenomenon. To withstand winter as adults, ladybirds and other creatures must find suitable shelter, and they'll seek high and low to find it. I've tried

I have a confession to make. After raving about the arrival of the purple sprouting broccoli and extolling the virtues of winter veg in my blog last week I realised that I had forgotten to mention red cabbages. Not only are red cabbages easy to grow

and produce much smaller bulbs. I know, I've tried it!Growing garlic is easy and hugely rewarding. You can plant it now or leave it until later on in the autumn or winter - whatever you like, it really doesn't matter. All that does matter is that the bulbs

.Serious potting has started on the farm. This is two weeks earlier than last year as the light has been so good that our wintered cuttings are already putting on new growth.Once the plants are potted they are then covered with horticultural fleece. This protects

urge to grow and flower profusely.My idea back in the autumn was to plant it with a few salad leaves such as mustardand rocket that might overwinter and give us some early, spicy leaves to make a few winter salads, as well as some parsleyto keep us

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

to provide a warm duvet to protect them from frost, but I didn't. Milder winters have been on my side, heavy penetrating frosts haven't struck, and my tubers have survived! Dahlias are so easy to raise from seed, producing plants for just a few pence instead