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Last year I wrote about autumn tidying and the effect this can have on wildlife. I left my garden untouched over winter, leaving hibernating creatures snuggled under a duvet of fallen leaves and rotting stems. None of my plants died or were ravaged

to deep mud. They’re in a worse state than they get into in the depths of a wet winter, and it’s only the end of November. I’ve had to plant the last of my spring-flowering bulbs in containers, as I can’t plant them into the saturated soil. In an attempt

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

. The wonderful scent of wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) was almost overpowering and there was a fantastic winter-flowering clematis, (Clematis cirrhosa) which put mine to shame. There were crocuses galore, hellebores, dwarf irises and - a special mention

What a wonderful welcome to the new year to discover these beautiful seed pods on my Iris foetidissima. They really are a winter bonus, their bright shining seeds last for weeks. Apparently they are not attractive to birds; they don't appear

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

I was starting to wonder if we would get a frost this October. The weather’s been so meek and mild of late, with winter looking a far way off. Global warming, I thought, has led to unseasonally balmy weather on the hillsides of Bath.But now we

.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

Do you have an autumn clear-up in your garden? Do you cut down all your herbaceous stuff so that everything is tidy for the winter or do you leave everything until the new year? Most people nowadays leave it until later to give food for small birds

the wiser.I only get pigeons regularly visiting my garden. Last winter I made efforts to entice smaller, hungrier birds, and managed to attract a desperate pair of wagtails, a blackbird, a robin and a blue tit. They disappeared as soon as the ice thawed