Tips for Dealing with Slugs and Snails

Veg Seed Sowing Plans for May To ensure a continuous harvest throughout the summer rather than a glut successional sowing of salads, radishes, beetroots, carrots, autumn giant leeks and spring onions and peas should continue. Sow basil, particularly alongside tomato seedlings to help draw white fly away plus spinach, rocket and ornamental salad leaves. Globe Artichokes and Swiss Chard for looks as well as food. Pole, French and above all Runner Beans Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Savoy Cabbage, Kale and Calabrese

I am growing my early potatoes in various containers but these canvas sacks look to me to be a great idea.

Daffodils are classified into 13 divisions and currently one of the most popular is Division 8 Tazetta Narcissi. These are a group of low growing daffodils that are at home in rockeries or containers.

Ornamental Japanese Maples are widely available for planting in your garden. The autumn colouring makes these trees spectacular when planted en mass in a woodland or Japanese garden setting.

The best trees for chalk soil conditions tend to be locally grown and not be Dutch imports. In fact they resemble shrubs more than trees but there are the odd exception that are tree like.

Ulex europaeus better known as Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a very prickly shrub of the pea family. Western gorse Ulex gallii is frequent in the western side of Britain and is relatively low growing yet robust. Dwarf gorse or Ulex minor is a low growing, sprawling shrub.

This is one of the many books in my collection but the only one to focus on growing big, bigger and biggest vegetables. If you want to grow giant vegetable for exhibition or to get large crops then there are many pointers in ‘How to Grow Giant Vegetables’ by Bernard Lavery and below.

Buying tips for indoor Hibiscus. Smaller plants with3-5 branches each with buds are generally the best value. If they loose there buds new ones should soon follow. Look at florists and chain stores as well and garden centres.

Great big flowering Dahlias need some good support early in the season. A walled garden helps but these 4 by 4 canes with string every 12″-18″ add that bit extra. When the plants leaf-up and start to flower they will be heavy and liable to damage without support.

Dramatic gardens can be designed on minimalist principles. Minimalist gardens need to look good during all seasons and at all times of the day. Thus all your senses plus horticultural nous need to be considered when setting out your initial design.

Look out in other gardens for great bulbs to grow for next spring. This Grape Hyacinth called Muscari Azureum is a clear soft blue that is recommended for naturalising. Muscari Valerie Finnis is also blue whilst most of the  other species and varieties flower in shades of purple. Muscari grow well in pots where the foliage can look interesting.