Most Inspiring Gardening Guide

Height 1.2m (411). Spread 1.2m (4fi). Flowering time Early si early summer. Star qualities Landmarl with superb, glaucous foh in whorls round the stem Evergreen. Big flower head intense greenish yellow. Other varieties Foliage types is bluer than other: varieties have particularlj flowers. 'John Tomlinson' almost spherical flower h 40cm (16in) long; 'Lam Gold' has cylindrical floi more golden in color with many stems springing from the base. The stems have a biennial habit. For their first year they make foliage_ In the spring of their second year, some produce great domes of sulphurous yellow-green flowers (some cultivars better than others).

Meanwhile new shoots are being produced from the base, so there is an ever-rolling supply of new growth and no off-season gap. Cold spring winds may burn the foliage so try to give this euphorbia a position out of the worst draughts. It will pnwitie a good screen for the lower half of the eremurus, whose flowering spikes will tower above it. The eremurus's leaves choose to die at a bad moment when the flowering spikes are at their best. If you plant your eremurus behind the spurge, you won't see its dying foliage. The double-flowered cranesbill (Geranium) will coincide with the last gasps of the spurge flowers and peak with the eremurus, whose stately spikes, covered in seed heads, can stand skeleton-like through early winter.

A" these plants like light_ free-draniag soil in full sun. The gladiolus does . .. not have as dominant a presence as the geranium and the sea lavender, which is why you should treat it 2$ die star of the group. Although in light soils, it spreads reasonably well by sited And srolon, it is much slower to bulk up in heavy soils. Start off with a itenernus dutch of corms, otherwise it will be visually overpowered by the wide-reaching arms of the geranium and sea lavender. The geranium is parbicuilady useful in early spring, when, if the winter has been mild, it is already spreading out its handsome leaves, each held on a single stiff stem. to make clinics 13on (-Ift) across. In this early part of the year, before the gladiolus scans to timer_ it makes an excellent foil for early tulips. Flowering in this group will be sequential: after the gladiolus will come huge heads of pink flowers on the geranium.. followed by a late summer eruption from the sea lavender Gladiolus communis subsp. Byzantinus Height in (3fo.
Spread 8cm (3in).

Flowering time Late spring to early summer. Star qualities Deep magenta flowers that, oddly, are not difficult to combine with other colors, especially pinks and blues. Sword-like foliage. Other varieties This wild gladiolus is a world away from the top-heavy gladioli of the show bench. Avoid them in mixed plantings. White- flowered The Bride' is beautiful, but not hardy.

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Perfect Planting Suggestions

FRIENDLY FACES
It is very much easier to love plants (and people) if they show some sign of loving s_.-OU in return. To get violas on your side, give them heavy, damp ground. You may find that they grow better in half shade than they do in sun. All the violas have five petals, two making rounded ears at the top, two making cheeks at the sides and one pouting into a chin at the bottom, but the way that the petals are put together gives each variety a completely different character. Some are moon-faced, the petals running together into a gentle rounded shape. Others have narrower petals that make long rather peaky faces, as with the superb `Ardross Gem'.

This viola spreads out a low mat of foliage before raising its flowers well above the leaves on wiry 18cm (7in) stems. This gives quite a different effect from the violas that like to have their leaves about them when they flower and pull their foliage up around their necks like shawls. Try `Ardross Gerd with a silver-leaved mossy saxifrage and a dwarf pink geranium, such as G. sanguineum var. striatum. It will grow well in a pot, though not quite as luxuriantly as it does in open ground. The mat of leaves spreads to cover the soil and stops it drying out and the flowers bob about in the space completely different flowering season. They can, for instance, usefully disguise the collapsing foliage of colchicums, which are looking at their worst by late spring. But the colchicums' time will come just when you shear back the violas for

The fact that 1,1311 can never quite describe the exact color of any particular violais an advantage. Their smudgy colors, like chameleons' skins, adapt to whatever company they find themselves in.

If slugs ate bindweed, it would be much easier to believe that we are indeed part of some Grand Design. change their character completely when combined with the warmer shades of verbenas. Maggie Mott lived at a house called Scotswood in Sunningdale. Berkshire, where her family had a gardener who was a viola fancier. He named a seedling after his employer's daughter and showed it successfully at the Royal Horticultural Society It appeared in the Society's viola trials in 1904 and has been in cultivation ever since.

It flourished in India in the 1930s when the garden designer John Codrington used it in the gardens of the Residency in Delhi. The Commander in Chief, Sir Phillip Chet wode, had grandiose ideas for a large circular pool at the end of a vista there. The pool proved too expensive a project so Codrington planted a huge circle of 'Maggie Mott' instead, the silvery color giving the illusion from the Residency windows that there really was water at the end of the view.

Analyzing Your Space In Garden

Plant care
Apply a bulky organic mulch to a depth of 7.5cm (3in) in mid spring, to help young trees establish, and keep these trees well watered during dry spells. Mature trees don't require extra irrigation.

Apart from regular pruning to encourage new, nut- bearing wood, cobnuts and filberts can be left to their own devices. Yields will be increased, however, if a top-dressing of general-purpose fertilizer is applied in early spring,
Nuts will develop on established plants along the length of one-year-old wood and on fruiting spurs. To encourage the production of new, more floriferous growth on established trees, remove older, thicker stems; these can be used for hurdles or plant supports. Do this in late winter when the trees are flowering, because in the process their pollen is likely to be dislodged from the male flowers and transferred to the females on the remaining stems.

In late summer, break some of the new shoots in half and leave hanging on the tree; this encourages flower buds to form in autumn. In winter, shorten these "brutted" stems to 10-12cm (4-5in).

At harvest time

Harvest cobnuts and filberts just as the nuts and husks begin to turn yellow in late summer. If left on the tree after that they will often be stolen by squirrels, yet if picked too early the unripe nuts will shrivel in storage. Once harvested, lay the nuts out on a rack in a sunny, dry spot for two weeks until the husks turn brown and papery. At this point pick over the nuts and discard any showing signs of nut weevil attack , or any other evidence of damage. Place the remaining nuts on slatted trays or in net bags and store them in a cool, dry, rodent- free building until needed.

Pests and diseases
Cobnuts and filberts are generally free of major diseases but three pests can cause serious problems.

Nut weevil The grubs feed inside cobnuts and filberts. Round exit holes may be seen in the shells. There is no pesticide available.
Hazel big bud mite Widespread, but rarely has a damaging impact on the plant so it can be tolerated.

Squirrels are very agile mammals and so are difficult to control. The best advice is to pick the nuts as soon as they are ready.
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Growing Strawberries And Raspberries

Buying and planting

Buy only plants that are certified free of viruses because raspberry plants are very prone to such infections, which are spread especially by aphids. Dig up rooted canes for replanting only if you know the plants are healthy and crop heavily.
Summer raspberries require a sturdy support system: run two wires — one 60cm (2ft) high and the other 1.5m (5ft) high — along the length of the row. Autumn raspberries don't need support.

Clear the site of perennial weeds before planting as these are difficult to control once raspberries are established. Plant bundles of bare-root canes in late autumn, spacing the new raspberry plants at least 30cm (12in) apart. Then add a mulch of bulky organic matter, 7.5cm (3in) thick. Avoid mushroom compost (which is too alkaline) or overly rich farmyard manure (which tends to burn off the new shoots as they push through the mulch layer).Once newly planted canes start to burst into leaf in spring cut them down to 10-15cm (4-6in) in height to encourage more canes to be produced. Tie summer varieties to the support wires ain late summer.
Autumn raspberry canes will bear fruit in their first year, summer raspberries in their second.

Plant care
In early summer, pull up suckers between the rows of summer raspberries, and thin autumn raspberries to 10cm (4in) apart. Cut out fruited summer canes once they've finished cropping and tie in new ones, thinning them to 10cm (4in) apart. Cut autumn raspberry canes down to the ground in midwinter.

In mid spring, top-dress both summer and autumn raspberries with a general-purpose fertilizer, then a mulch of low-nutrient organic matter such as garden compost or composted bark chips. Alternatively, top- dress with well-rotted farmyard manure.

At harvest time
The first summer raspberries are ready for harvesting in early summer, whereas autumn raspberries won't mature until late summer. Pick on a dry day. Eat them fresh, freeze them, or make into preserves.
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Gardening With Soft Fruits

Cherries

One of the earliest tree fruits to ripen in the fruit garden are cherries, and their flavor is delicious, as the birds will try and testify! Once the privilege of larger gardens, the availability of dwarfing cherry rootstocks and self-fertile varieties now mean that any garden, big or small, can accommodate a productive tree.

The best sites and soils

A fruiting cherry tree is a real jewel in the fruit garden. Not only does it provide delicious fruits but an established tree also bears beautiful spring blossom and provides great autumn color, making it ornamental as well as fruitful.

Sweet cherries (Prunus avium) are most productive in a site in full sun, whereas acid cherries (P cerasus) such as 'Morello' are happy to be positioned against a shady wall, making them a very useful crop in north- or east-facing gardens. Because they flower very early in the year, however, all cherries are best planted in a sheltered position so that pollinating insects (mainly bees) are encouraged to access the flowers. While cherries are tolerant of both acid and alkaline soils they do need good drainage. Cherry tree roots are naturally very shallow, and so any water logging will cause them to rot or to succumb to water-borne root diseases such as phytophthora .

Plant care

Protect cherry flowers, which are susceptible to frost damage, from late frosts. If possible, cover freestanding trees with double-thickness horticultural fleece on frosty nights. Hold the fleece away from the flowers with bamboo canes or similar. Drape a similar insulating material over fan-trained cherries. The cover can be left in place during the day as long as access is left for pollinating insects. As well as providing frost protection, ensure trees are kept well watered during the early stages of fruit development, to avoid excessive "run-off", when some fruits turn yellow and fall off. Run-off occurs in three main stages: when unpollinated flowers and blooms with immature embryos are shed; when pollination is incomplete; and when fruits swell but are then aborted because they have suffered a growth check through lack of moisture, inadequate food reserves, or excessively cool temperatures.

Neither sweet nor acid cherries require fruit thinning_ Before fruits start to show some color, erect netting to deter birds. Ripe fruits are prone to skin splitting during wet weather so try to keep fruits dry and pick over trees regularly. Cherry growth is quite vigorous and so they benefit from an annual top-dressing of a general-purpose fertilizer in mid spring, and, if fruiting is poor, a top- dressing of a slow-release high potash fertilizer such as sulphate of potash in late winter.
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Growing Cherries, Citrus Fruit And Figs

Buying and planting

Plants are bought from garden centres in containers and are usually either single- or multistemmed. As figs can become large, vigorous plants they can be used to cover large walls, even the sides of houses.

However, most people should choose one that will eventually reach about 2m (61/2ft) high and 3-3.5m (10-11ft) wide — the equivalent of two fence panels. Plant it 20cm (8in) away from the wall, in spring. Spring is also the best time for potting up a fig plant. Start the plant off in a 25cm (10in) container, and as the plant grows pot it up each year, with it eventually ending up in a 45cm (18in) pot. Use a container with plenty of drainage holes and lots of broken crocks at the bottom. Standing the container on bricks helps excess water drain away. If you are wanting to plunge a containerized fig into open ground, fill a 30-40cm (12-16in) pot with John Innes No 3 soil mix and the young fig plant. Then position the pot well into the ground.

Plant care

In spring, apply a general-purpose granular feed. Then mulch around the base of the tree with well- rotted manure, to help to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Give figs plenty of water — probably each day during summer. Also during the growing season apply a tomato fertiliser every two weeks until the figs start to ripen. One of the advantages of figs is that you don't have to worry about pollination; the fruit are seedless and so develop without the need for fertilization. Except for the very warmest of sites, protect fig plants during the colder months. In autumn, move plants that have been grown in pots into an unheated greenhouse, and return them back outside in late spring. Pack a fan-trained plant with straw, bracken, or even bubble wrap and then cover with horticultural fleece . Remove such insulation gradually during late spring. Dig around the outside of a planting pit every couple of years with a sharp spade to ensure that no roots have escaped.

Repot figs every couple of years even when they have reached their established size. Remove them from their pot, gently prise out their roots from the root ball. Then replant into fresh John lnnes No 3 soil- based potting compost.

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Thinning

Fruit trees naturally drop excess fruit in early summer. This is sometimes referred to as the "June drop". However, nature sometimes needs a helping hand if fruit is going to fully ripen, and biennial cropping and broken branches from heavy yields are to be avoided. Therefore thin apples and pears in midsummer, unless fruit yields have already been seriously reduced by early frosts. Do this for apples by removing the king apple, which is the fruit at the centre of the cluster of fruit and is generally misshapen. Thin dessert apples to leave one or two fruits every 10-12cm (4—Sin), and cooking apples to leave one fruit every 15-20cm (6-8in). On free-standing pear trees, thin fruits out to two fruits every 10-12cm (4—Sin), and on restricted forms such as cordons and espaliers to one fruit every 10-12cm (4—Sin).

Watering

Water apples and pears during dry spells and from when the fruit starts to swell, particularly if they are newly planted or on restricted root stocks. The most effective method of doing this for rows of fruit trees is to place a drip line or seep hose under the trees. Large, established trees will be more resistant to periods of drought.

Feeding

In early spring, sprinkle a balanced general fertilizer n early spring around the root zone, following the manufacturer's instructions.

Maypoling

Trees heavily laden with fruit may require support as the fruits swell and develop. Maypoling is a popular method with spindle trees , whereby strings are looped around the centre of the branches and tied upwards to the top of the posts. Alternatively, stake individual branches if they look as though they may break.

Summer pruning

To stimulate fruit bud initiation, cut back any over vigorous trees in late summer. (Winter pruning encourages vegetative growth.) Restricted forms such as cordons, fans, and espaliers should also be pruned in late summer.
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Basic Pruning Of Fruit Trees

STAKING
Any fruit tree that is to be planted in the open ground, as opposed to against a wall or fence, will require staking to ensure that it stays upright and is able to carry a crop of heavy fruit. Use treated, round stakes it is harder to tie a tree tightly to a square stake and the corners can damage the tree.

Although there is a fashion among ornamental gardeners for stakes angled at 45 degrees, they can look cumbersome and untidy if planting a row of fruit trees. They can also be a trip hazard if hidden among flower beds. Upright stakes are far easier to get close to the root system, and as most trees are planted bare root it is easier to get the stake into the right position. A 45-degree stake is always needed for containerized plants so the root ball is not damaged. Such an angled stake is usually driven into the ground after planting, while an upright one should be inserted in the ground prior to planting. Both types of stake should be positioned on the side from which the prevailing wind comes. This is to prevent the tree from being blown onto the stake and so damaged.

On a spindle tree it is essential that the upright stake is as tall as the eventual height of the tree, which may eventually reach 2.5m (8ft). Such a tree requires two tree ties — one placed about half way up the tree and another about two-thirds from the top of the tree.

Bush and standard trees require a shorter stake, usually reaching to just below the crown (or top four or five buds on a maiden whip). It should be tied close to the top of the stake.

Use tree ties with padding to prevent the tree from rubbing against the stake. A pair of tights can be a useful, cheaper alternative because they are flexible and will also cushion the tree from the stake. String or stretchy elastic should only be used for tying in new growth and should be removed each year. Tree ties should never be over tight. Check them each winter and loosen if necessary.
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How To Make A Beautiful Garden

In many parts of the world verandahs do much the same job and form the perfect link between inside and out. Being roofed they provide shelter from sun and rain alike, but being open to the garden on the one hand and the building on the other gives a fluid transition between the two. Very often the flooring materials are the same, reinforcing the link. A raised verandah with broad steps dropping down to the garden not only gives you an excellent view but also a comfortable feeling of well being as you are slightly divorced from the wider environment.

Coming back to the wider, or higher, issue of walls dominating a garden as they soar above you, there is a useful trick that is well worth remembering. In such a situation I often define the vertical limit of the yard with overheads, or a similar structure. Then I paint everything below the overheads in a color, usually a pale shade to maximize light in what can often be a shady spot. This has the instant effect of containing the view within the outside room: the overheads and perhaps even a small tree providing a partial ceiling. Once you have set this upper limit, the walls above are far less noticeable and everything below can become part of a more intimate garden space. Overheads are not the only thing you can use; awnings provide a link with color schemes inside the house and have the effect of filtering light into soft shade. You don't necessarily need an expensive canopy; a cotton throw tossed over a simple structure can look great and be just as effective.

Shelter
I'm forever reminding people that it is lack of shelter that can make living outside uncomfortable, whether this be from sun or a chill wind. Think of an al fresco restaurant that is so delightful in the summer with tables on the pavement. However. with the onset of autumn, blinds will be attached to the sides for protection and overhead healers fitted so that dining can continue in the open for as long as possible. In a garden, one side of your overhead beams might be filled in with a low wall, say lm (3ft 3in) high, with built-in seating and the space above fitted with vertical slats that carry a fragrant climber. In a wider garden a screen could be built out at right angles from a fence or boundary wall, again offering a place for a sheltered seat or larger sitting area.We enjoy living outside, so use these same techniques at home to prolong the pleasure — you might even save a little on restaurant bills.

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Greenhouse Gardening

Cold frames

A cold frame is handy if you grow a lot of frost-tender plants that need hardening off before you can plant them out in spring. You can't take frost-tender bedding plants out of a warm greenhouse and expect them to acclimatize to outdoor conditions overnight. Hardening off lets them get accustomed to moving air and fluctuating temperatures gradually.

Stand the plants out in the cold frame 4-5 weeks before you expect the last frost, open the lid every morning and shut it each night. If it's going to be cold overnight, cover the lid of the frame with hessian or several old newspapers for insulation. If you don't have a cold frame, the alternative is to move plants out of the greenhouse on fine days and move them back at night for 2-3 weeks before it's safe to plant them out. Choose a spell of settled, mild, still weather to plant out tender plants.

A cold frame is also a good place to propagate hardy annuals and perennials from seed, or strike semi-ripe cuttings taken later in summer. With its lid open, use it to grow on young plants, such as polyanthus, cyclamen or winter bedding, during summer; these are plants that need intensive care but at lower temperatures than they'd have under glass. Once you have a cold frame, you'll find it invaluable for all sorts of 'overflows' from the greenhouse.
Other handy propagating kit

If you only propagate plants occasionally, you can get by just using seed trays with rigid plastic lids — unheated propagators that keep seeds and cuttings humid and protect seedlings from draughts and pests. Alternatively, make your own propagating covers by cutting the bottom off plastic bottles and sitting them over the top of flowerpots — unscrew the cap for ventilation.

In the garden, you can root a lot of easy cuttings in summer in well-prepared ground in an odd corner of the garden underneath a plastic cloche — or plant out single cuttings and push a bottle- propagator into the ground over each one.
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Gardening With Wild flowers

Greenhouse crops

There's a lot of satisfaction to be had from growing something to eat under glass. All those I've listed here are summer crops, but if you can turn on some heat in spring and autumn, they'll have a longer cropping season, which means bigger total yields.

Tomatoes (1) produce roughly 3kg (71b) of fruit per plant under cold glass, and up to 7kg (151b) if you plant early in a heated greenhouse. Both greenhouse and outdoor cultivars can be grown under glass, but greenhouse types really need warmth. Upright, cordon cultivars take up less room than the bush kinds. In an unheated house, it should be safe to plant in late April or early May; you'll be picking ripe fruit from early July onwards. If you turn the heat up to 10°C (50°F) at night, you can plant in late March and start picking around early June, but they'll be expensive tomatoes. It's more economical to plant in late April and turn on the heat to 5-7°C (40-45°F) as the nights turn cold in autumn — you'll have tomatoes almost till Christmas.

After planting, water plants lightly to start with. Tie each plant to a 2m (6ft) cane as it grows and remove side shoots as they appear. After the first flower opens, water more and feed regularly with liquid tomato feed. Leave tomatoes on the plants until they turn red, so the full flavor develops. Don't remove the bottom leaves until they turn yellow — it doesn't make the fruit ripen any faster. Nip the plants' tops out eight weeks before you want to pull them out at the end of the season; it helps partly developed tomatoes swell and ripen, so you're not left with a lot of little green ones.

Figs (2) fruit best when their roots are confined in a 38-45cm (15-18in) pot; when they are given a free root-run, all they grow is masses of leaves. Plant a fig tree in spring or summer, using John Innes No. 2 potting compost. Train it into a fan shape, by nipping out misplaced shoots while they're tiny. Stand the tree flat against the greenhouse wall, where it won't take up much room. In summer, feed it regularly with liquid tomato feed and water heavily, especially when the fruits are swelling. Prune in mid-winter when it is dormant. Just reduce the size and improve the shape, so it doesn't get out of hand. No heat is needed if you grow 'Brown Turkey' or 'Brunswick'.
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Flowering Shrubs And Their Important Characteristics

Scented shrubs
Shrubs with scented flowers add oomph to whatever else is looking good at the time. Plant them in a sheltered spot so that the fragrance doesn't blow away; the warmer and more still the air is, the more powerfully the scent will build up.

Filling in the fine detail
Trees, evergreens and flowering shrubs provide the background to the garden and some seasonal highlights, but what makes the ever- changing tapestry of colors are the flowers — roses, herbaceous perennials, bulbs, annuals, alpines and exotics.

Making plant associations

The smaller flowers are the next plants to add as your planting develops, but it's no good just picking your favorites and hoping they'll look good together, because they probably won't. You need to create plant associations — attractive groups — so that each plant shows its own best points, but also brings out the best in its neighbors. The one thing I'd always do if you are buying plants for a particular bed is to stand them in a group at the garden centre to see how they look together. At home, stand them in position on the actual spot and rearrange them as necessary until you hit the winning combination. Making good plant combinations is an art that grows on you with practice, but a few tips come in very handy for starters. It takes me ages to get it right, sometimes — but I still get a lot of pleasure out of doing it.

Contrast, contrast, contrast

Designers don't see things the same way as gardeners. Where we see a good plant, what they see is texture, height, shape, size and color. When you make plant associations, try to think more like a designer, and leave your horticultural appreciation for later.

The aim is to put plants together that contrast well. Go for contrasts of shape and texture first. A tall, upright, bony-looking plant, such as bamboo, looks good with a large, prickly, horizontal leaf, such as those of gunnera. Strappy-leaved phormium looks great with a low, creeping carpet at its feet. Contrast shiny evergreens with rough-textured trunks or prickly stems. Big, round flower shapes, like those of the ornamental alliums, stand out well against a background of small, frothy, filler-flowers and upright spikes.
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Gardening With Flowering Plants

Trees with attractive bark

In winter, when the leaves have fallen, trees with exceptional bark are the ones that stand out most in the garden. Even if you don't have acres to play with, it's worth trying to find room for a small one.

Acer capillipes is one of the snake-bark maples, so called because of the wavy, grey-green stripes running up and down the trunk. The leaves are three-pointed maple leaves that turn bright red in autumn and, in spring, the young shoots are bright red too, so there are plenty of seasonal attractions. It makes a dome-shaped tree that eventually gets to the larger side of medium, but it's slow growing, so anticipate 4.5 x 4.5m (15 x 15ft).

Eucalyptus species include many with very striking, flaking bark that leaves peculiar stripy, piebald and python-skin patterns, and the best of these is probably Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. niphophi/a, the snow gum. The older, thicker trees are the ones that have the most characteristic bark patterns, so leave them unpollarded. This means you'll have quite a large tree, as it grows fast and reaches maybe 6 x 4.5m (20 x 15ft) or more, but it doesn't cast much shade. Older trees often lean over and grow into angular architectural shapes, which makes them good as 'character' specimen trees.

Betula species make good, small to medium-sized garden trees, but if I was only allowed one it would have to be Betula

utilis var. jacquemontii, Jacquemont's birch. It has the typical open, spreading birch form and, like other birches, doesn't cast a lot of shade. What's special about it is the peeling bark that is dazzling white: I wash mine twice a year! In theory it can grow quite tall but, in gardens, it'll take a long time to grow to more than 10 x 4.5m (30 x 15ft).

Flowering trees

Everyone goes mad over lilac and cherry blossom in spring, but these are not always the best flowering trees to go for — in a windy situation, the flowers last no time at all and, if the weather is wet at flowering time the petals turn brown, so you might only see them at their best one year in three. Don't let me put you off if you like them, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Buddleja afterlife (1) is a relative of the butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii). Left to itself it makes a big, untidy shrub; it's much better trained on a single stem to make a tree. It then grows into a rounded mushroom sort of shape, and has clusters of scented lavender flowers arranged along semi-trailing stems in early summer. It'll make about 3.6 x 2.4m (12 x 8ft), which makes it suitable for most small gardens. Best at the back of a border.

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Growing Plants In A Container

Container plants for summer scent

Scented flowers are a definite plus for containers. Choose those with a long flowering season or that have aromatic leaves, so you really feel the benefit all summer.

Aloysia triphylla (1), lemon verbena, is the lemoniest scented plant I know, and great for containers. It's a tender bush with intensely scented leaves and insignificant white flowers. It reaches about
75 x 45cm (30 x 18in) in a container on its own over the summer — it'll be smaller in a container with other plants. Easy from cuttings; keep it in a frost-free greenhouse in winter, and enjoy brushing past it.

Salvia rutilans (2), pineapple sage, doesn't look a bit like herb sage. It has large, pointed-oval leaves and spikes of long, red, pipe- cleaner flowers. It enjoys the heat and, when bruised, the leaves have a strong and sweet pineapple scent. It needs a heated greenhouse in winter, and is easy to grow from cuttings.

Heliotropium arborescens (3), heliotrope, is a good plant for a sunny container, with large, wrinkled leaves, and big heads of tiny lavender- or violet-blue flowers that smell strongly of hot cherry pie. It'll reach 30cm (1ft) high by as much across during summer, but is happy crammed into a tub between other plants. Grow from cuttings or seed, or keep plants in a frost-free greenhouse in winter.

Scented-leaved pelargoniums (4) are old favorites. There are different cultivars that smell of anything from oranges and lemons to roses or spice if you bruise the leaves gently. Don't expect a fragrant version of the zonal pelargonium; they look nothing like them, though they grow to about the same size. A few have bright flowers, but most are unremarkable; small and off-white. Keep them in a frost-free greenhouse in winter; propagate from cuttings.

Matthiola bicornis subsp. bicomis (5), night-scented stock, is my first choice where there isn't much room, but — as you'd expect — it's only scented at night. The flowers aren't exciting — light mauve, pale pink and off-white 'stars' dotted on skinny plants, 15cm (6in) tall. Shoe-horn a clump in between more spectacular plants, or sow seeds straight into the container — they are only annuals.

Mentha x piperita f. citrata (6), Eau-de-Cologne mint, has attractive, round leaves that smell like scent out of a bottle, and lavender flowers. Mix it with herbs or cottage-style flowers — it grows about 45cm (18in) high. Mentha spicata, spearmint, is twice as tall but very minty and a pot will stop it spreading. They are hardy, so leave them in the garden over the winter.

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Home Gardening Guide - Garden plants

If you want a soil bed, you may have to remove some earth if it's poor quality and replace it with good topsoil from elsewhere in the garden. Alternatively, you could use John Innes potting compost.

When you've marked out the area with pegs and string and checked that it is the right shape (both visually and from a practical point of view) excavate the area to a depth of 15cm (6in) using a spade. Avoid loosening the soil beneath that depth. If you are laying paving stones up to your house, the ground will need to be excavated to a depth of 15an (6in) plus the depth of two bricks below the damp pouf course of the building.

2 Spread a layer of `scalpings' over the area and firm it with a powered compactor. Aim for a finished depth of 10cm (4in). Hammering wooden pegs into the ground so that they indicate the finished depth of the scalpings will make sure you maintain an even covering. Aim for a slight fall away from the house so that water runs off the finished patio and away from the building. Use a spirit level and a long board to achieve this.

Lay out the slabs in their final positions. This is important if you are using random sizes of paving. Fitting the jigsaw together before you lay the slabs on mortar will avoid mistakes later. Aim for a pleasing pattern, with different-sized slabs next to one another. Start laying against the house wall (or from a fence or wall if the patio is elsewhere in the garden) and work outwards. Leave 1cm (in) gaps between the slabs to allow for grouting.

4 Lift a few slabs to one side, remembering where they were positioned. Mix a barrow- load of bedding mortar at a time. Make it reasonably sloppy so that it can be easily worked with a builder's trowel. You are aiming for a bed between 5 and 8cm (2 and 3M) deep which will be fine for domestic traffic. Use the point of the trowel to texture the surface of the mortar into 'waves'.

5 Lower each paving slab in to place and tap it firmly with the handle of a lump hammer. The waves in the mortar allow for the height and level of the slab to be adjusted. Use a spirit level to make sure that the slight fall away from the house is maintained, and that the slabs are positioned evenly within this fall. Keep off the newly laid paving for at least 24 hours to allow the mortar to harden.

6 Once the slabs are set, fill in the gaps between them with the moist grouting mixture. Firm it into place with your fingers (gloves prevent cement from dessicating your hands!) and then rub it smooth with a grouting 'iron'. The mixture will take up water from the soil and scalpings below by capillary action, and eventually set hard. Sweep away any excess with a hand brush and then over the entire area with a soft broom.

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Climbers for a north- or east-facing wall

Summer-houses
A summer-house is simply a solid gazebo — a good-looking garden building with a proper roof, walls, doors and glass windows. It will form part of the view when you are looking at it from a distance, and gives you somewhere to sit and enjoy the garden when the weather is a touch iffy for taking tea on the lawn. It's also a safe, dry place to store your garden seats and croquet set.

When it comes to growing climbers over it, the effect needs to be slightly restrained, so you need to choose non-rampant types or your glamorous building will be swamped in foliage. And if you grow the self-clinging climbers, the woodwork may be wrecked, so I'd go for a discreet clematis or some annual morning glories growing on some netting or trellis on one side. If you want an economy summer-house, you can always decorate the shed with window-boxes and trellis, and glamorize the inside. If you do prefer a more natural look and want to grow plants over it, choose small, slow climbers so that your summe-house won't be swamped. The 'climbing blueberry' (Billardiera longiflora) is an evergreen with light airy foliage reaching 2-3m (6-10ft), with green bell- shaped summer flowers followed by purple grape-sized fruit. Team it with Ampelopsis glandulosa var. brevipedunculata Tlegans', which has mini grape leaves in pink, cream and white with pink tendrils. Neither needs any proper pruning; just cut out any bits that die back at the end of winter.

Tamp the concrete into place with a wooden rammer. Make the finished level a few inches below the soil surface so that it can be dressed with soil or gravel once construction is complete. Allow a day or two before the rafters are fixed in position so that the concrete has time to harden.

Bolt the two lung timbers down the sides of the pergola at the top of the posts, and then position the rafters_ Exclude dine an a small pergola, as here, as the rafters can be placed directly on the posts in a aiss-a-oss fashion. Cut a square notch into the top and bottom timbers so that the two marry together as a simple joint. Secure with screws and apply timber preservative.

Get a helper to hold the post and maintain its level while stiff concrete is shovelled around the base. Pressure- treated timber will last much longer than untreated timber, even if it is treated with preservative after construction.

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Growing Organic Plants

Grass in gardens
To most people, grass is 'outdoor carpet', as indispensable in the garden as wall-to-wall Wilton in the living room. Yes, fashions change and hard surfaces — paving, gravel and decking — are on the increase outdoors, in much the same way as seagrass matting, or polished wood floors, are indoors. But there are very few gardens that don't have at least a small patch of lawn.

Grass is still the cheapest and most traditional outdoor floor covering, particularly for large areas, so it's easy to take it for granted. But don't think of it as a self-renewing carpet; see it instead as thousands of tiny individual plants growing tightly packed together in each square metre of soil. It is not maintenance- free. Although grass doesn't take quite so much time and effort as a border, it still needs looking after.

Which grass?
When I was a lad, you had two sorts of grass. In the back garden, you had your everyday stuff dotted with springy heads of ryegrass that popped up from under the mower instead of being chopped off — just like that lump of hair on the back of your head that wouldn't lie down. Out front was the posh lawn that you kept
it was there to impress the neighbors. Both had the perfect stripes that were created by using a cylinder mower, and woe betide you if your lines were wavy.

Turf
Turf is pre-grown grass, which is cut from the ground ready for you to unroll as an instant lawn. Cultivated turf gives a good quality lawn, but meadow turf (possibly with weeds or bare patches) is cheaper. Once turf has rooted into your soil, you can treat it as a normal lawn. But, be prepared to water it, if the weather is dry. If you lay turf in early autumn, there should be plenty of rainfall to do the job for you.

You order turf by the square metre. It is delivered in strips measuring about 100 x 30cm (3 x 1ft), rolled up so that it's easier to handle. Arrange to have it delivered just before you want to lay it; if you can't get on with the job for two to three days, don't leave it rolled up. Unroll the turves and lay them flat, with the grass exposed to the light, and water them, if necessary. If you leave your turf rolled up, it will turn custard-yellow in a matter of days. It will look vile, be weakened as a result, and may die out in places.

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