Late in summer, as other flowers start to fade, Japanese anemones come into their own. With their elegant sculpted flowers on long graceful stems and their bold maple-like leaves, they’re an unmissable presence in the border well into autumn. Happiest in partial shade, they’re ideal for brightening up dull spots in the garden, and once they’re settled they’ll spread and come back year after year. Here’s how to make sure your Japanese anemones grow and flourish.

The RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival is like no other, from 2nd to 7th July. For a relaxed, fun and inspirational day head over to the show this weekend and enjoy the incredible show gardens with a Pimms in your hand. Here are our top picks for you to enjoy at this year's show.

After a lengthy period of blogging silence and in response to continued hectoring from Olivia, my daughter, (certainly my most avid and quite likely my only follower) I have been galvanised into putting finger to keyboard once again. Since my last post I have been keeping busy down at my allotment during what has been a good gardening season. The recent deluges were much needed and will hopefully help avoid the hose pipe restrictions that were otherwise looking very...

I like asparagus. In fact, that's a shame faced lie - I adore asparagus. Last April I planted 300 one year old asparagus crowns  (which look rather like undernourished octopus) and I was delighted to have a 100% take, despite the dry summer. I will need all my powers of self-control to wait a further 12 months before I start cutting and consuming, as the experts recommend that newly planted crowns are not cut for the first two years to ensure that they prop...

A gardener's best friend. Well rotted horse dung - whether it comes from a plough horse or a Gold Cup winner matters not a jot, will turn the vegetables on your allotment into Olympic athletes. I have a sizeable pile of it awaiting application, delivered by Eddie whose dearly beloved has two ponies producing on a regular basis. The well rotted manure has been judiciously placed at the highest point of my allotment to allow for gravity fed leaching into the soil...

I arrived at the garden centre this morning and decided to take a wander around the outside plant area, to take in some of the early spring colour.  I walked past a trolley full of gardening tools and was surprised to see that it also contained a biscuit tin. Exciting news as no-one likes a biscuit more than me. The tin, however, contained meal worm, at which I draw the line no matter how hungry I am. I called over to Tess who was already hard at work and who...