Cacti are exciting to grow from seed – their plump seedlings appear quickly and they’ll begin to develop their characteristic spines in under a year. Cactus seeds are available from seed merchants and specialist societies, but if you know someone wit

Frontline workers Claire and James Eckersley’s multi-level garden just outside Falmouth was a real favourite with our 2020 Gardens of the Year judges, thanks to its confident and varied planting. Claire works in end-of-life care and James has recentl

Clematis wilt disease is caused by a fungus that enters the plant through a wound, made either by an insect or an abrasion, such as rubbing from a plant tie. The top of the clematis suddenly wilts, collapses and dies back, and the problem quickly spr

✔Use a proprietary seed compost, ideally with some loam content, rather than home-made garden compost. The latter is great to use as a mulch outside, but it contains fungi and other pathogens that may cause seeds or delicate seedlings to rot in the c

Of all the jobs to do this month, composting is one of the most important. Recycling our garden waste is the powerhouse behind a successful garden or allotment, returning valuable nutrients and organic matter back to the soil and boosting biodiversit

This is a very good tree for a middle-sized garden: ace fruit and interesting leaves in the autumn, but it is for its winter flowers that we really love this plant. Imagine, if you would, waking up on a cold February morning, flinging open your bedro

A veg-growing life isn’t all cabbages, you know: it’s a bowl of cherries, too. Make room for fruit in your plot and you’ll discover just how indulgent growing your own food can be. I never underestimate the power of a pudding in persuading reluctant

There is something wonderfully comforting about the company of birds in the garden, especially through the colder winter months. Whether that’s my red-breasted friends (who seems to enjoy my company as much as I do theirs!) or a fleeting visit from a

Gardeners across the UK are digging deep for BBC Countryfile’s Plant Britain, a two-year campaign to get the whole nation planting, to help tackle climate change. The first goal is to plant 750,000 trees, one for every child who started primary schoo

For an unusual way to display your orchid, why not mount it on a piece of cork bark to hang on the wall. Orchid Cork bark Mounting hook Fishing wire Moss from your garden or sustainably sourced sphagnum moss 1 Choose a piece of cor

Prepare dahlia tubers to produce early shoots for making cuttings. Pot them up in deep pots of peat-free potting compost with the tip of the tuber just at the surface once the compost has been firmed. Water and then place on a warm bench. Ventilate

Many UK gardens are open to visitors, however most have special measures in place, including pre-booking and restricted visitor numbers. ■ Check before you travel Opening details for gardens listed in our 2 for 1 Entry Guide have changed since public

■ Where will it go? Location is likely to influence your choice of bin. A site in full or part shade is best for successful composting. Most bins need to be placed on soil to achieve good drainage and boost microbial action, but the Aerobin and Hotbi

VISIT gardenersworld.com/what-to-do-now for more advice on the best crops to sow and plant this month, and how to do it.

You can do so much more with orchids than simply put them on a coffee table by themselves. Moth orchids (or phalaenopsis) can be combined with other plants to create exotic mixed containers, mounted on the wall or even allowed to trail from the ceili

You can leave your garden untouched from the planting of the last tulip in November to the end of January without any ill-effects, but February is a month in which there is much to be done and much to delight. Snowdrops, iris, crocus, the first daffo

February is a time when the garden can do with a boost of colour – and this easy-to-plant pot is perfect for a doorstep or prominent spot. This display should be full of flowers for six to eight weeks if placed in a sheltered location in winter sun o

Also known as the money tree, it’s believed to bring luck and prosperity, making it a popular housewarming gift. The fuss-free nature of Crassula ovata means you can be confident it’ll stay looking good, even if you’ve struggled to keep other house p

In the days when Geoff Hamilton used to present Gardeners’ World, I would tease him mercilessly about his various economies. These ranged from glazing a coldframe with the thin polythene that covered a suit being returned from the dry cleaners (in it

No-dig, right from day one, is less about what we do to ‘fix’ soil and more about how we enhance its natural liveliness. Compost or organic matter on the surface encourages organisms in the soil to travel upwards and feed, which improves aeration and

Idon’t recall clematis featuring in my parents’ garden at all. The hedgerows all along the lanes were festooned with Clematis vitalba – old man’s beard – but I do not recall a single clematis in the garden. That is a shame, because they would have be

February can be the most brutal of winter months, with prolonged freezing and snow coming just when you’d started to breathe a sigh of relief and look ahead to spring. Continue leaving food out for birds, which are trying to get into shape for breedi