You’ll start seeing sacks of daffodil bulbs in the garden shops about this time of year.

a few hints on planting them:

1. Scatter them under trees and plant where they land. This will give a natural feel to their planting.

2. Use them in tubs by your front door with pansys and mini conifers.

3. Buy different types. Different colours and singles and doubles.

4. Any you have that has stopped flowering as well are probably all too close together – they multiply by growing new bulbs so dig up and spread them out more.

5. Plant them deeply enough. IF the ground is too hard then dig another bit!

6. Plant the flat end down! The more pointed end is the top!

August is the time when you can enjoy the flowers a little, harvest some veggies and enjoy the garden. There’s still plenty of work pruning anything that’s going wild, dead heading to get longer flowering from plants and weeding!
It’s really hot at the moment but raining so expect the weeds to do really well this week!

Deadheading works because it stops the plant turning that flower head into seeds. Plants like to make seeds. So if you stop it, then it’ll try and have another go – by making another flower!

I’ve seen loads of people’s runner beans and some have been at the top of the poles and some covered in flowers. Mine are about half way up!

Claire’s video about planting them is interesting.

Remember to put the canes in first!
Beans like lots of good stuff in the soil – work in as much compost as possible.
I like the way she starts them off with a tie to the stick so they get started. Perhaps that steadies them and helps them get a good start?
I always put two seeds per pot. I don’t think it hurts and then if one does get eaten then it’s not a huge problem.

Thompson & Morgan just added these new products

Runner Bean ‘Desiree’ – 1 packet (50 seeds) £3.69
In recent years we have introduced and developed vegetables that have achieved real steps forward in yield, flavour, space saving, disease tolerance; etc. This bean fits into this category and is outstanding in every way. Almost foolproof, it attains huge crops from a small area. Long, broad, completely stringless, very fleshy 25-30cm (10-12in) pods. Very heavy cropping, often averages 40 pods per plant. As it is a shy seeder there is more juicy fleshy edible area, which accounts for the exceptional flavour. Compared with other runner beans it is much more productive under dry weather conditions. White flowered.

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http://www.agroforestry.co.uk/plantorders.html – have a massive choice of fruit trees!

I’m staggered by this range and when I get my huge house in Devon I will be ordered tons of trees for my orchard!

Have you seen glow worms recently? Share your findings with this survey at the UK Glow Worms Survey

Going to Wales – or live there? Fancy visiting some gardens?
Gardens in Wales lists gardens open to the public

Gardens all over Wales – plus garden tours available!

Cardiganshire
Carmarthenshire
Clwyd
Conwy
Denbighshire
Flintshire
Gwent
Gwynedd
Monmouthshire
Pembrokeshire
Powys
SouthGlamorgan
WestGlamorgan

If you’ve not found a source locally already then check out the Riding for the Disabled website

Worth ringing as we were told of one of the sites :

Riding for the Disabled – They bag the manure in old fertiliser sacks (free from farmer) and park the full sacks at easy parking access for anyone to help themselves. I think some of the disabled youngsters also care for the horses and help fill the bags. There’s no charge but they appreciate any donation to RDA. Take as much as you want, return the empty sack for re-use. They get rid of all their waste and local gardeners are very glad of it.

My blackcurrants are looking fantastic. They are pretty sweet already and I think they’re not far off being ready to pick. Unlike the strawberries they haven’t yet attracted the attention of the birds though.

The berries are pretty huge too! I’m going to use the method my dad suggested to me to pick them. Prune off the branches they’re on and then go and sit somewhere with the radio on and take the berries off.
And then I shall make some jam!

This is the second year I’ve grown these. They are aerial radishes. They grow stems of delicate white and pink flowers which then turn into the radishes. They’re a bit hot – but quite radishy really.

Very prolific. You get plenty of radishes off one stem. They will self seed if you leave them at the end of the season for the pods to dry naturally.

They are great for salads and I even tried cooking them last year. They lose their heat and just taste a little cabbagey then though. You will munch on them as you’re picking them though. You will be able to pick some nearly every day once they start. Picking can be hard work – and you have to avoid the bees as they love the flowers, but I quite enjoy spending 15 minutes every day picking them. My neighbours really love them too so there’s not going to be any waste. In fact they like them so much they’ve asked if they can have some seeds next year!

Rats tail radish are one of the most unusual plants I’ve grown. I grew them on my old allotment plot and no one there had ever heard of them but loved them very much!
Because they set seed at the end of the year you can easily save plenty of seed for next year and to pass on to friends.
Plant out from about March onwards and just let them get on with it. The small plants coming through look faily like radishes – but it’s not the root we’re interested in.

The long fronds of flowers are very pretty and would look fab in a cottage garden style border too.

Want to ID a weed? This page has tons of photos on!

Have to say I wouldn’t mind the Purple Dog-violet in my garden!