Sowing vegetable seeds outdoors

When the time finally comes to sow seeds outdoors, you can really start to fill up your vegetable plot, kitchen garden or allotment with lots of tasty crops that will be ready to eat at various times of the year. But how do you know the right time to sow, and how do you give your seeds the best chance of success?

Tulips - To Lift Or Not To Lift?

A "Rainbow Bed" of Tulips in April

Tulips bring a welcome burst of colour to the garden in spring before everything else really gets going. They are a great low maintenance option too because you can just plant them in autumn, leave them and wait for the show to start the following spring. But they do tend to flower less each year which means you have a choice - buy new ones each autumn to add to the existing show, or lift them and store them until it's time to replant them again in October. So is it worth the effort?

Garden Design - a simple, eye-catching effect with Allium bulbs

Alliums are a colourful, inexpensive and low maintenance spring flower that are well worth adding to your garden. £10 will buy between 3 and 20 bulbs depending on the variety.