PLANTING PLANNER

You can grow plants from seed or cuttings, but if you don’t have the time, patience or confidence for that, you can pop along to the garden centre and buy seedlings or more mature plants. However, before you get to the actual planting part, you need to assess the different growing conditions in your garden and take the climate and soil conditions into account.

This is pretty much a matter of common sense. If cold is likely to be a problem, avoid plants that are frost-tender. If you really want to try a plant, give it the best chance you can by placing it in your warmest spot, perhaps against a north-facing wall, or perhaps try it in a pot in a sheltered spot.

Conversely, if you live in a tropical or even a temperate, humid climate, eschew plants that prefer a cool climate, such as many perennials. A large number of trees also fall into this category. Many deciduous trees, such as beech and silver birch, and flowering trees are really cool-climate trees.