Keep a close eye on your corgis

Edibles

Pick courgettes regularly – in optimum conditions this could mean three times a week or more – before they turn into marrows. Then whip up a batch of zucchini, goat’s feta and pappardelle.

Courgette flowers may also be picked and eaten. Choose only male flowers which, unlike females, don’t produce fruit.

Females are identifiable by a swollen stem, resembling a miniature fruit. Cut flowers close to the head of the flower and don’t cut all the flowers off a vine – males are needed to pollinate female flowers. Use flowers within a day of harvesting.

Also needing regular, daily even, picking are cucumbers, gherkins, beans and peas – all need checking and picking on a daily basis. These are best eaten while young and sweet; as well regular picking will encourage more to be produced.

Once their leaves turn yellow, garlic, onions and shallots may be harvested. This should only be done on a dry day. Dig up, shake off as much dirt as possible – do not wash or remove the outer skins. Trim the fibrous roots back to the bulb, then leave to dry.

After harvest is complete, don’t just forget about asparagus. Fertilise it, or give it a liberal dose of compost and water well and regularly to encourage top growth.

Ornamentals

Feed roses to encourage more flowers and to get growth going and time to harden before frosts.

Hibiscus will also love a feed high in potash. A citrus fertiliser works well.

succession. No sooner are we getting over the cruelty to chickens sermon than we’re plunged into an evils of baby wipes or dangers of additives diatribe. The only reasonably contented character seems to be 8-year-old youngest sister Rosa, who unsurprisingly can see all is not well with her unhappy family.

A large cast of characters, each taking their own short chapters to put forward their part of the story, lead us towards an awaited climax. But the problem with covering nine points of view of not always likeable people in one novel is that the reader can find it somewhat overwhelming, switching in just a

Cutting back delphiniums and geraniums after the first flush of flowers will encourage a second flush. Feed after cutting back.

Regular dead-heading, that is snipping off spent blooms, on both perennials and annuals will prolong the flowering period – and make the plant and garden more attractive. Roses, especially, can look bedraggled and in dire need of dead-heading after heavy summer rain.

Keep on top of weeds, especially perennial ones which are harder to rid the garden off. Remove before they flower, set seed and disperse it – all over your garden. There is much truth in the adage ‘‘one year’s seeds, seven years’ weeds’’.

Divide too big, crowded or poorperforming clumps of bearded irises. Maybe this is necessary about every three to five years. Dig up your clump, break off larger fans and replant them with the top of rhizome just above the soil surface. Ensure all rhizomes face the same way as they were growing, spacing them 10cm to 15cm apart.

– Mary Lovell-Smith couple of pages between one and another, just getting the feel for one character before several more pour out their heartfelt thoughts.

It’s unfortunate, because Isa Pearl Ritchie is a good writer and she has quite a compelling tale to weave of overcoming depression, finding yourself through your heritage, searching for wellbeing, and just how different and complex each member of a family can be.

With fewer characters putting forward their own points of view and more in-depth focus on the main characters this could have been a much more engaging read. – Felicity Price