My gardening DIARY

MONDAY

I was given a plant of a large-flowered lily of the valley by nurseryman Roger Harvey at last year’s Chelsea Flower Show. It seems to flower later than Convallaria

majalis. Probably my favourite scent and always a reminder of May and Chelsea. Diorissimo is based on its scent and I even wore a bit during the Chelsea compilation programmes.

TUESDAY

We've several Hydrangea paniculata shrubs that were given to us by Jon Wheatley for our daughter Alice’s wedding. They're waiting to be planted out when her family have a permanent garden. I’m taking cu ings and, although I’ve taken hydrangea cu ings before, never of this one.

WEDNESDAY

All our dahlias have overwintered in pots in the polytunnel. We started watering them a couple of weeks ago. Some of their tubers have grown so big, they’re now distorting the sides of the pots. Time to repot or use some in big containers and in the ground.

THURSDAY

Time to sow some biennial seeds: foxgloves, wallflowers and sweet Williams for starters. Although we sometimes sow in trays, the best and easiest method is to sow in broad, shallow drills in the open ground. We’re sowing in unoccupied bits of the veg garden.

FRIDAY

Through Annie’s garden, there’s a series of rose ‘William Lobb’ that were pruned quite hard early on. A few have shrivelled top shoots so they’re being cut back to the next

healthy outward-facing bud.

SATURDAY

Doronicum ‘Harpur Crewe’, pictured right, is one of the earliest daisies to flower, it’s big, bright, yellow daisies shining out from the surrounding verdancy. It looks wonderful with blue anchusa and lime-green spurges, but its flowering is all too brief. As with all daisies, deadheading is important.

SUNDAY

Annual herbs and salads – dill, chervil, rocket and le uce – grow so fast, it's important to sow li le and often otherwise you’re left with a glut or, in the case of some of the herbs, they run to flower and seed to the detriment of their leaves, which is the part you really want them for.