WHAT A GOOD IDEA…

When you buy carnations as cut flowers, strip the stems off any young shoots, as some shops don’t do this, and stick them in the garden. You can snip the bottom off the stems but I find they root easily by just being planted as they are. Free flowers! Patricia Mason, N Yorks

A piece of cotton wool soaked in cologne or fragranced oil and dropped into your vacuum cleaner will freshen the air wonderfully. C Davies, Cornwall

Put a toy rubber snake in your veg patch. It will keep the birds off them – especially the pigeons. Joanne Wilkinson, Sheffield