LORRAINE’S TOP TIPS

Never feel you are too old to train as a gardener. I knew nothing about plants, except what my mother taught me.

The fun of gardening is starting a project and getting a feel for what works and what doesn’t and seeing the result. Don’t feel it has to look perfect.

Don’t focus too much on weeds. I think there is a lot of time focussing on weeds, and we have to find a way of learning to work with nature as we can never tame it. As time goes on and the seasons change and the temperatures hot up we have to find a way to learn to work with the new climate.

Instead of using high maintenance, blight prone box, consider evergreen Berberis, Osmanthus delavayi, Ilex crenata and Lonicera nitida.

Two pairs of oversized terracotta pots, replacing box spirals, give a more contemporary look, and make a statement at the entrance to the garden. Tightly packed, fluffy Verbena bonariensis, Pennisetum grasses – the Chinese fountain grass – salvia and cosmos and are a magnet for insects. You need to be mindful about how much you can water.