Garden spectacular is about to start

Be careful if you’ve a laurel hedge to trim. When you bag the branches and leaves for recycling, tie the neck securely and load into the car at the last minute. Why? With windows closed the interior of vehicles become very hot in the sun, causing the leaves to emit cyanide gas!

Trimming the lawns monthly since January has ensured that we’ve remained in control of the appearance.

However, the presence of moss has remained throughout and that is something others might lose sleep over, but it fits our philosophy of flora and fauna attraction so is welcome.

This said, gardening is about individual choice and change. Of course, in the past we’ve broadcast iron sulphate over a moss-ridden lawn one day and raked off its blackened remains the next, but that doesn’t solve the underlying problem.

Is yours the result of poor drainage or shade from overhanging trees? Have you been mowing too close to ground level leaving bare patches or is it simply that the soil is too acidic?

It`s possible to have a purely ornamental moss-free lawn that appeals to the eye once the problem has been identified.

The other choice is based on whether you see any other plants in your lawn, apart from the grass, as weeds or wildflowers. The former can be eradicated with a selective weedkiller or, leave well alone and the latter will turn it into a mini meadow beloved of insects.

Having survived the 2-4D hormone weed killing era, we now refrain from mowing over the May-June period and enjoy the colour spectacle.

Some vegetable seeds are hardier than others. So, look on the packets for guidance in relation to their sowing dates and create a batting order as the captain of a cricket team does.

Then once the initial batch has germinated you are clear which seeds are first and second wicket down.