For less demanding shrubs the standard John Innes Seed Compost, made up of 2 parts loam, 1 part peat, and 1 sand will do very well. The loam is sterilised by heating it to about 82C. or 180F. to kill pests, weeds and diseases.

Ideally they should be 2 to 3 in. long, thin and short jointed. As with all cuttings remove the leaves from that part of the stem which is to go below soil level. These should be cut with a sharp razor blade and not pulled away as this damages the stem too much. It is important not to leave too many leaves on a cutting as these will increase the rate at which water is lost through transpiration which the cutting may be unable to makeup, causing it to wither and die. At the same time the base can be trimmed back to immediately below the leaf joint making a nodal cutting. The Majority of cuttings root most readily from this point, but there are exceptions which should be trimmed between the leaf joints to make internodal cuttings. As would be expected, the time of availability for softwood cuttings is rate spring or early summer, i.e. May and early June.

Depth of sowing depends very much on the type of seed. A good general rule is to cover them with soil to twice their own depth, but always wait until the soil is in a fine friable condition.

Leave the seedlings undisturbed till they are several inches high and then transplant them at the normal planting season for the species, giving them ample room for further development. They can then be grown on for at least another year by which time they should be big enough to go out into their permanent quarters.

A sheltered bed facing west or north, well provided with sand, will do fine for hardwood cuttings. There may be room to make a light sun frame which extends the range of semi-hardwood cuttings. Seed can be sown in pots, stood in the airing cupboard until germinated, then grown indoors until they are large enough to go outside. just a cheap, modest way of filling a garden with a large array of shrubs.

Chamaecyparis lawsonilina, Lawson’s Cypress, makes a tall tree and is useful as a windbreak or screen to hide some ugly part of the view beyond the garden. I would use a selected forth like Green Hedger for often seedlings show a wide variation in ultimate height. Selected forms include allumii which is often used in tubs or on terraced walks for the growth is upright and the colour glaucous blue, and ellwoodii which is very slow growing, with feathery graceful leaves and an ultimate height of between 8 and 10 ft.

Erecta makes a pyramid of light green while the grey feathery-leaved fletcheri has a tendency to spread under heavy weights of snow, but it is still a worthy contender for a place in the garden. Wisselii is the most tightly erect of all and in youth its branching pattern shows a whirled effect. I nip the top out of the cuttings to encourage this. C. obtusa nana is a jewel with tight fans of mossy green leaves and a neat and compact habit. C. obtusa crippsii is a small slow- growing loosely conical tree and it makes one of the loveliest small garden conifers.

As the rash of tarmacadam and concrete spreads to hide the soft green contours of rural Britain, so will an increasingly office-bound community turn to their gardens for a place in which to relax. Gardening is a healthy, creative hobby with many rewards and a well-planned and tended garden can provide its owner with a peaceful setting in which he can spend many happy hours.

I was very much a novice, depending on annuals for a quick return for my labours. A beautiful clipped yew planted when the house was built and a golden chamaecyparis were central features of the house frontage. Anything which took up space capable of supporting a marigold or godetia was anathema to me so one day when father was away I uprooted both these patriarchs on to the bonfire. No one in that quiet Dales village spoke to me for a week. They were all too busy sympathising with my parents for having produced such a wayward son. The many hundred trees I have planted since have not erased the feeling of guilt this piece of vandalism burdened me with.

They will be indoors a full month longer than they should be and during this time they will be struggling to make the right kind of growth. Leaves and stalks will be pale and weak and the plants will not be the strong, vigorous type needed to start the season outdoors. Tuberous begonias started to root about the first of March will be developing during more favorable light conditions: the days are brighter and longer in April when they will be making leaf growth.

Sometimes tuberous begonias are planted too early because they have started to sprout and this suggests to the grower that the tuber wants to start growing again, that they will suffer if not permitted to grow. The young, pink sprouts may appear early, due to the storage conditions being too warm, thus encouraging growth.

By keeping the tubers in a cooler place this can be prevented. Preliminary rooting before top growth is made is essential with tuberous begonias. This rooting period takes about 30 days. By then there are enough roots, the top has grown a few inches and potting should be done.

Ignorance can sometimes be a blessing. For many years I grew Lithospermum diffusum without the slightest trouble. The cuttings rooted with vulgar alacrity and I honoured this beautiful shrub by poking a specimen of it in wherever space permitted.

To prevent primulas seeding under some shrubs growing only a path’s width away I carpeted the soil beneath the shrubs with Lithospermum Heavenly Blue. The mat of leaves was covered with a mass of blue flowers in early summer. Indeed, these continued intermittently until the autumn. This plant is difficult to root and started to take extra care with the cuttings. I lost all but three from one batch so that now I continue my old practice and once again the cuttings root with perfect composure and no difficulty.

Six years ago I was given a shrub from a vicarage garden which was new to me, but it had the habit of growth which indicated it would make suitable ground cover. It has made a perfect underplanting to forsythia, having grown only 18 in. high by about 6 ft. across, with bright green leaves and rather nondescript flowers which are followed by attractive purple berries.

When training in the nursery has been neglected there may be crossing or badly placed branches to cut away but if this happens often I would try another nursery with more interest in the plants they offer for sale.

Carefully place the shrub into the planting hole and with fingers work in the riddled soil, firming gently so that each root is in full and intimate of the hole with the fork, working in some compost at the same time.

If the border has been well prepared, digging the planting hole will be a simple business. It should be large enough to take the roots of the tree or shrub well spread out. If a stake is necessary put in a cane to mark the place where it can be driven home without damaging the roots. This must, of course, be on the windward side, usually the west, so there is less chance of the stem being chafed by blowing on to the stake.

Rarely is the dull humid day followed by a frost at night, rather as the daylight fades comes a warm soaking rain to complete the soil firming in the best manner.

Looking for a better way to preserve those beautiful flowers in your garden? Don’t you wish you could make them bloom longer for others to see and appreciate?

Well, it’s about time you gave them a drink. That’s the advice of a Cornell University horticulturist who said that hard liquor can preserve flowers.

William Miller, director of Cornell’s Flower Bulb Research Program, wasn’t drunk when he said this. In fact, his study has been published in HortTechnology, a peer-reviewed journal of horticulture.

Miller found that diluted alcohol - whiskey, vodka, gin or tequila - prevents the plant’s leaves and stem from growing but has no effect on the blossoms.

Because the plants are shorter, the flowers don’t tip over - a condition called the “bent neck” syndrome. Plants that were “watered” with alcohol produced blooms that remained upright longer.

“I’ve heard of using alcohol for lots of things but never for dwarfing plants,” said Charlie Nardozzi, a senior horticulturist with the National Gardening Association, a Vermont-based organization.

“It sounded weird when I first heard about it, but our members say it works. I’m going to try it just for curiosity,” he added.

Potash encourages fruit production, intensifies flower colours and hardens growth. This is an over simplification, but basically true. Wood ash contains a small percentage of potassium, but the form in which the element is usually applied to the soil is as sulphate or muriate of potash.

An excess of nitrogen can be balanced by applying extra potash. Autumn-colouring shrubs like photinia and acers should get extra potash as this will give the starlets, yellows and purples added lustre.

The spray advised for the blackfly will control them also. Indeed, it seems that there is a spray for everything likely to infest the garden from aphids to stray cats and dogs. Choose thosc which will only kill the pest or in the case of domestic animals repel them. Red spider mite may cause damage on dwarf conifers but can be controlled with malathion or similar chemical. Tortrix, sawfly and other caterpillars are rarely a problem. Derris and soft soap is a sufficiently potent repellent.

All compound fertilisers have a statutory analysis printed on the container. By the condition of the plants, a gardener decides what they need to achieve a balanced growth and buys accordingly. Nitrogen encourages soft vigorous growth and deepens the colour of the foliage.

Much of the joy I find in gardening is linked to brief moments of a beauty so all pervading that the recollection of it is sufficient to lift the dreariest days of bitter winter. Another picture. which is still fresh in my memory, is of Rhododendron Sir Charles Lemon.

There are species and varieties so slow growing that they will grow contentedly for a generation with the modest dimensions of a trough garden. At the other extreme the family includes trees mat soar, 100 to 120 ft., majestic in their perfect -Fymmctrical outline. No matter the size of garden - be the landscape formal or designed to Iarmonise with the natural scenery around are conifers of the right shape and foliage colour to fit and enhance the picture.

They adapt themselves to any but the most inhospitable soils, and there are few gardens incapable of supporting a selection of these fascinating plants.