Have you ever been outwitted by a devious artificial plant? I have. It makes me feel inferior.

Time was, you could easily spot an artificial plant, because it was probably just a piece of cardboard cut into a childish approximation of the shape of a plant and then painted green. Things have moved on since then. The damn things are more cunning.

These days we’ve progressed to a point where you sometimes can’t tell whether a plant’s real or not, even after touching it. People put them in compost to disguise their artificiality. You can probably get them dusted with pollen that’s been manufactured in a lab.

Far from being laughably naff stains on your home decor, artificial plants are actually worthy of consideration these days, particularly if you’re lazy or forgetful and have seen a whole procession of green guests wither and die in the corner of your room. You can’t kill something that isn’t alive. They don’t need watering. They don’t need you.

Yes, artificial plants are here, cluttering up the place and thinking that they’re better than you. Are you going to stand for it? You’re going to have to. You can’t even set fire to the faux-botanical invaders because they’re fire retardant.

Cottage gardens were first developed when there was a realization that adding certain flowers to vegetable plots would attract bees which pollinate crops. What evolved were deep borders, a pathway, perfumed herbs and rich flowers and maybe the odd rustic bench tucked away.

You can re-create the chocolate box cottage garden look for your garden by adding informal gravel path edging and maybe an archway of willow or lavender. Add many mixtures of flowering shrubs and perennials and coloured bulbs and flowers, the sheer mixture of plants will attract bees and butterflies.

Planting

It is usual to see cottage garden plants growing closely together as if it were a random thing without any aesthetic plan.

It takes good planning to create an entirely natural looking garden and it involves using all your space by squeezing the right plants into the right corners of your garden. Planting plants that cover the ground such as honeysuckle and climbing clematis are always the best idea.

Full of details, cottage gardens provide further interest if they have edged pathways which are complemented by a row either side of plants. Forsythia is a good plant to use for this as are Box Balls and Lavender. If you can train your ivy to fall over your pathway as an archway this can look stunning.

Where there are hedges and ever green plants in your garden, cut holes or patterns in them so the onlooker can see through them to the garden space and flowers beyond the bushes.

If you want to grow a really healthy vegetable plot that will last you for years, read on.

Choosing vegetables

This is one of the most exciting things about growing vegetables – picking them! So go for the vegetables you love eating without getting carried away and making sure you have enough space for the growth of each, look for vegetables you can progressively harvest so you maintain growth through the season.

There are 4 main vegetable groups and it is good to know which fall into which before you choose which ones to grow.

Group One: Swede, turnips, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale.
Group Two: Beetroot, chicory, carrots, artichokes, parsnips, potatoes and salsify
Group three: All types of beans and peas.
Group four: Salad crops and all other vegetables

Plot rotation

Group your vegetables together if they fall into the same group as listed. Divide your plant bed up into 4 sections to accommodate the 4 different groups. You must not plant the same vegetable in the same place year on year because it will destroy the nutrients in the soil and the soil needs to be replenished. So if you keep a note of what is where and where the boundaries of the 4 beds are (best marked out by wire), you will know that in your second year, you will need to move one section forward and have the next group of vegetable growing in it.

Wildflowers flowing across your garden make a stunning garden feature and this is regardless of you having a garden that is rolling acres or only a few metres.

All you need is a section of lawn that stands in an open, sunny site and you can transform it into a wonderful wildflower meadow. This will not only provide cover and in some cases food for wildlife it is easy to maintain than an average lawn and you have a selection of a large choice of wildflowers that will last from spring to beginning of autumn.

The lawn
Laws that are low in nutrients are perfect for planting; however, to further keep nutrient levels low stop using weed killers and fertilizers and mow the lawn often, remove grass clippings immediately to stop further nutrients from feeding back into the soil.

The Planting
This is the perfect time to start planting your wildflowers as plug plants. When choosing the type of flowers you want, apart from taking into consideration the colour scheme and personal preference look at the condition of your soil to see what will grow best. For the best natural look arrange your wildflowers into groups and mark out the distance between them making the pattern you desire in your lawn. Cut out a round core of soil from the lawn using a trowel, drop a handful of natural compost into the hole, plant the plug, cover and then spread it with leaf mould before water it carefully.

Bring in the ladybirds

A commonly popular snack for these insects after hibernation is a patch of nettles (or a nettle aphid); this is not a garden pest.

Bat Boxes

If you can build a bird box you can build a bat box and by creating a similar entrance to the traditional bird box just put it on the underside of the box rather than the side (or even just turn your bird box upside down offers much needed shelter for the declining bat numbers in the UK.

Berries for Birds

Birds love berries and by planting these types of plants such as honeysuckle and raspberry the number of bird visits to your garden will increase substantially

Collect Rainwater

Keep a pipe lead draining from the top of your roof so it catches the rainwater and leads it directly to a water butt, this keeps water in reserve for your garden (rainwater is better for garden life anyway) and every summer we face hose pipe bans.

Add Flower Boxes

Add flower boxes or sedum mats to the shed will filter out air pollutants and will substantially increase the local eco-system.

Have a Bird Table

Help to keep our birds fed in the forthcoming winter months by leaving a bird table outside that at the very least will keep them safe from prowling cats and would be hugely beneficial if you topped up with breadcrumbs daily!

Avoiding chemicals in gardening makes a huge and much needed contribution towards the environment and right now everything helps so if you are sworn to gardening as organically as possible, read on.

The best tips on getting started with your organic garden:

Digging in compost and leaf mould will dramatically improve your soil quality.

Recycle your vegetable peelings, pruning from plants and even tea bags.

Stop any weeds spreading in your plant beds by spreading compost bark over the soil’s surface.

Try and always to choose fruit and vegetables plants to grow that are naturally disease and pest ridden varieties.

Encourage wildlife into your garden which will control gardening pests like slugs and greenfly.

Only use biological pest control products in your greenhouse and garden.

Keep stressed plants well watered and therefore, less vulnerable to disease.

There is such a thing called companion planting where one plant or both plants protect each other in some way – this is a good idea to adopt when you are trying to grow edible crops, its best to plant strong scented plants near them to deter pests.

Keep an eye on your garden regularly (at least once a week if not daily), and catch any problems as early as possible to avoid disaster.

Build a small pond and attract frogs.

Frogs are great in controlling the number of snails and slugs which are the nightmare of most gardeners, however, a much more eco-friendly alternative to throwing down harmful slug pellets is to naturally encourage frogs and other more natural predators of slugs back into your garden.

Even a simple container pond can be a simple plastic bowl filled with some rain water and a few pond plants like bog bean, yellow flag-iris and marsh marigold will attract frogs and newts to your garden. You will, of course, need to add a little plank of wood for the frogs to use as a ramp as an entry and exit to the container.

Hedgehogs

Not many people may know this but the numbers of hedgehogs is down dramatically and that’s right across the country. If you leave a corner in your garden a little overgrown and less tidy it will provide the perfect place for hedgehogs wanting to hibernate.

Butterflies

Keep butterflies visiting your garden by providing the most popular of British classics such as forget me knots, ivy and daisies.

Bumble Bees

Keep your garden bumble bee friendly in planting the wildflowers which they love like e.g. knapweed and foxglove, the UK’s bumble bee population is diminishing and this will help hugely with pollination.

Leaf mould

Right now it’s time to gear yourself up for autumn and get ready to recycle your falling leaves for great eco-friendly and free garden compost.

Punch a few holes in a bin liner.

Rake up all your fallen leaves and put them into the bag.

When the bag is nearly full, spray water and shake the bag then tie it.

Store the bag in a shady spot so the leaves rot into a rich crumbly mixture which should be applied to the base of plants as mulch.

If you will be wanting the leaves to rot to such a level it can be added as soil compost leave the bag for a full year before using.

Deal with weeds the eco-friendly way!

It is quite easy to control most weeds when they are seen early enough and without the use of chemicals.

Mulch the borders in your garden with at least 3 inches of bark to prevent weeds from naturally colonizing.

Where there are large areas of bare soil – cover them using carpet, plastic or landscape fabric to stop weeds germinating in the spring.

Remove your annual weeds by hoeing or hand pulling out of the ground.

Use a hand fork to remove perennial weeds so you ensure all the bits of root are removed.

Use an old knife to scrape away weeds and moss from paving gaps.

Use a knife before you mow on tall and coarse grass.

Tread lawns with a feeding/weeding product where necessary.

The Groundforce presenter came up with top tips which will improve your environment by inviting more wildlife into your garden. Tips given will encourage the number of bats, birds frogs, hedgehogs, bumblebees and ladybirds into our gardens in her drive to improve more local communities in signing up to the campaign for the Environment Agency Action Earth.

Kirsty says:

“You might not think that by building a pond and encouraging frogs into a garden you are being eco-friendly but frogs are actually a non toxic alternative to using slug pellets. Volunteering to turn a disused space near you into a haven for wildlife, by planting wildflowers for bumble bees or making bat boxes can really boost the bio-diversity in your local area.”

There are 2 million people who are environmental volunteers each year and studies show that people who volunteer to do this are more likely to lose weight and in turn become less stressed.

Further independent research by the CSV has uncovered that 42% of people who volunteer for conservation projects claim it helped them shed pounds of weight whilst 61% said that volunteering had helped them in combating their stress.

Not everyone has room for a vegetable patch or allotment and not everyone has a garden, however, do not despair as vegetables and fruit can be grown in containers that take up little space and can thrive on windowsills, patios and balconies.

Containers should be used that will be large enough to house your plant when it is at full size. Some compact herbs thrive in small containers, although plants like mint will spread out and needs a bigger pot.

With a huge choice of salads, veg and fruits that can be grown includes strawberries to sweet peppers, aubergine and chillies plus many of the tumbling variety of tomatoes. The plants that are best for pot container growth are the ones that are compact and do not grow to a tall height such as Brussell Sprouts which can grow tall, be blown down easily and demands much water.

Some of the best plants to use in pots are potatoes, carrots and beetroot, with fruits it is apricots, figs and nectarines and even peaches. If you want to grow lettuce in a pot then go for the variety that requires pruning with taking off individual leaves rather than needing to cut the entire plant down.
There is a greater choice of plants open to you if you decide to grow them from seeds, although this requires more attention and it is far easier to grow a ready grown plant from a garden centre.