They say the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago - but then, at my age, so was everything else. I wish I had planted some trees then because I don't expect to see in full size the ones I've been planting in recent weeks and months.
Costa Georgiadis, the presenter of "Gardening Australia" which we watch every Friday night, started growing a beard some twenty-four years ago. We wish he hadn't because it looks revolting. At least, he could give it a bit of a trim with his gardening secateurs or, better still, with a hedge trimmer. It's an "essential spring gardening job", as far as I'm concerned.
My own gardening is more of the 'plant-and-forget' variety, and there's nothing better for our hot, harsh summers than the Red Hot Poker, an incredibly hardy plant from South Africa. Look it up on Google.
