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@Selleri that was certainly a good try and deserves an honourable mention. However I had in mind Sheffield Forgemasters to celebrate 250-year anniversary

Personally I prick all seedlings out into those cell trays, the ones I don't are things like onions which I sow three or four seeds to each cell and plant out the whole cell when it comes to that time.I don't think you will find any hard and fast rules how you do things, people often find...

can confirm the teabag is plastic, not paper

I like the S shape, when planted around it will "disappear" to the left, creating a bit of discovery that is not immediately seen from the patio. Having the path on the side would make the maintenance of the centre bed difficult without stepping stones, unless you just want grass and nothing...

I agree that things look better in odd numbers but unless you've got a big garden you don't need three. One is an odd number and I think that's enough. Maybe if you've got two you could plant them separately from each other, then they would give a better look, like 'one' and then another 'one' ...

The variegated Pittosporum Elizabeth could work well - one of my neighbours has a very attractive hedge of this. I liked @Plantminded's suggestion of a flowering climber for the arch itself, too.

That one’s a good vibrant blue @Clare G, now on my list .

Thank you @On the Levels, those small irises really do have one of the best blues in the garden, shame they don’t last long .

Welcome G but for better advice enter the area you live in.

First bloom of 2026, Hibiscus Red Pagoda ...There s a Standrad Red and an April Yellow to open soon.

Landrace Gardening by Joseph Lofthouse is an interesting book about this kind of thing.

I think I poked them vertically into the compost. If I remember rightly they're quite big and easy to handle individually. If you have lots of seed you could try different ways and see what works for you.

One thing I would do if I was planning my garden anew is to put a paved path all around the outside, wide enough to stand a stepladder on or push a wheelbarrow. It provides safe access to the back of the borders for weeding and to hedges and fences for trimming. You think it is going to take up...