Planting

The right plant in the right place needs very little help. Most of the work in planting is choosing well, then giving roots a good start in the first year.

Know your soil

Squeeze a handful of damp soil. If it forms a sticky ball that holds its shape, it is clay: rich but slow to drain and slow to warm in spring. If it falls apart and feels gritty, it is sandy: free-draining but hungry. A cheap pH test kit tells you whether acid-lovers such as rhododendrons and camellias will thrive or sulk.

Planting well

Dig a hole wider rather than deeper than the pot, loosen circling roots, and set the plant at the depth it grew in the pot. Water thoroughly after planting and keep watering through the first dry spell, even for plants sold as drought tolerant. Autumn and early spring are the best times for shrubs and perennials, when the soil is moist and warm enough for roots to grow.

Feeding without overdoing it

Most established borders need little more than an annual mulch of garden compost or well-rotted manure. Hungry crops such as tomatoes, container displays and fast-growing annuals benefit from a liquid feed through the growing season. More feed is not better: excess nitrogen gives soft, sappy growth that attracts aphids.

Year-round interest

Plan for four seasons rather than one big June show. Early bulbs, spring blossom, summer perennials, autumn grasses and seed heads, and winter stems and evergreens keep a border worth looking at in every month.