LAST Friday, I managed to give our front lawn a cut for the first time. My problem, shared by many, I’m sure, was that under the protection of the hedge it is bright green and growing vigorously while out in the open it is still brownish and showing little sign of budging. Setting the height of cut at what I thought was a reasonable compromise height, I got the job done.

THERE it was, as bold as brass, louping out the page at me – the name of a very fine insecticide that is no longer available to gardeners, yet is widely available as an insect repellent. It was in that guise that I saw it in a catalogue – one of those travel, clothes and gadget-type publications that drop through the letterbox from time to time.

HAVE you ever wondered why, no matter how much you water, fertilise or weed your garden, your favourite plants just don’t grow?

LOOKING through the Beechgrove glasshouses the other day, I was struck by the number of different types of tomato being grown. At the last count we had seedlings coming on of about 20 different varieties. The reason is that my colleague Carole Baxter is going to take a look at some of the new kinds that are on offer, concentrating to a degree on bush types.

HERE we are, just into April and still battling the elements to get the spring work done. I know you have made a start because the questions have started to roll in. For instance:

THE season is being as unpredictable as it can be – warm, sunny spells followed by cold and rain, maybe with a wee dollop of the white stuff thrown in.

HOW many part-empty bags, cartons, bottles, skoosher bottles, sachets of chemicals, fertilisers, soil improvers, and so on, do you have knocking about in corners of the garage, shed or greenhouse right now? I certainly found a couple the other day. What do you do in the circumstances?

A PIONEERING Aberdeen recruitment company, Strategic Resources, has celebrated 20 years in business by planting 200 trees to create a haven encouraging local biodiversity at Inver, Aberdeenshire.