Bad knees foster a new intimacy with my garden | Allan Jenkins

Lying on the ground to weed proves more rewarding than it sounds

By the time you read this I will be in hospital. Or maybe on my way home. Recovering – I hope – from an operation I have been postponing for years. I am from a generation – or at least an inclination – averse to surgery if you can cope with pain.

It’s my fault, an old knee injury from my early 20s that has lain dormant for decades. Then it returned and it’s been insistent. I stopped walking to work, my early morning strolling along the canal. It started messing with my gardening, too – kneeling can feel crucial for weeding and sowing seed.

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How to deal with noisy neighbours Nottingham Estate Agents

It might be a yapping dog, loud music or an all-night party. Whatever the origin of the noise, the decibel level can be both disturbing and distressing. But what can you do about it? OnTheMarket.com offers tips for dealing with noisy neighbours Most homeowners and tenants are confronted with the dilemma of noisy neighbours at […]

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Let the sunshine in: a designer dream home in the West Country

The clever design solutions in this elegant newbuild make it as easy on energy bills as it is on the eye

Why do people have walls, for heaven’s sake?” says Mary Morris as we stand in the light-saturated hallway of Blackwood, her bespoke energy-efficient home in Barbury, Wiltshire. Commissioned by Morris and her partner Klaus Failenschmid, Blackwood does have a few solid walls but, wherever possible, stretches of glass let natural light flood in, as well as passive solar gain (heat) and an immeasurable sense of space.

In fact, Blackwood is all about borrowed light. Why flic k a switch when you can get it for free? This is not only ecologically sound but, as Failenschmid puts it: “It is more in tune with how your rhythms should work.” Light when it’s light, and dark when it’s dark. “We don’t like to use electric lights when we can borrow from daylight,” he says. At dawn, ambient light illuminates his way downstairs and into the kitchen to put the coffee on.

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Let the sunshine in: a designer dream home in the West Country

The clever design solutions in this elegant newbuild make it as easy on energy bills as it is on the eye

Why do people have walls, for heaven’s sake?” says Mary Morris as we stand in the light-saturated hallway of Blackwood, her bespoke energy-efficient home in Barbury, Wiltshire. Commissioned by Morris and her partner Klaus Failenschmid, Blackwood does have a few solid walls but, wherever possible, stretches of glass let natural light flood in, as well as passive solar gain (heat) and an immeasurable sense of space.

In fact, Blackwood is all about borrowed light. Why flic k a switch when you can get it for free? This is not only ecologically sound but, as Failenschmid puts it: “It is more in tune with how your rhythms should work.” Light when it’s light, and dark when it’s dark. “We don’t like to use electric lights when we can borrow from daylight,” he says. At dawn, ambient light illuminates his way downstairs and into the kitchen to put the coffee on.

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How to kill winter aphids and mealybugs | Alys Fowler

Winter is often rife with indoor pests and the central heating makes for boomtown for small suckers

My winter houseguests – the citrus trees, chillies and numerous other tender things that have to come in from the cold – have snuck in some unwanted extras: aphids and mealybugs.

Winter is often rife with indoor pests; the natural predators, ladybird and hoverfly larvae that might find their way in through an open window in summer, are deep in winter slumber, and the central heating makes for boomtown for small suckers.

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Gardening tips: plant midland hawthorn

Plus provide water for wildlife and visit Stowe Gardens

Plant this Make the most of tree-planting season to add a native species to your garden. The midland hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata ‘Paul’s Scarlet’ , is unfussy about growing conditions, reaching 5-8m each way once mature. It is smothered in double dark pink blossom in spring, followed by red haws.

Try this Providing water for wildlife during the cold season is just as important as food, so clean out bird baths and refill on icy days. If you have a pond that freezes over, don’t be tempted to crack the ice but instead place a pan of hot water on top of the ice until it melts a hole.

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Gardens: weeds to love and loathe

Though some weeds should be avoided, others are beautiful and attract bees and butterflies. All you need to do is choose wisely

Years ago, on my allotment, a tiny weed appeared among my beans. Out of intrigue, empathy – whatever the reason, I left it to see what it would become. A year later I had forgotten about it, buried beneath other weeds. Then, one dusk, there it was, a glowing white spire with the sun setting behind it: Digitalis purpurea subsp. albiflora, the less common form of Europe’s native foxglove. It ignited a weedy epiphany: what if these plants, seen as problems to be evicted, are a source of easy beauty in our gardens?

Since childhood I’ve felt a connection with weeds. Behind our family’s cottage garden in Buckinghamshire, I used to run through forests of giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), understanding its sap was dangerous. I swung from vines of wild Clematis alba and stomped over ivy (Hedera helix). I fed dandelions with fertiliser to grow bigger flowers. From buttercups to daisies, weeds are probably the first flowers most of us know.

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