Expert advises gardeners on growing

A top gardening expert has dispensed winter tips for the garden and greenhouse in a national daily paper.

Jekka McVicar is president of the West of England Herb Group and a member of the Royal Horticultural Society Council.

The 13-time Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner wrote in the Daily Mail that now is a great time to order the seeds required for the rest of the year.

For gardeners who fancy growing vegetables or other food in their garden or greenhouse she advised restraint.

"Sow what you will eat, not what you think you would like to eat," she said, suggesting that some gardeners can get over-ambitious.

Attracting bees to a the garden will also help it flourish and Ms McVicar wrote that blue flowering plants such as borage are ideal for doing so.

Greenhouse owners with intentions of growing their own veg will be looking forward to harvesting all types of food.

Peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers are among the popular vegetables grown in greenhouses around the country.