Colin Evans

With most of the country underwater and summer feeling more like autumn, gardening seems a long way away and I am reluctant to wax too enthusiastic about getting out there and getting cracking.

It's a bit like living and working away in the tropics for a few months only to arrive home for a couple of weeks and finding the garden has been terribly neglected and you feel you need all the effort you can muster to sort it out again.

Flooding in a Woolhampton garden by Jenny Campbell

Well the good news is that as soon as you cut the grass, the whole garden will look as if it's had a makeover, and that's what will happen once this terrible weather and flooding comes to an end.

Within a week or so the garden will be back to looking like a garden again.

If you are in the unhappy position of a flooded garden, not to say a house, then the best policy is to leave well alone until the ground has dried out and then start the cleanup operation.

Just think, if we suddenly have an Indian summer, all this rain will have meant something and the garden will come back to being your little green haven after all, so keep smiling, things, I am assured can only get better.

Plant of the week: Sarcococca Confusa

Plant of the week

Most plants will brave the wind and rain but none better than Sarcococca 'Confusa'.

This dense evergreen shrub has dark green foliage and the most sweetly scented white flowers which are borne on the tips of the stems during December and January.

This delightful shrub will grow well in containers in multi purpose potting compost as well as in the open ground.

Little needs to be done to keep it looking at its best other than a light prune after flowering and making sure the roots are freely drained.

Planted with other evergreens, Sarcoccoca looks a real picture.

Make sure all tall plants are staked and that trees are secure. With strong winds and flooding, plants are suffering and will lose vigour if they are not secured.

Secure that garden fence

Check fence posts and panels and make repairs if necessary as unsecured panels and posts will fall over and damage plants as well as open up the garden to more damage as strong winds can penetrate the garden.

Aquilegia, aka Columbine

Aquilegia Columbine will have finished flowering in most gardens by now and the flower heads will be a dry and brown in colour.

This group of plants will almost anywhere and will fill the borders with a great mixture of colours during the late spring and early summer so maybe you want to increase your stock.

If so, they are so easy to propagate, especially if left to their own devices as they seed profusely.

If you want more control, shake the seeds onto pots of potting compost, lightly cover and place out of the way making sure the pots stay evenly damp then you will have many new plants to plant out once the seedlings reach the six leaf stage.

This colourful plant will make superb displays in pots and tubs also.

Tomatoes in a greenhouse

Don't let up on tomato feeding, they need this at least every third watering.

For best results keep an eye open for black spot and spray with a fungicide if spotted. Also make sure all unhealthy stems or leaves are removed and check that pots have not become waterlogged.