This weather is very challenging for gardeners. The warmer spell, and the overfull green house, tempted me to plant out Ipomoea common name morning glory .

Sunday cold wet and windy making it feel very chilly.   I was forced to emergency measures and wrapped the plant in fleece. I have planted several in a container at the foot of a Wisteria so it can climb now the Wisteria has finished flowering. Hopefully it will scramble it's way up the wisteria for the summer, if summer ever gets going. So don't pack your fleece way who knows what's coming next. The photo on the left was taken a few years ago and the garden is covered with hail just after planting bedding plants. It's comforting to know that the weather, although in some ways unreliable, follows difficult patterns on a regular basis.

On a completely different note a tip in relation to plant ties. There are loads on the market. Sold everyhere is the green wire tape which  I find always gets tangled, string is OK but really good, and surprisingly strong, is raffia which you can buy from craft places and often these are in garden centres. It makes great ties, doesn't look unsightly and will not cut into the plant. It's also cheap and degrades well which many garden ties don't so you are endlessly picking them up and out of the compost. For advice on how not to tie in a plant check out garden tips