Buying plants
Where to shop
Garden centres are the department stores of the gardening world, stocking everything from plants to outdoor furniture.
Nurseries are often run by plant enthusiasts who specialise in a particular group of plants. They can be a great place to get specialist advice.
Mail order and online is an increasingly easy way to buy plants and they are delivered straight to your home. However, remember you cannot check the condition of the plants before you buy them.

Colour
Begin by choosing your main base colour from the colour wheel. This might be a colour you particularly like. Most people are always drawn to a certain colour. Look around you, what colour do you wear the most? Is there a colour that you'd love to wear but doesn' t suit you that you'd love on your walls instead?
It is rare we get a total free rein or start with a totally blank slate, the base colour might be dictated by something you're stuck with such as a grey carpet or an avocado bathroom suite. However, this doesn't have to hold you back. Use the colour wheel to look at what colours go with this colour and decide whether to go for a tonal, harmonious, or complementary scheme.

Painting II
If using a rollerIf using a roller: pour the paint into your roller tray to a depth of about 25 mm (1 in). Run the roller down the slope of the tray and into the paint, then roll it up and down the slope to load the sleeve evenly.
Apply in different directions: Roll the paint on to the wall or ceiling in two or three parallel bands at a time, then work the roller across the area.
Repeat: Finish by rolling in the original direction. Reload the sleeve whenever it begins to run dry. You won't be able to paint right into internal corners with a roller; go as close as you can, then touch in the edge strips with a paintbrush.
If using paint pads: Pour about 12mm (1/2in) of paint into the loading tray. Hold the pad parallel to the surface of the paint and dip it in. Squeeze out the excess paint. Start painting, drawing the pad over the sureface in touching parallel bands.
Blend: Then draw it lightly across the bands to blend them together and finish off with light strokes in the original direction. That is all there is to it. As with rollers, you might need to use a smaller pad or a paintbrush to touch in the edges of the area.

Tools you will need:
paint brush, emulsion paint, paint roller and roller tray, stick or spoon, paint pads, pad-rolling tray
The paint
Dust the top of the paint container, then prise off the lid. Stir the paint if there is any clear liquid on the surface, and leave it to stand for an hour if it is a non-drip type so that it can turn back into a jelly.
Access equipment
Then set up your access equipment. If you are painting a whole room, do the ceiling first.
If using a brush: dip it into the paint to about half the bristle depth and scrape off any excess by wiping it against the inside edge of the container.
Apply evenly
Brush the paint on in parallel strips first; then brush across the strips in the same direction to blend them together. Finish off with light brush strokes in the original direction.
Repeat
Reload the brush and repeat the process, completing a strip of wall or ceiling about 300 mm (12 in) wide at a time before starting the next strip.
Be sytematic
On walls, start in the top right-hand corner if you are right-handed, and the left-hand corner if you are left-handed. On ceilings, start above the main window.

Clearing the site

• Clear the ground of weeds in advance.
• Fork over the soil two or three weeks before sowing to encourage the weed seeds in the soil to germinate. They can then be hoed off before sowing crops.
• Remove the first flush of weeds. This will mean seedlings won't be competing with weeds for light, water and space.

Preparing the seedbed

• Choose a day when the soil is dry enough not to stick to your boots. If it has not been settled by rain, tread over the area to firm it down.
• Scatter a general-purpose fertiliser over the soil and rake until the ground is level, removing any large stones or debris. This produces the ideal surface for sowing.
• Add plenty of organic matter such as compost.

Grow salad plants
On a poor site, especially one that tends towards being sandy or dry, you're unlikely to get a good crop.
Even with a good site it's worth adding well-rotted manure or garden compost to add nutrients and increase the soil's ability to retain moisture.
A sunny or partially shaded site, with soil that is moisture-retentive and rich in organic matter, offers the best conditions for summer salad crops.
Don't restrict lettuces to the vegetable plot. Lettuces with frilly, ornately shaped or beautifully coloured leaves can be grown ornamentally in other parts of the garden. Use them as border edging or simply dotted in among other plants.

Salads crops are easy to grow yourself, and can be fitted into even the smallest of gardens. Once you've tasted a lettuce straight from the garden you'll never want to buy one again.
There is an increasing range of mixed salad leaves in the supermarkets but they are expensive and, because they are washed and ready to eat, they have a short lifespan in the fridge. If you grow your own, however, you can pick the exact quantity and combination of flavours and colours that you want for each meal. Also, you can be sure that they are pesticide free.

Grow tomatoes
Home-grown tomatoes are easy to grow. All they need is an open, sunny spot in the garden, and in return you will get a good supply of tomatoes throughout the summer.
Once you have chosen which varieties to grow, raising the plants is simple: sow the seeds in a pot and in about eight weeks the seedlings will be large enough to plant out. By mid-summer the first sun-ripened fruits arrive and they continue throughout the summer.
Start your tomatoes off by sowing seeds in a pot or seed tray towards the end of April. Leaving them to germinate on a windowsill or somewhere that is warm and frost-free.

Tips for success
Seeds should be sown six to eight weeks before the last frosts are expected.
Clearly label the seed pots with the variety name and the date of sowing.
Tomato seeds germinate best at 15°C to 20°C (59°F to 68°F). A windowsill is ideal.
Before planting out, harden off the plants by placing them outside during the day for a few weeks.