THERE is only one plant which can choose its position and — luckily – the Triffid is fantasy.

In our world, not John Wyndham’s, position is key to plants’ ability to flourish and not be a huge nuisance. It’s obviously the gardener’s choice to pick the right plant.

Magnolia have burst out all over beautifully this year, highlighted by weather presenter Carol Kirkwood clasping two huge tulip-shaped Soulangeana blooms and sporting Stellata as a more dainty decoration.

Stellata and Soulangeana are great choices because both can be vigorously pruned to suit the smaller garden or Souleangeana can be allowed to grow into something like the magnificent 80 year old at RHS Wisley.

Soulangeana comes in white, pink or deep purple and, like its smaller flowered cousins, should be pruned in midsummer when in full leaf.

Most deciduous trees, like the London planes on Ryde Esplanade should be pruned while dormant.

The pollarding of these is essential in their roadside location and while the drastic haircut looks grim the trees will quickly recover, as has many times been said.

Pruning them, though, is always a source of controversy.

Just across the way, on the central reservation, the exotic Canary palms cannot be pruned, as such, with only the removal of lower leaves stopping them scraping traffic.

One definitely to be avoided — unless you have plenty of space — is the monkey puzzle tree.

Only young monkey puzzles respond well to being cut back to older wood, so if you like rooms with a view avoid monkeying around unless you have a BIG space.

Top Tips

  • Spray the new leaves of disease-prone roses with fungicide to control disease.
  • Prune hydrangeas, cutting back the old stems to a healthy shoot lower down.
  • Continue deadheading spring bulbs and bedding, They won’t then waste energy setting seed.
  • Sow hardy annuals as well as native wildflowers, into gaps in borders, or create a mini-meadow.
  • Enjoy instant colour by planting primulas and polyanthus in pots, hanging baskets and at the front of borders.
  • Protect the new shoots of hostas, delphiniums, lupins and other vulnerable plants from slugs and snails.
  • Plant pineapple lily (eucomis) bulbs in pots for exotic-looking flowers in summer.
  • Sow sweet peas at the base of supports, and transplant those sown in autumn into their final positions. They will probably need tying-on in all but very sheltered positions.
  • Reinvigorate mature clumps of hardy perennials, such as hostas, asters and daylilies, by dividing and replanting. Snowdrop clumps can be split and re-planted ‘in the green’.