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Derry Watkins, renowned plantswoman and nursery owner, loves to grow whatever she can from seed. She is always trying out new and unusual plants and would urge all gardeners to have a go at growing something new this spring. Here are some of her recommendations:

Agrostemma githago ‘Ocean Pearl’ – an extra big, white corncockle with fine stippled tan lines down the centre of each petal, like little whiskers, to emphasize the whiteness of the petal. It is rather gangly in habit and so needs to be grown amongst shorter plants to help hide its legs.

Ammi ‘Black Knight’ - really a carrot, so should be called Daucus carota ‘Black Knight’, but was introduced as an Ammi and has the same airy effect. Great big platters of tiny grey-purple flowers, a subtle misty colour. Should be biennial but it usually takes only two months to flower.

Lunaria annua ‘Corfu Blue’ - a relatively perennial honesty. Most are biennial, but this one resprouts from the base and usually blooms for two or three years. It usually blooms in March and April, but in Derry’s experience can also flower in the middle of summer and even November! The flowers are a softer, bluer form of purple than the more familiar honesty.

Matthiola fruticulosa ssp perennis ‘A±ô²ú²¹â€™ - the most fragrant plant Derry grows. Brilliant white flowers on a low mound of grey.

Papaver somniferum ‘Lauren’s Grape’ – an opium poppy with deep purple flowers, a spectacular colour against its pale grey foliage. If you only grow one variety, it will self-sow true for years and years.

Viola corsica – a perennial violet for sunny, dry spots. Self-sows and blooms from April through to October making drifts of a wonderful soft blue.

Now that the weather is beginning to warm up, this is your last chance to prune your shrub roses. Remove any damaged or crossing stems and cut back hard any weak shoots. The main framework of the plant should only be trimmed back by a third. The biggest mistake with shrub roses is to overprune.

(www.rhs.org.uk)

As the flowers start to fade, it’s a good time to lift and divide snowdrops. With a trowel or spade, gently lift a clump of bulbs and carefully divide into smaller clumps and spread around your garden. It’s worth giving them a good drink too.

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It’s time to give your pond a quick spring clean. Using a net, simply scoop out any winter debris such as fallen leaves that have accumulated in the water, along with any duckweed. If you already have frog spawn, gently move around it, but do this job before the pond is filled with tadpoles. Leave any debris or weed you remove by the side of the pond for a couple of days to allow any creatures to crawl back in before taking to the compost heap.

(www.rhs.org.uk)