Tomatoes are easy to grow from seed and March is a good time to start germinating plants. All you need are some clean pots and suitable compost, and select some favourite varieties.

Always start the tomato seeds growing in a small pot and fill with compost. An important tip is to shake and gently press down on the compost to make sure the pot is nicely full without any air pockets. If there are gaps in the compost the young root will grow into a space and this could cause it to die off because there is no food or water in a gap.

Place a couple of seeds per pot, sprinkle with compost and spray to moist gently but too wet. Tomatoes  seeds need warmth to germinate, best to place in a conservatory or window sill. If I am germinating early in the season and it is still cold even in a conservatory I often use a  heated propagator mat just to set off germination. Seedlings need to be covered in a propagator or makeshift by using a poly bag secured tight with elastic band.

As soon as the tomato seedling has emerged properly move off the heat and out of the propagator. If the seedling is left too long in a propagator it will look like the one in the first image, Leggy. This is because the atmosphere in the propagator is warm and  humid which is ok to start germination, but not good growing conditions the seedling gets sappy and leggy. This can happen if you are just busy and don't check the propagator and the seedlings are in too long. Don't despair, separate the seedlings as in image two and then pot up the seedling into a pot on it's own and plant it deeper so less of the leggy shoot is above ground and it will be fine.

When growing the seedlings on they can also become leggy if the light source is all from one side common on a window sill. It is very important to turn the plant regularly to keep it growing straight.

Tomatoes are very vigorous and seed easily. Pot them on several times into large pots before planting into last container for the summer. Do not be tempted to put into a large pot quickly as the plant will not thrive it is important just to move up in pot size as the plant grows.

There are lots of tips on growing tomatoes from seeds on the tomato page including a video on how to pot on Tomatoes and removing side shoots from tomatoes

This image shows how easy tomato seeds are to germinate. I spotted this tomato plant growing out of a city centre pavement, in a crevice where there was a little soil. Looks as if someone had abandoned part of a sandwich with tomato seeds in it and come the summer the seed germinated and was growing quite well, although without the necessary attention fruiting would be sparse but it just goes to show how vigorous tomatoes are and easy to germinate.

February is nearly out and the Wisteria is still waiting for a prune. It is a job I really dislike, mainly because it has now grown as high as the upstairs windows, which has taken about 7 years, and I hate going that far up a ladder. Driven by the knowledge it needs pruning to flower, I decided to give it a go. It’s now half pruned, the freezing cold and wind decided to develop snow showers, and enough is enough. Cannot prune if cannot feel fingers....

Still spring is around the corner and I am thinking of plants for the summer. Three annual climbers I love and will be growing;  Cobaea scandens for its unusual flowers and you can see from the image left why it is called the Cup and Saucer plant; Ipomoea, common name 'morning glory' great flowers but germinate early as it needs a growth to flower; and Sweet peas for their lovely colours and perfume and check out the best scented sweet peas.

I am looking for scented annuals, a few heliotropes for the vanilla scent and this year I am going to try Heliotropium Scentropia Dark Blue (Helioblue) and H. Scentropia Silver (‘Heliosil). In previous years I have been disappointed by Nicotiana, it never seems to carry any scent. The RHS recommends growing N.sylvestris and there is a new, apparently scented, Nicotiana alata.

I also sow a few Nasturtiums just because I don’t seem to be able to get through a summer without them. I think Nasturtiums look great trailing through lavender and/or Nepeta, Cat mint.

There are also a number of scented Begonia and Petunia, it is important to check the descriptions carefully as none will be scented unless described as such. Often there is a huge array of annuals for summer colour, and garden centres and on line retailers are all vying for our money.

For 2015, I am planning on the annuals above which are mostly scented, and wildflowers.  I love to grow wild flower and don’t be put off by the complexity of making a wildflower meadow, which is hard work, settle for a wildflower patch, which is really easy anyone can do it. Find out how tips on making a wildflower patch.

Prune it!

The way to make a Wisteria flower is to prune it, and always buy a wisteria plant when in flower. Advise on how to make your wisteria flower

If you buy a Wisteria which is already in flower. then you know if can flower, the task will be to make it flower next year.

The way to make Wisteria flower is by pruning it twice per year. The winter prune around now in Feb/early March and  prune again in late summer.  The summer prune takes off the leafy and long growth to divert the plant's energies from growth to flower buds. In the winter prune, the summer shoots are cut back further to a few flower buds.

Follow a two stage pruning routine and you will be rewarded by a lovely Wisteria with the scented flowers,  which make all the effort worthwhile.

The regime for pruning Wisteria is not straight forward and I list it as  red wheel barrow plant, indicating it is time consuming to grow and a bit tricky. On the How to Grow Wisteria pages there is a lot more information about caring for and pruning Wisteria including Video on pruning.

I am keen on a wildlife friendly garden. Over the years it is clear to me that if you provide what the wildlife want, food, shelter, and water they visit your garden in abundance. Year on year the numbers of bees, butterflies, birds, dragonflies, insects and moths increases as the garden provides more and more what the wildlife like.

Consciously adding into the garden plants which attract bees does make a difference and we all now know, we need bees. Providing food, shrubs with berries and shelter brings in a diversity of birds and a garden pond is a wildlife magnet.

If you are looking for inspiration for plants to grow this season  why not consider spring flowering plants attractive to bees and also for the summer,  a simply and easy way to create a wildflower patch.