The two most popular types of onions are ordinary onions and bunching onions. Ordinary onions are bulbs that lie on or close to the surface of the soil and bear 18-inch high hollow rounded blue-green leaves.

Good cultivation of roses, as with every other plant, has very little to do with following advice from other people, or knowing what to do, how to do it, when, and what with – but why!

Celery and celeriac need an extremely rich moist soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Most home gardeners who grow celery buy 4 to 6-inch-tall seedlings; they can be planted when night temperatures are no longer likely to fall below 40 (lower temperatures make the plants send up inedible flower stalks instead of edible leafy stalks).

The bulbophyllums comprise a huge genus of upwards of 1,000 species, among which can be found some of the most extraordinary and outlandish flowers. The plants are extremely variable, ranging in size from tiny plants with little rounded, pea-size pseudobulbs (such as Bulbophyllum roxburgliii) to the giants such as B. Jletcherianunt, whose ungainly flowers resemble the gaping mouths of baby birds. This plant has leaves that hang down over 30cm (12in), resembling the old-fashioned razor strops. In between are literally hundreds of species and a very few hybrids, all with amazing flowers.

European plum (Prunus domestica), damson plum (P. domestica insititia), Japanese plum (P. salicina). There are plums that will grow in every state in the United States as well as in most of southern Canada. Nearly all are good for eating fresh and for canning as well as for making preserves; some varieties can also be dried as prunes.