All this rain has meant that the leaves we packed into jute leaf sacks in the autumn have composted faster than normal.  In a couple of months they will be ready to spread on the bare ground to stop it being battered too much throughout the winter.  Then it will be time to sweep up more leaves!

The National Bumblebee Nest Survey has confirmed that bumblebees like a bit of mess in a garden. They also like compost heaps, so if you haven't got one yet now is the time to build one.  Once you have the right timber you can easily make on in an afternoon.

For those of you with an eye for the bees, you may thinik this looks like the rare ruderal bumblebee (Bombus ruderatus).  It is infact a male of a rare colour form of the field cuckoo bumblebee (Bombus campestris).  This species attacks the nests of the common carder bumblebee, killing the queen and enslaving the workers.  Thanks to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust for putting me right on this (www.bumblebeeconservationtrust.co.uk).

We have had terrible problems with germination this year.  Despite above average temperatures and buckets of rain, very few seeds have germinated well.  The potatoes have loved it and we are now eating our best ever crop of charlottes, but the peas and beans have been poor.

Which is why it is such relief to see the blauhilde beans finally clambering up their poles and the dwarf beans in full flower.  They should be at their best just as we go on holiday!

Last summer I sowed a packet of love-in-the-mist so that the goldfinches would have plenty of nigella seeds to eat in the autumn.  They did and I'm sure there were more goldfinches in the garden as a result.

They didn't eat all the seeds though as we have had a similar display this year from self-seeded plants.  There may come a time when I will regret sowing something that self-seeds so readily, but for now its wonderful to have such a vivid display (for free) that is so popular with one of my favourite garden birds.

If you don't have space for love-in-the-mist, you could try dangling a bird seed sunflower.  This is a natural sunflower with a mixed seed back which is an excellent year round source of protein for garden birds.  The seed mix includes nigella.

A few months ago we laid a sedum roof on our warehouse.  After a shaky start when the grass appeared to be winning, it is now a blaze of yellows, whites and pinks. 

If you have a flat or pitched felt roof, adding a blanket of sedum is a great way to add a bit of colour and to help the environment.  If you don't have a suitable roof, but you fancy a bit of sedum, you could try a sedum birdbox.  This is a classic birdbox made from pine offcuts, with a roof tray filled with the same sedum plants we have on our roof.  And its just as beautiful.

If all this rain wasn't bad enough, the weeds are now growing at such a rate its like that game we play with the kids, 'Whats the time Mr Woolf?'.  The idea is to creep up on the woolf while he has his back turned.  If when he turns round he sees you move you're out.  I swear that when I turn my back the weeds are on the move and that its only when I'm staring at them that they stop growing.

At least they are easy to pull up from the soft ground.  With the weeds growing so fast I have been leaving a recycled tyre trug permanently out in the vegetable garden so that whenever I'm passing I can sling a few in. It feels like a losing battle though.

I don't always grow onions as I don't think you can taste the difference between home grown ones and supermarket ones.  But this year I put some Demeter sets in in the autumn and they have been a big success.  They probably won't taste any different, but they have provided interest all through the winter and with very little effort have survived everything the heavens have thrown at them. 

I'm looking forward to trying a few thin slices on top of a tomato salad, but with so little sun around it could be green tomoto chutney where they'll end up!