Gardening: This week

1 The lettuce in your garden will probably have bolted in the hot weather of the last few weeks. There is time for one more sowing of lettuce for autumn picking. Sow in the cool of the day, watering the soil well first

1 Cabbage White butterflies are all over my garden at the moment, with their dark grey and yellow caterpillars destroying my nasturtiums, verbascums and red cabbage plants. If you only have a few, pick them off and stamp on them. If you have a major infestation use biological control. Order Dipel, a bacillus that causes stomach poisoning and the death of nearly all caterpillars. It arrives by post, with detailed instructions about application, from Green Gardener (01603 715096)

1 Hardy annuals like Californian poppies, (Eschseholzia) and cornflowers are beginning to look pretty ropey. Take them out, giving them a good shake upside- down over the front of the flower bed as you do. This releases their seed for next year's plants

1 Annual borders that are now looking spectacular include Nymans Garden, Handcross, Haywards Heath, West Sussex (01444 400321) and The Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row, Edinburgh (0131 5527171)