Weekend work: Time to pinch out cordon fruit trees

WHAT TO DO

* Cordon fruit trees, such as espaliers and fans, have a habit of throwing out shoots where you don't want them. Pinch out any that are pointing towards the wall or that are too close together.

* Check for greenfly on roses and other known resting places. Ladybirds are now active, so if you spray, use one specifically designed for aphids.

* Sow Shirley poppies, morning glory, love-in-a-mist, night-scented stock, eschscholzia, clarkia and cornflower outside where they are to flower. Rake the soil carefully to make a fine tilth and firm it with the back of a rake before sowing. Cover very lightly with earth.

WHAT TO SEE

* The summer issue of the superb quarterly 'Hortus' is published this week, an urban issue with the focus on London, Paris, Istanbul, Havana and New York. A year's subscription costs £38 (plus £2 postage). To organise a subscription go to hortus.co.uk.