Pruning is carried out to shape the tree, to cut out diseased wood and to encourage fruit to form. But there is also work we can do now.

Young trees, which are growing vigorously, can be pruned now. This will encourage three or four new fruit-bearing branches to form closer to the centre of the tree than would otherwise have been the case.
The tree will be more compact and will be able to carry more fruit in a smaller space.

Pruning in summer will also help to create more fruit buds to form.
A growing shoot will send messenger chemicals back down the stem to boost shoot production. Without these chemicals – that is with the shoot removed – the plant will spend more energy producing fruit bud.

You can also reduce the flow of these messenger chemicals, called auxins, by tying branches down horizontally, (espalier training) or by pruning to encourage horizontal growth – growing trees as cordons.
We have all seen a massive influx of slugs and snails recently and it seems that many are harbouring under paving slabs.

It is often recommended to lay a slab on five pads of mortar. While this allows for adjustment as the slab goes down, it does make a lovely home for some notorious pests.

Step out onto the patio at night and see just how many are moving out from the accommodation they have found particularly, of course, around the edges.

If you are laying a patio yourself, consider laying the mortar in a rim around the edge of the slab, with one pad in the middle for support. This may take more in the way of sand and cement, but it may keep a few pests away from the cherished plants in pots residing there.

More bulbs will be in the garden centres soon, so here is a timely tip. These bulbs are displayed in the hot greenhouse environment that centres often create for their shops.

In summer these buildings can be quite warm and the bulbs can dry out. So buy them early and either store them cooler yourself or get them in the ground.

The bulbs packed in colourful packaging are probably the worst.
They have a polythene wrapper and although many bags have lots of perforations, it is better to bring them home and open the pack whenever you buy them.

Store them cool and dry if you are not going to plant them straight away.

'Winter' is not long enough

Here's a tip on buying hyacinths too. There are some that are prepared especially so that they think they have had a winter.
They shoot more quickly than those that have not been handled in this way. Sometimes you see them labelled up as "prepared" in early July, but they really won't have had long enough treatment to do the job properly.
As a rule, the bigger the bulb the larger the flower will be and the more it will cost. If you are planting into tubs and bowls, it will be worth going for the biggest and the best rather than choosing smaller and probably inferior bulbs of any one variety.
In the open ground where there are possibly larger quantities involved it may be that smaller bulbs of a variety will suffice.