Soil in need of some love? Sow green manure in your garden and you’ll reap the benefits

Plants like lupins, ryegrass and field beans can help fix nitrogen in the soil, suppress weeds and increase biodiversity

I just removed a half-filled bottle of Lucozade from the euphorbia trough. It was left there by one of the scaffolders. “Are you sure that’s Lucozade?” ventured a visiting architect, which made me see the energy drink in a new light.

All of which is to say: the garden is a mess. But there’s a lot to be said for negligence; I returned from holiday to find a sunflower had appeared in the back corner.