For several years I had stored my vegetable and flower seeds in an old ice-cream box at the back of a cupboard. After all, the guidance on the back of seed packs is pretty vague. "Store in a cool, dry place." Is it any wonder that, like me, my fellow horticultural students took this to mean the garden shed, conservatory, airing cupboard, or under the kitchen sink? 

Why don't the seed companies write clear guidance? It doesn't have to be wordy. Here's my suggestion if they're really pushed for space: "Store in an air-tight container in the fridge." If they can stretch to an extra THREE words, then they could be really clear.  "Store in an air-tight container in the fridge, at a constant temperature."

Now, that's not hard, is it? After all, we've paid for this product, haven't we? Success is measured in germination rates as well as in the health, taste, and abundance of the plants we grow. So why don't the companies provide clear instructions on how to look after their products? 

To maintain dormancy and avoid using up reserves of energy, seeds need to be stored at a constant temperature below 5 degrees centigrade. They need to be kept dry, not moist, so they need to be stored in an air-tight container, like a glass jar or a close-fitting plastic container, with a silica gel pack added to absorb any moisture. 

They also need to be stored in the dark, so the seed envelope, and ideally the storage container, needs to exclude light. 

Kew, who run the Millenium Seed Bank Project, recommend glass jars over all other containers. Check out their advice for yourself.

You've probably seen those trendy enamelware boxes marketed for storing seed, selling at £20 plus. Forget them. They're not air-tight. In any case, you'd have to store that smart little metal box in your fridge, rather than displaying it proudly in your potting shed. 

Instead, buy a couple of glass jars with rubber-seal necks, or some decent lock-lid tupperware containers. Group your seeds however you choose - by season or by veg type, herb or flower - and store them in your fridge, at a constant temperature, excluding light. 

The online gardener
I often buy gardening items online. It's convenient and reliable, and although I often visit garden centres searching for plants and tools, I'm frequently disappointed by their narrow range of stock, leading me to turn online. Recently, though, I've had a few bad experiences shopping online that have changed my mind. 

Railway Sleepers
I bought 30 railway sleepers from a well-known online timber supplier, and paid in advance. I based my entire design for the Kitchen Garden around their advertised length of 2.6m. However, every sleeper that the company delivered was 2.5m, not 2.6m long. After much wrangling and chasing, they eventually exchanged some of them for sleepers that were... once again... 2.5m long. 

Fruit Trees
I also sourced some mulberries and apricot trees, which can be difficult to find, from what was meant to be a reputable specialist. When they arrived I was shocked to see how badly the trees had been packed. Many of the main stems were twisted and damaged. This particular nursery guarantees their plants "until the spring." However, I'll only see how the trees fare over the course of the summer and autumn, so the supposed "guarantee" is useless. My follow-up questions to them about how best to prune them were answered unintelligibly. Customer service is also not their strong-point.  

Buy local or ask for recommendations
All in all, a warning. If you have time to hunt around and buy locally then that's a good bet. If you can't find what you want and do need to buy online, then choose a company recommended by gardening pals. I'm happy to let you know the names of the companies that I'd recommend - as well as those I'd never buy from again.  

Although it's exceptionally wet at the moment, the temperature is not too cold to plant up next year's garden. If you are fortunate enough to have sandy or loamy soil you can plant now, while plants are dormant, and benefit from sales at garden centres or online nurseries. 

When we think about the garden, we often focus on spring colour and summer brilliance. I've come to appreciate, though, how important it is to plan for autumn and winter colour. These can be quiet months in the garden. So here are some of my favourite plants that add colour and interest during autumn in particular. 

Choisya ternata
Chief amongst them is Choisya ternata. This shrub is meant to favour full sun in a sheltered position. In Neats Home Garden it survives in fairly shaded spots, but is a little leggy as a result, so I've tried to revive it with some careful pruning. Choisya ternata flowers in late October, bearing small scented white blossoms, and can continue to do so for several more months.

Crocus kotschyanus
These bulbs are lovely and are a great choice for instant impact. I bought some of these from J Parkers Wholesale in late September, planted them in early October, and they flowered a few weeks later. The flowers are pale lilac and creamy white. I've planted mine at the front of a sunny border, but they also look lovely naturalised under trees.

Pyracantha and Cotoneaster
I used to turn up my nose at these shrubs. In London and other cities they're a common choice, mainly because they're tough, evergreen, and tolerate pollution. 

But recently I've come to value them for their colourful autumn and winter berries. They are perfect for a wildlife copse and for edging a boundary wall. They also mix well with other attractive evergreen shrubs like Ilex aquifolium and Taxus baccata. 

Local gardeners around us grow Pyracantha in espalier form in front of brick walls, and this image from Crocus shows how stunning they can look as a clipped hedge. So I've ditched my snobbery and embraced these enthusiastically - albeit with a thick pair of gloves!

I have been planting my second set of yew hedges around the Kitchen Garden. 

Yew, Taxus baccata, makes a lovely dark green dense hedge. It tolerates shade and sun, is tough once established, and bears bright red berries in autumn. Birds eat the non-toxic, gelatinous seed cover. Of course, yew does take time to grow, but since the years will pass no matter what I do, I'd rather plant a hedge I like. 

The Kitchen Garden already has a lovely old yew tree, shaped in a bush, which hides the potting shed and old greenhouses. It must have been planted thirty to forty years ago. The new yew hedges, which edge part of the Kitchen Garden, will introduce some evergreen colour and structure and will, in turn, hide the shed and compost bins. 

I've ordered my Taxus baccata, as well as most of my fruit trees, from Ashridge Nurseries. I like the them for several reasons. 
(1) You can call or email them and they give you helpful advice.
(2) You can pick and choose which week your plants are delivered in, which is helpful if you've got a lot on, and plan your planting time carefully. 
(3) Plants arrive well packed and cared for, and are guaranteed for one year.

And they really do guarantee them! Last winter, for example, I ordered and planted a lot of hedging and fruit trees from them. When one tree, a maiden plum, began to look unhappy, I emailed them some photos asking for advice. They identified the problem as probably being due to me failing to prune it during the summer, but still sent me a free replacement in this winter's order.

Top tip: if you have a dog, avoid using bonemeal as a base dressing!