Terraces, a Roman bust and 'hundreds' of pots remind this couple of the place they love.

Holidaymakers tend to return from Italy with a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, some red wine and a suntan, if they are lucky. But you might be so inspired by the gardens you see that you want to create a permanent memento.

This is what Grant Williams, 45, and his wife Sandy, 49, have done to the acre of south-facing land that slopes away sharply beneath their white painted Victorian house in the hamlet of Wollaston, close to the busy market town of Shrewsbury.
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Advances in breeding mean many plant varieties withstand pests and diseases better than ever

Once upon a time, a gardener had to be a defence line – armed and ready with a battery of pesticides in a never-ending war against slugs, bugs and disease. But not any more.

Thanks to advances in breeding, plants these days should pretty much defend themselves.

This suits the low-maintenance gardener, who doesn’t have the time for attacking aphids and the like, as well as the organically minded. To cater for both, plant breeders have been focusing on creating pest- and disease-resistant versions of popular plants.

Roses: these plants were once thought of as high-maintenance, but most of the varieties introduced in the past 10 years are less trouble. “In the early 1990s, we realised there wouldn’t be a future for the rose unless it could resist disease,” says Gareth Fryer of Fryer’s rose nursery in Cheshire. “People were so sick of black spot, they weren’t buying roses, so all the breeders had to make health their priority.”
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’Tis the season when everyone gets the urge to plant. And if you choose to grow vegetables, there’s no need to relegate them to a far corner of your yard, where they are sure to suffer neglect.

A vegetable garden need not be an eyesore. It can be an oasis of beauty, pleasing your eyes as much as your palate.

Just visit or find a picture of Villandry, the famous French potager (“kitchen garden”) near Tours, France, with its patterns of geometric beds filled with growing vegetables. Some beds are bordered with low boxwood hedges — 19 miles of them — and the whole garden is interlaced with white, gravel paths.

In fact, call your vegetable plot a “potager” and right away you might find it more charming.
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Ladies and gentlemen – Elvis has leafed the building.

A topiary tribute to The King has appeared on The Dolphin pub in Dominion Road, Worthing.

The 8ft leafy lookalike was designed by the pub's landlord and Elvis fan, David Stocken, in a cheeky bid to thwart council planners.
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The video below gives an excellent quick introduction to hedging.