In the garden this week: Net fruit bushes, plus gladioli times

Cast your nets As berries swell and ripen, you need to protect them from birds. It isn't pretty covering your bushes with netting, but if you don't you will get fat birds (which is nice) but nothing left for you (which is not). The ultimate protection is a fruit cage, but a bit of net flung over will do the job pretty well, too. Choose a fine-grade net or fleece, and anchor it to the ground with tent pegs or stones. You don't want holes or flapping bits where the birds might get stuck. Gladioli times The gladioli has a tendency towards the frilly and the froufrou, but lots are delicate and there is still time to plant them for late summer spires of colour. Gladiolus communis subsp . byzantinus has a delicate habit and cerise flowers. Similarly elegant, yet more modest of colour, are the white-flowered G . 'The Bride' and the muted pastel G. papilio . Plant bulbs now, 15cm deep and 15cm apart, water and wait.