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Gardening tips: read up on how to bring nature into your home

<span>Photograph: Alamy</span>
Photograph: Alamy

Read this Biophilia: You + Nature + Home (Kyle Books, £14.99) will strike a chord for anyone stuck indoors right now. Designer Sally Coulthard shows you how to lift your mood by bringing plants, flowers and other aspects of nature into the home.

Plant this The sound of a bee fossicking about in the bell-like flowers of honeywort (Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’) is one of the most delightful of early summer. This hardy annual will seed itself about in full sun and come back every year with no effort from you. It’s a bit late for seed sowing, but give it a go if you can get hold of some (try Chiltern Seeds) or buy as plug plants.

Sow this The canny gardener doesn’t stop sowing seeds come June – now is the time to sow basil, courgettes, squash, peas, beetroots and salad leaves in a sheltered spot outside. Apply the biological control Nemaslug in advance of sowing to protect precious seedlings from slugs without harming pets or wildlife.