THE gardeners at Pollok Country Park have joined the Evening Times to share their green-fingered expertise with our readers. Each week, one of the experts will give you advice on every aspect of gardening. To kick off the series, horticultural supervisor Jim Rae writes about seasonal bedding...

THIS is the time of year when you should be looking to plant out your summer bedding plants.

And that applies to gardeners everywhere, whether it's a large formal display like those in Pollok Park, an informal pocket of colour offering a temporary lift to an empty or dull spot in your garden or in containers for your patio or balcony.

Plants readily available for use in your garden include geraniums, marigolds, impatiens, petunias and lobelia. Prepare the ground by first removing all spent plant material, weeds, etc, then forking it over, incorporating a general fertiliser at 50 grammes per square metre.

Rake level, ready for planting. Then randomly plant out the area with your choice of plants, leaving 25cm between larger plants and 15cm between the smaller varieties.

As the growth begins to come on, it's also the ideal time to offer support to the hardy annuals and herbaceous plants in your garden.

Birch twigs are perfect for supporting annuals. Cut the branches to the expected height of the plant and trim the lower third, allowing it to be pushed into the soil, which in turn will allow the plant to entwine itself around the branch, hiding it from sight.

For larger plants, use bamboo canes or stakes. Place them around the perimeter of the plant, and tie gardening twine around them at various heights to aid support.

As far as vegetable gardens go, you should be thinking of growing your swedes.

Remember that although they're a root crop, they should be planted alongside your cabbages and sprouts as they're part of the same Brassicas family.

Your potato crop, if you have one, should be well through the ground by now and will need to he hoed up for a second time.

With your draw hoe, take the soil from between the rows and pull it up over the shaws, thus encouraging the production of tubers.

Pumpkins, squashes and marrows that have been reared in the glasshouse will be ready for planting out. The area will have been prepared earlier in the year with the incorporation of farmyard manure.

Where each plant is going to be placed, dig a hollow and place a bucketful of farmyard manure or well-rotted compost. Cover with the soil you removed, and plant into it.

Wait and see the results: you will be amazed! EVENTS Wildlife Heritage Day & Wildlife Quest, tomorrow, 11am-3pm, Provan Hall, Easterhouse Heritage walk, Friday June 5, 1.30pm-3pm, Pollok Country Park, Riverside Car Park TIP OF THE WEEK

The more you use your hoe throughout the garden to aeriate the soil, the less chance of weeds developing. Do this even when there are no weeds to be seen. GOT A QUERY?

If you have any gardening queries, or any garden or flower-related events to publicise, email us at news@eveningtimes.co.uk, or write to Gardener's Column, Evening Times Newsdesk, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow G2 3QB. We'll pass your questions on to the experts at Pollok Park. NEXT WEEK

Stephen Burns gives his advice on turf and lawn care.