(within two to six weeks) you can pot the seed in a small planter with rich, peat free compost.With careful pruning and repotting for growth, your avocado plant can grow as tall as 20m high.It may not bear fruit within the first ten years – or ever – so

Standing proud in a sprawling 600 acre site, Westonbirt Arboretum is home to one of the worlds finest collections of trees and shrubs, or as we like to think of them, V.I.T’s (very important trees)Many rare and exotic species from every corner

If you need a break somewhere far-flung and exotic (but without all the travelling, packing and expense), then go for a sensory adventure instead. The perfect place to do this is in the greenhouse network at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

1. Porthcurno, Cornwall With dramatic rock formations on either side, white sand, turquoise sea and exotic plant life, this narrow strip of land couldn’t be more striking. There is a car park just beyond the sands, and on the cliff tops

Holiday closer to home There are plenty of places to holiday in the UK that offer you the chance to make a much smaller carbon footprint than you would catching the plane to a far-flung destination. What’s more, you can opt for increasingly exotic

on what to pick and tell stories about the history of our native plants. Leicester Belgrave MelaJuly 15A celebration of Leicester’s diverse South Asian communities, this annual festival is a feast for the senses with family art activities, live music

performances will be on the programme, with an emphasis on global diversity as well as an array of exotic eats. Aberaeron Seafood FestivalJuly 8Visit Aberearon Harbour on Cardigan Bay coast for this fantastic seafood festival. Your child can observe local chefs

and game drives on safari only work if children are guaranteed to see the animals at close range. An adventure holiday doesn’t have to be exotic, it could just as well be a camping trip to France. Here are our long-haul suggestions with an alternative

and game drives on safari only work if children are guaranteed to see the animals at close range. An adventure holiday doesn’t have to be exotic, it could just as well be a camping trip to France. Here are our long-haul suggestions with an alternative

on one-pot recipes and played cards every night.That all still sounds like fun, but camping is now also more exotic. Last year, 65,000 new members joined the Camping and Caravanning Club (www.thefriendlyclub.co.uk) and 32,000 of these were families – a 27