Rosemary Ward, of Gardening Which?, looks at what needs to be done in the August garden

BUYING furniture? Get label conscious.

If your plastic patio set has seen better days, you may be thinking of upgrading to wooden garden furniture.

A rainy summer often brings prices down, so this could be the ideal moment for a bit of bargain-hunting.

However, price is not the only criterion you should go on. Most garden furniture is made from tropical hardwoods, and much of this is still being logged indiscriminately, even illegally. So, when we buy smart, new garden furniture we may be inadvertently destroying not only rare tree species but an entire forest ecosystem.

This is a catastrophe for the few remaining indigenous forest people, for rare mammals like the orang-utan, and the thousands of birds, butterflies, insects and plants whose only home is the forest.

And it also touches us more directly by contributing to global warming, and to the loss of species that could have medicinal and other benefits.

So what can we, as consumers, do? Boycotting all hardwood products isn't the answer as it doesn't encourage timber-producing countries to develop good practice.

Instead, when shopping for wooden garden furniture you need to get label conscious.

The label sported by the best-dressed wooden garden furniture, and the only one endorsed by major wildlife and environment campaigners, is the FSC label from the Forest Stewardship Council.

The FSC logo is reliable proof that the wood comes from a well-managed source of legally logged, non-endangered species.

For more information contact the Forest Stewardship Council on 01686 413916 or visit www.fsc-uk.org.

Jobs of the week: * Buy or order winter and spring flowering bulbs, garlic, onion sets and seeds for autumn sowing such as sweet peas

* Check for powdery mildew and either cut off affected foliage or dust with Vitax Green Sulphur. Water plants well in dry weather.

* Top up ponds and bird baths regularly

For the secret of good gardening, subscribe to Gardening Which? For a three month free trial Freephone 0800 920106 quoting code G_CC04 or visit www.gardeningwhichfreetrial.co.uk

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