Winds needn't be your biggest problem if you learn how to tame
them  Wind brings the weather. As I write, a northerly is
slicing through the garden, hustling through the cracks and gaps
(plenty of those) in the house. It's a sunny day and I'm at my
desk in two shirts, a cashmere jersey and a fleece. If it wasn't
for that nagging, rushing shake-down of the branches snagged by
the wind I would think I was ill. Mercifully, the north winds
are almost as rare for us as the bitter easterlies that we
occasionally get in spring. On this west side of England our
prevailing wind is a wet and warm westerly. Southern winds bring
dry weather and the stench of concentrated turkey shit from the
poultry factory at the end of the lane.  Wind is usually the
biggest single influence on how a garden grows. One of the first
things you should do when you take over a garden is to map the
wind; not on paper, but in your head. Get to know exactly what
the relationship is between your plot of ground and the
prevailing winds. The shape