Plant of the Week: Carnivorous plants

It may seem ghoulish to grow plants which trap and eat other living organisms from flies and wasps to ants, spiders and other creepy crawlies, but carnivorous plants are a fascinating group which can also play a useful role in controlling your garden pests.

Many people start with a Venus flytrap on the kitchen windowsill but there are dozens of others including pitcher plants (Sarracenia and Nepenthes), delicately pretty sundews (Drosera) and butterworts (Pinguicula), which are British natives that cheerfully survive winter outdoors. Keep carnivorous plants in the greenhouse and you’ll have inbuilt natural pest control as they feast on whitefly, greenfly and thrips all season long.