Sandy's Blog - Reckless Gardener

Walking on sunshine

2011-10-22T13:10:00.002+01:00

Autumn on Windermere

Having dragged myself back to my blog after what seems like a long absence, I have no excuses for my tardy approach. I haven’t been double digging in the veg bed and no doubt sadly neglected a lot of tasks which should have been performed before the onset of winter. So no real excuses for not blogging.

I have been praying that the frost would stay away that bit longer, so that my happy flowering geraniums would flourish just a few more weeks. Oh and I have been to Highgrove. I have also been reading! To quote the ‘bad tempered gardener’ Anne Wareham, (she has a fab website – thinkingardens, http://thinkingardens.co.uk ) - there is a lot of ‘garden porn’ around. The mushy, cuddly, ‘I loved it’ type of article can be entertaining but it is not always helpful for someone who wants to know the how, where and why of aspects of gardening. Anyway, more of Anne later. So, I turned to two of my favourite garden designers for inspiration. Tom Stuart-Smith and Chris Beardshaw. Out with the garden porn and in with the practical and intelligent.

Tom, writing in The Telegraph, pondered the role of the subconscious in planting design. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/plants/8655319/What-role-does-the-subconscious-play-in-garden-design.html

This sounds like an excellent title for a Master’s thesis I thought - reading on I found the crux of the article was basically that we draw on a rich mixture of influence and memory when we devise some idea of how a garden might be planted. We should not be trying to compete with or outdo nature. Indeed, our gardening is often to do with pleasant memories and experiences – a pleasant walk through a wood, an idea from Chelsea or something we have seen on television.

Around about the same time as Tom’s article, Germaine Greer – also writing in The Telegraph, exhorted us to give up the struggle with weeds and pests.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice/8710995/Germaine-Greer-Let-nature-take-its-course-in-the-garden.html

Her opening comment was: “Is your garden becoming too much for you?” This is new I thought. Here she was telling us to put down our trowels and forks and leave the garden to its own devices! We should play tennis or bowls instead. Oh Really!

While I did have some sympathy for her point of view that garden programmes and magazines always show immaculate gardens - as a reckless gardener I don’t subscribe to the ‘neat and tidy’ syndrome - however, the thought of letting the ground elder, couch grass and dandelions take control fills me with horror.

In some ways it also misses the point – gardeners love the contact with the soil, the pleasure dead-heading brings, the enjoyment of raking newly turned soil, staking and of course planting. Going to shows and finding unusual plants, different varieties, starting a collection and experimenting with different planting styles are all part and parcel of the enjoyment of gardening. In fairness she did suggest some plants you could use which could take over and be low maintenance – however, I wasn’t convinced and have no intention of letting my little patch of cottage garden capitulate in the war against the ground elder.

Chris Beardshaw, on the other hand, writing in The English Garden, took on a similar theme in his article ‘Weed it and Weep’. He no longer worries and strives to maintain absolute control, embracing the delights that so many so-called weeds can offer. He pointed out that there is a constant battle between human order and that of nature. We all know that there are plenty of plant species that can thrive and colonize, needing very little attention and he points out that these species are often the root of the label ‘weed’. However, perhaps rather refreshingly, Chris sees these gatecrashers in his garden not as worthless interlopers, but more as plants requiring further exploration to discover their attributes.

Nettle and comfrey, for example, can be used as fertilizer and many other so-called weeds can enrich and feed the ground. Chris quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said: “What is a weed? It is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.’

So, there we have it. Either you put down your tools and go and play tennis and let the garden do its own thing or you look upon the invaders into your plot as rather tasty greens for the salad bowl or food for the garden. The ground elder leaves can now find a place in the salad bowl but if I am honest, I rather prefer the approach Chris takes to the one Germaine suggests. I think we need to get sensible here and find a reasonable balance.

And so to Highgrove. Here is the garden porn – I loved it – why? Anne Wareham put me on the spot when she asked me that. I was pleased that she did because I then really did sit down and ask myself why? I liked it because parts of the garden were unusual - somewhat of a hotch-potch of themed areas so you really did not know what would be round the next corner. I liked that because it created a frisson of expectation.

The garden is a mirror on the soul of the gardener and at Highgrove, HRH Prince Charles has created what he loves and cares for - it’s a statement of his environmental philosophy.

I found the whole visit highly enjoyable, I can’t be more specific, I just relaxed and drank in whatever came next. The important thing for me is that I took away nice memories and yes I would happily go again at another time of year.

Good news that Chris Beardshaw will be doing a garden for RHS Chelsea 2012. He last did a show garden at Chelsea in 2007 and for 2012 he will be designing a garden of ericaceous plants and shrubs inspired by the Furzey Gardens in Hampshire. Feature on Reckless Gardener: http://bit.ly/nt5jMJ

We are at the time of the year when the garden prepares for winter, and we expect all that snow - so to cheer myself up I am listening to Katrina & The Waves, Walking on Sunshine – happy gardening.

Summer Reading

2011-08-04T07:57:00.001+01:00

Gardening is all about sitting in your little piece of heaven and enjoying a good read and of course what we gardeners like reading most is gardening books! (Ok among other things). So, here is a list of some of the latest gardening books which you might like to add to your list for summer reading:

‘Monet’s Water Lilies’

Vivian Russel’s ‘Monet’s Water Lilies’ explores the making of the water garden at Giverny and how Monet was influenced by the Japanese aesthetic. This is a beautiful book to look at with superb illustrations. For anyone who has visited Giverny it will be a wonderful reminder of a special visit and for those who have not a voyage of discovery into this special garden. The author tells the story of the water lilies’ role as a central source of Monet’s artistic inspiration and describes the making of the water garden, bringing exciting insights into his work as both gardener and painter. Reading this book is a wonderful excursion into Monet’s world and garden – read it in your garden and feel its serenity wash over you. Enjoyed every minute of it. Excellent value for money. Published by Frances Lincoln Ltd., in paperback at £9.99.

’50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants’

In a busy lifestyle, maintaining your garden in an easy way is paramount. In this book, garden designer, Tracy Disabato-Aust, provides us with a collection of 50 show-stoppers, including some of the toughest plants that anyone can grow. She has chosen plants with long lasting blooms, architectural form and texture and also those which are drought-resistant. It has an easy-to-follow presentation, good photographs and straightforward text. Originally for the American market, this book contains much to interest the European gardener. Published by Timber Press at £9.99.

‘High-Impact, Low-Carbon Gardening’

For gardeners who are serious about green gardening practices, Alice Bowe’s book provides plenty of ideas and advice on sustainable gardening, from simple tips to intensive makeovers. Chapters deal with Improving your garden’s ecological credentials; Choosing materials for boundaries and structures, Maintaining the greener garden and Gardening with Wildlife in Mind. The main theme of this book is that you don’t have to compromise on design in order to create and maintain a greener garden.

Published by Timber Press at £9.99.

‘Vanilla Orchids’

Ken Cameron’s ‘Vanilla Orchids’ is an interesting and unusual book. It charts the history of the world’s most popular flavour and fragrance, vanilla, from its discovery to its fascinating genetics. This is a scholarly work, illustrated with more than 100 colour photographs and presents the reader with some fascinating facts about the origins of Vanilla and in greater detail Vanilla the orchid. Chapters include the Origins and History of Domesticated Vanilla, Profiles of Select Vanilla Species and Harvesting and Processing. Many people are unaware that vanilla actually comes from an orchid and that they are among the oldest surviving members of the orchid family. The book even tempts the reader to create one’s own vanilla extract to make vanilla ice cream from Thomas Jefferson’s original recipe.

Published by Timber Press (Hardback) at £20.00.

‘Envisioning the Garden’

Perspective in gardening is often one of the most difficult skills to master and in his book ‘Envisioning the Garden’ French garden designer, Robert Mallet, gives an excellent insight into what style to give a garden and how best to lay it out. Mallet offers a range of practical ideas that can be adapted to visually enlarge space and liberate the mind. There are good photographic illustrations and diagrams, plenty of ideas and throughout the book the lesson of using our ‘eyes’ is paramount. Trying to understand human vision and which optical effects open up broad prospects to the human spirit is covered. He also assesses how we respond to certain shapes and colours as well as other sensory associations.

So if you want to get a better understanding of planting distances, distance and light and visual traps, this is the book for you. Published by Norton, in paperback, at £24.99.

‘Late Summer Flowers’

Keeping a display going throughout the summer is made easier with this new book by Marina Christopher, ‘Late Summer Flowers’. Informative and readable, Marina’s book will help the gardener feel confident about prolonging the summer display. Co-founder of the Green Farm Nursery, Marina now runs her own nursery, Phoenix Perennial Plants in Hampshire. She chooses plants that have a late flowering season, or offer such bonuses as attractive foilage, seed heads or berries, so that you can get the best from the garden in the late summer and into autumn. There are excellent illustrations by Stephen Wooster and the useful Plant Directory is easy to follow, with comprehensive information on each plant. A really useful book for the garden library.

Published by Frances Lincoln Ltd., ‘Late Summer Flowers’ by Marina Christopher, is on sale at £16.99 paperback.

‘Public Parks: The Key to Livable Communities’

At last we have a comprehensive study of public parks and their history from Alexander Garvin in ‘Public Parks: The Key to Livable Communities’. Often overlooked in the past and sadly neglected, Public Parks are enjoying a resurgence in popularity. In this book, he explains the rationales for their existence, the forms they take and the ingredients that make successful parks. He covers every aspect of parks, from their history, evolution and planning to design, development and finance. The book includes everything that landscape architects, architects, planners, civic officials and public users need to know. For the general reader the book provides a fascinating insight into public parks and how important they are in communities. It looks at major parks in the US, UK, France, Italy and Germany.

Published by Norton in hardback priced at £45.00 - check out Amazon on the Reckless Gardener website for discounted price: www.reckless-gardener.co.uk/online-shop

‘The Bad Tempered Gardener’

I can certainly sympathise with the title of this book by Anne Wareham. There have been many times in my gardening life when I have been ‘bad tempered’. To be truthful, I am sure that there are many gardeners who, no matter how much they delight in their creations, get a little peaked at times with the day-to-day tasks that need to be performed. The book has attracted a lot of publicity and has been described by James Alexander-Sinclair as “at once entertaining, opinionated and deliciously annoying.” So be prepared to be both entertained and annoyed when you read Anne’s book – illustrated by Charles Hawes – as she describes her ‘outside housework’ and takes a swipe at ‘gushing garden stories’. If her penned thoughts and criticisms make you think a little more reflectively about gardens – and gardeners - then her book will have achieved its aim.

Published by Frances Lincoln @ £16.99 (available on Amazon).

As someone who has struggled with the concept of colour in the garden for decades, I found Andrew Wilson's 'Contemporary Colour in the Garden' inviting. That my little plot is 'colourful' is in no way due to my expertise of using colour as the 'powerful tool' in the gardener's armour, as Wilson suggests. It is more by accident than design, so I felt that a good text on using colour might enlighten me.

I like the way Wilson structures this book - he charts the use of colour in the garden from Gertrude Jekyll's colour-sequenced borders to Conceptualism and describes how todays plastics, resins and painted surfaces can deliver a brillance and saturation of colour that is successful in the right situation. Wilson reminds us that colour can promote an emotional response and argues for an intensive burst of colour for a short period, slowly subsiding for a more dramatic effect. Not sure I agree with that argument but I found his analytical approach to colour and how if reflects our personalities and therefore our garden very interesting. The book contains excellent colour plates and the author reflects his ideas with illustrations and examples from a range of designers including Andy Sturgeon, Tom Stuart-Smith and Cleve West.

The book is also for the American market so has American spellings - and just to be petty Jekyll is spelt wrongly on the sleeve cover - but hey, this is an excellent and stimulating book and for the first time in my life someone has actually started me thinking about colour and my approach to it.
Published by Timber Press, 'Contemporary Colour in the Garden' by Andrew Wilson, is in hardback at £20.00.

Check out the above titles on Amazon via the Reckless Gardener shop:

www.reckless-gardener.co.uk/online-shop

RHS Tatton, some musings

2011-07-25T14:33:00.000+01:00

Best in Show - Save a life, drop the knife

I love RHS Tatton Park Flower Show. I love it because it is held in the North-West and is our very own little piece of Chelsea - well not quite but as good as. It gives northern designers and growers the chance to show their talents and you don't have to travel to London to enjoy it. There is space and fresh Cheshire air, room to tootle about and (apart from those blasted plant trolley things) nothing in your way to prevent you getting a good gander at the gardens.

I felt rather smug this year that I correctly picked the winner of the RHS Young Designer of the Year. The odds on this were not that great because there are only three finalists, but nevertheless, I was so impressed with Daniela Coray's lovely 'A Stitch in Time Saves Nine' that I just knew she had to be the winner and so she was. Daniela specialises in environmentally aware approaches to garden design and her lovely, peaceful garden really drew me in. It was designed as an engaging and restorative place and so it was and certainly met with approval by the visitors to the show.

There were some challenging gardens this year, or rather gardens with challenging messages. The Best in Show went to 'Save a Life, Drop the Knife' and the Best Visionary Garden went to the Design Charity on behalf of Survivors Fund (SURF). Not so much a garden really but a metaphor for a Rwandan refugee's flight to freedom. Those brave enough to go inside the 'jungle' certainly came out with a stark impression of what it must have been like to experience those terrible years in Rwanda during the war. Quite moving in fact and not easily forgotten.

I love the Flower Bed competition and always marvel at the quirky ideas that the different local authorities and community groups come up with for this category. Bournemouth's 'A Novel Approach' was a worthy winner. My personal favourite was Birmingham's Iconic Mini and I also liked 'Arthur's Waterloo' by Partington Parish Council. This type of bedding is not to all tastes but there is a lot of hard work that goes into these displays and I think its great that our municipal gardeners get the chance to show their talents and get some praise for a change.

There seemed to be a lot of purple and blue on gardens, with one garden - Black and Blue - designed by Clive Scott winning a Gold. I like colour, so black and blue doesn't really do it for me, but obviously the judges thought Clive's clever quirky garden did it for them, hence the Gold. I have to hand it to Clive that designing a garden with a colour palette of black-purple-blue is no easy ticket and the effect was nothing if not stunning - just not for me.

Sue Beesley's 'Grasses with Grace' was easily a contender for Best Show Garden. It was absolutely delightful with a graceful colour palette and stunning early flowering ornamental grasses. Sue is rightly chuffed with her Gold - well deserved.

Finchale Training College's 'The Schedule' was excellent and if I was feeling a bit down with the Knife Crime message and the Rwandan jungle experience, now I was propelled into a paroxysm of unsurpassed joy by the sight of this lovely allotment. Well done to all the Finchale Students who produced this great and interesting garden.

Oxfam's 'When the Waters Rise' (Gold) highlighted their 'Grow' Campaign for better ways to grow, share and live together. I really liked this garden and felt that it achieved all its aims in making us understand the various methods being used to adapt to climate change.

The show site has been redesigned this year and seemed much easier to get around than in previous years. The weather on the day of my visit was reasonable, sunny periods and thankfully no rain. Tatton can be unlucky with the weather, although having said that I have sheltered from the odd thunderstorm and gales at RHS Hampton too!

Below are a few more of the gardens for your delectation:


Colourful and cheerful NSPCC Garden


A Stitch in Time Saves Nine - Winner of the Young Designer of the Year


Iconic Mini


Serenity, Russell Watkinson Landscapes


Bournemouth's winning Flower Bed

Pip Probert's Chocolate Orange

So until next year ........

Tatton party

2011-07-17T11:47:00.000+01:00

The North's great garden party, RHS Tatton Flower Show, kicks off next week and I can only hope that the weather improves before then. Today in Cumbria it is wet, windy and quite cold, so no gardening this weekend. Hopefully it will blow itself out before Press Day on Wednesday. Tatton is our own Flower Show and we always look forward to it because its a chance to meet up with all the northern nursery owners, gardeners and designers. Its our own showcase for northern talent and each year has gone from strength to strength. So, no matter what the weather does, I have packed my bags, notebooks, camera and pencils and I am ready for a great party.

It's seven years since the Trentham Estate was taken over by St Mowden with the aim of completely restoring this once magnificent estate which originally belonged to the Duke of Sutherland. I first saw Trentham in that first year and there was much to do but already a lot of progress made. After seven years you can appreciate how the gardens have matured and a visit today is highly recommended. Trentham's dramatic resurrection has been led by renowned garden designers and Chelsea gold-medal winners, Tom Stuart-Smith and Piet Oudolk, who along with Trentham Gardens Manager, Michael Walker, have revitalised the Italianate grandeur with a stylish modern interpretation, to create one of the largest examples of contemporary naturalist perennial planting in Europe.

They are a lovely team at Trentham led by the energetic Michael and I am sure that the garden will go from strength to strength in the coming years. To find out more about Trentham, ticket prices, events etc log onto their site at: www.trentham.co.uk/trentham-gardens

If you are in to Chilli then you might like to go along to West Dean's Chilli Fiesta between 5th to 7th August at West Dean Gardens, Nr Chichester, West Sussex. Three days of Chilli madness from farming food, live music and salsa dancing, with an array of over 200 peppers to spice up your day. There is also a Treefest at the National Arboretum, Westonbirt, between 26th and 29th August, with four days of woodworking, music and camping, crafts and of course fab trees. Westonbirt is home to the National Japanese Maple (Acer) Collection and is run by the Foresty Commission. So two good venues there if you are in those areas.

Congrats., to two young men who will be representing Team Uk at the WorldSkills London 2011 in Landscape Gardening this October. Simon Abbott and James Cuffey, have been chosen to take part in a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent the UK. Simon comes from Doncaster and is self-employed and James comes from Downpatrick, N.I., and works for a landscaping firm. WorldSkills 2011 is the world\s largest international skills competition for young people with 1,000 competitors from over 50 countries taking part over four days. There are some 37 skills ranging from Obile Robotics, Electrical Installations to Graphic Design and of course Landscape Gardening. So good luck to Simon and James as the make their preparations for the competition.

You will be able to see a full report on RHS Tatton on our website: www.recklessgardener.com
but in the meantime, happy gardening.

Ethical dilemmas of the gardening kind

2011-06-13T14:19:00.000+01:00

When I started gardening as a child, life was simple. There were no ethical or moral decisions I had to make, I just planted my seeds, got excited when they started to grow and enjoyed seeing the results of my efforts. There was no talk of global warming, dying bees or Japanese knotweed. There were plenty of bomb sites with what we fondly called weeds (sorry, wildflowers) and life tended to be a bit grey in colour but overall gardeners were not that troubled with moral dilemmas.

As I got older and family came along I enjoyed involving them in the daily round of planting, weeding and watering. It was also fun to see their delight when the seeds they planted grew.

Today, however, now in the ‘autumn of my years’ as Frank Sinatra so aptly put it, I am faced with all kinds of ethical and moral dilemma and gardening is no longer the easy pleasure it once was - well not if I care about the environment that is.

I recently read an excellent article in The Telegraph by Mark Diacono on the ethical dilemma of using peat. I stopped using peat about seven years ago as a result of a National Trust campaign. I can’t say either myself or the garden has noticed this deficit. I totally agree with one observation that some of our addictions in the garden are the result of no more than clever marketing. The add men tell us that we must use this or that to achieve a perfect result and we become conditioned. Many of us have forgotten how to make good old fashioned compost and rely instead on buying many of the branded varieties now adorning our garden centres. That said, if you really don’t want to make your own compost there are plenty of peat-free varieties available such as New Horizon Organic that can be bought ready made.

According to the RHS almost 70% of peat sold in the UK is used by amateur gardeners. The RHS itself only uses peat based material for propagation of plants and maintenance of a small number of specialist plant collections but they, like the National Trust, strive towards a totally peat-free future.

So gardening dilemma number one is whether or not to use peat!

Then there is the thorny issue of global warming and sustainable gardening. A lot has been said about sustainable gardening over the last few years. I confess to not having heard the phrase ‘sustainable gardening’ until about four or five years ago. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) urges us to garden in a sustainable way - there is even a special section devoted to this on their website - www.rhs.org.uk/Gardening/Sustainable-gardening

The RHS give a very good breakdown on why and how climate change affects our gardens and what we can do to help reduce the greenhouse effect. They also produce leaflets to help us combine benefits for the environment with practical gardening. You can’t bury your head in the sand any longer folks - RHS Flower Shows have had lots of ‘sustainable gardens’ to inspire the rest of us and the word ‘sustainable’ seems to punctuate every gardening article we currently read! I can no longer feign ignorance.

So dilemma number two is ‘how can I garden in a sustainable way to help the climate?’

Now gardening dilemma number three - how can I help wildlife in my garden and in particular make my garden a happy place for bees?

By now I am becoming slightly paranoid as another dimension is added into the mix. My simple sowing, growing and enjoying is turning into a ‘Kafkaesque’ experience! I want my garden to be a paradise for bees, a Monaco in the sun where they can buzz happily till their hearts content but I also want it to be a happy place for me as well, so are the two compatible? My dilemma is made worse by that lovely Sarah Raven who wrote recently that if we want to help bees and butterflies we should avoid Chelsea’s bright blooms! Hell, I love my bright blooms, my Gertrude Jekyll style of planting and my bright and blowsy cottage garden. Reading on it was not quite as bad as the headline made it sound. She advocates that we avoid plants with thick multi petals which make it dificult for bees to reach for pollen and nectar and choose instead more native plants such as primroses, single dahlias and wild roses which are rich in pollen and nectar.

So its back to the good old RHS for their ‘Perfect for Pollinators Plant List’, which gives the best flowers for insects and we can all rest in our beds (flower that is) because armed with the RHS list and a new ‘bee friendly’ label (which will now help gardeners to choose the right plants to help hoverflies, bees and butterflies) we should all be able to make the right decisions. Phew!

Dilemma number four - to be or not to be organic!

Here again I try to be organic but I am not totally so. I really got into the organic thing by way of HRH Prince Charles. No I’m not name dropping, I have only met the gentleman once (a pleasure I might add, he really loves gardening) - it was really as a result of reading his book about Highgrove that got me interested in organic gardening. I can understand why HRH is so passionate about organic gardening BUT and its a big but, I find it hard to really follow all the principles although I have been astounded by several totally organic gardens I have visited and not a greenfly in sight.

So times are changing - one of the recommendations in a recent Government White Paper on the environment suggests banning the use of peat by amateur gardeners by 2020. Recent research by the RHS confirmed the vital role played by gardens in reducing city warming - plants bring down energy consumption in winter by providing shelter and insulation, cools the air in towns and cities in hot weather and reduces the risk of flooding by absorbing rain.

There is plenty of research to prove that gardening is beneficial to us in many ways, both physical and mental and can have very therapeutic properties - that nothwithstanding, I have to say that I am becoming increasingly anguished at all the factors I now have to consider just by putting my trowel into the ground.

It was so easy in the 1950’s, there was Miss Marple, weeds (sorry, wildflowers) growing on bomb sites, red buses which ran really regularly, no motorways and yes 6d could get you a good seat at the Saturday matinee. But life moves on - now I use an iphone, an ipad and a pc in my everyday life and just as I have accepted those technological innovations, I suspect I must now adjust to global warming, peat free environments and bee friendly flowers in my gardening life.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2011 - Royal Bank of Canada New Wild Garden (bug hotel wall)

I’m not totally sure if I will ever ‘get’ the sustainable thingy but I will rest happy if my flowers bloom, my bees buzz and I can sit and enjoy a gin and tonic on my patio being smug in the knowledged that I have helped save the planet if only in a very, very small way.

Getting down to summer

2011-06-06T11:10:00.002+01:00

The recent fair spell up north has given us a chance to get in some serious gardening. Plenty of roses to dead head, box to cut and the start of the flowering perennials to admire. Post-Chelsea the sob story is that Dianthus Cruentus has proved so popular that Crocus has sold out! Short of finding a plant like ticket tout who might be prepared to part with their specimen I will have to wait for next year and hope the Dianthus is offered again. It seems that Dianthus Cruentus is rarer than an Olympic ticket!

This amazing plant caused a storm at Chelsea on Cleve West's Daily Telegraph Garden and no wonder. It shines like a 3 D red light even in bright sunlight. I have found that Dianthus do very well in our Cumbrian garden, they shoved off the really cold and bad winter, the sever frosts and winds we had and have positively blossomed this year. Which encourages me to make more of a feature of them, however, the little gem from Cleve's garden will have to wait until stocks are replenished - hopefully. Well done to those who have managed to get the plant and for the rest of us unlucky ones, we will have to be content with the photograph!

A really lovely paperback, 'The Cottage Garden' by Twigs Way, has just been published. This delightful slimline book in a handy A5 format is published by Shire Books - www.shirebooks.co.uk The archetypal picture of a cottage garden conjures up images of roses growing around the door, honeysuckle creeping over the garden wall and fragrant lavender lining the brick path - however, while this image may have some resonance, Twigs delves deeper into the chocolate box images and examines the history, style, planting and moral significance of this most English of garden creations.

She charts the history of the cottage garden from its origins as a functional space providing food for the table, herbs for the physic bottle and room for the hens, pigs and privy to the 18th century Romantics and intellectuals, such as Wordsworth, who transplanted wild flowers into their patch of English Eden. The austere morality of the Victorian era, who held that a well-tended garden was a 'symbol of honest frugality and sober industriousness' and that poverty and drunkenness were the downfall of the labouring classes, positively encouraged gardening and allotments as a key to 'society's salvation.'

Twigs leads the reader from the cottage garden of 'productive poverty' to the wonderful gardens of Jekyll and Vita Sackville-West, grown for colour, smell and pure indulgence and reminds us of a definition provided by the editor of 'Cottage Gardening' in 1892 who stated that: "The charm of the cottage garden is .... due to the absence of any pretentious plan." Most of us would agree with that. She then brings us up to date by pointing out that in the modern style there can be various approaches from mixing traditional with contemporary to the more formal approach bringing symmetry and more precise planting.

The illustrations used in 'The Cottage Garden' are delightful and perfectly convey the 'cottage' theme. The author has also included a list of suitable plants for the cottage garden which will be useful to those gardeners who are perhaps thinking of developing the style in their own garden. 'The Cottage Garden' is priced at £6.99 and is an excellent easy overview of this delightful form of gardening.

Flora Locale, the charity that promotes the restoration of wild plants for biodiversity, landscapes and people, is calling for more British wild flowers and trees to be grown in British gardens. Sue Clarke, of Flora locale points out that the campaign aims to encourage British wild flowers and trees in our gardens and public open spaces to create species-rich habitats that are attractive to butterflies and other insects. Even in small spaces native wild flowers can create colourful borders and individual plants such as teasel, juniper or wild angelica can be used to add structure.

This summer sees Flora locale running a number of workshops as part of the campaign for more areas of species rich grasslands to be re-created so that they are attractive to butterflies and other insects. To check out their programme log onto their website at www.floralocale.org There is an event at Haddo Country Park on Thursday 30th June on the Management of wildflower grassland and another at Wakehurst Place, West Sussex on Wednesday 6th July on Seed collecting and use for restoration and re-introduction.

Hugo Bugg's Albert Dock Garden at RHS Tatton

Much excitement will be building now for RHS Hampton Court and of course the north's very own RHS Tatton Park. I like Tatton because it is easy to get to from Cumbria and can be achieved in a day with no expensive overnight hotel bills!

Tatton is also the venue for the RHS National Young Designer of the Year competition, so looking forward to seeing the gardens of the three young designers chosen as this year's finalists, Alexandra Froggatt, Daniela Coray and Owen Morgan. Alexandra is Cheshire based and although new to exhibiting at RHS Shows has already been making her mark with her own company. Daniela is currently completing a Masters in Art and Environment at Falmouth and she too has set up her own design company based in Cornwall. Owen set up his own landscape design firm in 2004 and is based in Rutland. So good luck to all three in their bid to become the RHS National Young Designer of the Year.

Last year, Hugo Bugg not only won the title of RHS National Young Designer of the year but also the award for Best in Show. Hugo's Albert Dock garden has set the bar high for this year's entrants.

Finally, a mention about the Gardening Against the Odds awards for 2011 which honours the unsung heroes of gardening who create beauty against the odds. These awards, launched by The Sunday Telegraph in association with The Conservation Foundation, call for entries from individuals and community groups who garden in often unpromising and unlikely places or in the face of physical or psychological difficulties. The awards are dedicated to the late Elspeth Thompson, the Sunday Telegraph writer who sadly died in 2010 and are named after her final online diary.

Last year's winner, Andrew Barnett, whose severe depression left him unable to work as a headteacher, found gardening a lifesaver. His story is typical of many who find relief, pleasure and hopefully rediscover a sense of joie de vivre through gardening.

Closing date for this year's entries is 16th September 2011 and winners will be announced in October. For details log onto: www.telegraph.co.uk/gardeningawards2011

Chelsea exceeds all expectations

2011-05-27T16:26:00.001+01:00

The Daily Telegraph Garden (Gold) designed by Cleve West and Best in Show

I had said before going to this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show, that I expected it to be one of the best in several years. There was a kind of excitement in the air weeks before the event, buzz on the twitterfeeds and a general air of expectation growing as the press releases, news articles and blogs started into full swing.

With such a good line-up of designers, yes it might just be a vintage year, but you never know. Perhaps, after all, with all the gloom and doom just now, we really wanted to feel that here was an event on which the sun would shine, we would all be delighted with wonderful floral displays and drool over gardens to die for. And we did!

Pictured above, Sarah Eberle's 'A Monaco Garden' (Gold) with a pool we all wanted to sample and that touch of sun which we were all looking for. For me this garden was certainly Monaco and brought back many happy memories of a trip there.

The lovely Cleve West can do no wrong for me and we were all thrilled that his delightful garden for The Daily Telegraph not only won a Gold but also Best in Show. One plant which caught my eye on this garden was Dianthus cruentus, it positively glowed and stood out in a sort of 3D 'look at me' way. Definitely on my shopping list that one. Cleve can always weave the classical with the contemporary and his use of modern and traditional materials on his garden worked so well. He is one designer that always has time for you and is only too willing to show you round his garden or answer questions, so well done Cleve on your success you deserve it.

This year, Chelsea was cool, calm and collected. The gardens oozed peace and tranquility while at the same time stimulating one enough to get excited about a particular design theme or idea. The Laurent-Perrier Garden designed by Luciano Giubbilei (Gold) was another of my favourites - a romantic garden where you wanted to linger and absorb the vibes.

I was disappointed that Bunny Guinness did not get Gold for her garden for M & G (the Show's sponsors). Her Silver-Gilt, in my opinion, is not worthy of this garden. Perhaps, as someone said to me, it was too crowded.

I didn't think so, it was a modern take on a traditional kitchen garden and I loved it. Someone near me commented that he thought it "was beautiful" and I had to agree with him. It brought a big leap of delight to my heart and I loved the colour, the layout and the planting.

Bunny Guuinness 'M & G Garden'

I also liked her choice of Pelargonium Voodoo, used in some of the pots on the wall, her use of the pleached trees and the general overall integrity of the planting. I longed to be able to get inside that garden to really look into each of those planting areas and delight in the variety of plants. After the show, elements of her garden will be donated - the fruit and veg to The Royal Hospital Chelsea and the raised beds and a selection of flowers to the RHS Campaign for School Gadening, who will be re-homing the plants in a new Community Garden at Christ Church CofE Primary School.

The 'Irish Sky Garden' brought all the 40 shades of green that is Ireland to life and we were delighted that at long last Diarmuid Gavin has won a Gold at Chelsea. This enormous garden was proving to be a sensation on press day and you just felt that if he couldn't achieve a Gold with that garden he might as well take his spade home and forget it. I am sure for those lucky few who were able to hitch a ride in the pod the view over the garden would have been amazing.


Irish Sky Garden

James Wong and David Cubero achieved their second Gold at Chelsea on their second visit with another fantastic Tourism Malaysia Garden. I pleased to report that I helped in oh such a tiny way before judging by lending James a 20pence piece for him to use with his cleaning rag. My simple claim to fame! Well done on yet another delightful and interesting garden.

The tallest ever garden built at the Show, the B & Q Garden, (Gold) designed by Laurie Chetwood and Patrick Collins, had so much going for it that you could spend a whole morning just looking at this garden alone. The bug wall was very clever and colourful and the way the tower block had been constructed with the hanging plants eye catching. There were some mumblings about gardens going too high this year, but personally I felt this was refreshing. I would like to see the shape of some of the plots changed in future years so that designers can be even more imaginative - very few of us have gardens which are perfectly square or oblong after all and in some cases this could be quite challenging.

Among the Artisan Gardens I found a couple of really brilliant little gardens. The Hae-woo-so (Emptying one's mind) Garden (Gold) designed byt Jihae Hwang (Muum) was a real cracker. There was a wall on that garden which looked as though it had stood for a thousand years and again here was a little Korean garden full of peace and calmness. We won't go into the toilet side of it but suffice to say it was merely a little shack at the bottom of the garden. Delightful and worthy of the Gold and best in category. Also liked A Postcard from Wales, cleverly based on Dylan Thomas's Laugharne home. The Literary Garden, with its lovely phrases, made one pause and think, particularly the clever waterfall - "We never know the worth of water till the well is dry".

All sorts of images stick in the mind from a Chelsea Press Day, the 'celebs' - the gardens of course - the wonderful smell and displays of the Great Pavilion - new plant introductions - the lady in the toilets who sounded just like Lady Bracknell when she said: "What, No Mirrors!" Vanity dear, vanity.

The clash between the steel band and the bagpiper was rather fun as they seemed to play at the same time at one point, the Chelsea Pensioner sitting on a little rocking horse on one of the trade stalls was a bit surreal and I was quite taken with the Morris Minor traveller on another trade stand which so reminded me of my first car.

Nice to see Charlie Dimmock at the show and to have had the pleasure of sharing a taxi from Euston Station with two lovely Chelsea Pensioners, John and Stan, thanks for your company guys.

Check out the Reckless Gardener - www.recklessgardener.com - website for news of the show and the RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year which has been awarded to Anemone 'Wild Swan' bred by Elizabeth MacGregor and presented by Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants. It has white nodding flowers with blue reverse with a flowering season from summer to autumn. Second went to Saxifrage 'Anneka Hope' and third 'Blue Lagoon' a Verbascum bred by Thompson & Morgan.

It's over for another year, we move on to Hampton Court and Tatton Park and many other Flower Shows in between. But the magic of Chelsea 2011 will stay with me for the rest of the year. I feel complete, satisfied and soothed by this year's experience, which is nice. Rather like a good champagne there is a pleasant after-taste, the memory lingers and the images are still fresh. All that remains now is to find the plants on the 'must have' list and get them to grow in our wet, Cumbrian climate!

Blog blues

2011-03-22T11:47:00.000Z

I don't know what it is about blogging but I have come to think of it rather like washing the dishes! Hence my erratic and oft infrequent appearances. I like Twittersphere because it keeps you to short sentences, so the need to ramble on is confined and you have a kind of discipline, but blogging takes on another identity - very useful if you want to wax lyrical about some point or other, but deadly if you feel the need to fill in that gaping empty space in the little blog box.

That said there are some great gardening blogs out there - entertaining, funny, informative and interesting - I only wish I had the inclination to compete but alas I do not. So if you want to look at a really good blog log onto: http://www.blackpitts.co.uk/blog/ This is the blog of the delightful James Alexander-Sinclair, very entertaining and full of interesting snippets and even gossip! From time to time I will share a few more with you but James' blog is good to be going on with.

So now I have got that off my chest onto other matters - First a little reminder about the AA Spotter Guides - if you can't tell a Rook from a Jackdaw or a Birch from an Elm, these might be really useful to you.

Last month saw the publication of the first four titles in the series: Town & Country Birds, Trees and Shrubs, Grassland and Farmland Wild Flowers and Butterflies and Moths. A perfect introduction to the flora, fauna and wildlife of the British Isles in handy pocket sized books. Each Guide is £5.99 and you can get more info from: http://www.theAA.com/shop

If you are considering a career in garden design there are some really good courses out there for both full and part-time study. The Garden Design School are holding a number of taster days during 2011, two at each of the School's centres - at Painshill Park, Cobham, Surrey on 11th May and another on 28th June, and one at Bristol Botanic Gardens on 13th May and 30th June. The aim of the taster days is to give would-be students on the School's Garden Design Diploma an opportunity to meet with School founders and gain an insight into the the course and its contents.
The new course starts on 13th September 2011. For more information log onto: www.gardendesignschool.co.uk

Coton Manor Garden School, Nr Guilsborough, Northamptonshire, have just released their new programme of courses. They have a wide programme of one and two day courses to suit every taste.
For details of their new programme log onto: www.cotonmanor.co.uk

Thyme at Southrop, the Food School, near Lechlade in the Cotswolds, has a series of gardening courses planned between now and August. Saturday 7th May sees Paolo Arrigo, owner of Seeds of Italy and author of From Seed to Plate, join up with Head Gardener, ethno-botanist and chef, Claudio Bincoletto, to bring a special focus on basil and a cookery demonstration showing you how to make authentic pesto and preserve it in jars. Lots of other courses during the summer months, so log onto:www.ThymeAtSouthrop.co.uk

You will also find course information on the Reckless Gardener website on our calendar page: http://www.reckless-gardener.co.uk/events/events-calendar-2011

Well there is another blog done and dusted -while batting out this blog I listened to The Monkees "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "Day Dream Believer" - The Monkees! Of my time my friends, of my time.

Signs of Spring

2011-02-22T14:35:00.001Z

At last there are signs of spring in the garden - buds appearing on trees and clematis, snowdrops and the first shoots of the daffodils. It is always a relief after a bad winter to see your plants sprouting in the garden again and a reassurance that the winter has not killed off your favourites.

As we patiently wait for spring we can also start looking forward to the flower show season again. The Harrogate Spring Show starts on the 14th April to the 17th April, RHS Malvern Spring Gardening Show runs from 12th May to the 15th and then of course we run up to RHS Chelsea from the 24th May. There are a lot of local and county shows in between those dates so check out the Reckless Gardener Calendar on our site at http://www.recklessgardener.com/events/events-diary

It is always good to see young gardeners encouraged to get stuck in and design their own gardens and recently Diarmuid Gavin and David Domoney launched the first ever Ideal Home Show Young Gardeners of the Year competition, in association withthe Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment. The competition aims to highlight the very best examples of sustainable practice in British garden design amonst student designers. There are eight colleges taking part from across the UK who have been selected following an invitation process. Entrants are tasked with creating a garden haven from a reclaimed urban area that demonstrates a clever use of space in a 5x4.5 metre plot.
Good luck to everyone taking part - the show is at Earls Court from 11th March and the winner will be judged and announced on that day. The Ideal Home Show runs from 11th to 27th March.

The Wildlife Trusts have announced a new series of Handy Guides for nature lovers - with easy to follow layouts the new guides will enable quick and accurate identification. The new guides include the New Holland Concise Garden Wildlife Guide, the New Holland Concise Insect Guide and the New Holland Concise Tree Guide. They are priced at £4.99 each and will be valuable companions on nature walks and holidays. Information from: www.wildlifetrusts.org

Allan Pollok-Morris celebrated photographic exhibition 'Close - A Journey in Scotland' has opened at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington. Running until June 2011, the exhibition will be accompanied by a number of guest speakers. You can find out more about the exhibition and details of Allan's wonderful latest book, ‘Close – Landscape Design and Land Art in Scotland’ from his website at www.northfieldeditions.com

Don't forget to check out the Reckless Gardener calendar of events so you don't miss out on a show or event near you.

Spring cometh

2011-01-28T11:07:00.001Z

I know it must be getting near the start of the growing season when I start getting lots of email about forthcoming shows and the first Chelsea press releases start arriving. I always find it an exciting time of year - Spring is not far away - we hope - and the promise of buds blossoming forth and shoots appearing everywhere becomes real after the dark days of winter.

We still have some way to go but let's put a spring in this post at least and take a look at what's happening in the gardening world.

This is the time of year when I anxiously watch my camellias and pray that frost does not damage the buds. I love camellias so I was interested recently to learn that Trehane Nursery, one of the UK's leading camellia and blueberry specialists, has launched a new camellia, Camellia japonica Black Magic. With flowers of the deepest, richest red, this late spring camellia boasts highly unusual holly-like foliage giving it real year-round appeal. You can order direct from Trehane www.trehanenursery.co.uk

This year's Malvern Spring Gardening Show (12th - 15th May 2011) is dedicating its entire theatre programme to the subject of biodiversity in an attempt to encourage British gardeners to do their bit for the greater good of the planet. They will be showing green-fingered visitors how small changes in the way they garden can make a significant impact on local and ultimately global diversity. The new 'Garden in Harmony Theatre' boasts two walk-through gardens designed by 2010 Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship winner, Paul Hervey-Brookes. The delightful James Alexander-Sinclair is the host for an exciting four-day programme of talks and demonstrations while Landscape Man, Matthew Wilson and herb expert Jekka McVicar are heading up the discussion panel on Thursday 12th May.
Tickets are available from www.threecounties.co.uk/springgardening

When the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) announced the 'Get your grown ups growing' campaign, Hartley Botanic, one of the world's leading suppliers of glasshouses, wanted to get involved. The campaign has been a huge success with over 5,000 schools around the UK signing up to participate. Participating schools were asked to fill out a questionnaire and feedback to the RHS. Schools were then entered into a grand prize draw which gave them the chance to win a number of fantastic prizes, one of which was a Patio Glasshouse worth £900 donated by Hartley Botanic for the winner. Hartley have a large range of glasshouses and greenhouses and you can view their range by logging onto: www.hartley-botanic.co.uk

Finally, just in case you had forgotten how cold it was over Christmas here is a little reminder!!! It's a pic of snow falling believe it or not! Just hope we don't see any more before next winter!

Remember to check out the Reckless Gardener website for all your 2011 show news - our calendar of events is updated regularly and we will be bringing you all Chelsea latest.
www.recklessgardener.com

Reflections on a gardening year

2010-12-30T13:59:00.002Z

The glitterati of the gardening blogosphere (of which sadly I am not one) will be musing about now on the past year - as the year came in - snow, ice, cold, wind, rain - so it goes out, snow, ice, cold, wind, rain. The unusual temperatures, diffident climate and at times chaotic seasons, have challenged gardeners all over the UK this year.

After last winter's harsh visitation, we saw a spring which blossomed forth like no other. The summer came and went without any fanfare and the autumn came all too quickly as the leaves seem to drop overnight. Then of course we saw the return of the winter and we had no sooner got the perennials cut back and the garden tidied up for the winter season than it was here with a vengence. My photo of Morecambe Bay at Arnside is a classic example of the frozen wastes that have only recently departed from Cumbria. I call it my nuclear winter. I have, however, a horrible premonition that we shall see the likes again before our winter is done.

In many ways it's been a funny old year. The general election, the economy (or lack of it) the usual crop of stories of footballers and their misdeeds, the launch of the iPad, the volcanic ash - what a stir that caused - THE royal engagement (can't wait for April) and Monty Don returning to Gardeners' World! For gardeners, probably the last item is the most noteworthy - the Don returns! Rather like a gardening Messiah he is given the task of resurrecting the once noble Gardeners' World TV programme which sadly seems to have lost its way of late.

I was brought up on Percy Thrower and I loved his straightforward and no-nonsense approach to gardening. Then there was the sensible Geoff Hamilton - they were my inspiration - although I did flirt with Alan Titchmarsh for a while, alongside thousands of other ladies of the garden gloves brigade. But once again the mantle turns to our Monty and I am sure his many fans will welcome him back, although I do so hope he doesn't spend too much time on vegetables!

He will also be presenting the show from his own garden which will be a big improvement - why the BBC decided to plough and cultivate a field outside Birmingham for the recent shows I do not know or understand!

Both Monty and Alan will be hosting the BBC Gardeners' World Live Show at the NEC in June, tickets for which are now on sale - log onto: www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com

We will keep you up to date on events and designers who will be at the show on our main website: www.recklessgardener.com

The 2011 show will feature all the usual highlights including the Gardeners' World Magazine Theatre and the Countryfile Magazine Stage as well as 25 show gardens and more than 100 nurseries - so you can shop till you drop. Show dates are 15th to 19th June.

Looking back at the major RHS 2010 shows, the weather was kind for Chelsea, mixed for Hampton Court and rather wet at times for Tatton Park. The standard of some of the gardens at the latter two shows was less exciting and I am anxious that there is a kind of 'anything goes' creeping in. This trend gives me further concern for the 2011 offerings which include at Chelsea, 'Emptying One's Mind: Traditional Korean Toilet)! One needs to be careful that its not more than the mind which is emptied. Quite how a toilet is going to free my mind is anyone's guess but I will reserve judgement until I have seen the garden - er or toilet, whichever.

However, all is not gloom and doom and Chelsea 2011 does look exciting - the sensuous Cleve West is designing the Daily Telegraph garden and James Wong and David Cubero are back with what promises to be another tropical paradise. I was also pleased to see that William Quarmby will be designing a garden in the new Artisan Gardens class (replacing the Courtyard Garden category). William was runner-up in the RHS National Young Designer of the Year 2010 and I really liked his garden at Tatton Park.

So all that remains for this the last blog post of 2010 is to say Happy New Year to you all and may your flowers continue to blossom, your trees come into bud and your Delphiniums stand tall.

'Mid the bleak mid-winter

2010-12-18T11:33:00.002Z

I am rapidly transforming into a penguin - I know that sometimes I walk like one but now I actually feel like one! I have never known it so cold in my lifetime and I am no spring chicken, so it must be cold.
Last winter I was lucky that I only lost a few of my plants but I did lose a lovely camellia and was hearbroken. We will have to wait to early spring to see what has gone this year but I suspect our losses will be much worse. Most of my plants are fairly hardy - living in Cumbria they have to be - but I just wonder how they will cope with the prolonged freeze that we are experiencing now and likely to go on experiencing well into the New Year. My pic shows a frozen Morecambe Bay with the Arnside viaduct behind.

The RHS advise that plants differ in their ability to frost proof themselves and a long winter could see prolonged freezes with pots and the top 20cm of soil freezing solid. I think that is what happened with my camellia last year, certainly the roots in the pot froze and that was that. Plants that are really at risk include Dahlias, Fuchias, Gladioli and Pelargoniums. If you have citrus or olive trees you also need to key an eye on them.

The RHS Chief Horticultural Advisor, Guy Barter, warns that the roots are often more vulnerable than upper parts of plants so preveting posts from freezing is sensible and mulching the roots such as hardy fuchsias is wise. If you can move pots with tender plants into a greenhouse or conservatory which is frost free then obviously that helps but in my case I try and get all my pots up against the house wall as much as possible as I think it does give them a little protection.

Recently a survey was carried out by a group called 'Stars for Europe' which is a group representing the interests of poinsettia growers throughout Europe including a large number of UK growers. Apparently poinsettias were voted the third most evocative symbol of Christmas in the pan-European survey. 100 million are sold throughout the season and I was surprised to learn that the wonderful red ones that we all tend to buy at our local supermarket or nursery are not the only colour available. Specialist retailers may well be able to offer something a little different to the standard red, for instance in a stunning ivory and pretty soft pinks. I have to admit I haven't seen other colours so it might be worth looking out for a poinsettia which is other than red!

In the survey consumers were asked to rate 17 traditional Christmas symbols and top of the list with 90% - as we might expect - was the Christmas tree followed by fairy lights and candles and then in third place came stars and the star-shaped Poinsettia. These delightful Christmas plants were bred in America back in the 1950s as houseplants and they are now firmly part of our Christmas tradition. If you want some ideas from the Stars for Europe florists log onto their dedicated website: xmas-star.info

Delighted to hear that Cleve West is designing the Daily Telegraph garden at next year's Chelsea Flower Show and there will be another appearance by the talented James Wong and David Cubero. The Chelsea line-up is coming along nicely and Reckless Gardener will give a full run-down of all the gardens before the show in May 2011.

In the meantime, a Happy Christmas to all our readers and a peaceful, prosperous and warmer 2011.

Winter in Cumbria and book reviews

2010-11-25T15:20:00.001Z

Winter has finally arrived in Cumbria and despite the very cold weather we have also had some lovely sunny, sharp winter days. There is a sprinkling of icing sugar snow capping some of the higher peaks and the sun makes the water in the Lakes shine a deep blue. No doubt we are in for more frost and snow shortly but today is another perfect bright day although not warm enough to entice me out into the garden.

We have reviewed quite a few books on the Reckless Gardener website recently. Take a look - there are some really good gardening books out lately and several would make fab presents for Christmas. We have reviewed Dear Christo - a really lovely book with excellent pictures and some great memories of the late Christopher Lloyd and Gt Dixter. We have also reviewed Val Corbett's 'Winter in the Lake District' rather appropriate for this time of year. Some really stunning photographs in this book which really bring out the very essence of the Lakes at this time of year.

I also enjoyed Amy Stewart's book 'Wicked Plants - The A-Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate and otherwise offend. Published by Timber Press, this little book is packed full of information about some of our more deadly and less inviting plants with stories and legends. Having read this I feel the Aconite must go! Great little book and certainly of interest to every gardener. Amy tends a poison garden of her own in California and confesses that she is enchanted by the plant kingdom's criminal element - you will be too.

London's Green Awards are on show at the Garden Museum in Lambeth so if you are looking for a bit of inspiration on how to make your bit of London greener, or more biodiverse go along and see how other gardener's in the capital have tackled it. There are monthly winners in these awards which are organised by the Conservation Foundation and they are always looking for new nominations. Check out www.conservationfoundation.co.uk for further information.

As we are nearing Christmas I notice the onslaught of Poinsettia plants in shops and nurseries. Apparently, this year there will be several shades on sale - not just the lovely deep red we all enjoy but some stunning ivory and soft pinks as well? I haven't seen any myself as yet but I am realiably informed they are out there. So for something stunning get a soft pink Poinsettia and set it against a lime and silver background for a totally un-conventional Christmassy look. Poinsettia has been voted the third most evocative symbol of Christmas in a pan-European survey run by Poinsettia breeders - some 100 million are sold throughout the season.

Despite the heavy frost we had the other evening the garden here in Cumbria seems to be relatively happy and we even have some roses still flowering. I've left the bracts on some of the perennials to add to the wintery feel. If you find your garden under tons of snow or soaking wet from all that rain and you can't get out to do any jobs then sit by the fire with a nice cup of coffee and look through all your gardening catalogues and give yourself some inspiration for the new year ahead. Another gardening season awaits - its only just round the corner really!

Rain, fungi and good books

2010-11-04T12:52:00.000Z

Having spent a very busy weekend in Glasgow - not gardening I hasten to add - we returned to Cumbria to find that the rain man had once again visited and was continuing to shower us with his benevolence. An Australian relation had been telling me how short of water they are in Oz and that the situation was getting worse - if only we could transport some of our Cumbrian rain to Oz then the matter would be solved.

Climate change and conditions is something all gardeners know about - it seems strange that one part of the world should suffer so much from drought while others have more than their fair share of rain. We shouldn't grumble - every time it rains I will think that at least we are not short of that very valuable commodity - in this part of the UK at any rate.

This blog I am looking at a couple of christmas present ideas you can use for your gardening friends and relatives.

Everyone agrees that as you get older time flies and I find it hard to believe that it is nearly 10 years since rootgrow TM Mycorrhizal fungi started to be used for tree planting in the UK. In that time it has been endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) as one of the most important sustainable components in tree planting success. In 2003 the wide spread use of rootgrow TM in rose planting began to show positive effects in overcoming replant problems. I have used it for several years and have found it a real asset particularly if you are replanting new roses on old rose sites. There is an unlimited supply of rootgrow TM thanks to PlantWorks pioneering growing techniques. They use only UK origin species of mycorrhizal fungi so it is are highly effective in UK soils. Once rootgrow TM granules are planted with a rose or a tree they germinate and start to grow as fungal mycelium exploring the soil for nutrients and water, quickly bringing into balance the root to shoot ratio which ensures rapid establishment significantly reducing mortality.

They have used rootgrow TM at RHS Garden Wisley for some years for planting trees and shrubs and are now starting to use it for planting perennials. You can buy rootgrow TM from most garden centres. To find out more information about its use log onto www.rootgrow.co.uk

I would be more than delighted to find a couple of packets in my Christmas stocking, so there is an idea for your gardening relatives and friends.

We are reviewing several good books at the moment at Reckless Gardener so keep posted on the website for the reviews. Just published is 'Winter in the Lake District' Val Corbett's collection of stunning Cumbrian winter photographs. If you love the Lake District you will love this book. Val captures the wide winter landscape as well as seasonal festivities close to home from Christmas to the annual marmalade competition. Another fab idea for Christmas presents.

Allan Pollok-Morris has followed up his inspired book 'Close' with a second edition 'Close - landscape design and land art in Scotland' with a foreword by Sir Roy Strong. The amazing photography in this book captures the quintessential qualities which set Scottish gardens and gardening apart and greatly expands on the subjects from the first book as well as visiting new works in Scotland. Allan's first book was included in The Independent's four garden books of 2008 and The Daily Telegraph top 10. This revised edition is set to be another stunning success. Watch out for our review in
www.recklessgardener.com

Planning a new garden or re-planning an old one can be a problem for those of us not trained in garden design. So I was interested in some new design software which has just been launched called The Weatherstaff PlantingPlanner. This software acts like a personal garden designer - it asks you what you want from your garden and then produces a bespoke planting plan to meet your needs. Designed and produced by a small firm in Gloucestershire, it has simple interactive screens to enable you to draw out your border shape and once you have entered details about your planting area's growing conditions and select your ideal colour scheme, mood and style, the PlantingPlanner whizzes you through thousands of plant combinations and generates stunning planting plans. Details about the PlantingPlanner can be found on www.plantingplanner.com

In September at an environmental conference, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) scientist, Dr Tijana Blanusa, highlighted the merits of certain plants in helping reduce the higher temperatures found in cities. She identified one plant in particular - Lamb's Ears (Stachys byzantina) which represents silvery and hairy leaved plants as maybe being very important in the future. A number of studies have shown the importance of roof vegetation in decreasing summer-time air temperatures and in counteracting urban heat island effects. Dr Blanusa's paper was presented to the World Green Roof Congress, and looked at the three broad leafed perennial plants and a Sedum mix, the most popular plant for roof covers. The first year of her research has showed that Lamb's Ears significantly reduced the surrounding air temperature near the surface of the leaf during early afternoon on a hot summer day by some 1.5 degrees.

“With our climate getting warmer gardeners will be playing an even more important part in helping reduce the effects,” says Tijana. “Getting planting right in urban spaces, which as we all know can be very limited, is particularly important and can have a major effect in not only helping reduce urban temperatures but will also provide other environmental benefits.”

Roy Lancaster will be headlining the student run lecture series at Writtle College, Chelmsford on 7th December when he talks about 'Plants, People and Places'. The lecture series for 2010/11 has some very interesting speakers and further information about tickets, prices etc can be obtained by emailing greg.allen@writtle.ac.uk - Details of speakers/dates can also be found in the Reckless Gardener calendar - http://www.recklessgardener.com/events/events-diary

Poetry, Squares and the National Trust

2010-10-19T15:31:00.000+01:00

Since my last post Jonathan Denby has left his Cumbrian garden in Grange over Sands, travelled to Japan and built a garden for the first ever Gardening World Cup in Nagasaki. Congratulations to Jonathan on getting a Bronze medal. Jonathan was the only non-professional designer taking part alongside 11 of the world's top designers from four continents. His English garden with a white colour scheme created something of a sensation and was definitely a favourite with the public. It was quite a challenge for Jonathan to find white flowers at this time of year for an autumn garden show and they bought what seemed to be the entire stock of white flowers for the province of Nagasaki - but the result was spectacularly beautiful. Our picture shows Jonathan talking to the crowds. British designer Andy Sturgeon won Best in Show and Gold and James Towillis a Silver so it was a good day for the British.

Gardeners' World Magazine are on the hunt for a garden poet laureate with their new poetry competition launched in the October magazine. The competition is being judged by Alan Titchmarsh and poet Roger McGough among others and Alan has written a special poem himself. There is also tips for would-be garden Wordsworth's so if you fancy having a go get this months magazine. Details of the competition are also on our Reckless Gardener website:
http://recklessgardener.com/news/291-gardeners-world-magazine-launches-search-for-the-countrys-garden-poet-laureate

The comp runs until 28th February 2011 so get out your pencils and pads and get lyrical.

The organisers of the London Squares Weekend in June are looking for new gardens to participate for the 2011 weekend. The weekend is the initiative of the London Parks & Gardens Trust and aims to raise awareness of the beauty and diversity of London's green historic and other garden spaces.

To participate the garden has to be either a community garden or allotments, gardens belonging to shops, offices, hotels etc. Public buildings, schools, hospitals or roof gardens. Gardens of historic interest are also welcome.

For more information about London Squares Weekend log onto: www.opensquares.org

I must say I was a little peeved at an article written by Stephen Bayley in The Times on 18th October about the National Trust. Stephen feels that the NT is entering a sort of Disneyfication and he is troubled that the recent charges against the Trust of "queasy voyeurism" may be true. He cites the Trust's purchase of John Lennon's auntie's semi in Liverpool as being one example of intellectual slumming. Well! I am sure to all of us brought up in the sixties that John Lennon's house is just as interesting as that of Lord and Lady Egerton at Tatton Park, just across the county border. He criticises Sir Simon Jenkins, the Trust's current Chairman, for overseeing a plan to add what he (Sir Simon) calls "life" to NT properties. Stephen seems to object to the 'touchy feely' trends in some Trust houses and bemoans that the Trust is becoming an entertainment business run by Philistines.

The poor old NT just can't win. On the one hand they are accused of being an elite 'members club' with rigid ideas on property conservation and on the other they now seem to be being accused of dumbing down to such an extent that historic houses are becoming something akin to "Hello". Personally, I think Simon Jenkins is doing sterling work at the NT - he is trying to bring it into the 21st century. It's all very well keeping historic houses in aspic but the don't sneeze, talk or touch days are over. People want to feel, touch, experience the very essence of these wonderful houses and if a kindly room guide gives you the lowdown on the upstairs and downstairs goings on, so much the better!

I also think that devolving more power to property managers is no bad thing. They know their visitor profile and there is no reason why they shouldn't be given the freedom to develop the visitor experience as they feel fit. OK, we don't want to turn up at Tatton Park or Berrington Hall and find the masses being allowed to picnic in the hall on the 17th century Persian carpets. We do want to be able to enjoy a unique visitor experience and one which encourages a wider age profile and that is no bad thing.

I recently visited Waddeston Manor on a very hot Sunday afternoon. The grounds were crowded with families who were sitting under the trees and yes they were having picnics and generally enjoying themselves. I thought this was fantastic - here is a country house being used by all kinds of people from all walks of life. It was not sitting there in isolated splendour like a fossil from a previous age. The National Trust is a British institution for the people by the people and there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world.

So, Mr Bayley, sorry if you don't want 'interactive gloss' added to heritage sites but you might need to consider that is what people might want today. Yes there is moderation in everything and I more than anyone want to see the decorum and grandness of these wonderful houses preserved in a fitting manner, but I don't want them to turn into empty dusty shells that no one wants to visit.

So keep up the good work Sir Simon - throw off the mantel of fuddy duddyism and don't be afraid of the sceptics. Let us continue to enjoy houses like Townend (above) in the Lakes, as the people who lived in them enjoyed them and if we get to touch a bit of curtain so much the better!

Taste of autumn

2010-09-29T09:29:00.000+01:00

If you are lucky enough to live near the RHS Garden at Wisley there are plenty of events taking place this autumn. The Alitex lecture series has been popular this year and in October, as part of the programme, Dr Ken Thompson will give a talk at RHS Garden Wisley when he will be exploring gardening myths. Dr Thompson has played a significant role as a senior lecturer in plant ecology at Sheffield University for over 20 years and has written several books. His lecture takes place at 10.30am on 19th October. Tickets are £10. Contact Alitex at enquiries@alitex.co.uk

Staying with Wisley, they are holding their Taste of Autumn celebrations from 21st to 24th October, with apple tastings, food stalls, cooking demonstrations and book signings. As part of the festival, Wisley also welcomes 'Europom' an annual gathering of apple and fruit enthusiasts from across Europe that is held in a different country each year. There will be 20 cultivars of apples for visitors to taste during the festival including favourites such as Old Pearmain and Rosemary Russet. For more information log onto www.rhs.org.uk/wisley

One of my favourite flower shows is the Harrogate Autumn Show and I was pleased to hear that, once again, this year's Autumn show had been such a success. Almost 35,000 people went along to look at some fantastic vegetables, the brand new fruit show and enjoy the marquees, which at the autumn show has some really stunning autumn displays. Congrats to Peter Glazebrook from Newark, who once again won the Heaviest Onion Competition (for the third time in a row) with a whopper weighing in at 15lb 9oz, not quite enough to break the world record but the heaviest for the last 4 years. The Harrogate Spring Flower Show will be held on 14th to 17th April at the Gt Yorkshire Showground, so put that date in your diary.

If you log onto our website - www.recklessgardener.com

you can read about the Gardening World Cup, being held in Japan for the first time in October. One of our North-West designers, Jonathan Denby will be entering a garden. Jonathan comes from Grange-over-Sands, South Cumbria, and his design is inspired by a pair of Pre-Raphaelite stained glass windows rescued from a Lancashire Church. The windows commemorate the lives of 14 men who died in the First World War. Lancaster sculptor, Alan Ward, is carving an angel based on one depicted in the window, which will be one of the focal points of the garden. We wish Jonathan and his team good luck for the World Cup which is being held in the palace grounds of Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki.

Garden Writer Karen Platt has some offers on her books at the moment. With the run up to Christmas it might be a good time to check out what's on offer. Titles include Gold Fever, Silver Lining, Plant Synonyms and Lifestyle Gardening. Some titles are 50% off. Visit www.karenplatt.co.uk
to see what's on offer.

Too wet to get out into the garden this week but there is still lots of colour so quite reluctant to cut back yet. Signs of Jack Frost though, and I don't mean the detective! Winter is coming, but not yet awhile hopefully.

Back from Kent travels

2010-09-19T11:06:00.000+01:00

The weather was kind for my travels to Kent last week - it only rained when we were not outdoors! Back here in Cumbria the day has taken on a familiar kind of hue, as I write this, raining and windy. The temperature has also started to dip and there is more than a taste of Autumn in the wind.

However, back to Kent. The Reckless Gardeners managed to see three wonderful gardens - the amazing Sissinghurst, Penshurst Place and Leeds Castle. Each was very different in style and appeal, each very distinctive in character and all very typical of what we consider the epitome of English gardening style.

Watch out for our full features in the next few weeks on the Reckless Gardener website - www.recklessgardener.com

Although it was dull when we visited Sissinghurst the dark skies did nothing to mask the glory of this wonderful garden. Created by Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West from a ruin - the garden evokes their spirit at every turn. The 'hot garden' (cottage garden) was indeed that - hot, flaming colours with wonderful dahlia - the white garden, now going over but still showing traces of the hallmark white roses. Those distinctive Elizabethan towers, the survival of this wonderful Tudor house and the complex misture of old and new, classical and romantic, public and private all come together to make Sissinghurst a unique garden to visit.

And so to Penshurst Place and gardens. Here is seven centuries of history and one familiy's love for their house and garden. There is much to see in both house and garden and afterwards you can enjoy a really good cup of tea in the pleasant restaurant.

Penshurst has passed through the hands of royalty and nobles down through the centuries. Following ownership by Henry VIII it was gifted to the influential Sidney family in 1552 and has been nurtured by descendants of that same family down to the current custodian Viscount De L'Isle.

There are 48 acres of grounds at Penshurst with 11 acres of walled and yew hedged garden 'rooms' providing a variety of colour and form throughout the seasons.

Finally we were presented with the magnificient Leeds Castle with its rolling landscape and yet another house with its history entwined through the royal houses of England and the glitterati of the centuries. Leeds Castle is the second most popular tourist destination in Kent after Canterbury Cathedral and certainly on the day of our visit there were plenty of crowds. The grounds are vast and there are plenty of places to get away from the trong and just enjoy the wonderful landscape.

Today, Leeds Castle is administered by a Trust after it was left to the nation by Lady Baillie. The Castle needs a day to completely see everything, the landscape will tug you one way the Castle another and to do both justice a couple of hours will not be enough. The castle seems to float on its 'moated island' and is perfectly complemented by its landscaped surroundings. Rather like at Sissinghurst, Lady Baillie bought a rather run-down castle in the late 1920s and brought it back to life, subsequently its rooms are a delight of 20s and 30s style which is very unusual in a building of this age. Her influence on the landscape is paramount - taking a run down estate and completely re-designing it into the lovely parkland and vistas we see today.

Each garden quite different, each garden presenting its own feel and character and each garden a pure delight. Perfect examples of the gardens of England to be enjoyed by generations to come.

2010-09-04T15:08:00.000+01:00

I am just getting ready to set off once again on some more garden visits this month. Sissinghurst, Leeds Castle and wonderful Penshurst Place on the itinerary this time so watch out for our garden visits features in the next few weeks.

The flower show season is now winding down and we are already turning our thoughts to tidying up the garden for winter. The seasons seem to pass very quickly and in the UK it seems some years as thought they have all merged into one. Our winters seem to get longer and the summer season seems so short.

I was interested in the unusual news item today regarding a case of Legionnaire’s disease caught from garden compost. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has issued warnings about the risk of contracting Legionnaire’s if you handle compost but they also point out that the risk is thought to be very low. Apparently bags of compost will now carry warnings. The advice is to use gloves when you handle compost and avoid potting-up in confined spaces.

One of the highlights of the autumn season is the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show, which runs from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th September. I have many pleasant memories of autumn shows at Harrogate particularly the row upon row of splendid dahlias and wonderful vegetables, not to mention the largest onion competition. Information on the show and tickets available from www.flowershow.org.uk

An interesting spat seems to have broken out between the ‘beloved’ and mild-mannered Alan Titchmarsh and the president of the RHS. Apparently, Elizabeth Banks, the RHS President, had commented that the BBC’s coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show and Gardeners’ World had “dumbed down” and become “patronising” to viewers. Were the BBC scared of plant names? Frightened of being “snobby”?

The comments so outraged our lovely Mr Titchmarsh that he issued a riposte in his Gardeners’ World magazine column: “Recently the ‘dumbing down’ arrow was loaded into the bow of righteous indignation and fired in the direction of Gardeners’ World and the BBC’s Chelsea Flower Show coverage by the president of the Royal Horticultural Society,” he said. “If I tell you that Metasequoia glyptostroboides was discovered in China in 1948, does that make me a better gardener than if I say that the dawn redwood was discovered in the year that Prince Charles was born? Of course not.”

Alan goes on to point out that what matters is the reliability of the information purveyed – and that the full Latin name of every plant shown is almost always given in the form of a caption. He continues: “I cannot believe that elitism and exclusivity in the gardening world is the way forward – quite the opposite.” Well said our Alan.

Gardening should be fun, we do not need to feel inferior because we cannot use the proper Latin names for plants. To do so in a populist TV programme will definitely put people off – I know it does me.

However, that said, I have a lovely little book “Plant Names Simplified” which gives not only Latin plant names but their pronunciation and derivation/meaning. In the Preface to this useful little book (written by A.T. Johnson and H.A. Smith) –the authors explain that the glossary has been prepared to offer the reader a simple translation and pronunciation of the names of such plants, trees and shrubs as are commonly grown in the average garden: “ As they stand, such names are to most of us something more than an awkward obstacle barring the way to any real intimacy with the elements of botany. They are a direct hindrance to our progress as gardeners and tend to complicate rather than to elucidate the difficulties of a vast and absorbing subject.” So its not just Alan then.

I have a friend who can roll out Latin plant names in the same way I can order a gin and tonic. I have to admit that I am more than a little jealous! Latin plays an important role in the classification of the natural world no more so than with plants.

So the way forward, I would have thought, was to tread a careful path between the use of the Latin name and the common one. Stimulate the interest and Latin will become less of a mystery and more meaningful in identifying your plants.

I have another little book “The Enthusiasts Book of Gardening Latin” (given to me by that same friend – I think she wanted to do something about my pitiful attempts at pronunciation and understanding when we tour gardens). Like “Plant Names Simplified” it lifts the veil on those strange sounding names so that you begin to fully understand why we use Latin. So now if I see a label with ‘albifrons’ as part of the name I know it means “has white fronds”. In fact it can be quite fun.

Well that’s my rant for this week . Enjoy the Indian summer – it probably won’t last!!

This and That

2010-08-24T12:27:00.001+01:00

The Reckless Gardener newsdesk can get all kinds of information during the summer months and this last few weeks has been no exception, everything from a pyjama party to launch a campaign to save our Toads to information on an exciting new website of activities.

So first to the toads! The wildlife charity Froglife is launching a year long mission to raise money and awareness about the thousands of toads that die on our roads each year. Their new campaign - Tuppence a Toad - launches with Tucking in the Toads on Friday 1st October, a bedtime themed event to wave the toads goodbye as they hibernate over winter. According to Froglife, Toads on Roads volunteers saved over 50,000 toads in 2010 alone but thousands are dying where there are no volunteers to take them to safety. The Toad Patrollers go out at night and carry toads across the road in buckets. The Tuppence a Toad campaign highlights the difference people can make by working together and asks people to give their small change to help achieve this vital work. They are also challenging businesses to raise 2p for every toad saved on the road.

The Tucking in the Toads pyjama party is on Friday 1st October 2010 at the Orton Hall Hotel, Peterborough. Find out more on www.froglife.org

The Royal Bath and West of England Gardening Show which runs from 3rd September will be the venue for the launch of a special appeal by the Southern Spinal Injuries Trust (SSIT). The Trust are raising funds to build a Jubilee Garden at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre which will be used in the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries. The garden will provide patients and their families with an important social area outside the hospital environment as well as offering them the opportunity of gardening as part of the rehabilitation process. We wish them luck in their campaign. If you want to find out more about the Jubilee Garden or would like to contribute/help in fund raising log onto www.ssit.org.uk

One issue we all champ about during the summer months is smelling bins so I was interested to receive a sample of Bin Buddy. The product promises to rid your rubbish of unpleasant odours and kill insects such as flies, wasps, ants etc, between collection days. The dual function neutralises odours leaving behind a freshness while the insecticide kills pests without harming pets or the environment. Its even available in two fragrances - Citrus and Berry Blast. You simply sprinkle the powder into your bin each time you dispose of your rubbish! Bin Buddy should be available in most major supermarkets but you should be able to get it initially from ASDA, Waitrose and independent hardware stores. I'll let you know how I get on with my sample but anything that keeps the wasps down is a winner in my book.

The hose pipe ban is finally lifted in the North West and we have had quite a lot of rain in the last few weeks so we are back to normal. As August progresses the garden starts to change into its autumn hue. The late Christopher Lloyd observed in his "Gardening Year" that August brought a heavy dew at night to the garden at Gt Dixter. He also commented that too many gardens give up in August and that Vita Sackville-West hated the month at Sissinghurst. However, he goes on to point out that he actually loved this time in the garden and that it provides many opportunities. Too many of us forget that from mid to late August we can bring a lot of colour into the garden which will carry through to October. The pink Japanese anemone is now starting to strut its stuff in my garden and the Phlox are rampant. Kniphofia, Aster, revived Alchemilla mollis (cut back hard last month) and of course the wonderful Dahlia, all add colour and substance as the main garden wanes.

I also think late August is a good time to take a long look at the garden and do some planning for next year while you can still see all your plants and their situation. Too many people do this in the winter when the foilage has died and it is easy to think you have more room than you have!

If you are looking for some exciting activities or places to go, you will find- www.ooh.com
really useful. This new site lists gardening courses and activities as well as a wide range of other courses. So log on and see what they have to offer. It's a great idea for a website and I am sure 'ooh' will prove very popular.

So go out and enjoy whatever mother nature still has to bestow and remember that the garden is a year-long project - still lots to do yet!

Lazy days of summer!

2010-08-12T10:51:00.000+01:00

I no doubt that those of us in the northern climes have noticed that since the children broke up for their summer holidays we have had virtually non-stop rain, albeit with smatterings of sunshine in between! However, I feel there is still that atmosphere of lazy summer days around and I find it hard some days to sit down and become a 'desk slut' once again, pounding out on my keyboard.

However, I have just returned from a fab day at RHS Garden Wisley - ok I didn't have constant sun during my visit, in fact it rained - but I did nevertheless really enjoy myself and hopefully my photographs will be ok too. The Wisley Glasshouse is sensational and another thing I really liked about the garden was how easy it was to navigate which is important to someone with bad legs and a walking stick (me) - not to mention those who have to enjoy their gardens from a wheelchair. There also seems to be a natural path of progression around Wisley which means that you are less likely to miss bits out, which always happens to me. My picture shows some of the fantastic plants in the Glasshouse but there is so much more at Wisley that you really need a couple of visits to see everything. Our feature on Wisley will appear on the website in the next few days so keep logging onto - www.recklessgardener.com

Dobbies, have just published a very good blog on poison plants and you might like to check that out -
http://www.dobbies.co.uk/blog/poisonous-plants - we did review a book recently on the Reckless Gardener website written by John Robertson "Is that cat dead?"which is an excellent guide to poison plants and an entertaining read in its own right. The Poison Garden at Alnwick Castle is proving very popular and it is useful for us to know the properties of plants which may cause harm in our gardens for obvious reasons! That doesn't mean we don't grow them - just to be aware when not to touch, eat or smell!

Birthdays and anniversaries are never easy to remember but if you have them stored in one place for easy reference then the job becomes easier. The RHS Birthday Book has just been launched showcasing the work of Lilian Snelling MBE, which formed the outstanding model for the British botanical artists in the latter half of the 20th century. The Birthday Book also makes a really nice present and is the perfect accompaniment to the RHS Diary and RHS Address Book. Priced at £5.95 ex VAT.

'A Garden Party to Make a Difference' will be running in the Prince of Wales private gardens in Clarence House and the gardens of Lancaster House and Marlborough House from 8th to 19th September. Described by one source as 'the ultimate garden party for the eco-conscious', the event sounds brilliant. Organised by 'Start' The Prince of Wales initiative launched in February - with the aim to help people across the UK take small steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle - the festival will cover a number of areas. There is a musical programme curated by Jools Holland, Growing and Gardens with Alan Titchmarsh and Comedy by Marcus Brigstocke and Hugh Dennis, to name but a few things taking place.

Information about the event and tickets can be obtained on www.startgardenparty.co.uk

My picture (right) is another pic of Wisley, just to make you envious! Enjoy what's left of the lazy days of summer!

Summer's passing

2010-08-02T11:15:00.000+01:00

As we enter August it is hard to believe that we have gardened through the wet monsoons of autumn and the fierce ice and cold of the harsh winter, through to the dry, dry sunny days of the spring and are now nearly through summer! UK gardeners have had just about the most diverse gardening year possible. What the autumn will bring is well, hard to predict, go figure!

Quite a few interesting bits of information landed on the Reckless Gardener news desk this last few days. One being the search for gardeners who garden 'against the odds'.

This is being run by the The Sunday Telegraph and the Conservation Foundation with Green & Black's Organic in memory of the late Elspeth Thompson (pictured), who was a popular gardening columnist with The Sunday Telegraph. The awards are for ordinary gardeners who cultivate green corners in unpromising and unexpected places. They are named after Elspeth's online diary, launched shortly before she died in March.

It's a lovely tribute to Elspeth and you can find out more by logging onto: www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening
Closing date is Friday 17th September 2010 and judging follows the next week. So bring some recognition to the unsung heroes of your community for their part in transforming our local environment for everyone to enjoy, in memory of a wonderful person.

In September, that pin-up of the gardening world - the Landscape Man, aka Matthew Wilson, will be addressing the Soft Landscape Workshop hosted by Palmstead Nurseries. His theme will be raising the standards of our public spaces and basically saying 'No' to small budgets for public landscaping projects. Matthew is all too aware that the current situation facing the landscape industry is not sustainable and that one of the sad realities of the recesion will be that there will be far fewer working in the industry at the end than at the start.

Coming out of recession and collectively attempting to raise standards and the level of budgets by actually saying 'no to doing things on a ridiculously small budget is essential.

He points out that countries like Germany, America and Scandinavia are innovatively applying budget and thought to green spaces and urges that the UK do the same. Well said Matthew, let's hope enough 'influential' people hear what you say and act on it.

The RHS have announced the appointment of Sue Biggs as Director General. She will take up her post this month, succeeding Gordon Seabright, who has been acting Director General since September 2009. Sue joins the RHS with 30 years award-winning experience in the international leisure industry and is a longstanding member of the RHS and a passionate gardener who has designed six gardens for friends.

Do you know you could be putting your well being at risk by failing to spend enough time in the 'right kind' of outdoor space or garden? Well, according to research by leading woodcare manufacturer, Ronseal and prominent psychologist, Professor Geoff Beattie, a 'lack of green' can manifest itself as negative emotions such as stress or anxiety. Many more people are affected in spring and summer when they feel they should be spending more time in their garden or outdoors.

There are simple ways of combating 'lack of green' for example trying to avoid over-exposure to concrete or overly built up environments (so if you live in a city make sure you visit some of our excellent city centre parks for that bit of green space). Too much time spent in noisy and busy environments means over-stimulation while spending too much time in poor natural can also affect your mood. Generally a lack of fresh air should not be overlooked - in other words, take at least an hour a day outside in a green, well maintained and attractive outdoor space. Exposure to the natural environment has a major restorative effect and helps you unwind after a busy day.

And remember that Reckless Gardeners really do enjoy their outdoor space especially with a glass of wine (in moderation of course!).

RHS Tatton Park 'out of this world' gardening

2010-07-23T11:44:00.000+01:00

Press day for the 2010 RHS Tatton Park Flower Show started calmly enough, with darkened skies and threatening rain, not conditions to please the photographers though. We managed to get most of our shots done in a short period of brightness before the storm clouds threatened. So sad when the exhibitors put so much into their gardens and I can only hope that the weather for the rest of the show remains reasonable.

That said, there were some very unusual and challenging gardens this year and I have to admit that I enjoyed all of it despite the overcast skies. The three gardens in the RHS Young Designer of the Year Competition were outstanding, so much so that two - William Quarmby's 'Moor Work' and Olivia Stewart's 'Clear Waters Rising' both won silver gilt and Hugo Bugg's 'The Albert Dock Garden' won Gold and best in show (below). That says a lot for our talented young designers and augers well for the future of garden design.

The 'out of this world' experience of Space Ritual: Tony Heywood's Chamber Gardens (Gold) was quite something and will be a big talking point at the show but if I loved anything it was Tony and Derek Smith and John Humphreys 'A Matter of Time' (Gold) which just took my fancy. Here we have thousands and thousands of lettuces in a big crater and right in the middle (you have to look in for him) lays an alien! Loved it, loved it. So glad it got Gold.

Also in the Visionary category was 'Wave Dance' (Gold) designed by John Everiss, which won best in class. Capturing the moment when a wave breaks onto the shore, using a combination of modern materials in a contemporary style. The galvanised steel wave is very eye catching and then you go to a beach of cobbles which leads to the shoreline planting of grasses. Sensational and again worthy of that coveted Gold.

Clive Scott, a regular at Tatton Park Show, brought us 'Dressed in Black' a sensuous garden with moody planting and a very relaxing feel. Clive was awarded Silver Gilt and I am sorry he didn't just tip 'Gold' it was such a nice garden.

The Best back-to-back went to 'Shower Time' (Gold) with its self-circulating shower and plunge pool designed for guests at a boutique hotel and day spa but in the back-to-backs one of my favourites was 'A Plant Hunter's Retreat' (Gold) which featured a neat, compact and movement filled garden. They had also made a 'Wardian' case to show how the original plant hunters used to bring back the plants they found on their travels. A lovely garden dedicated to Harry Delaney, RHS tutor at Reaseheath College.

On the Home Sweet Home garden (NACRO, Gtr Manchester) they had a nifty little wildlife home which I reproduce here because it really could be very useful in the garden.

This year the Visionary Gardens and the Flower Bed Competition Gardens were the best I have ever seen at Tatton. The winner of the Flower Bed Category was Stoke-on-Trent Council who had a fantastic design celebrating the first meeting of the new council in 1910 of the six pottery towns. The sedum seat covers on the chair were just perfect so I was pleased they got Gold and Best in Category.

As I write this blog there still a few days of the show left so if you haven't got along there yet I suggest you do so at the weekend. Tatton is always a lively and happy show, no matter what the weather, but they say the weekend is set fair so it is an opportunity not to be missed.

Finally, we returned home up the M6 in an absolute wall of water. The motorway was flooded, we couldn't see and it reminded me of my boat ride at Niagra falls, such was the force of the water. My maker was obviously alongside me because we made it back to Cumbria but it is not a journey I would want to repeat again in a hurry. But you know something? It was worth it, because Tatton 2011 has some special gardens and I wouldn't have missed them for the world.

Sun shines on Hampton Court

2010-07-08T16:00:00.001+01:00

With the lovely summer weather in full spate the gardens at this year's Hampton Court Flower Show were just magical. To celebrate the centenary of Girlguiding a special garden was designed which seemed to attract half the population of guides throughout the UK. Packs of happy and excited youngsters enjoyed the flower show on press day and were no doubt rightly proud of their own dedicated show garden as well as the container competition especially devised for guides. Some really zany ideas for planting schemes placed into the most unlikely containers entertain visitors all down the long water. An old toilet bowl, a wheel chair, odds and bits of kitchen equipment, you name it and they used it.

The sight of happy sunny sunflowers was also a welcome one on the Home Grown feature (Fields of Gold) as were the gardens where cosmos was planted. This year these elegant and long lasting flowers seemed to be everywhere and were a pure delight. One garden which used cosmos very effectively was the 'A matter of urgency' garden which also had a large tap fountain feature which really was a double take because you immediately wondered how the tap was being supported. Very clever.

The rose festival is another highlight of Hampton Court and once again this year there were excellent exhibits. The smell of the roses as you enter the tent is the best in the country and there is no other show I attend where the smell is as intense as in the Hampton Rose Festival Marquee.

I was particularly impressed with young Jack Dunckley's garden. At only 17 Jack produced a stunning design. A typical cottage garden absolutely packed with all manner of plants. He was awarded a Silver but I felt his garden deserved higher. I am biased because I love dense colourful planting but his was one garden which drew me back again and again. I feel sure that visitors to the show this week will find his garden one of their favourites.

The Conceptual gardens are getting better and better each year and there was one garden which really caught my eye, mainly because it reminded me of the iron men on Crosby Beach and I could see its functionality as a beach attraction. A Fable for Tomorrow, designed by students from the University College Falmouth, illustrates our native flora under pressure. The garden is an old Cornish seed bank which has been split in half to reveal its treasures, held back by great rusty steel walls with some seeds spilling out to germinate around pools that reflect light from the bank's copper core.

The Girlguiding Garden UK was clever in that designer Philippa Pearson wove together a lot of different strands representing the role of guiding earning a Silver Gilt medal and a lot of attention from visitors. Planting is inspired by Jekyll and the garden is walk-through so there is a lot of see and take in. Well done to everyone on this imaginative and exciting garden.

I spoke about the lovely cosmos on several of the gardens. These graceful plants, gently blowing in the breeze, are typical summer blooms and make lovely additions to any garden.

I particularly liked the way Jill Foxley used them on her 'A matter of Urgency' garden. Next to the stunning sunflowers these were my favourite. Jill also used Agapanthus africanus, Sidalcea, Geranium, Heuchera and Salvia and Lychnis in her palette.

There was a point when I was approached by a jolly group from the Staffordshire Society who have had a rose named after the County. One lady kindly gave me her rose because she thought I had been 'abandoned' - nice thought and welcome gesture but I felt somewhat a fraud because I hadn't been 'abandoned' merely decided to take a short rest before pressing on to other matters! Hope you all enjoyed your trip down for Staffordshire and got home safely.

It is now only a few weeks to Tatton Park and the north's own special flower show so preparations are underway to start coverage. We always eagerly await Tatton at Reckless Gardener and so hopefully, fingers crossed, for some more stunning summer days so that visitors can have a great experience and enjoyable day out.

June - sun, flower shows and weeds

2010-06-08T11:59:00.000+01:00

Having just recovered from a hectic Chelsea I am now earnestly moving towards getting ready for Hampton Court. Hardly time to draw breath - but we have had some lovely sunny warm days to enjoy the garden this last few weeks and despite the dry conditions, the gardens seem to be relishing the sun at last. Everything this spring seems to have doubled in size and I wonder if it is as a result of the harsh winter which has hardied those plants who survived enabling them to bloom even better than before.

We have had quite a few books to review in the office recently and two I think were really handy. The Wildlife Trusts have produced the 'Wildflower detectives' handbook' which is a great companion for country walks and wild flower spotting. There are good diagrams to help you identify plants and space on the page for your own observations and recording of sightings. It's only £7.99 from www.mileskelly.net - also very useful for using with children during the summer holidays.

Trugs, dibbers, trowels and Twine is a little compendium of gardening advice with snippets about garden folklore and inspiring quotations as well as gardening advice which is both classic and contemporary. Written by Isobel Carlson this little gem would make a great present and at only £9.99 is great value.

While I was at Chelsea I had the opportunity to catch up with Neil Lucas from Knoll Gardens, Dorset. If you live near to the gardens you might be interested in the range of classes Neil holds during the summer. He will be running a masterclass in Naturalistic Gardening, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, on 24th June. Check out his website for a range of masterclasses at www.knollgardens.co.uk - Many of the classes are also listed on the Reckless Gardener website calendar. The study garden at Knoll is reproduced at the top of this current blog - check out those fab miscanthus.

This week is Plant Invaders Week and the National Trust are running a number of activities at over 70 NT sites in which you can help. One of the biggest threats to British wildlife is the spread of non-native invasive plants, and the idea of Plant Invaders Week is to tackle this problem. When invasive plants move into a valley or pond they smother everything else, leaving little room for other plants to flourish and wildlife struggles as a result. Check out the NT website to see if there is something happening near you - www.nationaltrust.org.uk/events

If you were lucky enough to visit the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year and want a reminder of the fab gardens on display you can now get a special DVD as a souvenir. Log onto www.rhs.org.uk/chelseadvd

The weeds have started to grow in earnest in my little patch just now and every day there needs to be a concerted effort to tackle them. A little a day helps keep the backache away, so remember that 5 minutes around your tubs and borders can work wonders, turn your back for a week and you will find a bed of nettles, chickweed and ground elder colonising your borders!

To quote from Trugs, dibbers, trowels and twine - "When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden" Minnie Aumonier - sound advice.

Hot fab Chelsea

2010-05-26T13:19:00.000+01:00

Andy Sturgeon's Daily Telegraph Garden - Best in Show

Tropical sunshine was not on the cards when I packed my bags for this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show, but tropical sunshine is what we got and what a day! The fashionistas and glitterati turned out in their summer finery, everyone cooked and drank a lot of liquid, and the sun tan got its first real blush of the season.

Probably one of the best Chelsea's I have been too, the standard of the large gardens was just superb and somehow I feel that this time Chelsea has got back to its roots - yes there were innovations, and rightly so, but the gardens had a more natural and earthy appeal - designers did not lose sight of the fact that gardens are to relax in and yes the plants play a part too.

I was delighted that Andy Sturgeon won the Best in Show for his lovely garden for the Daily Telegraph. Andy is one of the country's most talented designers and the sun brought out all the clever and interesting aspects of his garden to perfection.

The exhibits in the Great Pavilion were again among the best I have ever seen at Chelsea. The standard each year just gets higher and higher.

Problem with the Great Pavilion is that you want to run in several directions at the same time, to the hostas, the roses, the maples or the alpines. This way that way I don't know! Trouble is you always miss some gem or other - perhaps I should get myself some motorised transport for next year!

David Austin launched six new varieties of rose so keep posted on the Reckless Gardener website for an update on them.

I found Twiggy getting friendly with a lot of roses and a group of very talented young ladies performing with very weird looking instruments! That got everyone in party mood and all we needed now was to partake of the plunge pool provided by those lovely gardeners from 'down under' in the form of Flemings Trailfinders, on their Oz garden but obviously that wasn't allowed!

There is much to see and do at this year's Chelsea and those lucky enough to have tickets will not be disappointed. Its another sell out, so let's hope the weather stays kind as well.

Chelsea getting closer

2010-05-05T09:20:00.003+01:00

The greatest event on the gardening calendar is getting ever closer and the excitement is mounting. What will be this year's main themes, colours, ideas? Personally I love colour so the gardens with buzz and excitement are the ones for me. Andrew Duff, Garden School Director at the Inchbald School of Design, thinks that this year we will see "rich, moody green backdrops brightened by almost sweet-shop coloured flowers". If he is correct then it is going to be my kind of Chelsea.

There are always lots of 'associated' events running alongside the Chelsea Flower Show and once again Clifton Nurseries will host a Chelsea Garden Party on Thursday 27th May from 6.30pm to 9pm. This is our chance to meet Clifton's award winning team from previous Chelsea Flower Shows, giving a review of this year's show plus the opportunity to discuss this year's entries. Enj0y delicious simple summer food and drink which is included in the ticket price of £25.00 or £20 for Friends of Clifton. Book tickets on 020 7432 1866 or contact guy.pullen@clifton.co.uk

Peter Jones (Sloane Square Branch of John Lewis) will be offering an exclusive Floral Trio Afternoon Tea available from the 25th to the 29th May. They are reworking the popular afternoon tea to create a unique floral treat for you using traditional English garden flowers.

This weekend the National Trust's Acorn Bank, in Cumbria, are hosting a Full Bloom Festival to celebrate all that is spring, blossom time and our wonderful orchards. Open on Sunday 9th May from 11am to 4.30pm there will be various organisatiolns on hand to celebrate the blossoming of the first anniversary of the National Trust's Traditional Orchard Project.

National Tomato Week starts on Monday 17th May and B&Q are continuing their commitment to Get Britain Gardening. They have joined forces with the National Trust for a second year to offer 50,000 peat-free tomato plants to visitors this summer. The plants will be available at the top 100 properties around the country from mid-May.

Keep logging into www.recklessgardener.com for all your Chelsea news.

Spring has arrived

2010-04-23T08:52:00.005+01:00

Happy St George's Day to you all. I know spring has arrived because I spent a really pleasant day at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show yesterday. Crowds flocked to the annual Spring event. Not only did we have lovely spring sunshine but also the treat of a dazzling display of spring flowers and plants which really warmed up the heart and at last unlocked the shackles of a very, very long and cold winter. My picture shows a beautiful Primula vulgaris AGM from Slack Top Alpine Nursery. Just sublime!

Don't miss our report on the show which should go live on our website - www.recklessgardener.com - in the next few days.

If you are in the Kendal area of Cumbria on Sunday then go along to the National Trust's Sizergh Castle for their honey and bee event. It opens at 11am each day and runs to 4pm. Get a tast of honey, learn about honey bees and enjoy some lovely surroundings at the same time.

I hear on the grapevine that at the Asparagus Festival in the Vale of Evesham, which happens to start on St George's Day, a campaign is going to be launched for asparagus to become the official symbol of St George's Day. Interesting!

The Leeds Garden at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show promises much and I am really looking forward to it.

Visitors to the Civic Hall in Leeds are in for a treat as well because as part of the Chelsea Show promotion the City have put on an eye-cathing blaze of colour - filling the flower beds around the landmark building with striking Polyanthus Crescendo flowers and signs to help promote The HESCO Garden 2010.

We are nearing Compost Awareness Week, which runs from the 2nd to 8th May so check out our website for some really useful hints on composting. Don't forget you can also follow us on Twitter - just go onto www.recklessgardener.com and take a look at our interactive section.

Good Day sunshine

2010-04-07T12:30:00.003+01:00

I am mildly cheered up by the sign of the sun today. I say 'mildly' because the weather seems to ve very variable, ie one thing in the morning and something else pm. But the calendar moves on, the daffodils have appeared, the tulips are struggling for glory and the first signs of life in the Astrantia and perennial geraniums tells me that I have not lost them over the harsh winter.

Congratulations to Gardening Direct for their support of garden charity Thrive. Gardening Direct have supplied a large quantity of bean seeds for Thrive's BeanFest 2010 competition. The seeds have now been distributed to groups of people Thrive works with including projects that work with disabled people and people affected by stroke or heart disease. If you work with disabled people or are disabled yourself and would like to enter the competition, call Thrive on 0118 988 5688, for your two free packets of bean seeds and comp. guidelines. The winner gets plants to the value of £200 from Gardening Direct.

My picture today is of Arnside Railway Viaduct - you can just see the tops of the mountains in the background still have slight snow on them although it is fast disappearing now.

there is now just a few weeks to go before everyone must dispose of their personal supply of sodium chlorate - the deadline set by the Pesticides Safety Directorate is 10th May 2010. Gardeners will now have to look around for a new solution to the control of tough weeks. Bayer Garden has a range of products that are helping fill this gap, one being Long Lasting Ground Clear, which is a systemic broad spectrum residual weedkiller, providing season long control of difficult weeds such as thistles and nettles on waste ground, around trees and shrubs.

Note: Long lasting Ground Clear contains glyphosate, ffufanacet, metosulam.
Always read the label and use pesticides safely.

The birds are singing

2010-03-25T11:34:00.005Z

The birds are singing so perhaps they know that spring is just around the corner. The gardening season must be getting into growing mode because the reckless gardener email box gets busier each day. My eyes are on stalks at the moment because we have had quite a few book reviews to get through so keep logging on to the website to check them out over the next few weeks. One book which I have just read is absolutely fascinating and very unusual.

John Robertson's "Is that cat dead? and other questions about poison plants' answers some of the many questions he was asked when warden of the poison garden at Alnwick Castle Gardens. It makes very entertaining and informative reading - John also has his own website so check that out on www.thepoisongarden.co.uk

By the way the cat is not dead just high on catmint!!

There are quite a few campaigns at the moment urging us to grow our own. Garden Organic has now launched their One Pot Pledge®, a nationwide campaign, to get 30,000 people to pledge to grow their own fruit and veg for the very first time. You can read about the campaign on our website www.recklessgardener.com
or log onto their Garden Organic campaign website at
www.onepotpledge.org

For the second year in a row B & Q is digging deep and showing its support for wounded servicemen and women by joining with charity Help for Heroes this summer. As well as supporting the design and build of a garden at this year's RHS Chelsea, the retailer will be selling two exclusive products so that its customers can support the charity too. The garden will feature a new, limited edition, Help for Heroes Sweet Pea seed mix and a limited edition Petunia mix, which will go on sale from 24th May at B & Q Stores.

The Thrive 'Plant a Difference' campaign will officially launch on the 10th April when the Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Mary Bayliss will do the honours at the horticultural charity's food and plant festival. People around the UK are being asked to help disabled gardeners by swapping plants or produce between April and September 2010 and making a donation for each swap. Money raised will be used to send boxes worth £35 full or ready-to-plant vegetables, herbs or perennials, directly to the door of a disabled person to help them discover the benefits of gardening for themselves. For information on the plant swap log onto: www.thrive.org.uk

Spring is here

2010-03-16T10:59:00.003Z

Evidence of spring is now, thankfully, starting to show. I have actually been out in the garden, following its big pre-spring tidy up, and started to sort out the pots and arrange them for the next few months.

Everything is about three weeks late up in Cumbria and I dare say in most other parts of the UK as well. Just to help you into the Spring feeling, here is a pic of the lovely daffs at Brodie Castle, Morayshire, Scotland. Estates and gardens across the UK are now opening up for spring weekends to view daffodils, bluebells and snowdrops. When this happens you start to feel that the spring and summer is actually on its way, so let's hope that after the really bad winter we all get some good weather in the next few weeks.

If you are up in Scotland there are several National Trust for Scotland properties opening for their show of daffodils and spring flowers including Brodie, Threave Garden, Dumfries and Galloway and Greenbank Garden in Glasgow. Check out their website for information on opening times and dates: www.nts.org.uk

A poll of PURE digital radio users has shown that birdsong is the most popular alarm tone after the traditional beep. Numbers of people choosing birdsong to wake up to were more than double those of any of the other 365 sounds you could choose. Second to birdsong were church bells.

An RSPB spokesperson commented that songs from familiar birds in your garden are extremely relaxing and a gentle cheerful sound is a good start to the day.

Check out the website for book reviews of the lates companion book for Chelsea and all your gardening news - www.recklessgardener.com

It will soon be flower show season so keep logging on to find out what is going on. If you have any comments about your own garden log onto our forum and become a member of our members section.

We have quite a few book reviews coming up om the next few weeks and if you haven't seen them yet, do log onto the Three Men Went .... videos which are a lot of fun.

Bright spring days

2010-03-07T13:12:00.003Z

The weather has been superb these last few days and we have really enjoyed actually getting out into the garden and doing some pre-season work. The pots are ready for the spring and all the beds cut down and weeded so the welcome break in the weather has been a boon. I have a sneaking suspicion that we might be in for a dry spring so have resisted the temptation to empty out the barrels which are just about at bursting point after the wet periods in January.

The camellias are still in good bud although I fear one or two have been damaged by frost, it has been so excessive this winter, however, we are looking forward to a reasonably good show within the next month or so. Talking of camellias, Trehane Nursery, Wimborne (next to Knoll Gardens) will start their plant sale on 27th March which runs until the end of April. They have severeal new varieties of camellias for sale including the one pictured which is called Oo-la-la. Last year's sale was very successful with gardeners coming from as far afield as Wales and Derbyshire to get the right camellia for their situation.

We will soon be planting and its very easy to forget where you put things, I know I do and so does my neighbour with sometimes fatal consequences! The answer might be a notebook from funkeypigeon - with this handy little aid wondering which seeds you planted and where will be a thing of the past. Check it out on www.funkypigeon.com

Its great to learn that since the RHS launched this year's Grow your own campaign last week, over 20,000 people have signed up. Signing up to the 'Veg Pledge' includes growing at work as well as at home and already several major businesses have agreed to support the idea and enable their employees to have plots at work. Cafedirect are planning to grow their own fruit and veg on the balconies of their London offices - this could be a whole new trend in Grow Your Own. Info. on the RHS campaign can be found on www.rhs.org.uk/growyourown

Don't miss out on show information or information of events/courses happening across the UK - make sure you log onto www.recklessgardener.com events page - tab available on home page.

Thinking about mother's day

2010-02-18T10:16:00.006Z

As gardeners we might well be thinking about mother's day which will be heading our way 14th March. If you are thinking of sending flowers then you might like to consider the gardening charity Thrive who will receive a £10 donation for every bouquet you order from expert florists, Special Occasions Flowers. Thrive is a small charity that uses gardening to help disabled people. By ordering a bouquet you will help someone recovering from a stroke or accident, coping with dementia or perhaps sight loss or mental health issues.

You can choose from four beautiful bouquets designed exclusive to Thrive, hand-tied and presented in an aquapack - The Secret Bouquet, the Tranquil Bouquet, the Oriental Bouquet or the Butterfly Bouquet. They can be delivered anywhere in the UK, same day or next day delivery. If you want to know more log onto www.thrive.org.uk or call Thrive on 0118 088 5688.

Another present which would really be appreciated by a gardening mother would be RHS Membership for the year. For just £39 per year members enjoy free days out at RHS Gardens, the Garden Magazine, access to 140 RHS recommended gardens and one-to-one gardening advice.

There is also Special entry member days at RHS Shows with reduced priced ticket entry on public days. For more information about RHS membership log onto: www.rhs.org.uk and follow the membership link on the home page.

The Inchbald School of Garden Design, London, have a number of interesting courses coming up in their 50th anniversary year. Information on courses can be found on: www.inchbald.co.uk

As the weather continues cold I confess to having done little in the garden. It will all need its pre-spring clean-up shortly so I will have to sort myself out. Getting rid of winter weeds now saves a lot of hassle later on and can cut down on weeding in the spring.

Don't forget to log onto our new re-designed website at www.recklessgardener.com for all your gardening news. We will soon be starting our Chelsea coverage so don't miss out.

Planning Days

2010-02-08T12:19:00.007Z

Just to cheer us up during the continued long cold spell I thought I would post a pic taken at last year's Chelsea Flower Show. Brings back warm memories eh! What we must do during these long cold days is start to plan for the spring and summer. A good place to start is Gardening Which? The Jan/Feb issue has good advice on seed compost and new flowers for 2010.

There is also a test on gourmet potatoes and advice on hiring a contractor for your garden.

I've started some initial planning for the new season but will have to take into consideration this year, any plants which we might have lost due to the severe winter. Not only have we had snow and prolonged ice/frost but also quite a bit of water during November, so there are bound to be casualties.

We are continuing to be busy getting the website back up to strength and of course planning for the major flower shows now starts to get under way. All this planning and dare I say dreaming will help to chase away the worst of the cold and wet and may bring spring that little bit closer. I need more than a lovely burst of snowdrops to convince me that spring is just around the corner! At the moment my garden looks like an untidy mess but I have to say that the moss on the dry stone walls has come on a treat with all the rain we had in the autumn. Take a look.

Spring will also bring a bust of new gardening books so we will be bringing you news of the latest publications. Don't forget to check out the interactive section of our website, we have some really excellent videos and podcasts with all manner of advice and help for your garden and allotment through our collaboration with www.thegardenchannel.tv

Hope the sun shines for you just a little while this week and if you manage to get out and do some tidy work - enjoy.

2010-01-29T10:24:00.004Z

The National Trust have produced a really great portable notebook where you can make notes of particular varieties that catch your eye as well as planting combinations and ideas. Its a handy pocket size and just ideal for taking with you on those wonderful N.T. garden trips to record your favourite plants or notes. There's a section for house/garden visits and notes, useful addresses, plants to buy and information of NT properties with garden tours, seasonal information and tips for greener gardening. At only £6.99 I reckon no dedicated gardener should be without this excellent little notebook.

Coton Manor Garden have just issued their 2010 programme of courses which take place at the Coton Manor Garden School, Nr Guilsborough, Northants. There is a packed programme to tempt gardeners from all levels including courses on pots and containers; troubleshooting with Helen Yemm, Planting for Succession and Perennials for Late Summer. For details of their programme log onto their website: www.cotonmanor.co.uk

If you haven't checked out our new website yet then please do so - we are adding to it all the time so make sure you check each week to see what's new - www.recklessgardener.com

Congratulations to the Walled Garden at Scampston on being named Visitor Attraction of the Year by the Yorkshire Moors and Coast Tourism Awards.

The snow may have gone in some areas but we still need to feed the birds. Garden Bird Supplies offers a comprehensive range of bird food along with a monthly feeding guide so that bird lovers always know the best food to put out for their feathered visitors. You can order on line at
www.gardenbird.co.uk - The website also has information on bird care and nest boxes etc so is well worth a visit.

Tropical

2010-01-20T13:49:00.004Z

With the temp guage over 4 degrees it is feeling really tropical after the 'big freeze'. The Camellia trees in my garden have still not burst into flower despite flowering just after Christmas last year and two weeks before Christmas in 2008! We wait in anticipation. Very relieved to see that the buds have not rotted due to the frosts and snow so we should get a good show when they finally decide to wake up.

If you are interested in Bonsai you might find 'An Introduction to Bonsai' by John Hanby of value. John has put together this DVD which is a perfect start for any aspiring bonsai artist or enthusiast. The DVD covers pruning, wiring and shaping, keeping bonsai alive and watering. Running time is approx 82 minutes. Details from www.immediaproductions.co.uk

Congratulations to the Walled Garden at Scampston which has been named as Visitor Attraction of the Year at the Yorkshire Moors and Coast Tourism Awards. Scampston is an RHS Recommended Garden and has received widespread acclaim since the former Victorian kitchen garden was given a highly contemporary redesign by Dutch plantsman Piet Oudolf in 1999. The walled gardens open again on Good Friday, 2nd April 2010.

For the first time in the history of the RHS, pak choi, Brassica rapa Chinensis Group, is to be part of the RHS Wisley trials. Made popular by television chefs, this versatile vegetable has become more widely used as a salad leaf ingredient. The new trial will feature 27 different cultivars with both white and green stems including 'Natsu Taiko' and 'Colour and Crunch'. Thompson and Morgan have seen a steady but sustained increase in sales of pak choi due to the introduction of the new F1 hybrids which extend the growing season.

Other trails at Wisley for 2010 include, daffodil; asparagus; carrot and spring cabbage. A full list of 2010 trials for flowers and vegetables will appear shortly on www.rhs.org.uk/trials

Don't forget that Reckless Gardener has changed domain names and you should now log on at www.recklessgardener.com

Happy gardening.

big freeze

2010-01-10T13:59:00.007Z

There cannot be much gardening getting done around the UK with the present 'big freeze' weather conditions. My garden is under snow and I notice that the camellia trees, which were in healthy bud before Christmas and indeed in years past have flowered at Christmas, are not showing any signs of bursting forth. There is a danger that the arctic climate and heavy frosts may indeed damage budes on trees such as camellias so we will have to see when and if they flower this year at all.

The RHS has announced that new the new sponsor for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is to be M&G (leading UK investment firm). It's good to know that they have found a new sponsor in the present economic climate. Several big names are already lined up for the 2010 show including Diarmuid Gavin, Tom Stuart-Smith and Robert Myers. It will also be interesting to see how many gardens the show hosts this year. Last year saw a reduction in the number of both large and smaller show gardens. However, one good piece of news is that Flemings, the Australian nursery, are back for 2010 - they always bring a touch of sunshine to Chelsea.

We are busy reworking the main website which will now be hosted on www.recklessgardener.com

This will take some time but hopefully before the summer really gets into swing we will be virtually back to normal. The website will look different but will contain all the elements of our original site.

The spread of sudden oak death seems to be getting worse. Conifers have now been hit by the disease for the first time - Japanese larch and Western hemlock, along with beech, birch and oaks, have been found with the pathogen.

Remember during the cold weather to feed the birds and provide some fresh water (which you can keep from freezing completely by putting a floating object or twigs on the top). Now is the time to put up new nest boxes (nest box week is 14th to 21st February).

Not much work getting done in the garden at the moment (well I can't really see it for the snow etc) but hopefully when spring finally does arrive we don't find that we have lost too many plants. This winter has been so severe there are bound to be several varieties of plants in our gardens which basically won't make it. Perhaps if we had the added protection of a nice warm furry coat like our friend here we might feel more like getting out and clearing the snow! He looked very happy anyway when I took this picture.

Seasons Greetings

2009-12-12T12:09:00.003Z

The Reckless team are working hard to try and re-launch the site in time for the New Year so watch out for that. Cumbria has had its fair share of rain this last couple of months and it is really distressing to see the sodden ground as bad as it is. No doubt we will have lost quite a few plants in the garden by the end of the winter.

It was heartbreaking to see so many people flooded and we can only hope that they get their lives back together again as soon as possible. Our thoughts go out to them and our good wishes.

We congratulate our garden expert Martin Fish who has taken over from Roger Brownbridge as Show Director of the Harrogate Flower Show. Martin will be taking over from the Spring 2010 show onwards. Martin is well known for his writing for various gardening magazines, broadcasting and the popular flower show Roadshows. He says: "I have a hard act to follow, everyone knows and respects Roger for his professionalism as a show organiser. I just hope I can follow in his footsteps."

We all wish Martin well in his new position and every success for the future. He has kindly agreed to continue answering your garden queries on the Recklessgardener website when we are up and running again.

Because of the wet ground it has been difficult to get the garden cut back for the winter here but we have now just about managed. Typical Reckless I left the cutting back too late this year because there was still so much colour in the garden in November. Now I know why we should always do the cutting back by the end of the autumn. I won't leave it again.

All that remains on this post is for me to wish you all happy Christmas and a good 2010 with lots of happy and successful gardening.

Reckless website

2009-11-05T09:07:00.003Z

Sadly, for the 5th time this year the Reckless Gardener website has been hacked into. We are really fed up with this because we do not seem to be able to block these attacks despite careful protection management.

The website is run on a not-for-profit basis and simply for the enjoyment of other gardeners. However, every time we suffer one of these attacks we have to deal with the malicious code and then rebuild the site and check every one of thousands of pages. This takes considerable time and effort and with such a small team it is becoming daunting.

We have reluctantly decided to take the site off-line until after Christmas to give us time to consider another strategy for dealing with these increasing cyber attacks. We apologise to all our loyal followers (nearly half a million monthly) and we do hope that we will be able to resume in the new year.

The blog will continue to be updated and we will continue book reviews on the blog, so please do keep checking us out.

If we can overcome the problems and resume the site I will let everyone know via the blog.

Autumn leaves

2009-10-23T10:04:00.003+01:00

Autumn is now well upon us and there are some wonderful shades of browns, russets and reds in Cumbria just now. The leaves are dropping however and I suspect it will not be long before allthese lovely colours are lost to us.

Apparently this blog is one of Dobies favourites, so I am quite honoured to be included in their list. I often wonder if there is anyone out there who actually reads it but they must do otherwise Dobies would not know of its existence. So thanks for that chaps, much appreciated.

Following the success of the Big Lunch, the Eden Project have launched The Big Bulb Plant. They have teamed up with the Netherlands Flower Bulb Info. Centre and are encouraging us all to plant our spring bulbs before the end of November. They want communities to get involved as well as individuals. More information on www.thebigbulbplant.com

Congratulations to Martin Fish who takes over as Show Director of the Harrogate Flower Shows from Roger Brownbridge. Roger was a tower of strength over his 15 years as show director and has increased attendances by 35%. We wish him well in the future.

Martin, who takes over from the Spring Harrogate Show in 2010 realises its a hard act to follow but knowing Martin as I do I feel sure he will take the show on from strength to strength and build well on Roger's foundations. Martin is a well known writer for various magazines and is a regular broadcaster. We wish him well in his new venture.

Talking about the Harrogate Show, this autumn saw 34,000 visitors basking in wonderful autumn sunshine. Attendance numbers were up on last year and exhibitors saw an increase in spending throughout the show. For the veggies amongst us you may be interested to know that the Heaviest Onion Comp was won by Peter Glazebrook, third time winner, with an onion weighing in at 14lbs. 10oz. Just big enough for a good stew for the boy scouts camp I would think!

My picture this posting is of a lovely country cottage in the Trough of Bowland which I came across when I went to see a stage of the Cycle of Britain race recently. Picture postcard perfect - I just had to take a snap and thanks to the owner who gave me permission.

winter reading beckons

2009-10-10T11:24:00.005+01:00

As autumn marches on and thoughts of the pre-winter tidy-up are ever present it is good to realise that with winter comes the opportunity to catch up on all those gardening books we have been wanting to read but were too busy for during the summer.

One really delightful little book, published this month, is A Countrywoman's Notes by Rosemary Verey. Rosemary was one of England's most celebrated garden designers and writers. She created gardens for Elton John and the Prince of Wales. In her 'notes' she celebrates the intimacies of a rural world in an idyllic Cotswolds setting but with an eye to modern existence and an appreciation of progress. This informative and entertaining small volume contains engravings by contemporary artists and a personal forward by Prince Charles. Each chapter captures the atmosphere of successive months in her own entertaining and inspirational style.

Ursula Buchan, who writes regularly for the Spectator and Daily Telegraph, is another writer who never fails to entertain. In 'Back to the Garden'. she presents us with a collection of her garden writings, enabling us to appreciate some of the ways in which gardening intrigues, enriches and fascinates her and us. Ursula has a wonderful witty style of writing and this book will entertain us from the agonies of entering the village flower show to the joy of the 'Evelyn' rose. Whether she is discussing lawn-mower maintenance or the discovery that there is more to flower arranging than just putting them in a pretty vase, she touches the nerve of every dedicated gardener who will be able to share her experiences.

Both books are published by Frances Lincoln Ltd., and will make excellent Christmas presents for the gardener in your life.

Did I hear someone say heatwave?

2009-09-06T15:18:00.003+01:00

The heatwave, which really did not materialise at all in the UK this summer, save for a couple of very hot odd days here and there, is now well and truly beyond probabilities. We might yet get a dry autumn but on the evidence of the last couple of weeks I doubt this. We have had so much rain in Cumbria that the conservatory is turning green to match the rest of the garden.

I have mentioned before that sometimes I get quite unusual books coming across my desk and last week was no exception. 'The one-straw Revolution" by the late Masanobu Fukuoka, is a small little green book which has been re-issued from the original of 1978. Translated from Japanese, it is a manifesto about farming, eating and the limits of human knowledge and presents a radical challenge to the global systems we rely on for our food today.

Probably years ahead of its time in 1978, The One-Straw Revolution has been called the "Zen of the art of farming" but most people who know it already just refer to it as 'The little green book'. It is a spiritual menoir of a man whose innovative system of cultivating the earth reflects his deep faith in the wholeness and balance of the natural world. Certainly a must for all those guerrilla gardeners out there or the kitchen gardener who is dedicated to slow food cooking. Published by Frances Lincoln Limited its priced at £9.99.

One of the downsides of the rain is the inability to get out in the garden and do some weeding. The onset of autumn together with the excessive wet has certainly hastened the demise of a lot of perennials and it will soon be time to cut them all back. My astrantia plants have suffered considerably which is sad because you can often bet on them lasting right through October and beyond if you are lucky. The roses are still holding their own although the blackspot has made some of them look sorry specimens.

I mentioned in my last blog that Chesters Walled Garden is having to close - this beautiful garden in Northumbria, close to Hadrians Wall, will be a big loss to the area. Susie White, who runs the garden, is urging visitors to go over and see the garden in the next few weeks as the last time to see the garden in all its autumnal glory. This is really a sad situation - I can honestly say that Chesters was one of the nicest walled gardens I have ever seen. We can only hope that Susie can find somewhere else to locate her lovely and interesting plants.

This and That

2009-08-26T11:25:00.003+01:00

Sorry it has been a while since I last did a blog but the weeks have flown and the diary has been fairly hectic.

I recently received an email from a group of profesionals who arrange garden tours around Italy. If you are thinking of planning a visit to see Italy's wonderful gardens or thinking of taking a group you might be interested in what they have to offer. Clalys will arrange accommodation, transport in Italy and entry fees and their tours include some of the most wonderful gardens including Mortella Garden, the Campania Region Garden Tour and Sorrento and Capri (with a visit to some really beautiful villas and gardens). They also offer tours in other parts of Europe. Log onto their website for more information: www.clalys.com/en/index.html

The lovely gardens at the Caserta Royal Palace are pictured above courtesy of Clalys.

Several of our readers are carrying out a trial of some new loppers for Wilkinsons, so look out for their feedback in the coming weeks. We will also be taking a look at gardeners' aches and pains, which we all get after a summer of gardening, and some remedies and helpful hints to prevent strains and injury.

Coming up also some recipes using roses! Yes that is not a misprint, Atul Kochhar will be telling us how to use his latest ingredient, Roses, to make recipes with a culinary twist, while PlantforLife's Chris Collins, will be explaining how to care for our roses.

The weather during July and August did not produce the continued heat-wave we were all expecting and certainly there has been no shortage of water! So no worries about drought then this year. What the autumn will turn out to be like is certainly in the lap of the Gods, but perhaps we may get an Indian Summer and be able to stay out and enjoy our gardens just that bit longer.

I was sad to learn from the current issue of Gardening Which? (September 2009) that Gardener and author Susie White, who runs Chesters Walled Garden in Northumberland, is having to close the garden in May 2010. Reckless visited Chesters last year and we were most impressed with this beautiful organic garden. Hopefully, Susie can find a new home for her National Collections of thyme, sanguisorba and origanum and that she finds fresh inspiration from a new challenge. Our best wishes to her anyway.

Also in the September edition you will find new spring bulbs to whet your apetite and also a feature on what's the best way to create a lawn? Turf v seed.

clemat-is or cle-matis

2009-06-08T13:53:00.004+01:00

A certain frisson seems to have invaded The Times this week - an argument has broken out over the correct spelling of Wisteria. With the government in meltdown, an ongoing credit crunch and very little signs, as yet, of the prolonged hot summer we were promised, I would have thought people would have more to worry about.

I have noticed, in a very long journalistic career, that people get exercised over such things. Personally, I have always spelt it Wisteria and said it the same way, but The Times style guru says it should be Wistaria. So I looked up Plant Names Simplified, which was first written in 1931, to see what they said. Sure enough they have Wisteria, so named after Casper Wistar, "sometimes, but not originally spelt Wistaria." Well that seems pretty clear. Not to be in any doubt I then checked the RHS A-Z Enclyclopedia of Garden Plants. They also used Wisteria but put the spelling Wistaria underneath, while referring to the plant as Wisteria in the text. So there, Reckless has spoken!

We all pronounce garden species in different ways as well, often more to do with regional accent than anything. Clematis is one of the most common, where one can say clem-atis or clemat-is. Neither is wrong, and everyone knows what you are talking about.

During that lovely brief sunny spell we had recently, I popped into Sizergh Castle gardens. They were really lovely and the acers a treat to see. I have reproduced a photo here so you can enjoy the flavour of them as well.

The latest edition of Which? Gardening takes a look at sweet peas - they have trialled 30 varieties to see which will bring the most perfume to the garden. Research found that some of the showiest sweet peas had little or no scent at all. There is also a section on new plants and an item on lunchbox cucumbers! Plus three top jobs for June and a report on whether or not it is possible to grow Asian style herbs in a wet, dull UK summer.

Finally, there seems to be an awful lot of greenfly about this summer, far more than usual, so don't forget to encourage those ladybirds into the garden and if you are or want to be organic, then just use finger and thumb and squash them off!

The sun has got its hat on

2009-06-02T14:07:00.006+01:00

At last, a true taste of an English summer - what joy! The roses are smiling and blooming - what a difference the sun makes to an English garden. Let's hope it continues awhile yet.

We have got quite a few book reviews lined up over the next few weeks so don't forget to check out the website. The National Trust has just produced two new books: 'Allotments' by Jane Eastoe - inspiration and practical advice for would-be smallholders and 'Ponds', Creating and maintaining ponds for wildlife, by Chris McLaren.

Jane's book is full of useful information on how to plan an allotment, crop rotation, how to store your harvest plus some of the best recipes so you can enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Chris invites us to create a wildlife haven in our gardens or plot with a pond - he introduces us to the world of ponds, how to create one and maintain it - how to introduce wilflife to this idyllic pool and help it thrive.

Both books are priced at £7.99 and published by National Trust Books, an imprint of Anova Books. For information log onto www.anovabooks.com

Also on our bookshelf at the moment is "A year in the Life of Greenwich Park" by Anthony Quiney. Published by Frances Lincoln Ltd., - www.franceslincoln.com - this is a delighful pictorial diary of one of London's most popular parks.

Notably the grounds of Henry VIII's favourite royal palace and latterly home to the great dome of the Royal Observatory, the park has recently found itself in the spotlight of a bitterly fought dispute betwen local residents and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games over the staging of equestrian events in the park. The park itself is host to herds of deer, noble avenues of trees and huge expanses of grass - a favourite haunt of South Londoners looking for fresh air and open spaces.

I first encountered Greenwich Park when my daughter did the London Marathon and started in the park, indeed there is a picture of the marathon in the book. The book contains excellent photography which capture the magic and essence of the park throughout the year.

Scotts & lovethegarden.com are launching a big online competition with 1000 Miracle-Gro Liquafeed Starter Kit prizes up for grabs. The comp. runs from 1st to 30th June. The kits comprise an ergonmically designed triple-spray pattern hose and sprayer and one refill bottle of concentrated Liquafeed All Purpose Plant Food. To take part in the competition go to:
www.lovethegarden.com/competitions/09-06-liquafeed.html

Look out for our books reviews on the Gardens of Frank Lloyd Wright, Hidcote and Thomas Mawson, his life. gardens and landscapes on the website in the next few weeks.

Post Chelsea

2009-05-21T12:11:00.006+01:00

Cayman Islands Tourist Board Garden

I understand that the RHS awarded James May a special plasticine medal as a gesture because he couldn't be considered for any other type of medal - the garden did not contain any "real" flowers - I think that was quite nice. Whatever you think of the garden it certainly caused a stir and in many respects that is good because we need to be stimulated and even sometimes shocked. One lady was positively apoplectic when she saw it but the kids just loved it and perhaps they are more of a realistic critic in this case.

I really did like Kate Gould's garden - Kate, founded her company Helios in 1998 and her Eco Chic garden was one of only 3 Gold's in the Urban Gardens class. Her design was clever - to examine the potential of the hundreds of under-used inner-city spaces too often overlooked or simply concreted over by developers. The garden was entirely made from a recycled palette and it really was outstanding. She cleverly used shade-tolerant plants, dramatic green walls and permeable surfaces and positively demonstrated that recycling can be beautiful and indeed chic. The garden really deserved to win best in class.

I liked the Cayman Islands Tourist Board volcanic garden which again was something different and unusual this year. The picture above doesn't really do it justice but hopefully it gives a flavour.

Chic and modernist tended to win out at Chelsea this year - there was less fuss and bother somehow, but there were less gardens. Next year might be tricky as the sponsors of gardens tend to do so a year in advance, and as the economic climate is still less than healthy this could have a really detrimental effect on those designers hoping to get commissions for 2010, only time will tell.

Some gardening pundits are saying that Chelsea 2009 is low key - well perhaps so in some ways it is but in other ways it has given the chance to newer and younger designers to shine a bit more, such as James Wong and David Cumbero with their Canary Islands Spa Garden (pictured) and that is no bad thing. There are also less Gold medals this year but again there are less gardens, so the proportion of Gold to gardens is probably still about right.

I don't think anything earth shattering comes out of Chelsea 2009 but there is more realism and remember if you get fed up tending those roses and pulling those weeds there is always Plasticine.

Chelsea 2009 - the good, the bad and the downright stupid

2009-05-19T15:26:00.015+01:00

6.50am
Join the press line to get into the show early to bag a locker, once done, the first job of the day is to look at the press calls and times and see which of the glitterati are going to turn up today.

7.10am
Out and about - no glitterati this time in the morning - get my first glimpse of Luciano's garden for Laurent-Perrier - have already decided this is my best garden. Totally unfair this and biased but put it down to his Italian influence.

7.30am
Quick sweep of the Grand Pavilion - once again stunning displays - not sure about David Domoney's Qua Hortis display - those piranha look evil - so glad they are behind glass, hope to God they don't break out. The international displays are once again just magic - the vibrancy of the colours brings out the sunshine despite the dull overcast morning. Warm displays from the Jamaica Horticultural Society, Greneda, the City of Durban and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden are add to the international flavour.

7.45am
Catch up with Andy McIndoe on the Hilliers Stand. Once again their exhibit is amazing - this year Andy has chosen the theme 'Losing the Plot' which traces gardening through the various stages of your life. Another exhibit bound to win a Gold and another triumph for Hilliers.

7.50am
Notice that David Austin roses have got a great big chocolate cake for their launch to celebrate 40 years of the introduction of the repeat-flowering varieties of their English Roses. Make mental note not to miss out on that.

8.15am
Back in press tent for a cup of coffee. Julian Desborough manages to spill his tea over the table, over me and the assorted press papers. Fortunately for Julian, the tea is by now luke-warm and I am only moderately discomoded - just as well I am wearing dark colours otherwise he would be dead.

8.25am
We make a sweep of the courtyard gardens - standard is getting better year by year and I just love Entente Cordiale and Demelza. Good to see Cumbria represented with Pottering in North Cumbria - the Fenland Alchemist Garden is just perfect - followed closely by The Pilgrims Rest - can't make up my mind which of these gardens I like best.

Return to the major show gardens and have a chat with the designer on the Quilted Velvet Garden. Tony Smith is doing a garden at all three major RHS Shows this year so he has his work cut out. The garden's hard landscaping has been constructed using 36,000 pieces of slate, which is amazing.

10.00am
What is it about Helen Mirren? The paparazzi trample over each other to get a picture - I am pleased to note that Emma is elbowing her way to the front - she is quite good at this - meanwhile I stand aloof with some distaste at all the fuss. No competition from poor Vince Cable then who is over at the British Beekeeper's Association with Bill Turnbull - doubt there was a camera left in the place that wasn't trained on Helen Mirren.

I am relieved when it is time to leave the scrum and go over to Knoll Gardens stand for the launch of a new initiative with Cleve West and Neil Lucas. More about this in Reckless Gardener later - much more refined behaviour here - David Bellamy joined us and there was no unseemingly scrum.
The glitterati are now starting to appear and Stephen Fry, Jennie Bond and Helena Bonham-Carter have been spotted and over there, yes Joanna Lumley who gives Bill Nighy a big hug. Hmm!

11.00am

By now the champers is flowing - on little breakfast one could get quite squiffy - one nearly does - spot Olivia Harrison and is that Ringo? Spot Bill Nighy again at the David Austin stand - he is with Andrew Lincoln - suspect they might have seen the chocolate cake too.

Cast members of the British production of Calendar Girls line up at the Calendar Girls stand, Patricia Hodge, Lynda Bellingham and Julia Hills among them. Meanwhile, it is all happening at David Austin's - Jasper Conran has turned up with the CEO of Wedgewood, Moira Gavin, to celebrate both the anniversary and the launch of Austin's new roses.

Emma seems to have gone missing - I find her talking to Victoria Pendleton, the Olympic Gold medal winning track cyclist - they are deep in conversation - apparently Vicky has been interested in gardening since she was as small child taking cuttings and growing plants for pocket money - better than a paper round she says! She lets Emma wear her Gold Medal - I am quite impressed by that.

11.30am
Over at Peter Beales they are entertaining singer Rod Stewart and his wife Penny Lancaster as well as the head gardener from Highgrove. A new rose is launched chosen by HRH the Prince of Wales and named after his official residence in aid of the Prince's Trust.

We are nearly late for the Hilliers launch - slapped wrist - but make it in time. Temporarily delayed by that lovely man Geoff Hughes - the Royle family's Twiggy - he graciously kisses my hand and we discuss the changes in Liverpool since capital of culture. Geoff loves Chelsea and he comes most years - he has had a sweetpea named after him this year.

12-1.00pm
The sun briefly shines which is just as well because there is a scantily clad model reclining admist a flurry of rose petals on the Quilted Velvet garden. There is also another unseemingly mob around James May's Paradise in Plasticine creation - this has got to be a joke - but no the RHS have allowed him to create a plasticine replica of a garden. I have to say that the colour scheme is brilliant if a little in your face - but it is not a garden. What are they thinking of? It also seems to smell funny. Rather like those sweet cigarettes you used to eat when you were little. The whole thing is either a brilliant masterstroke on behalf of the RHS or a terrible misjudgement - I can't decide which. Mind you, must have taken an age to model each and every one of those plants and petals.

1.30pm
Rumours circulating that Jekka McVicar has had her gnome banned - I ask you - he is only a couple of inches high (left) and we can't have a gnome - dual standards if you ask me.

2.00pm
Legs are getting wary and I dare not risk getting another cup of tea over my trousers so I avoid Julian - people are getting quite excited about The Daily Telegraph Garden - last time Ulf Nordjfell exhibited he won a Gold. This year is likely to be a repeat performance - the garden is graceful if a little too chic for me.

I had not realised how many companies sell conservatories and greenhouses - Chelsea seems awash with them this year - every other stand seems to be selling conservatories - don't they know there's a credit crunch?

2.30pm
I am now seeing lots of celebrities but having difficulty identifying names - they are blurring into each other - this could be the result of too much chocolate cake and fizzy stuff - or it could be that I am bowled over by Luciano's charm. I take one last look at my favourite gardens and consign Luciano's planting to memory.

3.00pm
Time to be ejected before the Royal personages are entertained. We gather up all our notes, copy and tea stained notebooks. It's time to head home - another Chelsea over.

She's in there somewhere!

Flower Show season starts

2009-05-01T12:49:00.007+01:00

I know when it is time to go to the Harrogate Spring Flower Show that spring has really started and the garden season is under way.

Harrogate had some lovely weather this year and it was a real joy to walk about looking at the stalls and exhibits in lovely warm sunshine. Everyone was enjoying themselves - including Tom and Nell Cranny who used to run Brownmoor Nurseries in Crosby, Liverpool and who for many years were regular stall holders at all the major shows including Hampton Court and Tatton. For once they were just out enjoying themselves having retired. It was great to see them and from all at Reckless have a long and enjoyable retirement.

The May edition of Gardeners' World magazine has their free Gardens to Visit guide in it, this is always popular and this year the guide contains 239 gardens and is full of reviews, images and visitor information. Readers also benefit from a very useful 2 for 1 ticket scheme, which I have used in the past. Over 6,000 Gardeners' World readers voted for their favourite garden from each UK region and among the winners were the Eden Project, RHS Harlow Carr and Tatton Park.

The Flower and Plants Association will be spreading the floral word at several major forthcoming shows including BBC Gardeners' World in Birmingham and Hampton Court in July. The Association exists to spread the word of the benefits of having flowers and plants in the home. Look out for them at the shows.

In just a few weeks we will be off to Chelsea - which is the jewel in the crown of the year - and always eagerly looked forward to. What new trends this year I wonder? Will the credit crunch have an effect? We shall see. I have a hunch that somehow this year is going to be a stunner with lots of different gardens and new ideas - there are some interesting designers this year and I think the competition for Best Garden will be more open than it has been for years.

In the meantime get out in the garden, start the weeding, enjoy the spring flowers and remember, little and often - too much gardening all at once can cause aching limbs and for those with disability or health problems, it can be difficult to sustain a period in the garden. Thrive, the gardening charity, have just launched a new website which will help us all enjoy our gardens, despite disability or back problems - log onto www.carryongardening.org.uk and find out all about it.

Just to finish off take a look at the fantastic vegetables at the top - just one of the many excellent stands at the Spring Harrogate Show.

This and that

2009-04-16T15:05:00.003+01:00

Jordans Cereals are running a new campaign called the Big Buzz - the campaign hopes to increase the amount of bee-friendly habitats in the UK and raise awareness of bees and their importance to our environment. Jordans, more than anyone, recognise the vital role bees play in the food chain and through their nature friendly farming already have a stake in helping bees survive. If you want to know more about the campaign log onto: http://www.jordansbigbuzz.co.uk/

If you enjoy the countryside then you might be interested in a blog which hails from bonny Scotland - 'Rural Rambling' covers a variety of information and is highly entertaining. Log onto

http://www.ruralgateway.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=2646&d=11&h=24&f=46 to find out more.

You may have read in Reckless Gardener recently that the National Trust for Scotland were having to make some difficult decisions regarding some of their less well supported properties. One garden, in particular, Inveresk Lodge Garden near Musselburgh in East Lothian, is one of the gardens threatened with closure - if it does it will mean that the one gardener who looks after it will face redundancy.

Those who have been associated with the garden over the years were planning a big celebration to mark the garden's milestone of 50 years with the NTS - now however, they are joining together with volunteers to ensure that the garden continues to be open to the public.

They have now put up a Facebook page called Friends of Inveresk Lodge Garden on

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=62206931665&ref=ts

and although it is not yet a foregone conclusion that the garden will close, they want readers to register their protest as well as writing to the NTS HQ in Edinburgh. Some supporters feel that if cutbacks are to be made they could be made in other ways than closing small gardens with the consequent loss of jobs and access to the public.

I am one of those people who like weak tea - the tea bag should only have a brief encounter with the water - and I am someone who just loves to drink tea outdoors. I mention this because this Easter weekend was the first time this year I was able to indulge in that pleasure.

Spring is surely here and although there are ongoing cold snaps and windy days, I feel sure that we are on the edge of warmer climes. I hope so anyway. I am sure the bright spell got most of us out into our gardens and what joy to see everything finally growing and pushing through the soil.

Next week I am off to Harrogate - the flower show season is finally here.

Hillsborough

2009-04-15T08:04:00.002+01:00

REMEMBERING THE 96 WHO WENT TO A FOOTBALL MATCH ON A SUNNY SPRING DAY AND DID NOT COME HOME.

You'll Never Walk Alone.

Show season advances

2009-03-27T13:48:00.003Z

While our little taste of spring may have disappeared in yet another week of windy, cool conditions, with not a little rain, we are nevertheless advancing towards the show season. Harrogate (from 23rd April) kicks off the season for me, followed by Chelsea.

Chelsea, this year, I think is going to be both interesting and exciting. Although the economic conditions will doubtless cause problems for all the major shows this year, I think the fact that there will be slightly fewer gardens may work to visitors advantage.

There will be more time to absorb and certainly to be entertained by the increasing number of major foreign designers who are exhibiting gardens this year. I am particularly looking forward to the Laurent-Perrier garden designed by Luciano Giubbilei, who has comented that for him Chelsea is a personal and inspirational experience. Swedish designer Ulf Nordfjell will be designing the Daily Telegraph Garden. So just two to look out for.

Over the last few months we have continued to make improvements to the website. We have now linked with The Garden Channel which you can link to from our home page - there are plenty of short snips for you to watch with plenty of gardening advice. Several of you have commented how much easier you find it to navigate the site. We are always interested to hear your views so please let us know if there is anything you would like to see on the website.

We have already started our Chelsea coverage so keep checking out the website for up-to-date news. In the meantime, we can only hope that after this weekend we may yet see the coming signs of spring and be able to enjoy a new season in our gardens once more.

meadows

2009-03-11T16:55:00.005Z

I am undone - not because some horrible little snail object has been at my plants already - not because my camellias are smaller than last year's - no the object of my woe is Lark Rise to Candleford. This enjoyable interlude into late 19th century rural life is enthralling and it makes you hark back to simpler days, although they were probably far from simple.

For all Lark Rise fashionistas the cause of the consternation is that stupid woman Dorcas who doesn't know a good thing when she sees it. Looks like the luscious James might croak it in the last episode of the current series and then she will never know what she has missed.

But one thing I do really love about the programme is the views of lovely rolling countryside and that fresh air feeling. So much so that I reproduce above a view of the wild flower meadow at Crome Park in Worcestershire, one of the loveliest sights I have ever seen and very much how I imagine areas around Lark Rise to have been. Just to get you in the mood for spring.

If you haven't checked out the website recently make sure you enter for our competition to win a copy of Toby's new book. Gardeners' World is going to move from Berryfields onto a new site for the next series so the team will be starting all over again.

We will shortly be starting with all our show news so make sure that you check out the site each week.

We have had the odd really good day to get out in the garden so we might now hope to look forward to brighter days when we can really start the season in earnest. A quick check of my clematis and other slightly tender plants this morning brought the satisfaction that all appears well after the harsh winter, so despite the dreaded Dorcas spurning the chance of eternal happiness, I at least glow with satisfaction.

gardening feels the chill of economic downturn

2009-03-08T13:11:00.003Z

The National Trust for Scotland has recently announced job losses and changes to the way it will operate some of its properties. This is hardly surprising, as charities, the same as everyone else, are finding it difficult in the present economic climate.

Britain's flower shows will doubtless be affected - the number of major show gardens at this year's RHS Chelsea will be down on last year and there is little doubt that with increasing economic pressures there will be less sponsorship around in the foreseeable future.

Quite how the economic climate will affect garden centres and nurseries is yet to be calculated. A Gardeners' World magazine survey, recently carried out with their readers panel, found that more people are intending to grow vegetables but they were not planning to cut back on flowers as a result.

That can only be good news for our nurseries and flower growers. Certainly gardeners will be looking for value plants as never before, they may buy less rather than not at all. However, the vegetable explosion has been growing apace for some years now and really started well before the economic downturn - as evidenced by the long waiting lists for several years for allotments.

Bringing colour into our lives is important and for many our gardens are not just pleasant places to sit but have real thereaputic properties and are certainly good for your health.

On a more positive note, one of the weekend gardening supplements I saw yesterday, urged gardeners to be bold and plant a hydrangea. Now if you are looking for a value plant there is one in a nutshell. Considered rather old fashioned in recent years, these lovely shrubs can give you years of pleasure, need very little looking after, and make terrific cut flowers.

I think we will see a re-emergence of the popularity of plants such as hydrangers - their second coming will cheer us all. They come in a variety of splendid colours and as the article pointed out, by planting one you will be at the cutting edge of fashion - in fact quite retro!!

The Ice Man cometh

2009-02-12T10:53:00.002Z

Most of us in the UK are still in the grip of winter, either under snow, frost or water! It really has been a strange winter, but as older people keep telling me, it is what winters used to be like! I can certainly remember a couple of really cold, snowy winters when I was a child, but do have to admit that they are very faint in my memory. However, I suppose we have been lulled into a false sense of security over the last couple of decades.

So now the wake-up call, and OK this is winter. However, I am still longing for the first really firm signs of spring. Still no camellias yet! Over the winter months I have kept myself busy with the computer, family history or just surfing in general. I look out at the window and pine for the warmer days when I can go outside and do things. With regard to the computer I have just got used to Facebook (yes I have a page but Lord knows why), You Tube (on which one can find endless entertainment!) and now comes along something called Twitter. What the hell twitter is I have no idea. It just looks like a text service to me, but I suppose I will have to have a twitter page now. It is rather like being unfashionable wearing the wrong label, if you haven't got a twitter or facebook page you are somehow out of it. Ah well!

I have managed to get out and do some rose pruning. It is always easier to prune and prune correctly when the rose has no foilage. You can then always give them another clean up when the leaves start growing if you feel you need to. The euphorbias have looked good this last few months but after severe frost, such as we have had, they can look a bit dejected. However, many of them recover but if they are very blackened and sad it is perhaps best to give them a chop and leave them for another year. I have to confess I am not a lover of euphorbia, and I do have a lot spreading around my garden which at times gets a bit out of hand.

At least in the garden things stay the same to some respect and proceed in an orderly fashion. Yes there are changes in garden design and art and form, but generally speaking we do not have to constantly update our knowledge as one has to do with a computer or technology in general. Planting is planting, staking is staking, roses are roses and the seasons - well yes - in general they are the seasons. A time to do things - spring, summer, autumn and winter. The roses don't need a twitter page but they do need a good feed and the time will be drawing near when the ground gets warmer and they will benefit from the first feed of the year.

I tend to spray for black spot around the beginning of March before the foilage gets really well established. It really never makes any difference but I feel better about it. I just accept the leaves dropping off mid July and that is that. I also put down sulphur chippings around the base of the rose, this can help, but again in a climate like Cumbria you really do have to keep the battle up to stop the advance of blackspot. Some of the newer rose varieties are resistent but few really 100%.

So now I am off to twitter somehwere else. Just keep counting-down the weeks because it has got to be spring soon! I hope!

Winter not over yet

2009-01-30T09:53:00.004Z

Today is one of those mornings that we used to describe as a "Hangman's Monday", dark, wet, dreary and quite frankly horrible. But hey, I am still alive and that is really what matters. Fortunately, I do not suffer from sad syndrome but when it gets depressing, like today, I tend to put a nice bright picture on the computer screen- saver. of a garden I particularly liked or felt at ease with. And so today, I am posting a lovely pic of William Morris's garden at his home in Oxfordshire - Kelmscott.

Kelmscott is one of those places where you are perfectly at peace, no noise, just the sound of the rooks (who do make quite a racket actually but a nice one). The picture is of an old barn in the meadow just behind the house and I think it just sums up England in the height of summer.

Back in the power house - the Reckless team are planning the garden visits for this year and hopefully we will be able to introduce you to several more of our outstanding gardens.

Christopher Lloyd in his book 'Christopher Lloyd's gardening year' makes the point that February will be influenced by the weather pattern established in January, in temperature and mood. So it will either be a winter month, prolonging the agony he says, or the beginning of Spring. Well, on today's basis I suspect that we will be prolonging the agony a bit longer. Lloyd liked February, for him the month heralded a time when things were on the move in his garden. He also, not without a touch of irony, comments that if the month is a mild one the pessimists will declare that we will pay for it later on, but wisely he points out that there is nothing we can do about it, no matter what happens, and that somehow puts it all into perspective, as only Christo could do.

Gardeners tend to fuss so much about the weather, it is too wet or too dry, too much wind, frost, not enough light and a thousand and one other things. I have to admit I have had sleepless nights worrying over this plant or that, or whether there was going to be a gale or bad frost. In the end the garden knows how to take care of itself, and we have to accept as gardeners, that there will always be some loss - in our case more generally to the dreaded slug than to any weather pattern.

So as we enter February we return to Christopher Lloyd who loved to collect snowdrops this month and place a fistful of stems next to him indoors to that he could inhale their honey scent. So there, what more could you want! Enjoy the simple pleasures of life and savour the magic that February can bring.

Spring is in the air

2009-01-23T14:45:00.004Z

Once Christmas passed by, the Reckless website started to come to life again and the emails into the editor and myself began increasing daily. So in the same vein I hope that shortly the firm first signs of Spring will start to come forward. I know it is a few months away yet and we have had a cold winter,but it is always exciting when you reach the end of January and feel the coming gardening season getting nearer.

Already there are some clematis in bud, not always good because a nasty frost can come along and demolish them, but if you find yourself in this situation and are worried about that then you can always protect with some fleece for a couple of weeks.

The snowdrops are coming up and I can see the first signs of daffodils althought he Camellia trees, which flowered on the third week of January last year, have yet to show promise of blooms opening.

You may have noticed that we have done a re-design on the website, which has occupied some of the winter months, and we hope you like what we have done. We are planning to increase the interaction sections on the website and for the forthcoming season, more podcasts and video clips too.

I was not surprised to see that the snail and slug is still top of the RHS pest list. I would not like to be a party to genocide but I always declare war on those little horrors. At the moment they seem to be attacking the wallflowers - and the damp conditions of the summer and autumn will only have aided them in their crusade to denude our gardens of greenery and fresh shoots.

You are supposed to gather them on Valentines day and dispose of them before they start breeding, so its on with the tin helmet in a couple of weeks and armed with a big bag we will go forth and conquer. I hope!

We have put a new section on the website for readers pictures, so if you have a garden you are proud of why not send us a jpg and we will put it up.

By the end of January show news will start to come through so do be sure to check out the website regularly.

Winter wonderland

2008-12-09T11:39:00.002Z

Great Gladiolus the news today is so much worse - that poor Harry has been kidnapped by the dark side while the fawning and smiling traitor Connie has blown herself up for the sake of mankind.

Well Spooks might be entertaining me at the moment but the thoughts of dealing with all the moss which has been created on my paths and patio by the endless summer rain is not. My paths look like part of the Amazonian rain forest and it is going to take a lot of hard graft shifting the green slime off. Moss is to die for on old stones and pots but on paths it can be lethal.

I have also decided to live on the wild side and have left a number of pots out this winter. As you get older the problem of moving heavy objects gets more difficult - so its bubble wrap and a prayer for me. I have mostly gone over to the the glazed type of pot now as they seem to last better in the Cumbrian weather but I do so love the proper terracotta - which in fact if proper terracotta should not crack - but they are now sadly becoming very expensive and the cheaper versions just do not last.

I also have to remember to water the plants I have put in the garage - I do not possess the luxury of a greenhouse - but feel sure they are safer in there than out in -6 frost.

The weather today, though, is sunny and bright and it is a lovely winter day. We will soon be at the shortest day and then folks its downhill to Spring - can't wait.

Christmas is coming

2008-12-03T13:44:00.004Z

Alas all is not well with the world. John Sergeant has left Strictly Come Dancing, while allegedly, somewhere in the UK, Santa has been seen smoking and the Elves swearing in some Winter Wonderland - the ground is covered in some horrible white stuff that has made my Camelias look like they have dandruff and well - phew - we have something called a credit crunch. Not only that, but the Spooks mole turns out to be that likeable and sweet mannered Connie - who would have thought it! I simply cannot cope.

There is one bright spot, however, to this tale of woe. Frost! Frost does the garden good - why? Because it kills off all those nasty little pests who will want to come and devour your garden in the Spring and Summer. It can also make your garden look magical, especially the grasses and left-over stalks from the late autumn flowers.

'Tis also the season for going out to the garden centre and buying in the wreaths of holly and the traditional Poinsettias to deck the halls. I tried to buy my wreaths this morning but the lady had to go and get a chisel so she could separate them from the bench as they were stuck fast. Where is all this global warming I ask myself?

Well I can tell you that if this temperature persists I will not be going for a stroll around my winter flowering cabbages nor will I be carol singing on the Prom. I will, however, be enjoying the wonderful Lakeland fells with their dusting of snow - what a sight - but from the warmth and comfort of the car.

What we should all be doing now, is not moaning about the credit crunch, agonising over Strictly Come Dancing's next evacuee or huffing and puffing at the price of mince pies. What we should be doing is looking out our gardening catalogues, getting out our graph paper and starting to plan the 2009 season.

On the website we will be running a series of garden design features with award winning designer Sarah Eberle - so take a look at the first one - get out those brochures - and enjoy. We might not be able to do much in the garden at the moment but we can take advantage of the breathing space to plan for the new season.

Stop Press: the news is full of the fact that someone thumped the swearing Elves and duffed-up Father Christmas - really, don't they have anything better to write about!

cheer yourself up in the garden!

2008-10-10T16:16:00.003+01:00

What a load of gloom and doom - if the weather wasn't enough to heap the depression on then the financial news certainly would. Which is why I have put on this nice picture of these wonderfully colourful pelargonium (Ashby) taken at this year's Chelsea.Go on look at it and cheer up.

Gardeners are lucky in many ways because it has been proven that to work in a garden helps us health wise - we can get rid of a lot of stress in our gardens - so if it would stop raining long enough I would gladly go out in mind and get some much needed R & R away from the newspapers and t.v.

I was cheered up the other day when a little book called 'The Gardeners' Book for the Gardener who's Best at everything" landed on my mat. It's a lovely little essential handbook that every novice gardener will benefit from, containing tips, advice, quotes and sayings. Written by Diana Craig and Published by Michael O'Mara Books Ltd., it will make a great Christmas Gift.

Thinking of Christmas I have decided to stock in on Porridge because it might be all we can afford to eat when the time comes. Each day the news gets grimmer, the rain falls heavier and the garden looks like it has been hit by a meteor.

We are busy working on the website for a relaunch so my little fingers are worked to the bone but at least I do not have to look out of the window at the rain.

Recently spent a wonderful weekend in Dublin at a family wedding and much enjoyment was had too. The Irish are a warm and friendly lot and needless to say the crack was good too. And you know what? It didn't rain, what joy, even able to walk in St Stephen's Green Gardens and enjoy the colourful flowers. No coat! Just bliss.

We are now looking toward Christmas and will be posting some present ideas on the website so keep logging on. Try not to get too depressed, there is always someone worse than ourselves and every cloud has a silver lining, so they say!

My silver lining this week has been the fact that my geranium cuttings seem to have taken, small pleasures but big satisfaction eh!

creating an ark

2008-08-30T13:42:00.005+01:00

I now know how Noah felt when he began to build his ark. We have had several days of pretty heavy rain in Cumbria and very little sun. I had rashly entered some of my roses in a couple of categories in the Arnside Horticultural Society Show. There had been so little sun I was lucky to get enough to enter. Anyway, not that I am wanting to brag or anything like that! I got first prize for my floribunda so I was well chuffed and just for a little time it brought the sun out - in my mind anyway. I have never entered for a show before so at least it was a bit of encouragement.

I was interested to learn that No.10 Downing Street now has a No 10 in Bloom spot on its website so log on if you want to take a peek at a very lovely garden behind that famous front door. Log onto: http://www.number10.gov.uk and follow the link from there.

Peter Procter and Gillian Cole have a new book out called 'Grasp the Nettle' - making biodynamic farming and gardening work. If you are passionate about gardening organically then you may find this book very interesting and useful. Published by Random House, N.Z., the book outlines how to apply biodynamic methods of farming and gardening to a wide range of conditions.

I have also reviewed Joe Swift's new book Joe's Urban Garden which should be on the website in the book review section shortly. Good book and one with plenty of ideas and suggestions.

The blackspot on the roses has been really terrible this year. I now have some very sick specimens completely devoid of their leaves. This is a real nuisance disease and despite all my attempts with various remedies - yes I've tried the soot - it never really goes away. I was told by one rose grower to rip the lot out as soon as I saw one black spotted leaf, but I feel that is a bit extreme and will continue to get on with it. I still had a wonderful show of roses in the early summer and there are also some nice ones on display now so I will try not to notice the spotted leaves.

The ground is so wet there is little chance of my getting anything done - even cutting back is problematic. Perhaps the autumn will turn out to be one of those Indian Summers - well I can dream on.

Out and about

2008-08-02T11:18:00.004+01:00

I am desperately trying to catch up on my blogging as I have been very 'tarry' lately in posting so I apologise. The days just seem to fly by and I cannot believe that it is August already - where did the summer go and is there any left?

This week we visited the lovely Chesters Walled Garden, near the famous Chesters Fort in Northumberland. You will be able to read all about our visit to Susie White's charming garden in Recklessgardener shortly.

Susie is a real expert when it comes to herbs and I was in awe of her knowledge. Her garden is simply devine and very peaceful, there are plenty of little areas in which to seek solice and her colourful drifts of planting are a delight. I was not surprised when she told me that she was influenced early on by Margery Fish but as with every garden Chesters is certainly a product of its creator and Susie is to be congratulated on cultivating and designing such a heavenly space.

On our way back to Cumbria we happened, quite by chance, to come across Lanercost Priory, which turned out to be a perfect end to the day. The Priory was originally founded by the Augustinians and of course we associate their order and those of the Benedictines and Cistercians with the growing of herbs and flowers for medicinal as well as culinary uses. So all in all we learnt a lot about herbs and their uses on our two visits as well as experiencing two very special places.

Tatton Park

2008-08-02T10:49:00.004+01:00

Our visit to the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show was thankfully a dry one and we managed to miss the downpours. It was not particularly sunny on press day, in fact quite dull and heavy, but there was just enough sun for a pair of sailor's trousers on occasions and the dull weather did not diminish the brightness of the gardens. Below is a pic of East meets West - This fab garden, designed by Dan Sterry of Urban Vision which was really one of the best I have seen at Tatton in several years and really deserved its Gold one of only two large show gardens to win one, the other being the fab Cheshire O8 Year of the Garden.

I also liked Cheshire Al Fresco which I thought deserved more than a Silver but then I am not an RHS judge so I do not know by what criteria the garden was judged.

We were delighted that Pip Probert managed to get both her gardens finished and we really liked her Acqua Life, designed for the whole family, with activity balanced with quiet space.

There were some really lovely displays in the Floral Marquee as well such as the wonderful Alliums (top of page).

It was a very mixed week weather wise so if you went to Tatton I hope you were lucky enough to have some periods of really nice weather. Tatton in the sun is like nowhere else, it really is a great place for a major flower show and hopefully now the end of the first decade has arrived we can look forward to another ten years of really great shows with our own special northern flavour.

Hampton Court

2008-07-14T11:35:00.010+01:00

As usual there was plenty to see at Hampton Court this year but unfortunately the weather was not kind and press day loomed dark and cold. There were some bright spots during the day and the rain was not continual, so there was some comfort in that, but the dull light meant that the lovely colours on so many of the gardens were unable to shine to their best.

There were some changes with the layout and I did feel that the far side of the ground seemed a bit bare. With only two water gardens this year, that whole section seemed to lack something, however, the long water was certainly livened up the Thai floating market which more than made up for the lack of sun.

I really liked the Homebase Garden (below) which had plenty of inspiration and ideas for planting as well as being colourful. It also had a veg plot (it seems the essential must have nowadays) and the Holiday Inn Green Room which had a fantastic green wall thingy which was really impressive although I think I might have problems watering it if it was in my living room.

The stone spheres from Silverland Stone Limited also caught my attention. They are very tactile and looked as though they were made of wood rather than stone, but very effective - a handsome addition to any garden and so many ways they could be used. The rain made them come to life and accentuated the marking.

The wall made from tree roots (see below) on the Magic Garden was also something else and very clever. I had to do a double take on it at first and couldn't believe it was made of roots at first. The kids visiting the site for the scarecrow competition just loved that garden and were running through the magic wardrobe into the garden and enjoying being gusted with fake snow from a machine. Quite clever.

I also liked the garden from Emsworth Horticultural Society which was Spot the Art in the Garden. This was a colourful and cheerful garden and we just loved the sunflowers.

Having seen Al Gore's DVD on climate change a few days before going to Hampton it was perhaps not a good idea to go into the Met Office Tent as I had been depressed enough after the Video. However, they did have a good display and plenty of information on how climate change is affecting gardeners. They anticipate that by 2080 the growing season here will be extended to around forty days with earlier spring and later autumns. However, if Al Gore's warning on Greenland and the polar ice cap are anything to go by it might all be academic!

We stood and watched as HRH the Duchess of Cornwall paid a visit to the Heritage Plant Marquee and then we went off in search of some serious roses inside the Floral Marquee. This year the exhibition of roses really was superb, one of the best I have seen.

The kind man on the Marshalls garden allowed us to sit in his arbour and eat our lunch - well I like to think that we added something - and then after our tour of the Daily Mail tent, always one of my favourites, it was time to cast a critical eye over some of the larger gardens.

We strolled back along the river bank of the Thames and past the Palace to get our train as the skies darkened yet again and claps of thunder combined with the traffic noise over the bridge.
We made it onto the train before another deluge.

So another Hampton Court press day is over and we move onto Tatton Park, which is a little nearer home for us. Let's hope the weather is kinder for everyone as it is the 10th Birthday of Tatton, so quite a celebration.

Travels

2008-06-25T11:59:00.003+01:00

I have been out and about since my last blog. A great day at the Harrogate Flower Show then a couple of days touring the Yorkshire Dales. You will be able to see the fruits of my travels shortly with features on the RHS Garden at Harlow Carr, Constable Burton and Millgate House, Richmond. (pictured)

Unfortunately, the weather could have been kinder to us, while the West coast basked in sunshine during those few days the East Coast side of the country had rain, never mind, no matter what the weather, a good garden will always have attraction to a visitor.

Now it is Hampton Court time and so we are preparing for our trip down to London for one of my favourite events of the gardening year. I know Chelsea is the creme de la creme but Hampton has a lovely festival feel to it and the backdrop is just superb with the Palace and long water adding a very special atmosphere.

Having had a glorious spring with the clematis this year - think this might be something related to the food I have been giving them as usually my clematis are stringy affairs - the wind came along and did a lot of damage. We had three weeks of drought in the Lakes and then it rained and blew a gale with a vengence.

The dry spell has had me thinking about water a little more and so we have invested in an additional water trough. The clematis are just recovering but as I write the wind has risen up yet again so I am unsure what tomorrow will bring.

Someone described a garden to me the other day as being 'Jurassic' - they were not being complimentary! I have noticed this word being used a lot lately with relation to things which are old or old fashioned - Jurassic jets being an example - well I wouldn't quite describe any garden as Jurassic, for one thing, a garden is special because of its history, development and its place in time. Sometimes I feel Jurassic myself but I wouldn't feel happy if someone called me that.

Some gardens benefit from moving on in time and developing, nothing should stand still, and I always think the really successful gardeners are those like the late Christopher Lloyd who could utilise the best of a garden and its history while at the same time making progress and moving with the times so that the garden truly reflects its history.

At Kiftsgate for example, they have successfully blended in modern design with the older more established historic garden, and to me that is what gardening is about. Nothing need become Jurassic or set in aspic, but we don't want to lose the historic elements of a garden, rather they should continue to set the backbone. In Christopher Lloyd's case he ripped out his rose beds and planted a hot border - much alarm and scandal at the time but wow what a statement.

Chelsea was for me very 'green' this year, and I mean colour not necessarily environmentally - so I wonder what the predominent theme will be at Hampton. You get a lot of variety at Hampton which is one of the things I really like about it. If you haven't been following Claudia de Yong's diary of her water-garden build, check into the website and see what she gets up to everyday.

Until next time, cheers.

post-chelsea

2008-05-25T11:04:00.005+01:00

Cleve's West's BUPA garden (Gold) winner of BBC/RHS People's Choice

Now it is all over there is time to perhaps reflect on Chelsea 2008. A very 'green' Chelsea - with many of the major show gardens having green as the dominant colour - I was therefore not surprised when the BBC RHS People's Choice winners were announced. The shortlist for the large Show garden comprised of Cleve West's fab BUPA garden, Geoff Whiten's lovely garden - Realf Life by Brett (couldn't understand why this only got a Bronze), the Marshalls Garden and the George Harrison garden.

These four gardens deserved to be in the People's Choice line-up and they all had colour! It is very nice having a beautiful neat and artistic garden but if one feels that you dare not sit in it or walk in it for fear of damaging something - in other words it might not be a place where we really feel comfortable and want to sit in - then what is the point! Some of the gardens reminded me of a rather house-proud person who frowns when you crumple the cushions on the sofa. They shout - do not touch.

Green gardens can be restful I agree but for me a garden is full of colour, it might have its cool places and green shades, but for a garden to be comfortable, I want to be able to walk through it, find a little niche to sit in and just be able to admire!

So the people spoke and I think they gave a big thumbs up for colour. The choice of the Shetland Croft as the BBC RHS People's Small Garden was also right on the mark, again a delightful garden, one you can warm to and feel enjoyment from.

We are delighted for Cleve who produced a simply superb garden with an important message. I also liked Andy Sturgeon's garden for Cancer Research as well, he used plenty of green but he also had various levels and little dells which invited you to go down and have a look - that is the difference.

Andy Sturgeon's garden for Cancer Research (Gold)

I think that the public also want to see gardens to which they can relate - over the past few years some of the gardens at Chelsea have been more artistic statements than gardens in my opinion. This opens the door for the whole argument about art versus gardening - is gardening an art form or not? I don't intend to get into that argument, suffice-it-to-say I like colour, I like variety and I like a garden to look like a garden - it might be simple, it might be colourful, it might be green, but it needs to be a space where you can feel comfortable in, want to spend time in and relax in.

Cleve West certainly achieved that with his garden for BUPA and how wonderful that it is going to be re-sited at a home in London after the show. In fact, this year, several of the show gardens will be re-sited and that has to be good news.

I also thought that David Domoney really broke through some barriers with his Underwater & Tropical plants feature int he Grand Marquee. He was awarded a Silver-Gilt and justly so for a very innovative idea.

David Domoney's Underwater and tropical plants.

The big day

2008-05-19T15:52:00.000+01:00

Monday 19th

Well we are finally here for the big day. We get in early, the morning is still and the light just perfect. It is at this time of day that you really appreciate Lady Arabella Lennox-Boyd's fantastic garden (above). The stillness of the water is awesome and I could stand and look at it for hours except that I have over 40 odd gardens to get around not to mention all the fantastic stuff in the Great Pavilion.

People are putting the finishing touches to everything now and the nervous tension is rising a bit. Some of the designers look as though they are about to be taken to the guillotine others are neurotic in case someone with shoes walks on their carefully cleaned paving!

As the morning wears on the celebs start turning up - I found Chris Tarrant hiding behind a bush, or so it seemed, but he has in fact come to open the Savills garden - not minus shoes - well nobody told him to take them off!

I wonder whether the hairdryer wheeze came off in the Great Pavilion and if the Irises opened. I then run into Matt James, the City Gardener, and there is a bit of banter.

Imelda Staunton and her husband Jim Carter pose for the Reckless personality page - lovely couple - and then we collide with the Skandia Team GBR who are out in force to launch the Hillier Stand. We always get fantastic chocolate on the Hillier stand, Mr McIndoe and his team know how to woo the journalists!

After a confrontation with a couple of Wombles, well I knew one was Uncle Bulgaria but the other's name escaped me and I didn't know it was Wellington - I come across the George Harrison tribute garden. Like this very much but can't say the same for the Italian jobby round the corner, all columns and hard landscaping.

Michael Portillo walks past and then I spy Mrs Bucket, sorry Boquet or should I say Patricia Routledge, a gracious lady with a lovely smile. After a bit of banter with the girls from the Liverpool City stan, who seem to have brought along a 200 year old bloke called Roscoe, we set off to discover some of the smaller gardens.

The smaller gardens include a seaside theme and a delightful croft from the Highlands. There are some excellent gardens here. (See pics below).

The standard is very high this year and it is difficult to be able to pick who will be the overall winner. Certainly in the larger gardens my money is on either Tom Stuart-Smith or Arabella Lennox-Boyd but Cleve West's garden is just something else, a warm delightful and inviting space that says, sit in me!

The highlight of the afternoon seems to be the visit of Ringo, who arrives driven by Damon Hill in a little psychedelic mini, every photographer that lives and breaths descends on the garden. Emma always uses elbows to good effect and she gets off some good shots. I am fortunately in the right place at the right time and get my own pic of Ringo. If this had been 40 years ago I probably would have died to have been so near, but your bus pass tends to change your outlook somewhat and I am completely calm.

We are all shown the door at around 3pm for the visit of the Royal Family but by then the feet are saying, save me, and the stomach is saying feed me. The visual senses have been edified, the memories will linger for another year and the hard work writing up the copy just begins.

Chelsea Build-up

2008-05-18T17:08:00.005+01:00

Shetland Croft House garden

Sunday 3.00pm

Nerves are always fraught as the last minute build-up begins on the Sunday before Monday judging at Chelsea. The weather is good, the sun shining and there is a light breeze keeping everything and everyone calm.

It is our first opportunity to view the show gardens - some of which look finished already and pretty cool - Cleve West's Bupa garden is looking sensational, Tom Stuart-Smith's garden for Laurent Perrier has trees to die for, Diarmuid Gavin has ome sort of metal flower thingies in his garden, Arabella Lennox-Boyd has perfectly captured the English Zen and Robert Myers has produced a simply superb garden for Cadogan Estates.

There is tough competition this year and certainly in both the large and small gardens the standard looks exceptionally high. One always expects this at Chelsea, because it is Chelsea, but I have a hunch that several designers have really excelled this year.

I look in wonder as an exhibitor in the Great Pavilion brings out a hair dryer to open up her Irises and we stand and watch the NAFAS girls getting their superb exhibit together (above).

This year there seems to be lots of silvers, greys and subtle colours, no 'in your face' harsh shades, just peaceful and relaxed colour moods.

We meet up with several old friends and check on their progress. The David Austin Rose stand is a riot of colour and wonderful aromas, the Hillier Garden once again has centre stage in the Grand Pavilion and is just stunning.

We find Phillippa Probert (featured in our run-up to Chelsea) putting the finishing touches to her garden 'Green Living' - this is her first Chelsea, so we wish her well - then we stop for a well earned sit down and a drink of coffee before launching off again to see what's going on in the courtyard gardens.

There are some exceptionally well thought through and designed gardens here and I really do feel that this year the standard is better than ever. The Shetland Croft House Garden for Motor Neurone Disease is a gem and the Dorset Cereals Edible Playground garden - seeks to encourage schools to develop small kitchen gardens for growing, learning and eating -is delightful. The Good Gifts Garden features a sandy beach and a pair of deckchairs and is complete with water feature which gushes periodically to simulate the sound of waves on a beach - these designers think about everything.

The forward-planning for tomorrow over we make our way out past Olivia Harrison's garden 'From Life to Life' - designed by Yvonne Innes for the Material World Charitable Foundation and Olivia Harrison.

The garden seeks to tell the life story of the late George Harrison - I loved this, well I would coming from Liverpool and being a child of the Beatles era - but there was so much I could identify with in a garden which has several strands to it. There are some vibrant colours here but also some subtle shades and perfectly balanced with the rest of the planting.

We wander back past the NAFAS stand where the ladies are still working hard. NAFAS (National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies) always have a superb exhibit and this year looks to be another exceptional one with their floral arrangement of Nature's Kaleidoscope.

We are sufficiently excited at tomorrow's prospects and can now only hope that the weather stays fair and dry.

Bedside reader

2008-03-17T08:07:00.005Z

A really quirky and interesting book came across my doorstep recently. The Gardener's Bedside Reader is American in origin and has now been made available to UK readers. It really is a little gem and contains a collection of stories and essays, wonderful vintage advertisements and illustrations and a whole host of little anecdotes.

One of the chapters talks about the delights of weeding. In it Suzy Bales tells us about the joy she has when getting down on hands and knees to pull out weeds. Reading her chapter certainly changes one's perception of weeds, for she sees weeding as a pleasure giving her time to let her mind drift while at the same time getting close to her plants from ground level!

Well we may not all share Suzy's view of weeding but I can assure you that you will find plenty of interest in this little book. It sort of took me on a nostalgia trip and I really just enjoy flipping through the pages and looking at the pictures and illustrations, some of which I reproduce here so you can see what i mean.

I haven't been weeding but I know I must for it is now the time of year when they are starting to rear their little heads with gusto. I am also aware that it is time to stock in on slug pellets. For years I have used Bio Slug from Phostrogen with good results - Bio Slug won't hurt household pets or children and does not harm other wildlife - I have always found them effective, sometimes you buy cheaper pellets and all that happens is that you get a sludgy mess in your pots, so now I stick to Bio Slug.

The flower show season is coming up fast and I am now in the process of working out the summer routine. Just at the moment I can't wait for April because I know that lots will be happening in the garden. The rose trees are already starting on well so let's hope there are not too many late frosts to pull everything back.

Here comes the sun

2008-02-17T15:18:00.007Z

The last week having been glorious with that wonderful early spring sunshine, the fingers are starting to itch to get out into the garden once again. February is a 'look-see' month, things are starting to stir in a very quiet way but if you look hard enough you can see a lot of evidence of the impending Springtime.

The Iris I planted in pots are now flowering well and many of you will be revelling in the snowdrops and Cyclamen, Hellebores and flowering shrubs such as Chimonanthus praecox and Viburnum as well as Mahonia and Skimmia.

Now is the time to prune clematis which flower between June and September. You can cut them right back now so that they make a good strong growth.

I have been busy reading lots of new gardening books this last few weeks, including Monty Don's wonderful 'Around the world in 80 gardens'. What a super book, a real garden travelogue with no need to leave the house! I'm also going through 'Gardeners' Question Time Plant Chooser', which is proving to be an excellent reference work with plenty of ideas for new planting.

Then there is Val Bourne's 'Natural Gardener', a chirpy little book which shows you how you can use organic principles to create a garden that is healthy with the balance to control pests and other hazards environmentally. Val Bourne has a very pleasant way of getting you excited about gardening and her books are an enjoyable and stimulating read, this one is no exception.

We review all these books on the website so be sure to keep a look-out for that. There are a lot of really excellent new titles coming out just now so don't miss any of our reviews.

If you have lost any pots to frost recently don't foget to empty them and transfer the inhabitants and then smash them for crock at the bottom of your other pots. I always do this, it is my bit for recycling and I am never short of broken shards when I come to plant up new pots or tubs.

I know not for why or reason, but I was reminded today of Bill and Ben, the flowerpot men, maybe because I was checking out on how many pots I had lost this winter - and that despite wrapping several of them in all forms of materials to protect them - but suddently those two cheeky chappies came to mind. I loved the programme as a child and maybe it was Weed that prompted me to become interested in gardening - who knows? Certainly, there is a drive to get kids interested in gardening now and especially in growing organically. Gardeners like Chris Beardshaw and organisations such as the RHS are all doing their bit to get our youngsters stimulated. This is important if we are to foster the right experiences in young people so that they too become interested in gardening when they grow up.

Many of us who love gardening will admit that they came to it early in life - in my case when I was about 7 or 8 - so it is important to get the kids interested. One problem is keeping them interested through their teens when it might not be seen as 'cool' to want to dig the soil - but at least if we get them hooked early on there is a chance that they may continue to want to garden throughout their life - even if they take time out while in their 'cool' teens.

It will soon be time to plan out our Flower Show Visits and the first of these will be Harrogate on 24th April. Keep up-to-date with all the show news by regularly visiting www.recklessgardener.co.uk

Happy gardening

Spring is coming - believe me

2008-01-12T13:36:00.000Z

The tips of my daffodils and tulips are already popping up through the pot tops so I am encouraged to think that there is life after all this rain, wind and hail. This time last year all three of my Camellia trees were in full bloom, but not so this year. All have reasonable buds on them but not so prolific as last January and none are yet open. The cold snap before Christmas has no doubt halted their burst for life, so we shall see.

Just to buck you up for the coming seasons I have put a picture of my garden from last summer, at least looking at all those lovely flowering roses and flowers gives you a bit of heart to continue on through the bleakest moments of January and February.

I tend to neglect the garden during the most cold months, which is totally wrong, because if you have read Val Bourne's book 'The Winter Garden' you should be inspired enough to plant some shrubs and plants which are at their best during the dark, wet months. She will enthuse you with the witch hazel and dogwoods and a variety of late season grasses which will add sculptural granduer to your garden during winter.

However, for me, once February is over I start to get excited about the coming spring and summer and positvely will away the weeks until March peeps its head over the horizon and then - yes - a real feel that everything is coming to life begins.

January is still a time to take stock for the coming seasons. Get out of the way any jobs which involve construction or change and think about planting themes and colourful pots.

I am already developing the Reckless diary for the coming months and it is getting full of planned garden visits and features. So keep the faith, the rain and hail will soon pass and then we will be in the fast-lane to the first exciting and brilliant buds of spring.

'Tis the season

2007-12-21T15:24:00.000Z

Thanks to all of you who have logged-on to Recklessgardener this year. We have seen our hits more than double and that is most gratifying and gives us encouragement to continue on. So Merry Christmas to everyone and a very Happy and peaceful New Year to you all.

We can perhaps take a little rest from the cutting, digging and planting for a few days while we enjoy our turkey - or vegetarian option - and have a wee dram or too. It is the season of hellebores, holly and Christmas box, aka sarococca. A time when we see the first peeping of bulbs coming through the top of the pots and what joy it is to be able to go out and cut your own holly from your holly tree rather than fight for the straggly strands which are on offer in the shops.

Not so the mistletoe - despite several attempts to get mistletoe to graft onto one of the apple trees, no luck. Gertrude Jekyll commented, in one of her articles, that perhaps "there is no other plant that so much impresses us with a feeling of mystery." Quite so, there is something rather mystical about the plant and it is apparently the only parasitical shrub growing wild in England, although one of you will no doubt email me and tell me this is not so. So please note the "apparently".

At the moment there is a white dusting of frost over everything, an effect which always makes the garden magical, which helps my camellias blend in with their white sheeting of fleece to keep them from frost. Normally, they look like white ghosts sitting there in their coats, but today, they are hardly noticeable.

So please do continue to log-in for another year and support us and every good wish for 2008.

amid the howling gales

2007-12-07T13:43:00.001Z

The weather this week has been somewhat inclement. My carefully wrapped camelias are now looking like bedraggled waifs cast aside in a Victorian drama. The winds and driving rain have continued unabated the whole week, leaving little or no time to stroll around the garden to see what is happening.

I was reading a wine column yesterday - the writer said something to the effect that drinking a happy wine was akin to leaving the crowded city and suddenly finding yourself walking through a wooded glade. Hm... well - the weather certainly has made me seek out a couple of happy wines but in the circumstances I was glad not to be walking through the wooded glade.

Back to the camelias - the reason I wrap them in fleece is because a couple of years ago all my lovely buds were ruined by frost, not so last year, I wrapped the lot up and low and behold what a wonderful present I received just around Christmas time - a couple of trees bursting with flowers, which went on flowering until April would you believe. Never known it, but that is what happened, so I am hoping for a repeat performance this year.

The garden looks very untidy, there are still lots of leaves swirling around and weeds still fighting for supremacy. You are supposed to be particularly picky about weeds during winter because if you leave them now you really pay the price in the spring. So, husband was dispatched to deal with them - bravely in the cirumstances with a howling gale blowing around his ears. My logic is that we have a lovely green bin collection every two weeks and it would be a shame if we didn't have something to put in it and disappoint the bin men!

It is the season of carol concerts, turkey dinners and office parties. Go safe and go well, and don't forget to deal with those weeds.

Ramblings

2007-11-17T14:41:00.000Z

Just back from the Garden Writers' Guild awards, where for a few hours I was able to mix with the glitterati of the gardening universe. This event really is an awfully big bash with not a sign of old wellingtons, boots or trowels in sight.

I was pleased that the dynamic Matthew Wilson won the Practical Book of the Year award for his RHS New Gardening and the Daily Telegraph Newspaper of the Year. The Telegraph is one gardening section I really do enjoy, so well done to them.

Matthew could be set to become 'trowel heart-throb' of the year - the curator of the RHS Garden at Harlow Carr in Yorkshire, he has certainly inspired with his input into the new BBC 2 Series on the RHS.

You may be interested in some blogs which I have come across recently. thewalledgardenblog.blogspot.com is by Susie White, who runs Chesters Walled Garden. She has written several gardening books and so her blogspot is informative and really interesting.
If you like the Highlands then you may be interested in another blog 'rural ramblings' from the Scottish Highlands. It is a working gardener's musings on life and gardening in 2007 - find it on
http://ramblingbloke.livejournal.com

For tonight my mind will be on other things - gardens put away and football boots to the fore. I will be rooting for Scotland in the big game against Italy, so after this blog will be putting my seed catalogue on the back burner for a few hours.

The next few days promises to be wet so perhaps not much will get done in the nation's gardens, so if you can't get out, why not log onto the blogs above and enjoy.

winter thinking

2007-11-10T12:32:00.001Z

We are now at the time of year when we start thinking spring and summer next season. What new plants will we grow, what seeds shall we order, do we need to make any big changes over winter? So many questions, ideas and themes will come into your head as you browse the seed catalogues, look through your gardening books and generally think 2008!

I have been giving some though to increasing the ornamental design in my garden. The little areas of interest which highlight the planting and give an extra special zest to a walk around the garden. I have the quirky and unusual as well as the sober and staid. My telephone from an old diesel loco cab is quite unexpected as is my little Buddha who will be one of the focal points for my new algave section next year.

There are just tons of lovely ornamental statues and vases etc that you can buy now but be careful! I well remember a friend who bought a rather naughty statue and spent most of the summer trying to cover up his personal bits! Don't know why, he looked fine to me.

Gertrude Jekyll always said that to look for the best examples of outdoor ornament you need to look to the old gardens of Italy. I couldn't agree more, there are some wonderful examples of good use of vases and urns as well as statues - and don't be lulled into the belief that to buy something grand or even not so grand you need a big garden - small gardens make excellent homes for ornaments and there is nothing more satifying than seeing a lovely pot planted up with lots of vibrant red geraniums.

Gertrude was most insistent that one didn't buy a variety of vases of different kinds and sizes and scatter them around the garden - in one of her articles she wrote, rather delightfully, something to the effect that by doing so you gave an uneasy impression such as that received on entering a room furnished with a Louis Quatorze escritoire and an old English farmhouse linen hutch with a selection of chairs from Cromwell to Queen Victoria! I think I know what she means, but that taken on board I do feel that a variety (perhaps subtle) collection of pots is better than none.

Of course your choice will also depend on the type of garden you have and whether it is modern, cottage, traditional/formal or simply a small patio with a few well chosen shrubs. So now is the time to get the old thinking cap on - buy yourself something really nice for the garden - it deserves it!

Frosty morning

2007-10-24T09:33:00.000+01:00

We had the first hint of frost last night so it was just as well I brought in the frost tender plants a few days ago. The morning have been crisp and bright and we have had some lovely days, really nice to appreciate all the autumn tints.

Last week I went up to Rydal Hall to take a look at the restoration work which had been done on the Mawson garden. It is really lovely and they are making a champion job of it. It is great to see how Thomas Mawson is now appreciated as a garden designer, he designed so many lovely gardens and for too long had been ignored.

The picture above is of the Hall itself with some of the garden in front. The Hall belongs to the Diocese of Carlisle and the grounds are open every day for visitors between 10am and 4pm and they do not make a charge, the only condition is that you respect the peace and appreciate the tranquility.

The picture on the right is of the stream which runs through the grounds. There is a lovely lakeland backdrop to the park itself and you can pop over and take a look at Wordsworth's home Rydal Mount which is on the opposite side of the road to the Hall.

We hope to feature a more indepth item on Rydal Hall on the website so keep logging in to check on that.

There are still a few Dahlia flowering in the garden which is lovely and plenty of colour so autumn is advancing but not at a break-neck pace. Again today is bright and sunny so I might be tempted to pop out and just snip here and there as the mood takes me. I can't do heavy work in the garden any more but I can still snip!

Just read the late great Christopher Lloyd's book "Exotic Planting for Adventurous Gardeners" which has just been published. Will make a smashing Christmas present for the gardener in your life. Don't forget to check out the website for Christmas present ideas as we will be putting quite a few on site in the next few weeks.

still here

2007-09-24T14:49:00.000+01:00

As I haven't posted for some time I thought I had better do something otherwise people will think I have passed to the great garden above.

There used to be a saying in the 60s, something to the effect of "stop the world I want to get off", the last few weeks reminded me of that saying. What a funny world it is. People making long lines outside banks to withdraw money, the dreaded foot and mouth and now blue tongue, oh and don't forget the odd tornado.

That lovely Lewis Hamilton got done out of his podium finish at Belgium with a nifty move by Alonso (alleged) and after a cracking start one frets that Liverpool FC are starting to show a familiar pattern of torpor with a run of draws. On top of all that the 'chosen one' left Chelsea, and the only bit of thinking woman's crumpet in the football manager stakes is taken from us. No more shrugs, sighs and referee bashing - the Premier League just won't be the same.

It is just as well I threw away my copy of Nostradamus, otherwise I would be seeing things in the runes.

There is one bright spot though - I have a couple of cracking dahlia in flower and I am really pleased with them. There is a garden near me which is ablaze with those lovely plants, and at Harrogate the Autumn Flower Show was absolutely alight with them. Never have I seen such lovely plants in a long time. It has been a rotten summer for most gardeners and growers and those who exhibit have had a hard time of it, but for the dahlia it has been a fantastic year.

They say in every adversity you have to look for something positive, so just look back on the terrible summer and think about how you have grown in experience in managing your garden despite the downpours and for those who queued up outside Northern Rock be thankful that after that long wait you did at least get your money out!

Today the weather has returned to Autumn mode, the winds are picking up and the downpours coming again, never mind, there is always Agatha Christie on telly and if you get really fed up you can go rummage through your gardening books and start thinking about next year.

Me, I am looking forward to planting my spring bulbs in pots and having several of Rino's devine dinners at the Heron before winter really sets in. There is also the Garden Writers' Guild lunch to look forward to in November and my birthday, a particular one which is a little milestone in one's life, but about which I am keeping a low profile.

Anyway, for those of you who tune in regularly to this occasional blog, you now all know that I am still here and busy planning the autumn features for Recklessgardener. Keep logging on.

Sunshine & Sempervivums

2007-08-23T12:46:00.000+01:00

I can't believe we are now on day three of SUN. It is a shame that the efforts to get some Vit.C to help the bones is being hampered by creepy crawlies - the total number of bites I have encountered these last few days would more than win the lottery - anyway, musn't complain because we do have some SUN.

Rain is OK for the plants and really good for the greenery but not so good for arthritics - so roll on some more sun before winter sets in.

One thing which struck me from this year's flower shows is that you can use just about anything to plant in. Add to that my love of Sempervivums and some inspiration from the likes of Anthony Samuelson and I have found that I can be quite inventive.

I have a large collection of coronation mugs and the non-china ones are not really worth anything so I thought how could I use these instead of just throwing them away? The answer came from my numerous visits to the flower shows - yes you guessed it I have planted some of them with Sempervivums. They look fab in the conservatory and you get to use otherwise unwanted objects. You have to watch watering and drainage because they are mugs without drain holes but I have managed quite well so far.

So the mugs didn't go to the tip as I had planned and I am smugly pleased with myself.

Sun still shining

2007-08-09T08:12:00.001+01:00

The sun has 'still got his hat on' so it is still a joy to sit and look at the roses fighting the blackspot and still blooming. A miracle has entered my life in the form of a very active and energetic young lady, Kate, who has started up her own gardening business.

She appears, complete with white van, trowel, all the necessary implements and a pair of very study gardening gloves and she attacks the weeds with a delightful energy that has long since left me. There comes a time when either through infirmity or advancing years it is no longer possible to do the work in a garden that you once did. It is a sad time made even sadder by the fact that you watch your precious garden get rather run-down because you can no longer cope.

Now with my new secret weapon, I hope that some order will once again be restored. She filled the two wheelie bins in no time and got down on her hands and knees to really root out the weeds. I haven't been able to do that for years, my gardening, such as it is, is now restricted to dead heading and instructions - I am very good at instructing other people - rather like the lady of the house I suppose who would stand in her garden and tell the gardeners what she wanted.

Anyway, thanks to Kate I and several of my neighbours have now got someone to do the heavy work and keep our gardens tidy. Which brings me to thinking how important horticultural training is and that there is a genuine need for the likes of Kate. I can see that locally her client list is growing and she now spends several days in and around our village. So good luck to you lass and thanks for the weeding!

Good day sunshine

2007-07-23T15:46:00.000+01:00

I woke this morning and found a red thing shining in the sky and someone told me it was the sun. So I donned my sombrero, took hold of my miraccas and did a Carmen Miranda impression around the rose trees - I like you very much I, yi, yi, yi - comes to mind. Which film did she sing that in? I couldn't remember but I was so jubilant at being able to get out into the garden and actually make contact with plants and the soil that it didn't matter.

In case we get a drought in August I now have a plentiful supply of water collected in all manner of barrels, tubs and pots - what I will probably end up with is biting stinging things which like to live near water. We shall see - the weather this summer seems so perverse that it is impossible to tell just what will happen within the next 24 hours.

It has been miserable for the Flower Shows and so many have had to be cancelled. We can only hope that the weather is kinder for the Southport show which runs in the middle of August.

As the rain has kept me indoors and unable to garden I have had the time to appraise what is working and what is not in the garden. Some things will just have to go - I have decided that we cannot stand still and what may work for one year might not for another and so overgrown Hebe are definitely out and geriatric rose trees are taboo. So this autumn major works to dispose of overgrown plants.

I still haven't got the courage to grow any vegetables despite my good intentions in the spring so maybe next year - or the year after !!! But I am proud of the little Hosta collection which I have now gathered. I am getting into Ferns too and perhaps a little stumpery might go down well.

Ah now the sun is out I really must put fork in hand and do something - the sun is shining, yi, yi, yi, - I can't afford to go down to Rio but I can potter in Cumbria - so see you all soon.

Tatton triumphs

2007-07-17T18:01:00.000+01:00

Carla Carlisle writing her column in Country Life recently said that this summer had been created by Chekhov - I know what she means - rain, rain and more rain. Poor Tatton got a deluge today but smugly I was in the main marquee at the time and was able to while away the downpour feasting my eyes on a whole host of absolutely devine plants and displays.

They have done really well at Tatton to get gardens finished and looking so good after the past two weeks and hopefully from tomorrow visitors will get kinder spells in which to enjoy all the gardens and displays. I could have had a bad case of trench foot from yesterday but once again - smug smug- I took my big boots and kept myself snug and dry. Thank God for wood shavings is all I can say - without which I think I would have disappeared in a cloud of not very nice brown stuff a couple of times. By tomorrow all will be pristine and welcoming - so well done to everyone.

Met up with the delightful James Alexander-Sinclair - what a pleasant and entertaining guy he is - and yes he was wearing the hat! Glad I was able to chat with him because Emma ran off and left me - during the brief periods of sunshine she made a passable impression of the road runner - beep beep - as she flew (literally) all over the site clicking away. Then some really nasty black clouds came over - very Chekov indeed - and we beetled away to the big tent to enjoy the smells of all those wonderful plants.

Thankfully it was a short lived downpour but torrential nevertheless and it certainly made all those journalists who had been sitting outside the press tent enjoying their coffee to disappear in a hurry.

A friend of mine used to look at that kind of black sky and say "We're Doomed" and I was a little concerned at one point we might be - but after the blackness came the most lovely blue sky - can you fathom that?

Absolutely adored the Wallace and Gromit flower bed from Preston City Council especially the sheep hanging basket - cool - and drooled over a slate garden - just imagine what that looked like after the rain - cosmic.

The weather forecast for the rest of the week is kinder so let's hope all goes well.

Tatton awaits

2007-07-16T19:37:00.000+01:00

I have been tardy in not blogging for awhile - we had a great trip to Hampton Court but oh how different weather wise to the wonderful 94degrees we enjoyed last year. Rain, rain and a lot of mud, but who cares, we are gardeners after all! Then I whizzed off on a three day trip to Northumberland - you will be able to read all about it shortly on Reckless - gardens to die for and we managed to keep dry - but only just.

Wonderful to see how Alnwick has now blossomed out - what a terrific garden - I think the Duchess of Northumberland should get a big pat on the back for the creation of that garden, a great space to be enjoyed by everyone. Great to watch the kids in little pastic tractors filling up buckets of water from the big fountain and then driving them over to tip the water out - what a great entertainment for them.

Those of you who read my features on Hampton will have remembered me writing about the little grave for Pedro on the Torres Tapas Garden. Designer Anthea Guthrie informs me that Pedro started out as an old faithful dog who had spent many happy hours snoozing under the olive trees, then morphed into a hamster, and finally became a little tiny big eyed puppy, slain by a falling olive. Apparently Miguel Torres was amused by the grave as he does have a graveyard full of family dogs. So thanks Anthea because that solves the mystery of Pedro and I can stop worrying about it now.

Our preview trip to Tatton went well today but everyone was really struggling against the elements - and the usual mud which seems to have been a characteristic of so many shows this year, never mind Glastonbury, very impressed with those gardens which were nearly finished, and hopefully good luck to those who were still racing against the clock and the downpours to get finished. Hopefully, tomorrow might see some dry periods for press day, but I have the boots and umbrella ready just in case.

Will blog again tomorrow and let you know how it went.

Deluge

2007-06-26T11:26:00.000+01:00

My thoughts go out to the many people across the UK who have suffered from flooding in the recent downpours. I don't know what happened to summer during June but count myself lucky that despite living in Cumbria, a county not noted for its dryness (well something has to fill all those lakes) we have so far got off lucky.

I cannot imagine what it must be like to lose all your possessions and the considerable damage to your home and of course the garden. An event like that must completely devastate your life.

We have been lucky to have a few dry and sunny days when we have been able to get in the garden. I have ended up with a very patriotic trellis archway this summer and quite by accident I might add. The vivid blue of the Prince Charles Clematis against the white rambler (sport of Little White Pet) and the deep red of rose Dublin Bay has made a magnificent show these last two weeks.

We are now preparing for our trip to the wonderful Hampton Court and I am getting quite excited. It really is a fantastic show and there is so much room to walk around and enjoy the dramatic backdrop of Hampton Court Palace. Whoever thought up that venue for the flower show at the RHS, all those years ago, deserves our heartfelt thanks, because it couldn't be better.

In the meantime, there is plenty of summer planning to do for the remaining shows of the season including Tatton and Southport. Harrogate will be coming around again in the Autumn as will Malvern so there is still plenty to do in the season before we finally hang up our wellingtons, forks and trowels for the winter.

Gardener's world

2007-06-15T08:52:00.000+01:00

I have to apologise for the lack of blogs over the last few weeks but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. We were very lucky with the weather for our trip to BBC Gardener's World, which we really enjoyed. I'm not sure I agreed with the best in show choice, which was the Highways Agency garden, but on a purely personal rather than technical basis, I really did love David Domoney's The Croft Spot Tranquillity Garden. This designer is really growing on me and the more I see his gardens the more I like them.

I felt there was something of the colonial 30s about this garden which I really love and this is not the first time I have had that impression about his planting. It was really lovely and I don't think the picture I attach does the garden justice but if you didn't get to the show then it might give you a flavour.

My own garden has been taking up my time and growing apace but the recent spell of heavy rain has been a blessing as things were starting to get very dry - apologies if you are on holiday - so I attach a pic of my own garden for a change! The roses have been wonderful but the good old blackspot is now starting to show its ugly head so I can expect a lot of dropping leaves any time now.

What I like about visiting shows is seeing all the ideas that people come up with for different and zany focus points in the garden. At Birmingham on the Time Well Spent Garden they used a kitchen colander for hanging baskets, really effective and natty.

This year the show comprised three shows in one so visitors really have a chance to enjoy not only gardening but also food and home/lifestyle. I am not too sure you would get round it all in one day though because the three shows are rather large but we did a good deal in the several hours we spent there.

Now its preparation time for Hampton Court - one of my absolute favourite shows - and I only hope that we have the fantastic weather that we had last year.

Reflections

2007-05-27T10:48:00.000+01:00

It's only when you have come back from Chelsea and had a few days to reflect on it all that you really begin to appreciate all the different themes, colours and ideas. I was made up for Chris Beardshaw that his appreciation of Hidcote garden was winner of the BBC viewers vote for the second year on the run. I thought his garden was the best in the show and couldn't understand what brought his medal award down from a Gold to a Silver Gilt. His win just about made up for Liverpool losing to AC Milan in the European Cup Final.

Sarah Raven wrote , in my opinion, the best review I have read of Chelsea in Saturday's Daily Telegraph. She pointed out that the most successful show gardens this year were the ones with plenty of air and movement in them and I certainly agreed with her on Jinny Blom's Gold medal wining garden for Laurent Perrier with its beautiful grasses and balance.

Diarmuid's garden too was really lovely, calm and inviting, relaxed and informal. I loved his hanging Perspex seats and daisy bubble chairs and his box. Excellent garden design.

It was nice to run into another Scouser, Liverpool lad, Geoffrey Hughes, aka Onslow or Vernon Scripps if you are a Hearbeat fan, who seemed to be enjoying himself.

I think one of the main ideas for me from this year's Chelsea is how I can incorporate more grasses into my small garden. They worked so well in many of the show gardens both large and small and I have now resolved to endeavour to use them more too.

I just loved Capel Manor College's 'A Garden to take Tea In' and hope you can get an idea of this lovely, clean and fresh garden with a neutral background, mixed palette of colours ranging from purples through blue with splashes of orange and yellow. I certainly wanted to take tea in it. and they deserved their Silver Flora.

I am becoming less obsessed with climate change and did feel the sustainability bit was overdone this year, hopefully, Hampton, which is a show I always look forward too, will not be too obsessed with it either. July cannot come soon enough as we start planning for our trip to the lovely Hampton Court. Plenty of room to move around, lovely environment, and the special treat for me of the roses in the great marquee. Can't wait.

To Chelsea and beyond

2007-05-24T14:00:00.000+01:00

Well Chelsea was a ball and as usual we had a really packed day trying to see all the gardens, meet people we knew, spot the celebs and make notes on all the new varieties being launched.

Our trip down didn't start too well - we were thrown off the train at Crewe - no not because I behaved badly - because it broke down. Not a good start and was this going to be a bad omen! No, we got another train, then when I looked out of the window at Stafford station I was a bit alarmed to see the attempt at decoration on the platform - see pic of rather sad looking foilage - obviously not a lot of gardeners here then. So onward to the big smoke and the big day.

What to wear? Is it going to rain, blow a gale, turn out hot and sultry or just hot? Trying to work out the variables of clothing so that you are comfortable and basically best able to do your job is always difficult. We make the usual mad dash to get into the press tent to obtain a locker, always a boon as you don't want to spend the day humping around a load of leaflets and press releases.

The gardens are magical and it is really difficult to start picking out your favourites they are all so good this year. I run into Cleve West in the Great Pavilion and also find Mrs Bucket's brother-in-law Onslow, (Geoffrey Hughes) who is obviously into plants. Once again Chris Beardshaw produces a garden to die for, his tribute to Hidcote is sensational - we are all gutted it didn't get a gold.

Rolf Harris has got 'painty' shoes and he confesses that they are so comfortable he just can't part with them - they look cute. Perhaps he could start a new fashion.

We all get shoved to one side as the King and Queen of Sweden make an appearance - in awe - I have never been that close to a King and Queen although I have been close to one in waiting!
Press behave badly as they are wont to do on these occasions with much shoving and elbows in ribs - I am unperturbed - I don't have to take photos!

It starts to rain so it is time to get back into the Great Pavilion. Over to David Austin to see their fabulous new roses launched at the show - just loved Munstead Wood named after Gertrude Jekyll's garden. What a stunning colour, light crimson in bud and then deep velvety crimson when open. Wow! Also liked Princess Alexandra of Kent, soft pink - delightful.

Julian Desborough from Timesonline, presents Emma with a rather natty bag he picked up - this has redeemed him after his failure to buy us ice creams at last year's Hampton Court - well in Julian.

It has become an annual ritual that we head for the Hillier stand for their launch. Andy McIndoe wins another Gold medal and makes it Hilliers 62nd! What a stand, always stunning but this year once again just out of this world. Hilliers always serve Green & Blacks Chocolate with their Champers - what joy - once again we are suitably impressed!

I sidestep another rugby scrum who are trying to photograph Joanna Lumley and walk into some sort of dancing people - can't join in with a walking stick - so move around them and feast my eyes on the colourful Jamaica Hort.Soc stand - brill.

The rain has stopped so out we go again - time passes very quickly at Chelsea and it is soon time to go home. Another great year, another great Show - amazing standards of horticulture, loads of ideas - lots of nice people to meet. Now its time to plan for Hampton Court and it all starts all over again!!!

Malvern

2007-05-12T13:10:00.000+01:00

9.00am Friday 11th May:
Here we are trying to get off the M6 motorway behind a very big queue of cars all presumably going to the same place we are! It is obvious that the Malvern Show is as popular as they say it is, fortunately, I am not driving so not in too much danger of DVT - perhaps a little Fleetwood Mac will help!

10.15am - after following the signs and everyone else we are here at last. Easy parking and the clouds have disappeared. The hills offer a gentle backdrop to the showground and everyone seems in good spirits.

11am - Just spotted Monty and the team but too interested in looking at the gardens to take much notice.

12noon - there are some amazing stalls at this show and have just purchased a wonderful Victorian seed rake - overjoyed - well worth the traffic queue to get here.

1pm - Met a lovely man on the hosta society display - Tom Elliott - who helps me with some very interesting information about my favourite subject - waging war against snails! Good on yer Tom.

2pm - The band entertains, everyone is in mellow mood - plastic plant trolley full - they are so popular down in the Midlands and particularly at BBC Gardener's World and they are here as well. It's amazing how much some people get into them. Lovely plants of all shapes and sizes being lovingly carted to cars!

3pm - the long journey home beckons - why does it only take ten minutes to get back to the motorway junction along one road when it took us over 50 minutes to come into the showground! I think I will invest in sat nav in future and learn to ignore signs telling me where to go!

I can see why Malvern is popular, at first I couldn't put my finger on it then I realised it's because everyone wants to talk to you and I mean really talk to you not just involve you in nice weather banter. Everyone here is friendly and there is a very English laid-back atmosphere about it.

Off to Malvern

2007-05-10T09:15:00.000+01:00

Its cold, windy and dreary so I am getting prepared for Malvern tomorrow, only hope it stays dry for our visit.

I have been waging war on the slime balls again. The homeless ones are the worst - the ones without the shells - at least with snails you can pick them up and lob them into the compost - not so the other type. Well I suppose you could but I wouldn't! Anyway, I have to confess a terrible deed - I have scattered slug pellets. To ease my troubled conscience and offset this environmental no-no I have learned to wipe off greenfly with my fingers so I am not spraying the rose trees. I feel this is a fair trade.

I have decided not to fly this year to offset my carbon footprint and go everywhere by train. To date I have achieved this except it might be difficult getting across the Irish Sea when we go to Dublin in October! However, I am sure that using a ferry must be carbon friendly - or is it?

Anyway, I digress. I wonder what sort of slugs they have in Ireland - I wouldn't mind but the baby snails are so cute - it is very difficult. I now grow a lot of plants which are snail resistant and try and avoid the plants which they like, but can't help it with hostas because I just adore them and so do the slugs, so the war goes on.

There will be no gardening done today as the weather is too wet, but the ground needs the rain so I am not complaining at all. All the flowers have been smiling since it started yesterday, they are probably saying, Thank God I can get a bath at last!

amazing pelargoniums

2007-05-08T16:19:00.000+01:00

I was reading an article by Sarah Raven on pelargoniums in the Telegraph at the weekend. Sarah said it is time to give the pelargonium new respect as they are fantastically colourful and long-flowering. I have always loved geraniums of every sort and the pelargonium varieties which you can now get are just wonderful. They are what I call a value-for plant as they can go on flowering right through winter in the right conditions.

Sarah mentioned one that I had discovered last year, Lord Bute. This wonderful variety was flowering right up to Christmas and has now started up again with the most wonderful dark rich flowers you could ever want. I managed to one at the wonderful Arley Hall and I have neber regretted it. With global warming the geranium is a good plant for dry conditions as it will go for a substantial period without watering.

You can also get scented pelargonium leaved varieties as well for extra fun. I just love to see a pot full of them - they are easy to grow and are not prey to pests. So if you haven't bought any why not try them in your garden or on your patio.

Chelsea is getting near and I feel my excitement levels rising. I am off to Malvern on Friday so will report on my findings - it will be the first time I have visited this particular show.

lovely weather

2007-05-03T16:52:00.000+01:00

What a glorious few days it has been. Managed to get my tubs planted up and some weeding done, miracle. I have been criticised for buying new pots and not taking the sticky price label off. Well I know I do this but it is good to be eccentric and I don't mind the labels being stuck on the side, its quirky.

Chelsea is getting near and I can sense my excitement levels rising. I hope that the weather is good and fair for the event Last year it rained and blew a gale on press day so we shall have to see. I remember getting very muddy.

They say it will rain over the bank holiday but we shall see. I like the garden to get a good soak at least once a week, then the rest can be as sunny as it likes. My new roses from David Austin are doing really well and settling in. I have also had to give extra care to a couple of new clematis and make sure they stay well watered. What I like about May is all the new shoots coming out on everything and me going round with the tie-string to make everything climb where I want it. All the roses are full of lovely leaves with buds forming on most shrubs.

Spring is certainly here and dare I say that I think summer has arrived also!

Marathon weekend

2007-04-25T09:30:00.000+01:00

We had a busy weekend in London for the Marathon. Emma successfully comleted not only her first London Marathon, the hottest ever, but also her first Marathon. No doubt she will update her blog when she gets her breath back, but we are all delighted at her wonderful achievement.

Personally, I have never seen so many people, and it is quite a culture shock to visit London at any time when you usually live in the country where life is a little quieter and slower.

There were so many people trying to get on the tube to get to the start that I was reminded of those Japanese trains where guards go along and push people in! That is not the life for me, I am afraid, but I suppose it is quite normal for Londoners.

The weather certainly was glorious and their gardens are quite advanced. There is Wisteria everywhere in full bloom and the Royal Parks looked lovely.

Our next trip down will be for Chelsea so that it the next focus.

spring is here

2007-04-17T09:45:00.000+01:00

I write this on a beautiful spring morning which gives encouragement that the better weather is now definitely here. Our visit to the gardens of Staffordshire at the weekend was a great success and once again we were blessed with wonderful weather.

Staffordshire certainly has a lot to offer and you will be able to read all about it on the reckless website shortly. We visited Shugborough, Weston Park, (picturte right at top) Biddulph Grange (picture left at top) and paid a call on David Austin Roses.

Visiting David Austin was rather like being let loose in a sweet shop, or in my case, cake shop!
To see all those wonderful rose trees lined up just waiting to be adopted was sensational. The great thing about going to Austin's centre at Albrighton is the vast availability of their stock. You can also order direct from Austin's by email or phone but the chance of actually going there and picking my own rose trees was just too good an opportunity to miss. The staff were terrific and we really enjoyed ourselves.

I won't talk about our other visits as they will be posted on the website but needless to say if you want to find yourself in quiet country lanes leading to lots of properties with really wonderful gardens then you can do no better than head for Staffordshire. It really is a county of hidden talents - very enjoyable.

The Camellia trees are still flowering and I am amazed that we have had three full months of their wonderful blooms. Everything is coming to life now in the garden and it is, in my opinion, the most exciting time of the year. Every morning there is something new emerging or budding and the early Spring and warm sun is bringing on everything even sooner than usual.

In the fast lane

2007-04-01T11:01:00.000+01:00

Gardening is supposed to be about peace and contentment but the last few days have been more than hectic for me - you know the phrase headless chicken. A friend remarked yesterday that she too had gone through a rather roller-coaster week and wanted to go and lie down in a dark room. I know how she feels!

Keeping on top of the website and all the news and information that everyone sends in is a job on its own, but add to that the fact that we have to visit gardens, go out there and meet all you wonderful people and dutifully report back - well it can get a bit hectic. However, it is a nice kind of hectic and I would much sooner be doing that than sitting in a traffic queue waiting to go to an office each day. We are very fortunate in that respect.

The thing is we are all enthusiastic about our gardens and want to share that with others, which is great, and it is that kind of 'gardening freemasonry' which adds so much to our gardening lives.

So this week found me at Holker Hall with Lord and Lady Cavendish in their delightful and very spiritual garden. It is always a pleasure to visit Holker Hall and the enthusiasm of Lord and Lady Cavendish is infectious. Their knowledge is awesome but what is more uplifting is their complete "oneness" with their garden and the sheer delight of sharing that with others.

Very careful thought goes into their preparations for each season and how they can make their garden even more appealing to visitors both young and old. The spring garden was already bursting into life and there was plenty of colour. If you have never visited Holker Hall near Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria you should make an effort to do so, you will be richly rewarded with a special gardening experience, as well as all the other attractions which are on offer, including some rather good special Cumbrian food.

As April progresses we have a number of trips to make the first of which will be a special feature on the gardens of Staffordshire. So keep logging on for that. Not long to go now before Chelsea and we will continue bringing you up-to-date news on the build-up.

If I had time to go and lay down in a darkened room I probably would but think I will content myself with re-potting my cuttings, talk to my plants, and try not to notice the weeds. That should be good for a start.

troubled waters

2007-03-22T10:23:00.000Z

Well, have been told off by Bob (the Gardener to the Big House) for not oiling my tools before I put them away in the winter - well I am a reckless gardener! - and by my friend with the nice garden where you can sit and enjoy glasses of wine in a variety of pleasant seating areas, because she says I didn't give due homage to the other half of the dynamic duo who plays a big part in helping her create this oasis! So homage paid.

Well now I have put that right can I proceed onto calmer waters? Our web editor recently said that she sometimes feels like a little gerbel running round a wheel trying to keep everything going and I know how she feels. This time of year there is always a lot of pressure for Chelsea and of course we still have to deal with all the other stuff which comes our way.

Anyway, we have some exciting features coming onto the website shortly so keep logging on. There will be an interview with the iconic designer John Brookes and a review of John's latest book.

On a beautifully sunny spring day I visited Speke Hall yesterday and this was a really enjoyable visit. They had done a lot to the gardens and surrounding grounds since my last visit several years ago and the room stewards were friendly and interesting. So watch out for a report on that in our gardens to visit section. We shall also be going down to Staffordshire next month to look at several garden attractions in that area, so something else not to miss.

Now I have made my peace with the world I will sign off.

a feathered friend

2007-03-12T12:25:00.000Z

Spring must be here because we have had a feathery visitor singing his little heart out on top of our telegraph pole - which unfortunately sits in the middle of my flower bed but one must, if one wants to communicate with the outside world I suppose - anyway I was saying that our little thrush friend is really entertaining us. I think he is looking for a wee friend to snuggle up to in the trees so I hope he finds one.

It's good to see the nights drawing out and the morning getting a little lighter too. Today, is sunny and bright in Cumbria and I have been on a tour of inspection around the garden. I also discovered some pots of tete-ta-tete daffodils which I had forgotten about behind the garage so they have come out for all to see.

I only wish I could remove the fleece from the clematis but I know only too well that if I do that before the end of April I am doomed. Slowly, I am bringing pots out of the garage - I am so impatient at this time of the year, I just want the sun to come up and the weather to warm up and everything to start sprouting.

Diarmuid Gavin once told me that his favourite time in the garden was Spring. I couldn't agree more, it is a magical time and certainly my favourite too. I am getting excited already!

We have been doing some decorating and I had to move my gardening books for awhile. One thing about moving your bookcase is that it causes you to look at some of the books which might otherwise remain on the bookshelf. You forget just what useful books you have sometimes. Reckless regularly reviews new gardening books so don't forget to look in our review section on the website. There are some excellent ones coming out this Spring including John Brookes 'Gardening Design Course'.

Well make sure that the shears are oiled, the fork cleaned and the spade made ready - it's coming!!

neglecting tasks

2007-03-02T14:52:00.000Z

One is utterly ashamed to say that one has not been out during the brief recent sunny spell to cut the roses. I know this job needs doing - Bob has already started his - but I have been tardy to say the least.

It's not that I don't want to - I think as I get older I shy away from any sort of activity which means I have to do something akin to work, although seriously cutting roses and pruning has always been one of my favourite activities.

So,here I am, today, sitting here computing and writing up features instead of being out there pruning. I have done a little snipping here and there but nothing to shout about. Everything is still wrapped up in fleece - I know to be wary of frosts in Cumbria in March and even in April - and so I feel that the garden is still asleep despite signs of vibrant life in several quarters.

Anyway, I have been thoroughly absorbed in Chelsea preparations and hope that you will be too as the latest information and gardens are posted onto the website. But Spring is getting nearer, I can feel it, and with it a slight skip of the heart, an anticipation of things to come, glories to see and gardens to visit - I can't wait!

Alfred Hitchcock once said that "a good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it." The same applies to gardening. It's wonderful when all the roses and plants start bursting into bloom and you sit there and cast a satisfied eye over your creation - it's worth all the hard work just for that brief moment.

I'm pretending not to see the weeds and our green wheelie bin man thinks I have a terminal illness because I haven't been filling up the bin! Well now that March is here watch out! The rake and hoe will come out and hopefully I will finally get round to that pruning.

pure joy

2007-03-02T14:50:00.000Z

I have had a prick of conscience and just been to check the Begonia tubers. They are well and healthy and looking at me to rescue them from the deep cardboard box which has been their snug home over the winter. I was thrilled that neither mice nor frost had got to them and brought them out with such triumph! Oh the joys of gardening.