busy week

The past week has flown by mainly because the excitement of Chelsea is starting to build and the press releases are 'flying' but also because we are planning for the next couple of months "pre-season" and I am busy writing features.

I haven't been in the garden hardly at all sad to say but the weather has not encouraged me and I am using a bad back as an excuse for not getting down to that weeding which I definitely know needs doing and will bite back at me when the weather and ground warms up!

Gertrude Jekyll once wrote that a garden should be in accordance with the "style and calibre" of the house and, above all, should be "beautiful and entirely enjoyable". It should be a place of repose and charm and there should be varied forms of interest. Well I try to make mine beautiful and probably its entirely enjoyable but I am not sure that it has varied forms of interest. Sometimes I look at it and think it a jumbled mess.

My friend Pauline has a delightful garden which is neat and tidy and clearly arranged into "rooms" of variety and delight, while Magda has a varied garden which encompasses vegetables, pond, waterfall and all manner of nooks and crannies. She has also given great thought to sitting areas for different times of the day which most of us overlook.

It is always at this time of year that I think of hard landscaping projects which could be completed before the growing season and I have one or two ideas but not sure if I will put them into operation. I think one of the really great things about gardening - apart from the fact that it keeps you fit and healthy and gives enjoyment to boot - is the kind of people you meet. In the main, gardeners are fun and genuine people, always willing to share plants and ideas, give positive comment and help when needed. I am lucky to have gardening friends who fit this category and no doubt there are many of you out there who do too.

Mine certainly don't mind getting their hands dirty on my behalf which is welcome and for which I am grateful - especially when the back goes - and its great to visit gardens with your friends and be able to talk about plants and enthuse together about colour, form and shape.

This really is the start of the most exciting part of the year - spring is on its way and if weather patterns continue will probably be warmer than usual - one morning in a few months time you will wake up and go out into the garden and it will all suddenly be there! Just be patient it will happen - it always does!