This and that

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.