June - sun, flower shows and weeds

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.