Taste of autumn

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.