Reflections on a gardening year

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

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.