The Weekend FT's Harry Eyres is apparently not joking when he writes that north London's Meanwhile Gardens comunity project

could be a place for dwelling as well as waiting, in between one thing and another, between the beginning and the ending, nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita, or in the middle of the road of our lives, which are always between a beginning and an ending [...and so on at considerable length]

Can a visit from It's Grim Up North London's Jez & Quin be far behind?

Mulch mats to reduce moisture stress and weed competition in potted nursery stock come in many forms, but a new version from the USA claims to also promote plant growth by up to 30 per cent.

The downside? It's made of human hair...

But before you rush off to your nearest Toni & Guy, bin-liner in hand, bear in mind this is Chinese hair, which is "more nutrient rich because it's not as treated as Western hair".

Baffling blast of inverse snobbery over at Matt's blog from ThinkinGardens editor Anne Wareham, who thinks that gardening needs a bit less Christopher Lloyd and a bit more Tracey Emin (remember her?)

Gardening folk do indeed tend to be "nice" rather than "difficult, challenging and disgusting". I don't know, perhaps they enjoy spending their time in a world where being difficult, challenging and disgusting are not (yet) considered virtues.

Anne asks:

How can we excite the world about gardens with one foot being permanently sucked back into the mud left by the nineteenth century?

But what other country is as internationally famous for its horticultural heritage as Britain? As well as the huge home market, millions of visitors from around the world come to enjoy our shows and gardens every year - rather more than come for our more "edgy" arts.

(It's no coincidence that when the Irish government wanted to create a platform to promote their garden industry, they imported the RHS show model lock stock and barrel. They understood what a difficult trick it is to combine high horticultural and design standards with geniune mass appeal. Fortunately, we don't need taxpayers' money to make it happen here.)

Anne seems also to have an entire gabion of chips on her shoulder about social class. True, there may be a disproportionate number of "posh" people in hort, but it has people of all backgrounds at all levels. If anything, it's a social leveller - far more so, again, than "edgier" arts.

Sorry Anne, but British horticulture is as it is because that's the way millions of us like it.