At Mr Fothergill's plant trials last week in Newmarket the main topics of conversation were the sheer weight of new plants being released on the nation's gardeners - and the appointment of Toby Buckland as Gardener's World lead presenter.

Just as launches of dozens of catalogues by Thompson & Morgan, Mr F, Suttons etc rather confuse the market, there were dozens of potential candidates for the plum Gardener's World job vacated by the ill Monty Don. Not one stood out-just as few of the new plants really look like stars that are set to last.

Toby Buckland got the GW nod after BBC focus groups decided he was right-no idea how they decided this and I doubt anyone else has either other than the those living in BBC-land. Few, even in the industry, have heard of Toby. Gardener's World magazine editor Adam Pasco says Buckland would have been his pick because he doesn't have the ego of Don, Beardshaw etc and is more of a grass roots character than Swift etc. Telegraph writer Ursula Buchan made the not unreasonable point that a woman-Carol Klein-should have been appointed. Carol is unhappy at being overlooked. If I was ex-HW features editor turned GW gardener Alys Fowler I'd be annoyed too. Ditto Joe Swift.

It's a bit like the seed companies saying their new plant launches are better than tried and tested old ones - the Beeb is saying is there current crop of presenters aren't as good as a nobody.

There's nothing more boring than being lectured by environmentalists.
But, that said, garden centres, which you'd expect to be green, aren't very.
Wyevale Garden Centres has a project called Plan Apple.
They have invited me to its relaunch at state of the art garden centre village Bicester next month. Recycling pots, patio heaters, moss, peat, energy use, etc etc are on the agenda.
Wyevale also has a green guru, Dr Alan Knight. He's been in a row with Garden Industry Manufacturers director Neil Gow - over patio heaters.
Gow says Wyevale banning their sale at its stores was a publicity stunt. Knight says not.
Gow's organisation has members that sell them. Wyevale lost little and gained a lot of cred from dropping the carbon guzzling heaters.
Here lies the dichotomy between green and not green at garden centres. The products often aren't green while their reputation definitely is. As soon as some media type - nearly every paper has green columnists now- notices then there's problems. What to do? Don't forget green is good. And the customer can work out when you're greenwashing. But let's see what Wyevale say on 8 September.