VAT was high on the agenda on Monday night at the All-Party Horticulture Group annual reception at Parliament. Garden centre bosses Boyd Douglas-Davis, Carol Paris and Andy McIndoe thought cutting it by 2.5 per cent was not a good idea. But Andy thought garden centres could use it to their advantage by cutting prices by a rounder and more significant 5 per cent.

It wasn't all boring VAT though. The fire alarm went off as we had dinner in the Churchill Room. Event guest star Rachel de Thame, who had toothache, had to grin and bear the cold outside for the hour until the alarm stopped.

Rachel was there on behalf of Greenfingers. Talking of which, amusing goings on with Richard Jackson's very useful Greenfingers' Garden Press Event (5 February 2009), where hacks meet suppliers. We reported (21 Nov HW p3) the event would link with the RHS annual show launch to the press. This makes utter sense as 150 journalists can do two events for the price of one and the companies at the GPE can get better coverage-many garden journalists know little about many of the exhibitors, which is not necessarily the companies' fault. 

But then the RHS told us we'd jumped the gun at HW. The Hort Halls event was all off because of weird, vague staffing/cost/timing problems. The RHS even said there would be too many journalists at their press launch. Figure that one out. However, now I believe the events may be on the same day again. Hopefully our magazine's pieces, including Peter Seabrook's 21 November opinion column, made a difference.

Can't resist writing about Garden Media Guild.

Apparently there'll be q's asked on the news award at GMG committee because it went to an environmental feature.

BTW, we got a message about a garden blogger called Garden Monkey www.thegardenmonkey.blogspot.com actually being James Alexander-Sinclair, who won blogger of the year at GMG for his lovely www.blackpitts.co.uk site.. If he's Monkey it's sad news.

It's about time the Queen knighted another gardener. It would be good for the horticulture industry to have a figurehead with the weight of a title behind him or her.

Sir Harold Hillier was the last, and he held his title for just two years before his death in 1985. Lord Heseltine, who persuaded civil servants Sir Harold deserved the knighthood, said farmers were always preferred over gardeners. The only other hort knight this century was Sir Harry Veitch in 1912.

RHS magazine editor Ian Hodgson gave me this idea. So how about Ian's fellow Yorkshireman 'Sir' Alan Titchmarsh. Or 'Sir' Geoffrey Smith. Many Yorkshire-types call the untitled cricketer Geoff Boycott 'Sir Geoffrey' already.

'Sir Tim Smit' has a ring to it. But maybe he's too Dutch. 'Sir Charles Notcutt'? Maybe has left less of a legacy than Smit's Eden Project, despite valiant work in the industry.

'Dame Beth Chatto'? She's got a retrospective on at the revamped Garden Museum (see all gardening publications for details). 'Sir Peter Seabrook'? 'Sir Joseph Swift'. Most of the rest of his family have titles-Dame Margaret, Dame AS, Sir Michael Holroyd. Dame Alys, Dame Carol, Sir Toby, Sir James Alexander-Sinclair, Sir Monty-now we're getting silly. Maybe whoever wins at this week's Garden Media Guild awards. Though maybe garden writers shouldn't write about garden writers winning awards given by garden writers for garden writing.

Your thoughts appreciated (on the knighthood bit or anything else).

A top week. Lindsay Lohan, Blue Peter gardening, giving the world's oldest manager, 101-year-old Phyllis Self MBE winning the Garden Retail magazine lifetime achievement award and a trip to Ireland with Westland (and 14 garden journalists) to on a peat fact hunt.

On the tour, the Sunday Telegraph's Bunny Guinness asked what a sub editor was while Gardeners' World hack Kevin Smith said one anonymous garden blogger he logs on to knows all about what's going on in the biz. 

Kevin-you should be looking here to know what's happening-for instance, Country Life's Katherine Bradley-Hole told me Spink Property had again pulled out of sponsoring Christopher Bradley-Hole's Chelsea Flower Show garden-a sign of credit crunch if there ever was one. Bunny was pipped at the post for Marks and Spencers' Chelsea garden-an early favourite for best in show. Meanwhile doubt surrounds Marshalls likelihood of renewing their Chelsea sponsorship post-2009.

QVC's Richard Jackson, also on the Ireland tour, has persuaded the RHS to arrange its Chelsea launch and Richard's essential Garden Press Event are on the same day - 5 February 2009 at RHS halls in Westminster. This is a much-needed chance for garden hacks to find something out about the companies that make and grow horticultural products.

I found out on the Ireland tour that RHS The Garden magazine editor Ian Hodgson, who was great company at dinner on the trip, stays up until 4am proofing its pages. But The Garden still missed reporting the RHS's own research on peat, by RHS soil scientist Paul Alexander.

There was lots of talk In Ireland about the Growing Media Initiative, launched ahead of the Garden Retail awards on Wednesday. At the launch itself Garden Trade News's Trevor Pfeiffer asked why the Sunday Telegraph gardening hack (Bunny) did not know about the GMI. This taught me you should never ask a question if you haven't done your research.

Scotts Miracle Gro, Westland, Homebase, RHS, National Trust, RSPB and Defra are part of the HTA-organised group, which is working on reducing peat use by gardeners. It's a pre-emptive strike before the Government introduces a possible peat tax if the hort industry does not make Defra's 90 per cent peat free target by 2010. That's now more of 'an aspiration' Government sources tell me, and won't be acted upon.

What's interesting about the Growing Media Initiative is that Westland, Scotts and green waste peat-free specialist Vital Earth have put commercial differences aside to work together on telling people they are cutting peat use. But Westland say green waste doesn't work and that Scotts' mining of UK peat bogs is bad for the environment so those differences are bound to resurface soon. Westland uses Irish peat-Bunny, Katherine, Kevin, Ian, Annie Gatti and I were among those who squelched on the bogs at Coole this week. Watch out for lots of reports in the press soon.

On a lighter note, Lindsay Lohan popped by the Royal Garden Hotel for the Garden Retail awards on Wednesday night with girlfriend Sam Ronson.

Also enjoying the evening were Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins who told me he had just done the gardening talks on an Atlantic cruise in between enjoying a glass ot two of vino with the other celeb on board, ex-Crackerjack host Stu 'I could crush a grape' Francis.

Whitehall Garden Centre's centenarian Phyllis Self won the lifetime achievement award - a lovely moment. Watch out for a piece on her in the next Garden Retail, out next week. And watch this space for news of innovation in part of Westland's business coming for 2010. And there's loads of other stuff, but I reckon most blogs are too long, don't you?

I see that Independent admirable garden blogger Emma Townshend has picked up http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/gardening/austerity-gardening-dig-for-luxury-984043.html on austerity gardening with BBC Gardener's World's Alys Fowler.

Emma writes of Alys' Thrifty Gardener book that you can grow luxury produce from seed - and saves £££s!

I'd say this idea has already had plenty of coverage over the last few months-it's even been in the Daily Mail for goodness sake. It was cool, but for the poshos doing this stuff, they don't need to. And they're already bored of the trend.

What's NEW is that we should be growing in bulk to feed ourselves and save money rather than trying, and probably failing, to grow difficult veg such as cavolo nero, French sorrel and  Communist heritage tomatoes. And to grow successfully in bulk, with guaranteed results, for the amateur, takes a bit of help from chemicals.

The latest issue - that no newspaper is taking seriously from the home gardener's POV - is the EU's ban on simple basic weedkillers on 5 November http://www.hortweek.com/News/859909/EU-pesticides-vote-approves-strict-controls/. This will mean many everyday gardeners -95 per cent are not organic- will struggle to grow much worthwhile food. And now is a time when people really need to GYO to save money. Growing a few flea-bitten pak choi leaves will not feed a family.