The RHS shows launch took a new format, combining with its revamped and reheaded London Garden Design Show. Nursery exhibitors mingled with the usual thirsty hacks and PR types. The serious news was Fleming's have pulled out of Chelsea because of the Victoria bushfires in Australia.

1. The Telegraph has gone big on Lloyds TSB doing hospitality at Chelsea. RHS shows boss Stephen Bennett says all the usual City types and banks will be using Chelsea as a hospitality event - except Lehman Brothers of course. Ironic, as RHS president Giles Coode-Adams is ex-Lehman.

2. There was some talk of the near parody of Rachel de Thame's 'I quite like snowdrops' garden article in the Sunday Times last weekend. It hit all three parts of the formula: celeb writer, big pretty pics, snowdrops in Feb. Being this predictable enthuses no one. Both Telegraph and Times have had their budgets slashed. But why would you need big budgets to do the same thing every year?

3. Top 10 favourite people this week: garden anarchist Anne Wareham (see my book review at thinkingardens.co.uk), Andrew Fisher-Tomlin whose Ikea-led balcony garden design at the London show overshadowed the RHS Garden mag unusual evergreen design. AFT got his leeks from Cleve West's allotment. But you can't grow them in Ikea watering cans. Telegraph type Stephen Lacey, who called my cocktail 'gay', Wesley Kerr, Chelsea roving reporter and HLF London chair. Apparently the RHS don't want Fulham Palace garden anymore because you don't have to pay to get in. Wesley didn't tell me this but he did say he hasn't yet been asked to report on Chelsea for BBC this year. I suggested we start a petition to send Wesley to the Caymans. Giles Coode-Adams - a twinkly new president for RHS, Lord Heseltine - pays the wages and a big fan of Crug Nursery, Simon Edwards of Golden Acres Nursery-good to judge the show with. A keen Ardbeg fan. Rob Hardy of Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants. Was at GAN and London show. Looking to do a show garden at Hampton Court after Daily Mail pulled out. Also supplying Marshall's garden at Chelsea. Says plants are a few weeks behind because of snow etc. Jeremy Swallow - Chelsea sponsor Marshalls marketing guy. Marshalls has done well to keep to its three year sponsorship deal. Jeremy's boss Chris Harrop would not comment on it being renegotiated this year. Marshalls isn't sponsoring the design theatre, which has moved where Diarmuid's garden usually is this year. Future Gardens judge James Alexander-Sinclair isn't speaking at it either. The RHS is looking for speakers. Get in touch if you're keen. Chris Collins, the Blue Peter gardener, who is the hort brain behind Top Gear presenter James Mays' plasticine RHS show garden, a tribute to Morph and Tony Hart. This is true. Mays is doing a top 10 toys project. You couldn't make this up.

4. Top 10 I need to build bridges with: Annie Gatti, Joanna Fartnam "Who's good who's under 30? MA-Alys? JF: Alice Walker? MA 'No, Alys Fowler. Alice Walker wrote the Color Purple'), Phil Voice, Ray Tungate, Garden Monkey, Carrie Donald, Diarmuid, Brett, Andy Sturgeon, Inga Grimsey ("Contrary to press reports Chelsea will be blah, blah, blah'), Ursula Buchan (I asked the voice of the shires-my mum-what she thought of Ursula. She thought U was snobby. Telegraph say people like 'haughty' writing.

5. Flemings Nurseries in Australia lost stock and many buildings in the recent Australian bushfires. No-one was injured. But the Australia garden has had to pull out of Chelsea 2009, leaving just 12 show gardens.

6. That's another show garden to have pulled out of Chelsea. Notcutts pulled out only two weeks ago - a very last-minute decision. But will visitors notice? The show will be full and a sell out. Maybe it's just the media that care.

7. RHS insiders say losing the Daily Mail garden at Hampton Court is 'no loss'.

8. There's an Olympics suppliers meeting in Hampshire next week - Hardy and Hillier may be there.

9. TV shopping channel QVC is featuring a phalanx of Britain's top growers on the first Saturday of the month. Raymond Evision is leading growers-Hardy/Whetman/Woods/Fairweather/Bowden on a panel with Richard Jackson.

10. Floella Benjamin was there. As was Carol Klein. And BBC Gardener's World producers Rosemary Edwards and Andy Vernon. New boy Vernon didn't get the chance to appoint a lead presenter to Gardener's World. Rumour is he wanted someone more 'charismatic' than Toby Buckland.

Here's the latest in the popular top 10 series: But first: I helped pick these garden centres for Indie on Saturday.

1. Garden Writers Guild freelance members are upset because they will not automatically get press passes to Chelsea Flower Show. Expect some bad publicity - if increasingly unemployable old ladies can find anyone to write for. Other hacks with full-time work have to wear wristbands so they can't sell/give tickets to their mates.

2. Made debut in Private Eye this week. Easy: Write story for HortWeek thinking 'that will be good for Private Eye'. Send to the Eye. Win crisp tenner.

3.  Denials of the week. Alan Titchmarsh: "The only writing help I have is an editor." Toby Buckland: "There are no editorial changes in my reissued book." 'Peat free' is inserted before the word compost in the How to Make your Garden Grow reissue.

4. This has been removed. It's the Guardian guest piece-has been cut out to keep it fresh for the debut in the leftie broadsheet. Unless they change their mind. I'll let u know when it's in, don't you worry.

Here it is! Please comment and maybe they'll ask me to do another.

www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2009/feb/11/gardens

5. This year's hot garden ticket is to Buckingham Palace where just 3,500 have tickets for the first official tours. Just had a prolonged debate with Sunday Times on them using a feature on this - they couldn't get in to see the garden to do a preview,  I could. Either I wrote it badly, they couldn't get any pics of Buck House garden, or a combination of the two. So it won't be in the Sunday dogkiller but may get out elsewhere.

6. Architect Jan Kaplicky, who died last month aged 71, missed out in the competition to design the infamous Diana Fountain in Hyde Park. Kaplicky's ‘Cherie Blair's gob' design was such as success at Lord's cricket ground, where I used to report on cricket with the hideous (mostly) crowd of cricket hacks.
I remember talking to Kathryn Gustafson, who won the Diana Fountain job, on the day "the open sewer" opened. She was charming. Pleased to have a break from the TV cameras, she asked me if I minded if she smoked. She told me she wanted children to splash and play in the fountain. I didn't realise the significance of this until the fountain broke and the media mercilessly ridiculed the bizarre uphill water circle and the waste of cash of Di's drain. Kalpicky thought it was a royal conspiracy he was not picked because Prince Charles doesn't like modern architecture. I wouldn't argue.

7. At Kew's 250th press launch: Telegraph hack Stephen Lacey and gardening writing legend Roy Lancaster kissing and making up after Stephen thought Roy had fallen out with him. Emma Townshend in wellies, overly animated feeding bananas to piranhas. Some talk on why Ursula Buchan's Telegraph and RHS's The Garden magazine writing is so boring. Why single her out? Lacey says Telegraph can't not win best in show Chelsea 2009.  There's only 12 to beat though.

8. I've worked out why national newspaper gardening blogs are as they are. They are writing for a "very general audience, many of whom aren't from the UK".

9. Chelsea Flower Show gardens may not be back to full strength until the show's 2012 cententary. Drop-outs this year hit by cost implications include long-serving Notcutts and Geoff Whiten.

10. Kew wants Gordon Brown to front celebrations of Millennium Seed Bank reaching 10% of the world's seeds banked, MSB director Paul Smith tells me. Just before he became PM, Brown was at the Wakehurst Place-based bank for its one billion seeds celebration. 

Boring garden weekend diary blog

1. My garden’s first snowdrop bloomed last weekend at about the same time it always does on average-so much for/that proves the danger of global warming!

2. Westland delivered two sacks of their West plus compost – available in all good garden centres!

3. Built some raised beds on the allotment and filled them with a mixture of green waste compost, West Plus and horse manure. DIY GYO!

4. Scavenged some pots from back alleys – my thrifty gardening tip of the week for these credit-crunched times!

5. Planted them with leftover bulbs-a bit late but will bring some late spring colour to the garden when the baby comes!

6. My stand-up greenhouse had fallen over in last week’s stormy weather. Propped it back up.

7. Used my worst spade to dig up some unwanted bushes. The spade is bent-so much for foreign craftsmanship!

8. Drew a plan of where I’m going to grow veg on the allotment this year.

9. Drew a plan of plans to develop the back garden, also this year - if I have time!

10. Dumped clippings on overflowing communal allotment pile - it’s about time the council emptied it! PTO!

1. Wrote up Carol Klein interview. She made a comparison between Monty Don and Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear. Both have afros. That wasn't it. Carol made a U turn on her start of year Guardian column which said don’t buy anything in garden centres in 2009.

2. Emailed Guardian garden blogger Jane Perrone and Independent’s Emma Townshend a link to my blog. Look out for a guest blog by me at The Guardian soon.

3. Avoided allotment enemy who has reported me to the council for pruning a tree. Best to dodge unnecessary confrontation when gardening. Or else sharpen your axe.

4. Regaled some friends in the pub about some of my latest writing. They told me to shut up.

5. Cumbria Life is printing a piece I wrote on Hayes Garden World in Ambleside. Two of their hacks are Stuart Maconie and Hunter Davies, who are two of my favourite writers.

6. Saw a lot of nonsense in Mail/Express/Standard/ Telegraph on Alan Titchmarsh and his how he’s writing the new Kama Sutra. Can’t think where that came from. Alan won’t move the earth for you.

7. Plotted trip to Future Gardens at the National Gardens of the Rose-will be a big story when it opens. More out there designs than RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

8. Wrote Evening Standard garden news page. Slipped in a couple of Russian references - dachas etc.

9. Got no reply from Independent. Probably don’t work weekends.

10. There is no 10.