Daily Telegraph blog-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/6054156/Children-in-the-garden-how-to-get-kids-interested.html
Should be new one there now about how to grow your own drugs and do your own topiary-it’s toptip-tastic.
2. Email received: “You should have recently received an early advance copy of Matthew Wilson’s The Landscape Man – Making a Garden, which we hope you like! If you haven’t, it’s probably due to the recent postal strikes and will be with you by next week. Just to let you know, we are still awaiting the final confirmed TX details for the forthcoming series, which will obviously affect the publication date of the book. Therefore, it is possible that both could be delayed to Spring ’10, but as soon as we hear for sure, we’ll let you know.” Ummm…
3. The fashion editor of GQ rang the other day to say: “Wonderful article on trees. There’s one in my back garden they want to cut down. Can you help?” We sent her to Trees for Cities.
4. This year has been an annus horribilus for the RHS. President Peter Buckley died in office late 2008 then Chelsea lost sponsors/show gardens and now redundancies. Expect redundancy fall-out by the end of the month. One insider (Geoff Hodge) said if the RHS got rid of its 12 staff on more than £100,000 it wouldn’t have to make anyone else redundant.
5. Met Wyevale/Garden Centre group rep at Lanesborough at Hyde Park Corner the other day. Ate toast.
6. Did anyone see the Grow Your Own film last week on BBC2? I went to the premiere in 2007. Critic Nina Myskow was sitting next to me and walked out after five minutes. Since the film came out 100,000 have joined waiting lists. They are like council house waiting lists for the middle classes-people want what they think they are paying for and what is fashionable. Why do people who move to a new area having not paid council tax there expect an allotment straight away? Buy a cheaper house with a bigger garden I say.
7. Grow Your Own’s opening sequence includes a 'joke' about Alan Titchmarsh talking manure. Maureen Lipman once told me a joke at Hampton Court Flower Show but I can’t remember what it was. Do you know any gardening jokes? Excluding me of course! How about Hedgehogs. Why so selfish? Share the hedges!
8. Should you weed in January?
9. Top stars met this week: Christopher Biggins (garish shirt, has an Ian Dexter garden, talks about the jungle a lot), Alun Armstrong (New Tricks-has a spaniel), David Bellamy (lives in Pennines, doesn’t believe in climate change, not been on TV for 15 years).
10. Change of font...email sent: “Thanks Cherelle (BBC press officer). Midday is the deadline. It’s difficult to get comment when the BBC PR person won’t talk to me and only says ‘send it in an email’, then puts the phone down.Questions: Why does GW not cover the essential weekly tasks as mentioned by Stefan Buczacki below?Also: Is there a comment on the dropping of coverage because of athletcs etc?
And on his complaints about the ‘silly interplay’ of the presenters?
11. There is a new BBC series on National Trust garden Bodnant out. A year in the life. BBC didn't tell anyone.
12. Alys Fowler has a new grow your own programme out next year on BBC. Shouldn't it have been last year?
13. Should a planteara be called a plantarea/plantaria/plant area etc? the question came up at Garden Retail awards judging this week. Thanks to Steve and Val Bradley, Marc Rosenberg (very smartly dressed after his 'Burtons' shirt last week), Doug Stewart, Graham Clarke, Eve Tigwell and Chris Day.
14. That's all for now.
