Time Out's annual spring gardening issue this week contains absolutely loads of interesting horticultural bits and bobs, even if you don't live anywhere near London. Being Time Out, there's some care taken to highlight the best council estate gardeners in London. Several of these require looking up immediately - check out Christine Blower and her rabbit for a start.
The recommendations of gardens to visit highlights the China Landscape being created at the British Museum forecourt in cooperation with Kew Gardens, which willl run from 3 May until the end of October. Kew has traditionally strong links with China, which is one of the best places for plant-hunting in the entire world.
There's also a piece about how to get good results from a really small plot, although the answers won't surprise many - mirrors at the end of the garden to give the illusion of space.
I don't know about you, but I also definitely don't want my urban rooftop paradise to be planted with conifers and heathers, no matter how resilient they are to extremes of hot, cold and wind.
Alys Fowler's windowbox tomato recommendations were of more interest to me: Odessa, Green Zebra and Brandywine - what great names. (Try the Real Seed Company, Chileseeds, or possibly just Lidl for the best Eastern European varieties.)
Finally, for those Hoxton types keen to stay bang on-message, there's a section on coming gardening trends. Time Out's top five:
- Antique seed-swapping
- All-green gardens (colour-wise, that is)
- Lunar Planting
- Living Roofs
- Vertical Gardening
I'm not entirely sure that four and five aren't exactly the same thing, just done in different directions, but there we go. Give yourself 10 marks for each one you're already doing in 2008 and then go and have a snooze in the nice spring sunshine.
I shall tell you a sad (if slightly tedious story).
My elder son had a subscription to Time Out. His aunt then gave him another for his birthday so he, being a delightful child, transferred his existing subscription to us. For many weeks we rustics marvelled at the variety and excitement of life in the big city - while retaining a feeling of great relief at not actually having to live there. I had noticed the pre publicity for the gardens issue and, I must admit, my pulse quickened ever so slightly.
But, and this (for those who have stuck with me so far) is the sad bit, on the expected day of delivery the doormat was bare. No Time Out.
The subscription expired last week.............
Posted by: JamesA-S | Wednesday, 16 April 2008 at 08:38 AM
Some excellent pieces but they are a bit behind the times with green roofs being a coming trend - shed owners have been wise to this for some time. Even Joe Swift on GW has shown how to do it.
Posted by: Jakers | Wednesday, 16 April 2008 at 08:56 AM
Is number 3 because of last year's Best in Show at Chelsea do you think? If so, I did my tribute to it last year.
I'm off for my snooze now...
Posted by: VP | Wednesday, 16 April 2008 at 12:53 PM
The thing about Time Out is that they do put almost everything on the website. I suggest you carry on having that gay vicarious feeling by surfing the net together with your loved one, drinking in all the rubbish installation art and noisy bars you don't have to actually go to.
Green roofs are still a coming trend in the sense that I don't actually know anyone who's got one, whatever Joe Swift has been getting up to on tv. I actually saw my first one in the flesh only last month - on the bird hides at the Wetlands centre in Barnes. These are probably three or four years old now and are just wonderful - they look like they were stolen from Bjork's bolthole in Iceland.
Thirdly, i can't even remember last year's best in show garden at Chelsea; all i have is a vague memory of it making me feel like life wasn't really worth living.
Posted by: emma townshend | Wednesday, 16 April 2008 at 02:11 PM
Ooh, 0/10 for me but that's ok. Snooze? If only....
I'm going to check out the small gardens feature although don't like the mirrors suggestion.
I've linked to you if that's ok. Love your blog, you don't seem to take any of it too seriously which is refreshing.
Posted by: Mrs Be | Wednesday, 16 April 2008 at 02:57 PM