A day at Chelsea.

Last week I was reluctantly dragged to the Chelsea Flower Show by the long suffering. It's her little treat and once again she enjoyed her day out.

Me? Well if you think barging your way though hordes of yapping pseudo gardeners, paying a small mortgage for a cup of tea and a bun, looking at things that resemble film sets rather than somebody's back yard is fun ... then Chelseaq is for you.

The crowds are horrendous and the so-called "show" gardens are a million miles away from reality. I was just glad to get back to my veg pack - after I'd dragged the contents of numerous carrier bags across the flippin show!

I can't stand the place.

Back to reality, I spent the weekend in the garden - the first time for some weeks - and I decided to water my newly planted fruit trees, roses and shrubs regularly to help their root systems establish. I also gave them all a dose of Rootgrow - guaranteed to get them towering over the neighbours efforts!!

I also did some work weeding my borders and I stuck some young plants into pots and filled the old greenhouse. That'll give me the excuse to potter round the garden each evening - chcuk some water on my babies and have a couple of sneaky half pints in the shed whilst I'm at it.

Anyway - summer's almost here now - and I for one can't wait to get a bit of sun on my back.

Chelsea success

I had a wonderful Chelsea this year.

The Long Suffering also enjoys Chelsea too - cos it's the one time of year she can be sure I'll not be under her feet. Like royalty I'm taken to Chelsea with my own driver - not in a flashy Daimler, mind you, but crammed in the back of the firm's Transit balancing packets of flippin' Rootgrow, seeds, cuttings, pots and all the other paraphernalia that we'll need for the show.

Although we don't actually exhibit at the show, our influence is certainly there.

We were particularly pleased for our friends at Hillier Garden Centres, whose team picked up a record 62nd consecutive Gold Medal - an achievement that earned them a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

This year, their Chelsea exhibit highlighted the benefit of micro organisms in the soil to plant health and drew comparisons with the benefits of micro organisms in the human digestive system.

As trees are usually the most important structural plants in any garden their successful establishment and root development is key to their success. It is appropriate therefore to highlight the importance of what goes on below the ground to the more visible part of the plant in the garden landscape. Friendly fungi are available to the amateur gardener in the form of Rootgrow - a granular formulation of mycorrhizal fungi which is added to the planting hole to put them in direct contact with the roots.

The plant roots then develop in association with the fungi to aid establishment of the plant and overcome problems associated with replanting.

What else took my fancy this year? Well like most of you I was glad there was barely a piece of decking in sight - it really is about time we started to focus our energies on reclaiming the humble garden for what it was intended to be - a place to appreciate beuatiful flowers, grow tasty fruit and veg and a place to have a snooze after lunch! Indeed I was pleased to see the BBC reporting the other day about the loss of the front garden - but what can be done?

I was also glad to see a reduction in the number of so-called water features - another blessed curse on the garden. The constant drip and dribble of water through the mouth of a whale or some other inappropriate model is another thing to get me ranting! If you want a water feature in your garden - I suggest you look outside your kitchen window now - enough blessed rain to last us a lifetime!

My favourite time of year!

I love May.

Not just because I can actually work my garden with the chance of some sun on my back. And not just because of the pleasure I get from seeing the first of my perennials emerging. Or beacuse my hectic spring-time planting programme is in full swing.

No - it's because if it's May, it must be Chelsea!

I refer not, of course, to the under-achieving team of footballing mercenaries in West London but to the Chelsea Flower Show which I attended with my bosses from Rootgrow - I think they see it as a little perk for me! In fact, I have to be honest, I spend the whole of the February, March and April getting ready for it - and I love it! I suppose it's because I feel at home - people are generally very friendly, very knowledgeable - and they seem to enjoy my company too!

But, do you know, I actually find the Chelsea experience very similar to watching my favourite football team. In much the same way as an old fashioned and rather cumbersome Centre Half can sit and admire the silky skills of the multi-talented footballing superstars of Manchester United or Arsenal, I can, as a self-confessed hard-working, but practical gardener, stand back and admire the fabulous creations presnted to us at Chelsea each year.

And, of course, whilst I could probably never dream of matching those creations - I can, at least dream.

I'll bring you some nice photos that I took - just as soon as the much-beloved gets them back from Boots!