And so to RHS Chelsea and despite of the cold, wrap up warm if you’re going, and early visit to The Red Cross tent to get my still recovering sprained ankle dressed, it was utterly glorious. I’ll keep the talk brief because I took about three hundred photos of the show gardens and the floral marquee and would like to share as many as possible.

This weekend sees the return of the Big Garden Birdwatch, the annual event organised by the Royal Society of Protection to Birds (RSPB)  to survey our local wildlife.  Now in it’s 36th year this is a countrywide initiative in which half a million people are expected to take part, providing an invaluable picture of how our garden birds are doing and highlighting any problems or trends in population and behaviour.

It’s easy to become involved, all you need to do is register on their website, spend an hour in your garden, allotment or local park making a note of what you see and then give your feedback.