Inga Grimsey, Le Friquet, Wyevale, Emily Blunt and Woodcote Green garden centres
1. Big news (broken by me) this week was the departure of Inga Grimsey from the RHS. Radio 4, Daily Telegraph, Mail etc, etc ran the tale that RHS is in crisis. RHS suggest otherwise of course. Interestingly, any ‘name’ garden type can’t comment (or only comments in a boring way) because they are on the RHS payroll. I suggested to the papers they talk to some people who work for the RHS, perhaps by visiting a garden. Needless to say, this story eventually permeates down to garden types who pontificate on the subject, irrelevantly.
2. Went to RHS Wisley to September garden show. Queues for three hours off the A3. Quite annoying with a baby in the back of the car. Growers I spoke to such as Hyde lilies and John Hall heathers were happy though. Unlike the baby. Or RHS gardeners. Peter Dawson was there wearing a humdinger of a ‘Come to Florida’ sweatshirt. Not learnt from the Mr Fothergill’s anorak episode.
3. Visited Guernsey this week for the opening of Blue Diamond’s Le Friquet garden centre. Alan Roper has done a grand job of the donut-shaped centre. He’s said that Hayes is copying in Ambleside. Roper will copy his own design, built by Hodges and Newspan, in Leeds. Guernsey is now known for its merchant bankers. One misheard Roper’s name and guffawed. He thought it was ‘groper’. I then mentioned my trip to Duke fo Northumberland’s gaff Syon Park earlier that day. And how I once interviewed the Duchess while she sat and I stood. He made his excuses and left.
4. Also in Guernsey I visited two of the last five commercial tomato growers on the island. One is looking to retire. Amazing tasting toms. Beautiful ruin glasshouses. And business with UK supermarkets. Read more in HW/Grower soon.
5. Glee top 100 garden centres seminar is upcoming. Hope to see you there. Carol Paris, Boyd Douglas-Davies, John Stanley and Caroline Owen will speak on what makes you a top centre and what issues lie ahead.
6. The new Garden Retail magazine with the top 100 listing is out now. Email me at matthew.appleby@haymarket.com for a copy. A fantastic piece of work-sure to win the Garden Media Guild best article award again.
7. Was at Wyevale’s long service awards at Syon Park last week. RHS bods Andrew Sells, Robin Herbert and John Ravenscroft dodged my q’s on Inga. Nicholas Marshall was charm personified at the lovely home of the Duke of Northumberland. When I last interviewed his wife, I stood and she sat. Have I mentioned this before? This was a lovely event – the sort the old Wyevale didn’t do. Insiders said things were good and Jim Hodkinson was bad history. Buyers said they were plant experts and that’s why the growers liked them, as opposed to B&Q. I once watched the Devil Wears Prada on an improvised cinema screen outside the orangery at Syon when my Kiwi mate Justin lived there. Incidentally, saw DWP star Emily Blunt in resto in Wimbledon the other day. She had ravioli. Awfully thin, said my wife.
8. Tom Tree is now at Garden Bargains having left Pantiles. He asked me to revive this blog after a 10 day rest. I think Tom will make good TV material. It’s time we had some new TV garden types. Who else would you suggest? Gavin McEwan is on Mastermind this Friday answering everything put in front of him asked on Baltic languages. Look out for him. Perhaps Gavin should be on TV more often? Or maybe Bob Flowerdew, who recently starred in the World Athletic Championships 800m. How about Marc Rosenberg? He’d prefer a lower profile I think. Maybe RC Smith, Steve Bradley, John Middleton and Stefan Buczacki on Grumpy Gardener programme?
9. Went to Woodcote Green garden centre the other day. It’s there 50th anniversary and the place look busy and immaculate. Thanks. The baby liked the cafe too.
