Bells spring out

IT IS the beginning of June and it is still raining and cold with some areas of the country having had a ground frost recently.

The nights really have been very cold even in our sheltered city patch, but it is the low daytime temperatures that seem to have been unusual this year. It is almost the longest day and winter coats are still being worn, which is not my idea of early summer at all.

Memorial flower raises funds for Red Cross
Fifty pence from each sale of Helenium "Chelsey" in the UK will be donated to the International Red Cross in memory of Terry Lloyd, the ITN newsman killed reporting on the Iraq war on March 22, 2002.

The plant is named after Terry's daughter who, since his death, has been raising funds for the charity. The plant can be bought at Stillingfleet Lodge open garden on Wednesday where visitors can see the magnificent double borders, colour themed beds, natural pond and wildflower meadow and visit the adjacent nursery. The garden is open from 1-5pm with £3 admission. Ticket proceeds will go to British Red Cross while those from the sales of "Chelsey" will be donated to the International Red Cross.

Flower festival
ST Martin's Church, Scampston, near Malton, is holding a Celebration Of Flowers next weekend, starting with a preview evening and sit-down supper with wine on Friday at 7pm. Tickets cost £8.50 and are available from Connie Collins on 01944 758754. The festival runs all weekend, finishing with evensong on Sunday at 6pm.

Gardening TV and Radio

• Sunday 9am, Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther, Joe Maiden.

2pm, R4, Gardeners' Question Time. From Barnsley, South Yorkshire with Matthew Biggs, John Cusnie, Bob Flowerdew and chairman Eric Robson. The gardening weather forecast is at 2.25pm.

2.45pm, R4, Five Gardens of Spain. Susan Marling visits Parc Guell in Barcelona which was made as a monument to Catalan nationalism by Gaudi.

• Friday 7.30pm, BBC2, A Year At Kew. Steve Alton is on a quest to save endangered species.

7.30pm, C5, Nice House, Shame About The Garden: Revisited. A garden in Hertfordshire created from a wasteland a year ago is returned to.

8pm, BBC2, How To Be A Gardener Revisited. Alan Titchmarsh saves a mixed birder he planted in 2001.

8.30pm, BBC2, Gardeners' World. Monty is in the jungle garden, Joe puts in some additions to the modern family garden and Carol plants some unusual climbers.

Weekend catch up
PLANT out dahlias started off in pots earlier in the year. If they are still inside, harden them off by gradually increasing the time they spend outside before putting them in the garden.

Dig compost into the planting soil and put a stout cane or stick next to the dahlia when planting if it is the type that will need staking later.

Keep an eye on the forecast for a while after planting and protect with a covering of horticultural fleece or a bin liner if needed. Watch out for slugs too last year my carefully nurtured babies were eaten in a night and took weeks to recover.

Despite this perennial topic of weather, the perennials themselves seem un-fazed by the cold and are growing away beautifully. Borders and beds are lush with foliage, of all different shapes and hues and dotted with buds and flowers.

One plant that has done especially well for me this year is Lily of the Valley, Convallaria. It has always been in the garden once planted it can be difficult to get rid of but over the past few years has flowered poorly and I had begun to wonder if it was time to attempt removal.

It has had no bother in spreading, but there have been very few of the scented white bells that are the reason for its choice and in a small garden where everything must count, its head was on the block.

Fortunately, things have been different this year and this spring flowering rhizomatous perennial has had a reprieve since it has bloomed profusely in the shady front garden.

Lily of the Valley is best grown in partial shade and prefers a moist, humus rich soil. It is good used as ground cover under trees where it will spread by underground rhizomes, producing small shoots or pips' which can be used for propagation in the autumn or spring.

Organic nursery open day
BRUNSWICK Organic Nursery and Craft Workshop is holding its annual open day tomorrow from 11am-4pm, with plenty of things going on including games, tombola, raffle, sponge throwing and good food in the cafe.

The nursery on Appleton Road, Bishopthorpe, is a local charity running a productive workplace for adults with learning difficulties.

Several changes have taken place recently at the site, including an expanded shop which now sells local and organic jams, juices, seeds and composts as well as handmade crafts. The plant area has improved, standing out beds and a new net-sided poly-tunnel.

Highlights this year for gardeners include an expanded range of zinnias, white, yellow and purple osteospermums and several varieties of diascia and bulbs such as lilies, cannas, nerines and alliums.

There will also be the usual excellent selection of perennials, grasses, annuals and vegetable, together with information on organic growing methods and pest control.

For those who cannot get to the open day, the nursery is open each day throughout the summer from 10am-4pm.

Open gardens

• Today In aid of the National Gardens Scheme.

Two gardens open together: Pennyholme, Fadmoor, turn north off the A170 between Kirbymoorside and Nawton then take the Sleightholmedale only turning mile before Fadmoor. Ten-acre garden in a river and dale setting with an extensive collection of rhododendrons and azaleas, roses and a wildlife garden. Open 1-5pm. Admission £2.50 adult.

Sleightholmedale Lodge, Fadmoor, off the A170 Kirbymoorside-Nawton road. Hillside garden with a walled rose garden and herbaceous borders. Open 1-5pm. Admission £2.50 adult.

• Sunday In aid of the National Gardens Scheme.

Dunnington Manor, Dunnington, 12 miles north of Beverley. Two-acres of traditional lawns, borders, hedges and orchard surrounded by mature trees. Open 2-5pm. Admission £2.50 adult.

Hillbark, Church Lane, Bardsey, off the A58 Wetherby-Leeds road. One-acre garden on a south-facing slope with shrubs, perennials, hidden arbours, interconnecting pond and a woodland area. Open 11-5pm. Admission £2.50.

Hunmanby Grange, Wold Newton, 12.5 miles south-east of Scarborough on the Burton Fleming-Fordon road. Three-acre garden created from an exposed field now with a sheltered series of areas planted for year-round interest. Open 11-5pm. Admission £2.50. Also open on Wednesday 1-5pm.

Jackson's Wold, Sherburn, take Weatherthorpe Road in Sherburn then the right fork to Hesterton Wold. Two-acre garden with mixed borders, old shrub roses, woodland path and a traditional vegetable garden with a Victorian greenhouse. Open 11-5pm. Admission £2.50. Also open on Tuesday 1-5pm.

Rye Hill, Station Road, Helmsley centre. Garden divided into interlinking compartments each planted in a different style for year-round colour and interest. Open 2-5pm. Admission £2.50 adult.

Saltmarshe Hall, Saltmarshe, six miles east of Goole. Ten-acre garden with pond and walled gardens, lawns, trees, courtyard, climbers and herbaceous perennials. Open 12-5pm. Admission £3.

Secret Garden, 10 Sherwood Grove, Acomb, York, turn off the A59 at Manor School onto Beckfield Lane then take the first right and second left. Hidden garden with a dry riverbed garden, rockery, large pond, stream, waterfall, herbaceous planting, euphorbias and grasses. Open 10-5pm. Admission £2.

Tregonning, Ellerton, 12 miles south of York. Organic garden created over the past 30 years with fruit, vegetables, wild flower meadow, more than 60 species of old roses, and a large collection of seed grown bonsai. Open 2-5pm. Admission £2.50.

Vicarage House, Kirkby Wharfe, one mile south of Tadcaster. Secluded one-acre garden with a colour themed border, extensive herbaceous borders, raised beds and gravelled paths surrounded by mature trees. Open 1-5pm. Admission £2.50.

In aid of St John Ambulance Rudding Park, Follifoot, three miles south of Harrogate off the A658 linking the A61 to the A1. A ten-acre garden with a large variety of rhododendrons and azaleas and extensive lawns. Open 1-5pm. Admission £3.50 adult, 50p child.

Constable Burton Hall, three miles east of Leyburn on the A681. Large garden set at the entrance to Wensleydale with mature tree and woodland walk, rockery, extensive shrubs and roses, new pond and beckside planting. Open 9am-6pm. Admission £3 adult £2.50 OAP, 50p child 6-16yrs.

In aid of British Red Cross.

Aldby Park, Buttercrambe, nine miles east of York, off the A166 Driffield road. 15-acre garden with ornamental trees, shrubs, ground cover, riverside and fern walks and terraced garden designed by Thomas Knowleton in 1746. Open 2-5pm. Admission £3 adult, £1 child.

Brompton Grange, Brompton on Swale. Large formal garden with herbaceous borders, walled garden, vegetable plot, small pond and a one and a half acre wild flower meadow. Open 11-5pm. Admission £2.50.

• Tuesday In aid of the National Gardens Scheme.

Jackson's Wold, details Sunday.

• Wednesday In aid of the National Gardens Scheme.

Cleaves House, Thirlby, three miles north-east of Thirsk. Two-acre garden on a sloping site with old fashioned roses, shrubs, trees, pond, bog area and beautiful views. Open 2-5pm and 7-9pm. Admission £3.

Hunmanby Grange, details Sunday.

Londesborough Cross, Shiptonthorpe, two miles from Market Weighton. Former railway goods yard transformed into a garden with borders, bog area, clematis and woodland garden with ferns and other shade lovers. Open 1-4pm. Admission £3.