Gardening is most definitely in vogue, which is why this summer will be awash with events, festivals, fairs and festivities, hosted in and around the nation’s gorgeous gardens. Here’s a selection of the best.

 Holker Garden Festival, Cumbria, May 31-June 2

The marvellous Holker Hall is surrounded by no less than 25 acres of formal areas and woodland. What’s more, with the Garden Festival coming very soon, this year’s cold weather has been a blessing in disguise as the rhododendrons are late, which means they should give a display that’s simply dazzling. An all-new amphitheatre earthwork in the Pagan Grove is worth seeing, plus there will be lots of nursery stands for serious gardeners, as well as talks from experts, a gardeners’ question time and six show gardens. With craft stalls, a Victorian fairground with a carousel and a sheepdog demonstration, there’s plenty to keep non-gardeners occupied, too. That’s why 23,000 visitors head along every year.

www.holker.co.uk

Iford Festival, Wiltshire, June 8-August 10

If classical statues and terraced Italianate gardens float your boat, then Iford Manor’s Grade I listed gardens are the place to be. Wisterias – which are seemingly thriving this year – drape across the front of the house and up the steps to a terrace, while for this year’s festival Mozart, Offenbach and Handel, as well as jazz proms, are on the programme, meaning you can bombard the senses of sight, sound and scent. Don’t forget to pack a picnic.

www.ifordarts.co.uk

Borders Book Festival, Scottish Borders, June 13-16

Up in border country, HarmonyGardens covers over two acres of land in the middle of Melrose, also home to the famous Rugby Sevens. However, not one cauliflower ear will be in sight, with wide lawns, herbaceous borders and a large kitchen garden surrounding a pretty Georgian villa on the menu this time. The festival has attracted some of the big names in contemporary literature including Hilary Mantel, Alexander McCall Smith and Kate Mosse, with plenty of talks and activities for children.

www.bordersbookfestival.org

Gardens in the Wild, Herefordshire, June 22 and 23

This garden tour encourages you to get on your bike, or hire one locally, to explore the participating gardens in the village of Titley, which range from the formal at the Court of Noke to Noel Kingsbury’s naturalistic planting at Montpelier Cottage. Many aren’t usually open to the public. The appeal of this festival is that it champions local talent. There are talks by leading lights such as Nigel Dunnett, who created the wild meadows at the Olympic Park, and the writers Anna Pavord and Mirabel Osler, as well as nature walks and plant stalls.

www.gardensinthewild.org

A Friend, a Book and a Garden, Hertfordshire, June 29 and 30

Just a short distance from the smoke of London is the private paradise near Hemel Hempstead created by the designer Tom Stuart Smith and his wife, Sue, around a converted barn surrounded by open countryside. Wildflower meadows and a prairie area, established over the past three years, sit alongside formal gardens, while Chelsea regulars will recognise ghosts from Stuart-Smith’s previous gold-winning gardens there. This new festival of garden literature includes discussions between horticultural luminaries, celebrating great garden writing rather than the ins and outs of gardening techniques. Speakers include Katherine Swift, Adam Nicolson and Diana Athill.

www.gardenmuseum.org.uk

The Flexi Spray from Hozelock has been selected as the winner of RHS Chelsea Flower Show Garden Product of the Year 2013. The judging panel included Dragons’ Den’s Deborah Meadon, and other shortlisted products included Twool Twine from the Provenance Company, Sneeboer’s Royal Dutch Hoe, and Town & Country’s bamboo gloves.

Here’s our pick of the other shortlisted products:

Town & Country Bamboo Gloves – Town & Country

Bamboo’s not just for pandas: it makes the most soft, but equally durable clothing too, which is why gardening glove expert Town & Country has come up with these colourful Bamboo Gloves made from one of nature’s most sustainable plants – considered so because it grows quickly with no chemicals, pesticides or the need for an irrigation system. Soft, yet durable and flexible, the gloves come in mens’ and ladies’ sizes and three colours, namely raspberry, mint and navy.

Wool Compost for seeds – Dalefoot Composts

All environmentally-friendly gardeners (and florists for that matter) are looking for quality peat-free seed compost, which is where this wool compost comes in. Perfectly formulated, yielding strong healthy germination and growth and made using renewable natural ingredients – wool and bracken – this is a superb idea.

X Hose – Perennial, Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society

The revolutionary X Hose is the world’s first expanding hose. According to the makers it never kinks and is lightweight and durable. We believe them, as did the judges for the product of the year award, who thought highly of the X Hose.

Sneeboer Royal Dutch Hoe – Sneeboer Tools

Here at Direct2Florist we have a keen eye on all things Dutch, seeing that a large proportion of the flowers used by our local florists come from the country. Dutch firm Sneeboer has been making hand-forged garden tools since 1913, so this Royal Dutch Hoe is one in a long, illustrious line of quality garden tools. In its centenary year, the family firm, run by the grandson of its founder, brings us this stainless steel tool. It is designed for female gardeners and has the benefit of a carved ash handle, for comfortable use.

British native plants and tones of pink stole the show at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. While almost all gardens at this year’s show are using native British plants, three gardens in particular are featuring this theme strongly in their design.

Welcome to Yorkshire’s garden, Le Jardin de Yorkshire, highlights the natural beauty of the region’s dales by using British native plants such as Lychnis flos-cuculi (ragged robin), Dactylorhiza fuchsii (common spotted orchid) and Geum rivale (water avens). Its colour palette is predominantly based around those plants that would naturally occur in the wild with greens providing a backdrop for florals in a range of whites, yellows, pinks and purples.

Nature and the tradition of the British landscape are again referenced as inspiration for this year’s NSPCC garden – What will we leave? Garden of Magical Childhood – where a cherry tree creates a centre point for native wildflowers including Capsella bursa-pastoris (shepherd’s purse), Silene dioica (red campion) and Humulus lupulus (hop) paired with a few colourful perennials.

The Motor Neurone Disease – Hebridean Weaver’s Garden has also incorporated Capsella bursa-pastoris (shepherd’s purse), Silene dioica (red campion) and Humulus lupulus (hop) amongst other natives within their planting. Designers Jackie Setchfield and Martin Anderson are working with growers, British Wild Flower Plants, to recreate the rustic feel of the Outer Hebrides within the heart of Chelsea.

Many other gardens are using floral selections mixed with airy grasses and frothy umbels, favouring the more natural appearance of accents of colour over more expansive colour pallets. Pink is this year’s colour of choice, showcased through plants such as Dactylorhiza, Armeria maritima and Geranium Sanguibneum.

Rhododendrons, another British native, were for a few years noticeably absent until designer Chris Beardshaw used them in his design for FurzeyGardens last year and this year they’re back taking pride of place in Delancy’s EastVillageGarden and Kate Gould’s The Wasteland.

Digitalis Purpurea, better known as foxglove, and Anthriscus Sylvestris, common cow parsley, are both varieties which you would maybe not expect to appear at Chelsea, yet both feature predominantly in this year’s show. These and other native plants will be encouraging British wildlife onto this year’s show gardens, an approach very much in line with the RHS Plants for Bugs research and the current Wildflower campaign.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Chelsea Flower Show, gnomes were allowed into the show for the first time ever. A host of celebrities including Sir Elton John and Dame Maggie Smith painted garden gnomes, which are being auctioned on eBay during the show to raise money for the newly launched RHS Chelsea Centenary Appeal.

Details of the bidding can be found

by clicking here , with Elton John’s bespectacled creation leading the way at the time of writing.

The Centenary Appeal’s projects will include apprenticeships, creating an RHS Learning Centre at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Essex and further supporting the RHS Campaign for School Gardening.

The charity aims to create 15 apprenticeships in the next three years. The first four apprentice places will be launched this year. There will be two at RHS Garden Hyde Hall and two at RHS Garden Wisley.

The Trailfinders Australian Garden has won the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Best in Show award. Native Australian plants including kangaroo paws and bottle trees featured in the design, which aimed to show the possibilities of sustainable landscaping within an urban setting. We’re sure they’ll be celebrating at the Direct2Florist offices in Australia!

An Alcove (Tokonoma) Garden by Kazuyuki Ishihara and built by Ishihara Kazauyuki Design Laboratory won the Best Artisan Garden and the popular After the Fire garden depicting the regeneration in a forest after a fire scooped the award for Best Fresh Garden. Mahonia eurybracteata subsp. ganpinensis ‘Soft Caress’ has been hailed the Plant of the Year 2013.

David Austin Roses, suppliers of vintage-style garden roses to numerous Direct2Florist members, also picked up a coveted Gold Medal for their display.

To view photos of the winning stands, along with details of all the winners at this year’s show, check out www.rhs.org.uk

When it comes to fragrance, there’s no getting away from the freesia – many people’s favourite scented flower.

Freesia

Refined, not too overpowering and available throughout the year in a range of different colours, it’s easy to see why the freesia constantly appears in the top ten lists of our favourite flowers. With a relatively long vase life, long strong stems that make it usable in designs of all sizes and good availability, freesia is a florist’s favourite too.

Native to South Africa, freesias are named after Dr Freese, a German physician involved in the discovery and development of them as a plant. For the summer season, strong red, orange and yellow varieties abound, with paler pinks and whites popular in the cooler months.

When looking after freesias, keep them away from fruit and vegetables as they are very sensitive to the ethylene gas they give off. Also avoid excess heat and ensure the stems never dry out. Do this and you’ll enjoy the lovely fragranced freesia for a good period of time.

With the last frosts of the year now hopefully behind us, now is the time to get tender bedding and fruit/vegetable put outside. Keep an eye on the weather however, as late frosts can still strike and do some damage. Cover any vulnerable plants to protect them if the cold bites.

Mid May is a great time to rid borders of weeds before they take too strong a foothold. A good tip here is to tackle weeds on a dry day so that the victims dry up, making doubly sure of death. If you haven’t got the time to destroy dandelions, at the very least lop the heads off before they set to seed.

Weeds aren’t the only things to eradicate this month – now is the time to wage war on slugs and snails. They love tulips and the tasty young shoots of delphiniums and the like, so use pet-friendly slug pellets, and drench the ground around hostas (a slug’s idea of a Michelin starred meal) with liquid slug killer. Pick off any snails and dispose of them as you wish.

Lily beetles (bright red critters with black heads or their yellow larvae) and the black-spotted green caterpillars of the gooseberry sawfly head to be squashed or squirted with a suitable spray.

Lily Beetle

Now the soil is warming up and prompting growth, add general purpose fertiliser before covering with mulch, especially in borders, the fruit and vegetable patch and containers.

Carry on removing moss and weeds from paths, terraces and drives and keep an eye out for pests around the garden. Try to keep the use of chemical controls to a minimum – they may kill off pests, but they also kill off the beneficial insects that prey on them such as ladybirds and hoverfly larvae

While all eyes will be on the Chelsea Flower Show later this month, locals from the London borough and a selection of well-versed show visitors will be heading to the area’s retailers to catch sight of Chelsea in Bloom.

Now in its eight year, Chelsea in Bloom sees shops in the locality of the show compete for the coveted awards with a display of breathtaking floral designs. Supported by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Chelsea in Bloom runs from 20th to 25th May.

The theme for this year’s competition is ‘Decades’, tying in with the centenary year of the main attraction – the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. As a result, the floral displays will reflect iconic periods of British design, whilst taking inspiration from participating retailers’ archives from the past 100 years.

Last year’s winning retailer was Liz Earle, with 2012’s highly awarded stores, namely Ted Baker, The White Company and Hackett, all once again competing. The RHS judging team will view, deliberate and then award the winner and runner up for the Best Floral Display. One display will also receive the Highly Commended award. The team also has the tough task of deciding which display deserves the coveted Cadogan’s Award for Creative Recognition.

Whichever company or companies scoop the honours, the true winners are those who head along to view this floral spectacular.

International Mother’s Day is this Sunday – 12^th May. Whether you’ve been too busy to sort out your mum’s present for International Mother’s Day, you’d completely forgotten or you simply couldn’t find what you were looking for, worry no more – there’s still time to order a beautiful delivery of flowers via Direct2florist ready for delivery on Sunday.

International Mothers Day Sunday 12 May

Our global network of skilled professional florists is ready and waiting to create a bespoke, handmade floral gift, guaranteed to put a big smile on your mum’s face, wherever around the world she is.

With a huge selection of design ideas to choose from, finding something to match your tastes and budgets won’t be a problem. What’s more, a full range of extras are available, allowing you to add chocolates, champagne, balloons or even a cuddly toy to make your present even more special.

Go on… you know your mum’s worth it. Click here to find out how Direct2Florist can help you this International Mother’s Day.

Looking for a day out at one of the UK’s finest gardens? Here’s Direct2Florist’s selection of six that are well worth a visit.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan, St Austell, Cornwall

It’s name could come straight from the pages of a Daphne du Maurier novel and there is indeed quite a story attached to these gardens in south Cornwall. The Tremayne family lived here for 400 years, but their splendid gardens went into decline in the 20th century, after most of Heligan’s 22 gardeners perished in the First World War. The gardens were gradually claimed by bramble and ivy until, in the mid-Nineties, a group of enthusiastic gardeners decided to restore them. Heligan is now in its second decade of restoration, and is famous for its huge rhododendrons and camellias, as well as pretty lakes, and an area called The Jungle filled with ancient ferns.

www.heligan.com

Stowe Landscape Gardens, Buckinghamshire

Stowe

Garden-lovers say that everyone should visit Stowe at least once in their life, as for many, this sprawling estate represents the ultimate in classic garden design. Laid out by legendary 18th-century landscaper Capability Brown, Stowe has more than 40 monuments, temples and little nooks, as well as ornamental lakes, wooded valleys and world-class views. One famous edifice is the Temple of Concord and Victory, a huge classical-style construction. The house, once a stately pile, is now home to posh Stowe School and guided tours run at 11am and 12pm on most days.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-stowegardens

Howick Hall, Alnwick, Northumberland

Howick Hall, Alnwick

The one-time home of 19th-century prime minister and speciality tea inventor Earl Grey, Howick Hall sits in splendid isolation near the rocky Northumberland coast. There are different areas in the extensive grounds, such as a rockery, a beautiful woodland garden called Silverwood, and a bog garden with lots of Chinese plants. From snowdrops in March to hydrangeas in September the gardens are great at any time of the year. During the visit, you can’t not have a cup of that famous bergamot-infused brew in the Earl Grey Tea House.

www.howickhallgardens.org.uk

Bodnant Garden, Clwyd, Wales

Bodnant

Looking down over the River Conwy, and across the valley to the mountains of Snowdonia, this 80-acre garden in North Wales certainly has stunning views. Bodnant is divided into an upper and lower garden, its big selling point is that it has plants and trees from all over the world, particularly from China, North America, Europe and Japan, as these are most suited to the Welsh weather and soil. Spring comes alive with daffodils and magnolia, and the Japanese azaleas are at their peak in late May.

www.bodnantgarden.co.uk

Mount Stewart House, Garden and Temple of the Winds, County Down, Northern Ireland

Mount Stewart

Mount Stewart House graces the shore of the brooding Strangford Lough, outside Newtownards. The gardens, which were originally just boring old lawns, were lavishly re-imagined by the Marchioness of Londonderry, who created a shamrock garden and sunken garden, as well as expanding the lake and adding Spanish and Italian gardens. By the time she’d finished, there was talk of it becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mountstewart

Logan Botanic Garden, Stranraer, Scotland

logan-botanic-garden

At Scotland’s southwest tip, warmed by weather currents from the Gulf Stream, you’ll find the country’s most exotic garden, full of weird and wonderful plants from far afield. Some of the very un-Scottish trees to be admired in the woodland garden include eucalyptus and some unusual conifers from New Zealand. There’s also a bog with gunnera, which looks a bit like giant rhubarb. In summer, with the cabbage palms going strong and ferns waving in the breeze, you’ll find it hard to believe you’re in Scotland. In autumn there are winter-flowering shrubs from Australia.

www.rbge.org.uk/logan