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In the news....

Vertical farms, sunken gardens, Japanese mountainscapes and kelong fish farms: it could only be the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. , and it should be a vintage year. Some of Chelsea's most exciting designers are back: , and among them. And there are gardens from Malaysia, Monaco, Japan and Australia (twice).

Things aren't anywhere near as glamorous as usual at in Cornwall just now: they're mopping up after this week's floods, which left the visitor's centre, workshops and offices under three feet of water. The million or so exotic plants which live in the spectacular biomes were thankfully spared. They're closed to visitors until at least Sunday, but you can follow the clean-up day by welly-clad day on .

Elsewhere on the web...

Everyone's over at this week, where voting in this year's much-anticipated alternative gardening awards is well under way. Martyn's are handing out virtual gongs for most snoggable male, worst-dressed gardener and best haircut. Toby Buckland, Cleve West and Monty Don all feature: I'll leave you to guess in which categories.

Monty Don has also been revealing some surprising snippets in an : spotted a passing reference to a previous career as a dustman, and he also turns out to be a neat freak who was once chatted up by Danny La Rue.

Elsewhere, Emma at Fluffius Muppetus is doing her bit for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Children in Need while : while Deb over at Carrots and Kids has been , though she's already done pretty well for weird veg this year. ?

Out and about...

I hate to say this, but things are getting decidedly Christmassy out there. Nobody's mentioning shopping days (yet): but with turning on all 1,800 lights bedecking the country's tallest living Christmas tree on Friday, it's beginning to look dangerously festive.

Book the kids in to sort out the Christmas decorations at next weekend's workshop at in Essex, or enjoy a Christmas Fair at the next weekend. You can always sneak off for a nose around the garden, not normally open at this time of year.

If you really can't face Christmas just yet, there are plenty of other reasons to get outside, especially on frosty days. , and its handsome topiary should look fabulous rimed in white; while at the very covetable kitchen garden at they're running a two-hour workshop on Friday to show you how to spruce up your fruit bushes with some winter pruning.

Sally Nex is a garden writer and blogger and part of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Gardening team.