THE WONDER OF DIGGING ABOUT ONLINE

The biggest change to gardens and gardening on TV over the past 25 years has been the internet. This has affected everything; 25 years ago I would have faxed these words to the paper or read them over the phone. Then very basic modems arrived and – wonder of all wonders – I could send them straight from my screen to the office.

But all my research was still done through books and interviews. The only way to access any knowledge or opinion was through the printed word. Nowadays I can click the name of a pest or horticultural theme into a search engine and have all the resources of the whole world at my fingertips. If I want to choose a rose of a particular shade of apricot, I can go through innumerable images, pick the one I like, then find out every supplier, compare prices and order and pay for it all within a few minutes. It is nothing short of a revolution.

However, there are pitfalls. The easy availability makes for very sloppy research. Just because something appears on half a dozen internet sites does not make it true – you’d be surprised at how often one mistake becomes incorporated into other sites. Yet if you want to know about the effects of bitterpit on

apples, the latest update on ash dieback disease, or current research on ideal spacing for tomatoes, then you have instant access to research from Kew to Quebec – and this knowledge is entirely democratic and open to everyone for free.

The most pleasing benefit of the internet is the way it makes the small specialist grower and nursery available to a wider audience. It has reinvigorated the marketplace for those that would otherwise have disappeared under the sway of vast garden centres and wholesalers.