Emergency bikinis, made up sports and Mr Bloom's cheekbones

Let's face it,  I've taken tardiness to a new low.  It's been weeks since I last blogged but, in my very weak defence, it has been an unusually busy summer.  In no particular order I have...

...spent over two weeks watching medal-winning triumphs in a range of sports, many of which I knew none of the rules for, a couple of which I didn't know existed, and at least one of which I still think is made up).

...holidayed on the Lincolnshire Coast in such a heat wave that I was forced to buy an emergency bikini (sadly, Chapel St Leonards offers only one fashion outlet - it is called Rummages and relies rather heavily on animal print motifs so I spent several days looking like a late entry to the Glamorous Granny swimsuit round).

...journeyed up to Edinburgh to see my friend Viv perform at the Fringe and discovered the holy grail - well, OK, Prosecco on draft at a bar... but it's close

...and, as they say, much, much more.

But as none of this has anything to do with kids or gardening, I should probably focus instead on...

...Mr Bloom's Nursery.

Yes, the team at Cbeebies are in the middle of filming the third series which means I have spent many hours this summer in my role as horticultural adviser answering deliciously random questions such as "would a caterpillar or a worm make a better pet for a fennel?" (in case you're wondering, I plumped for the caterpillar). 

Even more excitingly, I was actually able to take the children to meet Mr Bloom in person.  This summer has seen the show go on the road with nearly as many dates as a Rolling Stones tour.  The events - called Get Set, Grow! - included lots of nature and growing activites and games for kids as well as a live performace with the intriguing title of When Julian Lost his Wriggle. The last time I spoke to the series producer he said 30,000 people had attended the tour, and there were still some dates to go. 

I'm rather chuffed at how well Mr Bloom's Nursery has done. Getting a second series in kids TV isn't easy and getting a third is rare.  I'll admit, for the kids, the puppets are probably the biggest draw, and I'll not even begin to discuss Mr Bloom's effect on mothers across the UK, but there is a fair amount of gardening sneaked in under the radar. 

So yes, there have been veggie fashion shows, ladybird balls and runner beans on scooters, but there has also been companion planting, composting and a discussion of the benefits of mulch. And if this doesn't impress you, series three will.  Forget Gardeners' World, if you want to know how to force chicory, grow watercress or perform T-bud grafting, you'll just need to watch a programme with talking veg and a rather chirpy gardener possessing, as one tweeter put it "cheekbones you could shave parmesan with". 

All this, and a singing aubergine. Monty must be getting worried.

Comments

[twitter.com/countrygate]

It worries me that you have mentioned glamourous grannies, animal print clothing, Prosecco and the Rolling Stones in a single blogpost. Slippery slope!

[Dawn]

That slope has well and truly slipped...