Spring seems a little reluctant this year. As I write, temperatures hover above freezing, but my hardy geraniums are still managing to shoot. Geranium phaeum ‘Rose Madder’ (pictured) will soon be flowering, and it’s a delight. How I wish it was out now!

If you need a distraction, in the shape of a jolly gardening evening, Sue Bedwell has organised a Question Time for Gardeners next Monday at Exeter Hall, in Kidlington. The lively and (dare I say?) opinionated nurseryman Bob Brown is bound to entertain (and tease me). I hasten to add that we are great friends.

The knowledgeable Walter Sawyer, Superintendent of the University Parks, will inspire and educate. I will represent organic gardeners and plantaholics everywhere. Gardener Janet Cropley will keep us all in order. Doors open at 7.15pm, but you must get a ticket before the evening (tel 01869 350155) as supper and wine are included in the £12.50 ticket. Good plants, an astonishing raffle and an auction are also on the agenda. The Friends of The Oxford Botanic Garden (FOBG) are about to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Their membership stands at 2,929; they are hoping to recruit their 3,000th member this momentous year. The lucky person will get extra special treatment. Membership costs £28 and there are lectures, events, garden visits and friendship on offer. Free entry to the botanic garden and arboretum is included. You also get three magazines a year, a ten per cent discount in both shops and an annual seed swap. There is also a coffee morning on the first Friday of every month at the botanic garden — with a guided tour thrown in.

Membership doesn’t end there: you can get into many other major botanic gardens free, including Kew, Wakehurst, Ness, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Wales. You would soon reclaim your membership, as many charge more than £10 for a single entry. The Friends have contributed greatly to the garden by providing urns and seats. They have also helped to purchase an extra 50 acres of woodland and meadow next to the arboretum at Nuneham Courtenay. Perhaps their most valuable contribution was to help pay for an education officer: this has allowed thousands of children access to the garden and arboretum.

Please think about joining so that the membership can reach the magic 3,000. (Phone 01865 286690 or email secretary@fobg.org or go to www.botanic-garden.ox.ac.uk) There is a free Friends’ party (by ticket only) at the arboretum on May 21 from 5-7pm pm. Lord Patten, the Chancellor of Oxford University, will address the throng.

On June 9, a Gardeners’ Question Time takes place at Haseley Court, once the home of Nancy Lancaster. The garden is beautifully maintained by owners Fiona and Desmond Heyward. The witty Timothy Walker, the Director of University of Oxford Botanic Garden, is in the chair. Panellists are the broadcaster Matthew Biggs, Jane Owen the garden historian and author, Chris and Toby Marchant, the Owners of Orchard Dene Nursery, and me. The evening starts at 6pm with a drink and a stroll round the garden. The question time begins at 7pm. Tickets cost £12 for Friends and £15 for guests — another reason to join the Friends.