A new acquaintance asked me to sell plants at his annual open garden this afternoon in aid of charity and I was pleased to help. He is an Alpine specialist and exhibits his exquisite plants at regional and national shows with great success. His garden is a masterpiece.

It soon became clear that my gardening knowledge did not extend to this new range of Lilliputian beauties and I felt rather inadequate in having to keep asking what this or that was but he was very kind and helped me. It didn’t affect the sales which were brisk.

This was a suburban garden tucked away in the corner of a cul-de-sac on a 1970’s estate and yet it could have been anywhere such was the quality of the landscaping and the attention to detail. You could tell that every visitor was impressed and enjoyed being somewhere a little bit ‘special’.

A good amount of money was raised for a cancer charity, partly through my efforts which made it very worthwhile. The 50 or so visitors were all very generous and enjoyed a cup of tea and slice of cake in warm sunshine and glorious surroundings. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I left at 5pm with some cakes, a box of plants and a lot more knowledge than when I arrived. It was not a branch of gardening I was familiar with and not one I am likely to throw myself into any time soon due to the specialist nature of their care. But I do know more about it than before and I admire my new friend for his skill and achievements.

With beauties like this which won first prize at the recent Malvern Spring Show you can see why he is an acknowledged expert in his field.