I had planned to sit and write this blog first thing this morning but it was sunny and I thought I should grab the moment and plant a few more of the bulbs that are waiting to go in. Note to self do not be tempted whatever the bulb or the offer to buy anymore, just finish planting the ones you have! But I thought I would share this photograph from the garden of the Iris foetidissima or stinking iris. It arrived one year, unexpectedly and probably planted via a passing animal. It’s apparently one of two iris species, native to Britain. It’s also known as the roast beef plant, because of the smell if you crush its leaves. I’ve shared an Alys Fowler article about it if you want to know more.

I said I would share some more of the winners from the Garden Media Guild Awards and wanted to start with Rekha Mistry who won the Individual Social Media Influencer of the Year. Her instagram account with over 100,000 followers is rekha.garden.kitchen and there you can find recipes, learn how to grow your own saffron, reuse compost; it’s a great account to follow. She describes herself as a passionate kitchen gardener so do take a look at her website which I have linked as it is beautiful with lots more wonderful advice.

The Digital Gardening Writer of the Year award went to Val Bourne - again another website to take a look at and check out the interesting books that she has written. Her latest the Living Jigsaw: the secret life in your garden, looks like a great idea for a Christmas present. You can read some of her digital work here, a monthly blog post on a variety of topics but I liked this comment from last December: “The seed catalogues are fully of tempting things, but I garden for wildlife so I go for flowers with an affinity to wildlife. I want to see butterflies on the wing and I want to hear the soothing buzz of the bee, so soporific on a warm day. I can almost nod off at the very thought.”

Lastly for this post a website that is a real feast for the eyes. Molly Hollman, who was sat on our table - so much cheering - won the Portfolio Photographer of the Year. I absolutely love the page on Flowers, plants and trees but to be honest all the photographs are just stunning. The Animals, birds and insects pages is a really reminder why we should be thinking about gardening for wildlife and seeing our gardens as a ‘living jigsaw’ as Val Bourne suggests. @Mollyhollmanphotography is also a beautiful Instagram account to follow.

I hope that you will find something in one of these three winners to inspire and take you on another of those gardening journeys.

In other news the third and final clip for the Pick of the Year episode is now in so all that remains is to link them all together which is the next job on the list. I promise no more bulb buying but back to editing.