The other week, maverick designer Diarmuid Gavin advised gardeners that they would have to roll with the weather to ensure their gardens survived and thrived the extremes.

You would have thought that when he moved to a new house in Wicklow, known as the Garden of Ireland, Diarmuid Gavin, the enfant terrible of the gardening fraternity, would have wasted no time hauling in the diggers, landscaping materials, amazing plants and architectural altars.

So, what are we going to learn from this year's internationally acclaimed horticultural show?

Reports that our bee population is at crisis point as numbers have been hit by bad weather and particularly long winters should prompt responsible gardeners to protect our bees by creating a prosperous environment for them.

Swedish design goes much further than Ikea, thanks to Swedish garden designers including award-winning Ulf Nordfjell, who is currently preparing for his forthcoming show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Gardeners who didn't want to venture out in the freezing weather at the beginning of the month may now be looking at a moss-ridden, lumpy lawn with scatterings of bald patches, a world away from the velvet carpet of grass they desire.

His commitment to show gardens for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show the past two years has meant that garden designer Cleve West's beloved allotment has suffered as weeds have sprung up and slugs and snails have built their own thriving community among his prized vegetables.

Wondering what to put in your patio containers this summer? My pansies and violas are looking so forlorn I'm already thinking I'll ditch them in favour of some higher achievers in this unpredictable British weather.

Wildflowers are back in fashion, according to reports on their sales.

They are the quintessential English plant, with unrivalled fragrance, beauty and variety of colours, shapes and sizes.

If your lawn looks tired and tatty and is covered in weeds, moss and bare patches, it might be time to bite the bullet and sow a new one.

Growing veg on your patio couldn't be easier - you can control the soil type, the situation and the watering, often providing shelter near the house when it's needed.