By Douglas Boatman

My wife has been out shopping and the car I must unload

Six grow-bags, climbing rose bush and an ornamental toad

Dog biscuits, wild bird feeder – and all I really meant her

Was to get a bag of onion sets at our local garden centre

On-line shopping has had a seriously detrimental on the appearance of our high streets.

Closures are everywhere (even the local bank) and all due to our new pastime of touch-screen retail therapy.

The horticultural sector has not been immune to this trend but, fortunately – thanks to the perishable and fragile nature of the product – the garden centres are still able and willing to provide a wide range of stock for your perusal.

People often comment on the cost of plants at such premises but when you compare the actual size of your ‘ on-line’ purchase and add the charge from white van delivery man you may find your garden centre plant to be pretty good value.

There is a definite trend toward a decrease in size of private gardens.

Young folk want a bit of colour (all year round if possible) but nothing fancy or complicated. Too much going on in their lives to cope with plants that need TLC.

The older generation seek out a bit of seclusion, minimal maintenance and ‘something that comes up every year’.

Very seldom do you now hear of people looking to create a specific type of garden – as in a Heather Bank or Herbaceous Border.

More often it is a mix of the two with some structural plants added in. To get the combination right you might want to seek out inspiration and advice at your local nursery or garden centre.

Now that we are almost half way through the year (already?) the majority of the spring shrubs have lost their immediate appeal but that does not mean they should be discarded from your plan.

OK, so the pieris has gone from that lovely rich red to plain green and the flowering cherry and rhododendrons have dropped their blooms but the plants are still healthy and are more likely to be ‘on offer’.

Chelsea Flower Show has been and gone. Certainly a source of inspiration – if you can thole the pressing crowds.

The recent hot weather has been a stonking headache for the exhibitors trying to achieve floral perfection. There seems to have been a strong element of foreign exotica creeping into the displays this year – very attractive but, I would suggest, not very suitable in your average Scottish situation.

Gardening Scotland, at Ingliston, (this weekend) would be a better option. Good displays of hardy, interesting plants shown in a combination that you can easily imagine in your own patch of ground – or patio container for that matter.

Talking of interesting plants, have you seen the new varieties of petunias that would make your hanging basket the envy of the neighbourhood?

The colour range seems to get more vivid every year. Vigorous beasts (you only need three for a 16-inch basket) in all shades from glistening white to velvet black.

Just a word of advice – there are two growth habits – ‘surfinias’ generally trail well and make good basket plants whereas the ‘table’ series are more mound-forming and are ideal, compact plants for a ground level container.

Violas are often overlooked as a summer bedding plant. They make great value for money with their cheery wee faces. Good for long term colour in a container or for filling in gaps in the shrub border.

Whilst watching the Chelsea Show on the telly I spied the ideal apparatus for my runner beans – a giant metal framework.

Turns out it was part of an award-winning exhibit called ‘Breaking ground’.

Now that has been a bit of a struggle recently. Our Ayrshire clay has baked hard due to the recent drought. (I think this will continue until the start of the school holidays then we’ll have moisture and midges until September).

A recent rain shower brought out an army of snails. I found 40 of the beggars heading out from the dyke making for my dwarf beans.

There is now a groundswell of aversion to using chemical control by way of slug pellets. Too much collateral damage ie, ingestion by small birds, hedgehogs and field mice.

Irrigation with a solution of nematodes appears to be the environmentally- friendly way forward.

This process is a bit finicky, though. The packs have a short shelf life, so have to be bought on-line. Application is, therefore time-critical, but, done properly, the results are worth the effort.

Invertebrates – that’s the buzz word for this year. Ellie Harrison (the Countryfile lassie with rosy cheeks and expensive wellies) was at Chelsea talking about ways to encourage wildlife into the garden.

Create conditions that suit invertebrates – slugs, flies,worms etc – and bigger creatures are will surely follow. The problem – as I see it – is that the keen gardener is battling with invertebrates every day – we don’t need any more!

Mind you, yesterday morning I found roe deer hoof prints traversing my veg’ plot so I suppose the wee beasties are the least of my worries!

Happy gardening.