CUTTINGS

The Alpine Garden Society is holding an autumn show today (12pm- 4.30pm) at the West Cheshire Arts Centre, Blacon Avenue, Blacon, Chester. Look out for cyclamen, gentian, ferns, sedums and sempervivums.

The late Frances Perry had a particular interest in water gardening and before her death had already started work on a new book on the subject. This has now been published, the work she started being completed by the English horticulturist Peter Robinson, of Stapely Water Gardens, and the American specialist Perry Slocum. The book is in two parts: the first half is about water gardening in general (pools, bogs, waterfalls, streams) while the second half is about water lilies and lotuses in particular. Lotuses are too tender to grow outside in the UK but Perry Slocum's luscious pictures make them seem a very tempting prospect for a heated conservatory pool. Water Gardening: Water Lilies and Lotuses is published by The Timber Press.