Cuttings: RHS flower show blossoms early

THE ROYAL Horticultural Society has decreed that February now marks the beginning of spring, rather than the end of winter, and is consequently holding its first spring flower show next Tuesday (11am-7pm, admission pounds 5) and Wednesday (10am-5pm, admission pounds 3) at its hall in Vincent Square, Westminster, London SW1.

If you have ever been at a show late on a Tuesday evening and wondered why you are the only person left who has not disappeared somewhere upstairs, relax. You, too, can become a member of the Horticultural Club, which meets in the evening of the first day of the Westminster shows.

There is a dinner ( pounds 13.50), followed by a lecture. Next Tuesday, Elizabeth Banks will speak on 'The Restoration of Historic Gardens'. Membership of the club is pounds 6.