CUTTINGS

There are 50 different kinds of narcissi in bloom at a private garden in West Sussex. It is open to the public this weekend

The Alpine Garden Society is holding a show in Nottingham today (11.30am-4.30pm) at the Arnold and Carlton College of Further Education, Digby Avenue, Mapperly. Alpines are in full flood now. Look for saxifrages, primulas of many kinds, lewisias, iris, fritillaries, ferns and dwarf shrubs. There will be plants for sale. Admission pounds 1.

Specialist aspects of gardening, such as water gardening, landscaping and propagation are part of a week long course entitled Aspects of Gardening, which is being offered to ambitious gardeners, at the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. Tutors include Rupert Golby, who will talk about the decorative kitchen garden and Dr Glenys Dawkins whose speciality is gardening for wildlife. The course includes visits to Nymans and Denmans gardens in Sussex and to the kitchen garden of the Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Oxfordshire. The course runs from 24-28 June, fee pounds 245. Enrolment forms and further details from the Education Department, RBG, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB (0181-332 5626).

Today 20 gardens in Felpham, West Sussex are open (10am-6pm) in aid of the village's St Mary's Centre. At the centre itself you can get coffee, home-made lunch and tea in between garden visits. At Deepdene, 38 South Drive, there is a hundred foot shrubbery, with arches leading to quiet areas of ferns and rhododendrons. At Sandy Lodge, 10 Davenport Road, the garden has twice been washed away by high tides, but there are still 50 different kinds of narcissi in bloom. Produce and preserves will be on sale at 41 Ley Road, where the owners have a sheltered walled garden with a productive vegetable plot. Admission pounds 2.50.