Tim Walker is a most distinguished, and entertaining speaker - his CV included running the Oxfordshire Botannical Garden for 27 years, and he now lectures at Sommerville College.

Tim spoke of the changes that had happened in gardening and how we need to continue to evolve to meet the challenges of climate change - a for instance was the use of peat - used to be commonplace but is now hard to find as there is an increasing appreciation of peat as a carbon store and habitat.

Soil is important ... take care of it! can be improved, and in fact changed if you move into a newbuild with a rich crop of rubble and hardcore planted by the builders. Manure and Compost (free and easy to make) are both useful. Compost needs water and nitrogen, can be bought as ammonium nitrate fertiliser, but is also in urine (hint!). Mulch in February is best as the plants are putting out their roots.

Of course, water is important too; Tim collects water from his roofs and has a pump to optimise this. Its valuable, costs to buy in through the meter, but water butts provide a ready source.

Planting - no gardener can avoid suggesting plants - the emphasis was on native species, Hedges are important, enrich the local ecology as rich in pollinators (insects) and their larvae, which are then predated by birds.

Tim has adopted the verge outside his house ... mowing it close and then raking up the mowings to remove nutrients, (wildflowers need poor soil) then sowed wildflower seeds, and its rich in clover, yellow rattle, ragged robin.

Tim suggested growing food, especially good if you have children (grandchildren) who can learn and help. The food tastes better fresh too.

A tool recommendation - Spear and Jackson Eco Biofork good for digging with less strain on your back.

Lots of tips: Work with your garden and soil, if a plant fails, try something else. Planting technique .. dig the hole, insert the plant, half fill the hole and compress the soil, water till the hole is full; let it drain, then complete the fill - this helps the plant develop deep roots so be more resilient to drought. Minimise pesticides, use natural predators ...

The climate is definitely changing, getting hotter - but using Mediterranean plants is not necessarily good as they need very poor soil. Examples of successful drought resistant gardens were given (Sissinghurst was one).

Supporting endangered species is valuable ... Heritage Plant organisations have seeds that can be used, and so preserve their genetic "traits" - disease and drought resistance, for instance.

A recommended book - Dave Goulston's "The Garden Jungle". Dave is an entomologist, and this lead to a suggestion for bee hotels, and installing a small pond as being a great way to increase biodiversity.

Feeding wildlife - as a nation we spend £350million each year on bird food. Some feed hedgehogs (scrambled egg now recommended rather than cat food, but without dairy). Nest boxes and habitat piles all good

And, finally ... encourage children - work with them, let them help; they ll be the gardeners of the future and can catch the bug from parents and grandparents