Signs of the times. Last week saw the biggest ever, most heavily attended Chelsea Flower Show, with unimaginable amounts of gardening equipment being hawked.
Alas, three essential items for the avid gardener were not there. There were no floating duck houses, no moat-dredging equipment - and absolutely no patio heaters, despite the latest Green Barometer, the index that tracks public opinion on the environment, concluding that one in 10 households (about 2.5m) aspire to own one.
Over the last year, garden centres such as Wyevale, Notcutts and B&Q have all stopped selling the heaters because of their ecological damage. This is bad news for the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, who may need to replace the one she bought with her parliamentary allowance.
