J D Wetherspoon – Bringing you the best UK pubs

With the 2008 Chelsea Flower Show just around the corner, on 20 - 24 May, we thought that we should get in a spring gardening mood and take a look at some of Fetzer's coveted RHS medalwinning gardens which we know many Wetherspoon customers have enjoyed seeing over recent years - if not in the flesh, then on telly.

For those of you who are a bit puzzled about why a leading wine-maker is spending its time growing garden plants, rather than picking grapes, allow us to explain...

You see, Fetzer has long been supportive of sustainable organic agriculture, long before British vegetables rediscovered life without pesticides. In fact, of Fetzer's 1,800 acres in California, 100% are certified as organic. Little wonder that it is one of the world's largest growers of organic grapes and easily the largest in California.

To give it the full-blown marketing blurb treatment: 'Fetzer Vineyards is an environmentally conscious grower, producer and marketer of wines, making every effort to ensure that the wine which you drink is of the highest quality and value, while managing its impact on the environment. A process to develop and initiate its sustainable business practices was implemented in the mid 1980s and continues to be refined and revised today.'

Mind you, I apologise for any slight flippancy - the fact that these guys have been practising in this way since the mid 1980s is very worthy indeed. So, it should come as no surprise that, periodically, Fetzer wants to present all of its skills at the biggest showcase of them all - Chelsea.

Not everyone might be pleased though - since, as well as making great wines, Fetzer has become rather good at designing and displaying gardens. Thanks to designer Kate Frey and her team's passion for all things sustainable, Fetzer's gardens have won a silver award in 2003, followed by gold awards in 2005 and 2007. Nothing personal Kate, but do you have an issue with even-numbered years?

Rumour has it that Fetzer will be back with another colourful show garden next year; however, this is something for which we will have to wait, as this garden is closely under wraps - no sneak previews, no advance warning - the unveiling is done on the opening day in May 2009.

Last year's RHS Chelsea gold-medal-winner 'The Fetzer Sustainable Winery Garden' is worthy of some focus.

As mentioned, all Fetzer wines are made using sustainable practices, throughout the organisation, with this sustainable philosophy being the inspiration for its 2007 garden.

Kate and her team wanted to develop a garden which featured a winery and a vineyard whose functions were guided by principles of sustainability. The garden illustrated the use of green power, water conservation and recycling, use of local and sustainable materials, protecting and enhancing the soil and creating a habitat for local and migrating wildlife - all of which reflected the ethos at Fetzer Vineyards.

The Fetzer winery in California runs on 100% renewable green energy, with all of its tractors and trucks run on bioDiesel. It even provides commuter vans for its staff, to help to reduce the use of fossil fuel. Its wine bottles are made from 35% recycled glass, while those cardboard boxes, in which the wine comes packaged, are produced from 100% recycled waste. Fetzer stores its wine in a cave-like warehouse, built into the side of a hill, which houses 50,000 barrels of wine - if the cave needs cooling, the chaps there simply open the shutters at night to let in the cool air from the Pacific Ocean - perfect, free airconditioning.

So, it was no surprise that recycled materials dominated this previous garden, with the centrepiece winery and picnic table made from recycled barn wood and tin, illustrating the principles of recycling and locally sourced building materials.

Were water shortages to start to bite, this garden would make the most of its waste water. A windmill pumped the water into a trough, with any excess used to dilute the waste water from the winery. A system of aquatic plants filtered and cleansed the water, as well as offering a perfect home for aquatic life.

The soil on one side of the winery, under the grape vines, cypress and windmill, was kept deliberately dry and infertile, to mirror the challenges faced by many of California's hill vineyards. Grasses and wild flowers which thrive in dry, rocky conditions were grown to provide protection for the soil's fertility and habitat, without requiring extra nutrients or water. Clumps of barley, cornfield annuals and clovers infiltrated this area. On the other side of the garden was a flowering habitat border, to encourage beneficial predatory insects and to support wildlife. A wetter aspect was evident also, with a rough meadow alongside the water-filtration ponds.

Each of the wild flowers used had a role in the garden, embracing food production, protecting the soil or enhancing its richness, as well as creating an attractive environment for wildlife, encouraging insects and other useful predators to control unwanted pests. This was a perfect replica of Fetzer's vineyards, where cover crops are grown between vines, to enrich the soils with organic matter and encourage friendly beneficial insects (such as wasps, ladybirds, lacewings and spiders) to stay in the vineyards and eat unwanted pests.

The garden also featured a windmill - an authentic 1923 Aermotor, from a ranch in Potter Valley, northern California, originally used to pump water for livestock. These windmills can still be seen throughout California. They were the original 'green power' - and no one wants to part with these coveted 80-year-olds!

So, there you have it - a little piece of California made a big impression at Chelsea, but (more important than that) the vineyards in California will hopefully continue to provide sustainable, quality wine for generations to come. I'll drink to that.