Some gardening news...

If you're one of the tens of thousands of would-be veg gardeners waiting for the keys to an allotment, take heart: the National Trust handed over its 1000th plot this week.

The other 999 allotments, available via Landshare, have helped blow a hole in endless council waiting lists. But, the Trust warns, allotment land could be among casualties of the government's new planning proposals. It's joined the CPRE, RSPB and several other conservation groups in fighting the plans.

Plant conservation charity Plantlife is worried the shifting sands of the south Wales coast aren't shifting nearly enough. Artificial dune stabilisation and over-exuberant undergrowth has meant disaster for delicate coastal wildflowers, so they're stripping back the vegetation to get the sand moving again. At stake is the future of the super-rare fen orchid, now down to just 400 individuals.

Finally, more large and unlikely animals in the garden: this week's most bizarre photograph was the Swedish elk who got so drunk on fermenting apples it decided to climb the tree. The apple tree lost almost all its branches during the rescue: now that's what I call a garden pest.