He called the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) who said the news was so rare he "should get down on the prayer mat".
"They have a good year most years," said Andrew Halstead, the chief entymologist at the RHS.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has recorded a rapid expansion of cases of Diaphania perspectalis, otherwise known as the box tree caterpillar, a species native to Asia which likes nothing better than to snack on the hitherto famously hardy Buxus sempervirens, which is toxic to other animals, including humans.
For the first time this year, in the spirit of the Edinburgh Fringe, a Chelsea Fringe will take place alongside the 99-year-old Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) show.
I just let the RHS know that I wanted to exhibit.
He was showing several of my favourites: a wild red number called "Doorman" – it was splaying in a splendidly feckless way out of its prim green RHS vase – and the cottage tulip "Menton", a tall robust flower of china rose, flushed with apricot.
Add kite-making to your children's talents on 3 April at RHS Garden Rosemoor (0845 265 8072; rhs.org.uk/rosemoor; £20.25 for four) in North Devon.
Richard Hill and Robert Howley, the two injured RHs now on a tour of their own, were watching from a distant corner.
Many of the pathways laid out through the fantastic RHS gardens are wheelchair friendly and there are i-Spy quizzes for the under-sixes.
The RHS wants the seminar to become a regular event, ideally twice a year, to facilitate the sharing of knowledge among park managers and encourage councils to take bedding seriously.
RHS members, free, adults, £10.75, children aged 5-16, £4.60, family, £27.60, rhs.org.uk/Wisley {5} Trebah Garden, Cornwall Set in the sub-tropical climate of the Cornish coast, this "paradise" is rated among the finest gardens in the world.
