QVC wins a silver medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2008

We're delighted that the QVC Garden has won a Silver Flora Medal at this year's Chelsea Flower Show.

Created by the talented landscape design team of Sarah Price, Patrick Clarke and Patrick Wynniatt-Husey, the QVC Garden impressed judges with its naturalistic planting and sophisticated colour.

Sarah Price has enjoyed medal-success for the second year running, having also won silver for last year's QVC Bejewelled Garden.

The QVC Garden has had a great reaction from the public at Chelsea. You can vote for the QVC Garden as your favourite in the BBC RHS People's Award for Show Gardens.

Read more RHS Chelsea Flower Show blog entries.

Richard Jackson's gardening jobs for May

Hi! There's so much happening in the garden right now, and with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show taking place this week, in May you really see gardening at its best!

Here are some of the jobs I'd recommend doing now:

Patio plants

The key to creating a spectacular patio display is remembering to water, feed, and dead-head your bedding plants.

• Water plants regularly to allow for May's warmer temperatures.

• Feed plants regularly with a high potash fertiliser to boost the number of flowers.

• Dead-head your plants once the flowers have finished to stop them from going to seed.

Don't miss QVC at the Chelsea Flower Show

This weekend we're unveiling the QVC Garden at the world's most prestigious flower show - the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2008.

Our talented design team of Sarah Price, Patrick Clarke and Patrick Wyniat-Husey have been rushed off their feet this past week as they work to get the QVC Garden ready in time.

With her trusty team-mates and band of helpers, Sarah is looking to go one better than last year's silver-medal winning Bejewelled Garden and go for gold!

Our gardening expert Richard Jackson and will be at Chelsea, keeping you up to date with latest news about the QVC Garden, as well as seeing which other designer gardens are creating a buzz and what plants are hot this year.

Tune in for RHS Chelsea Flower Show Week at 6pm every day from Sunday 18th to Friday 23rd May.

Read more gardening blog entries

Alison Young answers your beauty questions

Is your hair limp, your skin a little dull, or perhaps you're just looking for the right make-up shade? Alison Young, our industry expert, is here to answer your beauty questions. This is her latest advice...

Im 27 and I suffer from breakouts of blackheads. I would say that my skin type is dry to sensitive. What products would you recommend? (From Joanne Patterson)

I'm worried that you may have over-stripped or over-dried your skin with potent or dramatic action products. They give short term results but spotty skin will always come back if you're over harsh to it. Decleor products are perfect for you. There's the Decleor Oily/ Combination Cleansing collection, which is a face wash cleanser and toner, and then the Decleor Aromessence Ylang Ylang face oil . You could use this Ylang Ylang face oil with the Decleor Hydra Floral Anti-Pollution cream. This routine will give you hydration as well as help to control your breakouts. Don't use too many masks or exfoliants on your skin, just let it balance for a while. But if you want to use one, I recommend the Elemis Herbal Lavender Repair Mask once every ten days; it can be put directly onto spots overnight.

Richard Jackson's composting tips

Hello! As it's Compost Awareness week, I've put together some tips for good composting. I'd encourage anyone to make their own compost as there's something really satisfying about turning kitchen and garden waste into magic for your plants - and it's free!

The ideal mix for your compost heap is:

• kitchen peelings like potato peel, apple cores, and carrot tops.

• grass clippings from the garden.

• fibrous materials like prunings, woody materials and scrunched-up paper.

Don't add cooked food to your compost heap as this will attract vermin.

Take a peek inside Jilly's dressing room

Hello and welcome! I share this room with Alison Young...

We presenters have recently been moved to new dressing rooms and Alison and I were the last two to move in! We wanted to share because we are both so untidy! We used to be next door and just know each other so well.

Our room is full of clutter!

It took us both months to move out of our old rooms. You wouldn't believe how much stuff we'd hoarded - we've both been at QVC for 14 years and neither of us had ever had a clear out! It just makes us really happy with our clutter around us and our dressing room is fab. We have our own heater because we're always cold so that is an absolute essential. We want to squeeze a little sofa bed in if we can as well! 

Richard Jackson: Top plants for hanging baskets

Following my hanging baskets tips, I've put together a selection of plants to give your displays real impact.

Begonia Apricot Shades: This variety of trailing begonia is an absolute cracker! It delivers three times the number of flowers than normal begonias do, and the blooms are incredibly beautiful with shades of yellow, orange and gold. This plant is easy to grow because you don't have to dead-head the flowers.




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Richard Jackson: Tips for hanging baskets and window boxes

Hello again! I hope your gardens are coming along nicely and you had a chance to tick off some of those April gardening jobs.

Here's some advice I'd give to those of you trying to create stunning hanging baskets and window boxes.

1) Don't be mean with your plants! A mistake is to put too few plants into the boxes or baskets, because though they'll eventually create a good display, you're waiting for two or three months for the plants to fill in the gaps.

Tip: Almost overfill the box, basket or container with plants and not only will it look better faster, it will go on looking good for longer.

Perfect Wedding magazine: summer skin with Global Goddess

Warm weather is just around the corner (fingers crossed), so it's time to warm up your skin tone. Perfect Wedding love Global Goddess Glow South Pacific Shimmer - a bronzer that gives you a sexy shimmer on your wedding day, or even if you're just popping to the shops.

'This is one of the best products we've come across - it gives an all-over healthy appearance with just the right amount of sparkle and shimmer. It's perfect for everyday use on the face, but it's also great for cleavage on a night out.' 

So says Perfect Wedding magazine and we happen to agree!

May - the month of gold!

All of you gold lovers out there are in for a treat. May has been declared QVC's month of gold and we will be celebrating the beauty, style and versatility of gold, the world's favourite precious metal.

We'll have special Gold Month offers, Gold Month competitions and we'll be coming to you live from the Gold Expo in Vicenza, the heart of Italy's jewellery industry, on Tuesday 20th May.

We've got some of the best gold jewellery that the world has to offer and will be showcasing signature pieces from our favourite Italian collections.

Premiere gold shows coming up in May:

Gold Style on Wednesday 7th May and 12 pm and 5pm

Stefano Oro Italian Style Gold on Sunday 11th May at 1pm and 8pm

Check out our presenters' top jewellery picks

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