Planning a garden tour

Q: Can you recommend a week's tour of English gardens that would include the Chelsea Flower Show in 2007? (Maybe you're leading one?) I've seen some online, but don't know about quality and group size.

A: I only wish I were leading a tour to the world's most famous flower show, which is put on by the Royal Horticultural Society and runs May 22-26. One good option would be to join up with the reputable American Horticultural Society Tour of Scottish gardens that includes the Chelsea Show. For information, call the AHS at 800-777-7931; www.ahs.org.

It would be easy to put together your own tour based around the Chelsea show. The two most popular garden destinations in London are Hampton Court and Kew Gardens. Sissinghurst, the home of Vita Sackville-West, and Great Dixter, the home of Christopher Lloyd, shouldn't be missed. Both are in Kent, an easy day trip from London. All four of these gardens are easily reached by public transportation. See www.gardenvisit.com to plan your visit.

Q: I am one of the many in Madison Valley who experienced flooding during the December storms. Within minutes, the deluge surrounded the house and buried my garden under almost 5 feet of water. Thankfully, the inside of the house was spared.

It's clear that I cannot rebuild my garden as it was. I need a more sustainable plan that works with the natural flow of water along with a better way to accommodate flooding should this happen again.

I am going to need some expertise to help me and possibly other local gardeners with this. Any resources would be deeply appreciated.

A: I'm so sorry to hear about the devastation to your property, and I can imagine you don't want to ever have to deal with such garden destruction again. I'd think the first step would be to figure out what the city of Seattle plans to do to prevent future catastrophes so you can coordinate your efforts with its.

The local office of the Washington Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects suggests that such a severe problem may well require the expertise of a civil engineer. Or check out the national ASLA's referral service to help you track down local landscape architects that specialize. One of the categories is "storm water"; see www.asla.org and click on "firm finder."

Q: I have reclaimed a portion of an abandoned alley behind my home, clearing an area that was overgrown with blackberries and had been used to dump trash. I want to plant a fruit tree and a vegetable garden but have questions about the risks of toxicity in the soil.

I have been told that in the '40s or '50s the area was used for garbage pickup, although it doesn't appear to have ever been a proper alley. I do know that in the '70s a neighbor poured used oil directly into the soil. I am wondering if that would still be a problem? Removing all of the topsoil and replacing it is not an option for me.

A: Your question is tricky, because pollutant uptake is dependent upon the species of plant and what pollutant is in your soil. It may give you hope to know that the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture is built on an old garbage dump, and now boasts beautiful gardens.

Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott, Washington State University's urban horticulturist, suggests you do a soil test to look at heavy metals and other toxins (oil, pesticides, etc.). "It's impossible to predict what might be there," she says, "and the rate of degradation of whatever is in there is dependent on the soil ecosystem."

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst runs soil tests and has a nice Web page explaining how to take samples and send them in, and it's less expensive than private companies (www.umass.edu/plsoils/soiltest).

Valerie Easton also answers questions in Wednesday's Plant Talk on the back of Northwest Life. Write to her at P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111 or e-mail planttalk@seattletimes.com with your questions. Sorry, no personal replies.