What to do with our gardens in 2010? Certainly, I’ve got practical plans for my own in west Oxfordshire, and my focus for the future could remain firmly rooted within this corner of the Cotswolds.

However, I’m also thinking in a wider context: how might all our gardens change during the next decade? Some current trends seem sure to continue: we have become a nation of committed vegetable growers, and climate change remains at the forefront of the national consciousness, with sustainable and eco-friendly garden practice now second nature for all but the most resistant sceptics. But I sense a shift in mood, a yearning to combine common sense with the equally important business of feeding the soul. In challenging times, what we need more than ever is the pleasure and comfort we find in beauty.