News - Page 89
The nation’s four finest trees have been chosen and will now go forward to compete with trees from all over Europe for the title of European Tree of the Year.
The four trees beat 230 rivals for their titles in a public vote run by the Woodland Trust. Flying the flag for England is a 250-year-old wild pear tree – probably the nation’s oldest, but now under threat because it stands right in the path of the HS2 high-speed rail link. Wales chose an oak grow...
Bring in strawberry plants for forcing to enjoy your earliest-ever juicy, sweet berries this summer. You’ll find everything you need at our garden centre here in Thirsk, from potted strawberry plants to containers, compost and feed – and while you’re here, why not treat yourself to a brand new greenhouse to put them in!
An early variety of strawberry, like ‘Honeoye’, is best as they’re already bred to fruit earlier in the season. Pot them up about six p...
Manchester is to get a major new garden after the RHS unveiled plans to open its fifth garden on the site of Worsley New Hall in Salford.
The garden, to be known as RHS Garden Bridgewater, is expected to become a magnet for hundreds of thousands of visitors. It was once part of the historic 63ha (156 acre) Bridgewater Estate, owned by the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, and boasted formal terraces, a 4ha (10 acre) kitchen garden (one of the largest in the country...
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December's plant of the month is Sarcococca – also known as Christmas box. It’s a great addition to the winter garden: not only is it evergreen, but it’s also very sweetly scented, filling the garden with an aroma of vanilla. Its fragrant white flowers decorate the garden over winter and early spring, and as if that wasn’t enough they’re followed by red and black berries.
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It’s nearly Christmas and we’re in holiday mode! Time to get outside and pick festive greenery for wreaths and decorations. While you’re out there, there are a few more jobs you can be getting on with too:
General tasks
- Cover empty soil with clear polythene to warm the soil and keep it workable
- Cover compost bins with cardboard to prevent all the goodness being leached away by winter rains
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The EU is banning some invasive garden plants from the beginning of next year, to stop them ‘jumping the garden fence’ to become established in the wild where they outcompete native flowers and endanger wildlife.
There are 37 non-native invasive species on the EU’s hit list: they include the huge yellow-flowered bog plant American skunk cabbage, plus invasive pond dwellers like curly waterweed (Lagarosiphon major) and water hyacinth. All these have escaped in...
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It’s been a record year for poinsettias, the nation’s favourite Christmas flower. Growers in the UK have been cossetting tens of thousands of seedlings ready for the big spike in sales in the festive season – and this year there are more new varieties than ever before, too.
The showy Mexican natives with their huge brightly-coloured bracts are arriving in our garden centre here in Thirsk right now, so make sure you get here as soon as you can for the pick of...
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Congratulations to Norton in Hales, in Shropshire – this year’s Britain in Bloom Champion of Champions!
The village – population 300 - beat 70 finalists to win the coveted title and judges described it as ‘a beautiful picturesque rural village set in the heart of England’. Among the innovations which won them the top prize were a recycling network which transformed coffee granules and bark mulch into fertiliser and slug repellent, and the huge effort made by...
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Give winter veg a little TLC as they go into the coldest months of the year to make sure your garden stays as productive in the off-season as it was in summer.
Sprouts, kale, overwintering broad beans and peas, chard and winter lettuces all soldier on through the cold. But although they’ll survive without you, you’ll maximise your harvest by giving them a helping hand through the harshest weather.
Damp, rather than cold, is the main enemy...
November's plants of the month are trees – the most invaluable occupants of any garden. November is also a great month to plant them, as moderate temperatures and rainfall allow plants to root and acclimatise before spring comes around.
There's a tree for every situation, whether wet or dry, acid, alkaline, chalky or clay. From flowering cherries and crab apples to evergreen yews and weeping willows, trees offer different leaf size, shape and colour. Th...
Wrap up warm and get outside to enjoy those clear frosty days that often herald the start of winter. There's loads to be getting on with: here are some jobs to tick off your list this month.
General tasks:
Keep containers safe from frost by wrapping them in bubble wrap or hessian.
Take one last cut off the lawn with the height of the blades raised to allow for slower autumn growth.
Ornamental garden:...
Plant a windowsill herb garden for a delicious taste of summer in the depths of winter without even having to step outside your back door.
As the gardening year slows it's hard to give up luxuries like chopping generous handfuls of fresh herbs straight into your cooking. But indoor herb gardens created this month keep you in freshly-picked flavour all winter long. You can pick some herbs, such as rosemary and sage, all year round from the garden. But he...