Landscape Juice

Choisya ternata 'Sundance'

All plants men dream of discovering a new plant. Peter Catt of Liss Forest Nurseries based in Greatham Hampshire did just that.

"Choisya ternata Sundance is a favourite because it has been such a popular plant. In 1978 I found a very small leaf with a white edge which I felt could have been variegation.

Having rooted the cutting, I removed the dominant side shoots so forcing a shoot from the axil of the small leaf and out came a golden shoot. Having propagated a few plants by cuttings I then used micropropagation to increase the numbers and we introduced it at Chelsea in 1986.

Its popularity has placed it in the top ten shrubs virtually ever since."

Keep looking, that plant that might make your fortune needs to be discovered. It certainly made Peter Catt his fortune and put him on the map in the plant breeding world. It made Tony Salter of Baldwin's nursery in Rake a few bob too. Tony and Peter were close friends and Tony grew hundreds of thousands of Sundance under license for Liss Forest.

Buying from Screwfix Direct

The modern day landscape contractor has to be a master of everything. From a plumber and expert digger driver through to specialist carpenter and mason.

On of the major sources of tools because of the fantastic customer services is Screwfixdirect. We test drove three small hand tools and below is our appraisal.

Finding a landscaping contractor for your garden project

The Landscape industry is notorious for its cowboy element and you might see a rogue trader on the BBC at any time rooking the unsuspecting, who have not done their homework.

Some of the criteria to finding and vetting the right person are obvious, others are not so. Here are some points to consider before parting with your hard earned cash.

The Eden Project

The Eden Project based in a disused quarry in Cornwall.

A massive project with massive vision to collect all known species of plants in the world in one place.

visit the  Eden Project website

The importance of Bee health

Bees make an important contribution to the sustainability of the countryside, contributing both to agriculture and horticulture and to biodiversity. They also produce honey and other hive products.

The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) plays a dominant role, being the major managed pollinator available for field and outdoor fruit crops, while species of bumble bee (Bombus) are commercially reared for the managed pollination of a number of protected crops, including tomatoes.

Garden's hidden delights revealed

A secret garden created by one of Britain's most controversial botanists is to be restored to its former glory.

Garden demand drains water supply

Residents in parts of Notts and Derbys have been without drinking water - with garden sprinklers being blamed

Horticulture Week

A Haymarket publication.

Once the benchmark for the horticulturalist. Boasting a readership (not including the internet) of 7,800 readers.

In our opinion the website is un-inspiring and could do with a once over.

The Landscaper

The Landscaper Magazine

A refreshing well edited and compiled magazine and website. Probably the best challenger to The Horticulure Week magazine. Easy to read with good product reviews and editorials.

Association of Professional Landscapers (APL)

Coming sharply on the heels of BALI is The association of Professional Landscapers APL.


"The Association of Professional Landscapers was created to meet the demands of the customer and to respond to the range of influences on the UK gardening market. Formed in 1995, the rise in APL membership reflects the increase in consumer demand for recognised professional landscaping services."

This significant development and competitive association to BALI seeks to encourage excellence in the Landscape industry. However we are not convinced that the APL is doing enough to challenge the dominant position of BALI.

Started by a dissatisfied group who broke away from BALI it wanted to establish itself at the very least an equal. Affiliated to the Horticultural Trades Association makes it confusing to prospective members and we feel the APL should become independent if it is to survive and establish an equal identity to BALI

Sadly, just looking at the APL website it would appear the challenge has become stale. There are no membership numbers available on their website so we can't make a comparison here.