Landscape Juice

Has Notcutts sold the wrong branch?

Ask a gardener or a landscaper to name a famous brand in the garden nursery business and I would hazard a guess that Notcutts would be on tip of many a tongue.

The name Notcutts has associated with plant production at Woodbridge in Suffolk for 110 years and has sold off the side of the business for which it is synonymous and concentrate on the garden centre retailing business at the 13 centres that it owns.

A new company called John Woods Nurseries Ltd, formed by John Lord and John Kirkum.
Kirkum and Lord previously worked as finance director and Managing Director for the Notcutts group but a stragtegic review highlighted the opportunity to prune away the production and wholesale business.

Saltex 2007 at Windsor Racecourse

Those in the know - know and those that don't need to get down to Windsor Racecourse next week for the annual Saltex Show 4-6th September 2007.

"IOG SALTEX is the only outdoor event in the UK where thousands of visitors flock to see hundreds of live working demonstrations, new product launches and over 450 leading industry suppliers as well as exciting visitor features, expert advice clinics and an invaluable education programme."

This massive even showcases anyone and everyone that trades the ground care, tree care, landscaping, gardening or golf course management areas.

For the manufacturers who want top sell their latest mowers, spikers, sprayers or chainsaws etc this massive event gets the buyers in front of them.

For the managers and business owners who operate the machinery and equipment in the trade then this is the time to see an enormous collection and see it demonstrated all in one place.

For the groundcare employee it is the chance to get away for the day. Some see it as a skive and a chance to see the scantily clad models adorning the wood chipping stands and others to be fascinated by the vast range of equipment available in the grounds care industry.

Grass Identification poser - is this Crab Grass?

Richard Loader has sent me an email asking if I am able to identify this grass?

It certainly isn't a grass that I came across in the UK during our garden maintenance days but we do see a lot of it here around the farm.

It is easy to pulled up with shallow roots and forms a clump. It has a rather large seed head and when it matures it looks quite attractive, especially in the early morning in late summer.

The suggestion is that it is Crab Grass - Digitaria sanguinalis

Any ideas?

Rolawn turf at a discount until Christmas

Should you be thinking of laying a new lawn this Autumn I am sure you have more than done your homework and planning in preparation.

I have written about on the turfing before which may well help with getting the soil prepared and also a few handy tips on making sure the turf is laid with the minimum of wastage.

After all, turf is not cheap so you need make sure that your measuring before ordering is as accurate as you can make it.

If you are not sure how to measure the proposed lawn then it is worth using one of these methods:

Comments are searchable

Post Reach, the comment widget that lets your readers click an icon to rate your scribblings has been the centre of a little debate for bloggers as to what value it brings to your blog.

Stuart at Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas installed them briefly and asked his readers if they were a worthwhile addition and had removed the icons after the brief trial. One of Stuarts concerns was the manipulation of the widget without his prior consent

I covered Post Reach on here as well after seeing the icons on Stuarts blog but made reference to the searchability of comments which are left at the foot of each post.

I am not sure that I put myself across too well at the time and unfortunately I was unable to back up my point with evidence.

However, last Saturday I came across a search query in my stats which backs me up and I left a comment in the comments section of the comment post (wow!)

Dobbies and Tesco - after the wedding?

The bride and groom are pleased to announce the wedding of Tesco to Dobbies.

But what is in store for the couple now that their wedding has been confirmed? Tesco, a wealthy suitor with an annual income of billions, has courted Dobbies since the 8th of June. The bride, the Dobbies chain of garden centres enjoys a current dowry income of 69 million pounds.

But is the bride happy? The parents have agreed the detail of the marriage but it appears that Dobbies heart is not totally in the deal with nearly 30% of her heart with maverick lover Sir Tom Hunter.

Hunter, whose brief dalliance with the soon to be bride has caused consternation amongst her peers but has vowed not to make a full bid for her attentions.

Hunter does not believe that this is the right move for the Dobbie camp and  has insisted that this 30% pre-nuptial arrangement should be put in place to ensure the darling of the garden centre world is not shut away in the Tesco cupboard, never to be seen again. Dobbies is still a young woman and has time to flourish - there is more value in her yet, insists Hunter.

A Greek Tragedy, John Humphrys and conservation by burning.

Oh dear oh dear! I am rather annoyed at journalist John Humphrys quote in the Mail today regarding the massive and devastating fires in Greece that have caused so many deaths and destruction.

The quote that boiled my blood - "The rest of the peninsula - nearly as big as Wales - has yet to be discovered by the package tourist and probably never will. For that, much thanks. This is a corner of Europe we need to preserve."

Reading through the article I am getting the telepathic message that Mr Humphrys is more worried about his corner of Greece being mauled by developers should the woodland near his home go up in smoke.

There are suggestions in today's press that developers have started, or paid others to start, the forest fires that have wiped out so much of this delightful country.

If the trees and scrub close to John Humphrys house in a  Peloponnese village are burnt away then Greek law will allow development. Luckily for John Humphrys the wind from the sea will probably keep the flames from venturing near his oasis so he can probably be assured of summers rest after a busy winter on Radio 4.

UK Biodiversity Action Plan - British Wildlife under threat

One of the nicest indicators in the UK that Spring has finally arrived is the echoing call of the Cuckoo. But from today, the Cuckoo, House Sparrow and the Hedgehog have been added to the 'priority' list of Britain's most endangered species.

The claim is that pesticides, farming patterns and loss of habitat have all contrived to change these creatures behaviour.

With these three latest additions it brings the number of animals and plants to over 1,000 that has either been threatened with being wiped out completely or faced with serious decline.

Burning the candle both ends

I am so pleased that the weather has turned hot again and with it has brought the inevitable BBQ. There is nothing like sitting out in the open air whilst eating a lovely meal cooked slowly over charcoal.

We have our table under a mature Lime tree and it makes for the perfect ambiance. However, there was the slightest of breeze last night and the candles, whilst a good idea at the time, kept blowing out.

We ended up putting the candles into small jam jars which works a treat but a little messy and now we are three jars less (we could clean them up but it will not be easy) for the plum jam that Donna intends to make from the windfalls in the plum orchard nearby.

Will Monty Don pick up his pen?

I was having a little look around some gardening blogs and popped in to see Jane Perrone's Horticultural.

I was interested in a link that Jane had posted to the New Gardeners' World Blog.

If some Journalists are to be believed, real Journo's do not blog. Has the Gardeners' World team 'dumbed down' or has Gardeners' World come into the 'real world'.

It will be interesting to see who writes on the blog so I will keep an eye on proceedings especially as their flagship TV program has come into a lot of flack.