Landscape Juice

The Monkey loses grip, falls from the tree, exhausted by the blogging game

I had high hopes, very high hopes that the Garden Monkey was here to stay.

However, after a brief spell as the talk of the town, the Monkey has retired to rejuvenate, charge the batteries and maybe collate a few more mild diatribes for unsuspecting victims.

I have been contacted by a few other bloggers who asked why the great 'expose' has not hit the headlines. Well, on advice, I have decided that the evidence I have, should not be used against the monkey because a few others, acting on the revelation, might well commit some savage and irreparable pruning should the true identity be revealed.

Buy and sell second hand garden machinery

I get quite a few hits on the site from people who are looking to buy or sell second hand garden machinery.

It seems logical to add a machinery section to the site by the way of the forum.

Pictorial guide to cleaning your brass with white vinegar

Popping over to Bob's 'Gardener to the Big House' proxy website 'As Night Falls' I notice that Bob has been cleaning up the old brass fittings to his greenhouse. What is more, Bob explains with pictures how it is done which is rather interesting.

I showed my wife the 'before' picture and she thought the fittings looked really good - we are into that kind of thing at the moment because of the renovations on our French farm - but she exclaimed a large 'wow!' when she saw what can be done using the vinegar, a little wire wool and some metal polish, not to mention the elbow grease.

Automated grass cutting, does it really work?

After all of the years I have spent in horticulture I have never seen an automatic lawn mower at work.

On the face of it, the concept is absolutely magnificent; set the system up and hey presto off you go and do the things you really want to. It really sounds like a cool idea and I can think of many of my old customers who would jump at the chance to have this system.

Garden Monkey - have a guess who it is?

Garden Monkey has a great writing style, perhaps that is a hint to who is behind the blog.

I am now in possession of some interesting evidence.

However, you might want me to keep it quiet because of the fun some of you are having?

The Association of Professional Landscapers show they do care

I don't know if anyone had noticed the comment by Rebecca Moy, on my post titled Is the APL failing the British landscaper?

I am pleased that the subject has been given some consideration and I am aware that any criticism by an outsider can be irritating.

However, as demonstrated by Rebecca's reply, the Association of Professional Landscapers are aware of the inadequacies of the website and the impact this may have on visitors.

The APL started out with a great ambition to form an equal to BALI, it has been going long enough now for the APL to have made inroads into BALI's territory and it is vitally important that British Landscapers have a choice.

Just as important, is the ability of the British public, to have a choice when it comes to choosing an associated landscaping company or individual.

The Telegraph UK glasshouse tour

If you are a glasshouse nut then you might be interested in ten glasshouses that the Telegraph has listed to visit.

They are:

Bicentenary Glasshouse, RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey

Bicton Park, Devon

Eden Project, Cornwall

Glasshouses at Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Hampshire Hydroponicum at Houghton Lodge, Hants

National Botanic Garden of Wales, Carmarthenshire

National Rose gardens crumbles and teeters on the brink

October 2005 was the "dawning of a rosy future" and by January 2006, after the appointment of Neil Oakman as head gardener, success seemed mapped out for the Royal National Rose Society Gardens in St Albans.

Journalists were invited to follow the story of the re-birth and developments of the beautiful gardens and in May 2007 Peter Seabrook open the newly revamped £500,000 gardens in a splash of publicity.

But now, it is all falling apart as gardeners leave en mass under disillusionment and disbelief that the plan has gone awry.

Emma Townshend draws a blank as the storm clouds refuse to move from Wembley

Emma Townshend, a journalist with the Independent and trained gardener (her words not mine) is tasked with writing a piece on the Wembley pitch fiasco but she has hit a brick wall.

Her enquiries to Wembley for a discussion with Steve Welch have stalled because Steve has apparently taken a week off (surely he has a lot of rolling to do?).

Further enquiries on a well known grounds care forum have seen the nations groundsmen close ranks as the national pitch crisis refuses to die down.

Is it time to let the Jones's make their own way?

Over the years I have found myself caught between two or maybe more gardening neighbours who were at war over being seen to have the best designed or elaborately landscaped garden.

In some cases the focal point, the garden itself, became lost in the rivalry and secondary to the pleasure of being in receipt of a good place for relaxation.

I personally like competition, I think it makes business healthy and rivalry can good between two similar employees - to a point!

When money, greed and jealousy come into gardening (which is the case in all walks of life) the joy is lost and the garden becomes a very different focus.

Is it time to start thinking about having your garden designed around your needs?