Landscape Juice

Taylor Wimpey turns the screw on Landscapers but it is set to get worse.

Horticulture Week reports that Taylor Wimpey, one of the UK's leading building companies, is seeking a 5% reduction in fees from landscaping contractors who are engaged on their sites and The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) and the Horticulture Trades Association (HTA) intend to write a letter of complaint to The Home Builders’ Federation (HBF) about Taylor Wimpey's actions.

Retail sales fail to 'fly' at Flying Brands

More evidence has filtered through on the impact of the downturn this week after Flying Brands, the Jersey based mail order and internet gardening company, issued a profits warning,informing shareholders that full year results are likely to be below expectations.

Botanical Gardens, World Health and endangered plant species.

Have you visited a Botanical garden recently and wondered why all of these magnificent plants (ex situ) have been amassed in one place?

Whilst today, we view a Botanical garden as being a place of recreation, to the Botanist, plant hunter, Doctors and scientists, who collected and nurtured them, they represented a more serious side to horticulture.

Over 50% of prescription drugs are derived from naturally occurring chemicals found in plants.

Grow Veg online - vegetable plot planning software

Vegetable gardeners are patiently (or impatiently for some) waiting for the weather to improve, so that they can get onto the soil and begin some of this seasons preparation.

The seed catalogues have been consulted and orders put in, in order to provide the seasons fresh produce.

How and when to prune apple trees

How and when to prune Apple trees is something that confuses and scares many a novice gardener. It shouldn't do, because it is so simple.

Of course, there are specialist methods to all pruning techniques and you can get into it deeper if you want to. In the meantime, if you have an Apple tree and do not know how to get started then I suggest you take a look at this cracking little starter video.

Tom Cole, head of landscaping at Capel Manor shows you the basics of pruning an Apple tree.

Open the full post for the video.

Wisley are looking for Radish trialists

The Royal Horticultural Society are looking for volunteers to trial two cultivars of Radish, commencing in early spring.

If you are interested, Wisley will give you one packet of a round-rooted cultivar (either 'Cherry Belle' or 'Rudi') and one long-rooted cultivar (either 'Flamboyant Sabina' or 'Mirabeau').

Delamore Young Plants - for trade bedding plant orders

Getting hold of good bedding stock to stack the garden centre shelves is a tough ask for garden centre managers.

Delamore young plants - which has just been sold, to it's own management by owner Peter Wood - offers a fantastic online service offering delivery or collection from ten UK cash and carry centres.

Tree identification tours at Kew Gardens

A new tree identification tour has started at the world famous Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The tours take one and a half hours to complete with one of the Kew tour guides and will cost £5.00.

Each tour, which starts at 11.30 every Saturday morning from the Plants and People Exhibition (opposite the Palm House) is limited to just 15 people so you must pre book a place. Tel: 0208 332 5604 (weekdays only)
Email: tours@kew.org

Fighting to protect our Heathland

I grew up on the Heath lands and Army training areas around the Garrison of Bordon and began my working life on the heathland golf course of Blackmoor. Seeing the mauve/blue colour when the flowers were at their magnificent best was a sight to behold.

Unfortunately, through the effects of many different pressures, heather has become extremely vulnerable. For this reason, many organisations and custodians of these important places have embarked on regeneration and conservation plans to revive and strengthen these ancient plantations.

Once again, the garden fence becomes a battle line

It isn't the first and certainly will not be the last, but, once again, the garden fence has proven to be a thin line, easily breached, between two warring neighbours.

The Daily Mail, today reports the case of a grumpy neighbour, jealous about his neighbours garden, attacked his neighbour when confronted about damage, caused to a Honeysuckle on the side of a house.