Landscape Juice

The first of the Spring Blossom

Continuous warm days are starting to stir the countryside into life.

I could not resist taking a photo of this Prunus which is just about to pop out into full bloom. The scent was also quite powerful too and boy did it all seem to make the grey of winter disappear!

The sun was late in the sky and it made the tree glow as it basked in the final rays of the day.

Planning your garden in spring

A few warmer days have passed and I bet there has been more than a handful of plans being drawn for garden features or full blown landscapes?

With this in mind, I just want to point back to an article in my archives concerning garden design.

Welsh Botanic gardens gets a financial boost

It might be good news for the National Botanic Gardens of Wales, but it might rankle somewhat with other struggling attractions to hear that recent funding, provided by the Welsh Assembly, has written off the gardens debts with a massive £1.9 million grant.

Making the most of beneficial potash

Do you use a wood burning stove?

If you do, why not make the most of all of the wood ash that is produced, to spread on your vegetable and flower gardens as a potassium rich source of nutrients.

Making soil blocks for all your seedling needs

I bet there are a few of you out there that spend a tidy fortune on soils, composts and soil conditioners in the spring in readiness for the season?

If you have a vegetable garden and like to sow your seeds in trays first, for cucumber or lettuce for example, then you will need to bring the plants on in a greenhouse or cold frame first. This is a perfect solution and of course, it is free!

Garden bloggers - sharpen up your act with image borders.

Early on, at the start of my garden blog, I was told that it is not only good content that wins over the reader but good presentation too.

Before I used the firefox browser, I was a little lazy and the spelling was poor on some days and the more I read the text the more I overlooked the mistakes. Firefox underlines the mistake - just like MS word - so it is a lot easier to see where you are going wrong.

Help search engines find your pictures

Having the ability to post a photograph to a gardening blog has really opened up the web into a magnificent conduit for gauging what is going on.

That feeling of personalisation or the factual content that a photo portrays is as valuable as the words that may accompany it. Remember the old saying 'a picture paints a thousand words'? - It is so true.

But, did you know that Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, will index your snaps and make them more search friendly if you save them with a title that is related to the theme?

The Wembley pitch comes through

It was a pleasing night all round for both the English football team and of course, from an industry professional and fans perspective, the pitch played a blinder too.

The pitch has recently been relaid - after the American football fiasco - and to everyone's delight stayed the course.

The lunatics have taken over the greenhouse

Do you remember a while back the controversy caused by the BBC gardeners question time when the panel giggled at a reference to the 'Black Man's Willy' - or Rhodochiton Volubilis if you want the Latin name?

I thought at the time that the PC brigade were determined not to enter into the spirit of fun and I am certain that at no time the panellists were being racist nor intending to insult anyone.

Anne Frank's Chestnut tree receives lease of life

"Intensive discussions between Amsterdam City Centre Borough Council, local residents, the Dutch Tree Foundation, the Anne Frank House and the owner of the Anne Frank tree have led to agreement on the tree’s preservation.

"Before the end of May 2008, the tree will be given a supporting structure, and the crown will be pruned and anchored. In this way the tree can remain standing for a minimum of 5 to 15 years. The Support Anne Frank Tree Foundation is responsible for carrying out these measures."

The news today from the official Anne Frank website concerning the famous Chestnut tree that gave her so much hope and pleasure.