Landscape Juice

West Dean gardens and college

You might think that five years is a long time to wait for your garden to evolve and mature but let me tell you, compared to West Dean gardens, five years is a mere heart beat because since 1622 the gardens at West Dean have been maturing.

Poet and former owner and surrealist Edward James is buried in the 54 acre arboretum which offers visitors wonderful views of the south downs.

Cleve West champions Complete Gardens software

He says that he detests spending time in front of a computer, Cleve West, the BBC Gardeners World blogger and garden designer, insists that if you purchase the Complete Gardens 3,500 interactive plant software, you can actually cut down the time you spend in front of the screen.

In perhaps a dig at inferior software imports, West says: "I'm not saying it will stop me buying more books for my sagging shelves but as a work tool (my assistant Humaira will love it) it's brilliant and it's British so it won't throw up lists that will have you trawling through plants that will only grow in Madagascar".

Indian summer in France continues

If you have had the pleasure to holiday in France this summer then you could not fail to spot the small strips of wild flowers that are copiously dotted around the countryside.

This year it is a flower mixture with Corn Cockles, Corn Flowers, Pot Marigold and Love in the Mist and for the late flower display Cosmos.

Earlier in the year the shorter flower were a mass of flowers and now, absorbing the warm autumnal sun, are the Cosmos which are not dominate the strips in full colour and overpowering the small plants.

Garden Organic outraged at green tax

The government Department for Food Environment and Rural Affairs has upset Garden Organic after a it was announced that schools and community groups will have to register, at a cost of £50 to exempt themselves, under waste licensing laws.

Garden Organic, who have been active for fifty years in encouraging schools and community groups to be green are against plans that will see small businesses who keep a compost heap being charged.

Myles Bremner, Chief Executive for Garden Organic, said: “It is vital that we do not penalise schools and community groups for their efforts to go green. In a world of climate change, diminished oil and increasing food prices it has never been more important to encourage people to reduce their waste and get growing on a local scale. Composting is a fundamental part of this.”

Ken Crowther awarded HTA Pearson Memorial Medal

Congratulations to Ken Crowther of Crowther landscapes who was awarded the Pearson Memorial Medal at the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) Garden Industry Leaders’ Conference.

Ken was chairman of the HTA between 2005 and 2007 and is also a member of the Association of Professional Landscapers.

The HTA Pearson Memorial Medal was instigated in 1930 in memorial of the HTA’s first General Secretary Charles Pearson and is presented annually.

Autumn leaf colour at its best

One of the joys of blogs and websites is the ability to upload and share photographs with other people.

If you don't get the opportunity to get out and about yourself then who not trawl the Internet to see what others have been doing.

I popped in on the Japan Guide website to have a look at the different blogs on locations around Japan. Many people grow hardy Japanese Acers for their leaf colour but have you ever thought of actually going to see them in all their livery in the last throws of the season.

Judging by the photos, and I am sure it does not do it justice, it is a wonderful experience. Perhaps one for list of 'must do' trips after the lottery win?

Planting winter vegetables

Just because the sun goes down earlier in the day and the leaves have vacated the trees does not mean that everything else in the garden stops.

Fair weather gardeners might consider that the first frosts means that fresh vegetables are something that is only available at the supermarket making their hoe and fork are otherwise redundant.

But there are still some veggies that can be planted now for harvesting through the winter or for availability as early crops in the spring - here is a little look at what other gardeners are doing.

Tips on starting a new career in horticulture.

The chances are, you have landed on this page after going an Internet search while looking for advice on becoming a gardener or moving into horticulture in some capacity.

There is never the right time but maybe at the moment, when there is so much turmoil in the financial markets and a lot of uncertainty about what comes next, it is as good a time as any.

You might have just driven into work in rush hour traffic and idly wasted a few moments while stationary to imagine pottering around a garden tending the flower borders or pruning someone's roses and all the time, enjoying your passion there is the incentive of being paid too.

Bad Debt - who are the worst payers in the garden industry?

If you toddle off to the garden centre at the weekend and pick up a plant from the shelf just stop and think about how much you are about to pay out and where the money goes.

Big industry players such as Tesco and Sir Tom Hunter have identified this niche area of retailing as the next growth area for business latching onto the green movement and throwing words like sustainability, eco friendly or biodegradable into the marketing mix.

I am not so sure how much big business really cares about the environment. Wyevale does now have a pot recycling service but revisiting their blog I find that Wyevale cannot even be bothered to reply to any of the comments and questions that have been left below the post.

Plant life on your balcony

Not all gardeners are lucky enough to have a patch of earth to call their own to plant and reap rewards.

Some people are passionate about gardens but for one reason or another may have to be content and make do with a terrace garden or a balcony and keep all of their plants in tubs or troughs.

For gardeners with mobility problems who might otherwise be trapped indoors it is a great way to enjoy growing plants and maybe harvest some edible produce too, all at an easy working height.