Landscape and garden news, tips and advice

What is the recommendation for plant spacings?

Spacing your trees, shrubs or plants can be a tricky job. Spaced too far apart and your contribution to the landscape can look underdone, amateurish and ineffective.

The biggest loser is the client - whether that is you doing your own garden or if you have been paid to carry out the planting for a project.

Get the plants too close together and the problems can be numerous. Competition for light water and nutrients will have a detrimental effect on the well-being of the plant and ultimately, the weakest plants become weaker and eventually they will be overtaken and possibly even die out.

Investing in parks and open spaces

According to a Harvard professor, Britain spends too much time and effort on their own private gardens and completely neglects public parks and open spaces.

Clive Aslet writes in the Telegraph this morning, defending the British people claiming it is the governments fault that spending has been capped and our parks neglected.

Is the Landscape Institute finished?

I have been following the recent news flow from the Landscape Institute regarding its rather precarious financial position and I have wondered if the Landscape Institute can recover?

In today's Hort Week piece, it has been revealed that the Landscape Institute is being forced to make greater cuts in its budget than previously proposed or envisaged, due to falling advertising revenues and issues with accounting and its gift aid, and it has has been criticised heavily for not keeping its members informed.

Landscape and gardening forum with a twist

I have just managed to get around to signing the Landscape Juice site up to the Typepad Connect service and now your comments will add that little extra dimension to the site.

I want you to feel as though you can be part of the conversation and I respect your right to reply to any article so much that I want to give you the opportunity to get involved.

Janine Pattison partners with Compton Acres in garden venture

Society of Garden Designers member,gold medal-winning garden designer and RHS horticulturalist Janine Pattison is not letting the present financial climate interfere with her expansion plans and has partnered with Compton Acres in Dorset.

Janine is planning to offer a series of specialist workshops through the Janine Pattison Garden School including basket weaving by Master willow-weaver, Malcolm Seal.

Boundary disputes between neighbouring gardens

Arguments over who owns what between adjoining land or gardens often lead to confrontations, sometimes costly court action, violence and in some cases murder.

A case that is highlighted in the Manchester Evening News this week highlights exactly how a simple disagreement over the rightful place of a wall, hedge or fence can escalate out of control when one party takes actions into their own hands.

UK Golf Consultancy launches blog site

Kevin Munt has launched his KM Golf consultancy business onto the Internet by starting a blog - believed to be the first of its kind in the UK in the golf industry.

Having recently attending the Harrogate Week turf industry show, Kevin has shown a natural flair for writing and has already added several blog posts on subjects ranging from sustainable golf greens to the latest environmentally friendly electric triple greens mower.

Landscape Juice suffers from French storms

If you arrived on Landscape Juice on Saturday and Sunday expecting to read the latest UK horticulture articles you were probably wondering why the site was at a standstill?

No, I had not jetted off for a well earned break and no I had not succumbed to the financial pressures of keeping my organisation going.

The most amazing storm passed through South West France overnight Friday and into Saturday morning leaving millions without power or telephones.

Identifying alien plant species

The Great Britain Non-native Species Secretariat has produced a series of informations sheets to assist gardeners and landowners in the identification of non-native plant species that are threatening the habitat and existence of many of British species of native plant dwellers.

Plants such as Japanese Knotweed or Himalayan Balsam have been added as well as advice sheets on Canadian Geese and the Signal Crayfish which pose a threat to our indigenous species of wild fowl and fresh water crayfish respectively.

The RHS Chelsea - Florist of the Year 2009

For the first time ever the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea International Flower Show, will be looking for the Chelsea Florist of the Year.

The British Florist Association (BFA) and the RHS will be searching for the very best from the UK professional floristry industry who will battle it out for the titles of ‘Chelsea Florist of the Year’ and the ‘Young Chelsea Florist of the Year’.