Landscape Juice

The APL shuts the barn door after the horse has bolted

I am trying to remain in a calm state and not get hot under the collar but I have to admit that it is not easy.

I have just read this piece on Hort Week - Landscapers advised to overhaul businesses.

Where the hell have the Association of Professional Landscapers been for the last two years? Too much time on Chelsea show sites and not enough forward planning it seems.

Considering alternative play equipment.

I got involved with our local tenant management organisation over a single issue, that they had proposed to remove the disused playgrounds and replace them with nothing for the children on the estate, writes George Arkless.

Dealing with prejudice and preconceptions it was obvious that I needed to take on a long term strategy, but getting caught up on the governance of the organisation it has taken me three years to get to the point where I can seriously tackle the issues

Collecting and storing tomato seeds

Many a gardener is very keen on collecting seeds for free in order to reproduce an annual or biennial plant or swap with friends to enjoy trying out new plants without having to invest in a packet from the seed merchant.

Vegetable gardeners also like to collect and save seeds and and get a little flutter of the heart when tucking into a fresh crisp vegetable or fruit freshly picked from the allotment or plot.

Tomatoes are easy peasy to grow and a good starter crop for a child who fancies having a go at starting a little produce patch.

My friend Neil Bromhall gives his tips in pictorial fashion on his Complete Gardens blog.

An important part of the process that Neil sets out is the drying of the seeds before storage. Seal the seeds while they are damp and rot or mould will attach the seeds and render them useless.

Scottish landscaper assists TV makeover

TV makeover shows have become as normal a viewing program as soaps and the news.

Focus tends to be on the presenter and the speed that a run-down or overgrown garden can be transformed while the owner is away - usually over a weekend.

Often overlooked is the supporting cast of qualified and skilled landscapers.

Just before Christmas, Scottish landscaper Nicky Patterson of Newton Mearns in Glasgow took a call from the ITV production team and asked if his company GardenImprovements.com would be interested in taking part.

British beekeepers get research funding boost

DEFRA has released details of a £4.3 million package for UK beekeepers to extend research into bee health.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn is giving £2.3 million for the provision of expert advice on the keeping of bees, identifying pests and diseases and to establish who is keeping bees in the UK.

A further £2 million will be spent by Defra over the next five years on a developing bee health strategy.

Beekeepers have been reporting losses to their colonies for some time and had lobbied the British government for extra cash to fund research to save the British bee population.

Image by: FhF GreenMedia.

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Edmund Leopold de Rothschild dies aged ninety three

Edmund Leopold de Rothschild, the owner of Exbury Gardens and steam railway near Southampton in Hampshire, has died aged ninety three.

Bloomberg reports that Edmund de Rothschild, who was a partner at the family bank in 1946, died on January 17th.

He was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge and lists fishing and gardening as his hobbies.

Building a garden office in sixty seconds

Working from a home office has become extremely popular in the last few years as people come to realise that time is more precious than sitting in the car stuck in traffic on the motorway.

If you are a garden designer or landscape architect and you need to be inspired by being practically amongst the trees and shrubs then perhaps installing one is worth thinking of.

Mark of Garden2office has just added this sixty second time-lapse video of an office being constructed. I cannot wait for the second part when the roof goes on.

Find more videos like this on Landscape Juice Network

Big Chef Little Chef - remember who owns the garden

Did you watch Big Chef Little Chef last night? If you didn't let me summarise what the program was about.

Heston Blumenthal, dubbed the 'molecular chef' because of his research work in the field of food science, was brought into create a new menu for the Little Chef restaurants in a bid to return the ailing food chain to its former glory.

Phytophthora ramorum outbreak in the New Forest

In a press release, the Forestry Commission says it has isolated a three kilometre radius of Rhinefield Drive in Brockenhurst after tests on suspected plant material, taken on the 28th November 2008, were confirmed to be infected with the pathogen Phytophthora ramorum - Sudden Oak Death Syndrome.

So far, the disease has only been found on three Rhodendron ponticum bushes but the commission is surveying the immediate surrounding area for further signs of infection.

The infected plants will now be removed and destroyed and the area will be treated with herbicide for a further three years to stop the plants re-growing.