Landscape Juice

Hervey - Brookes wins silver gilt and best in show at Malvern 2009

It seems that nothing can go wrong for Chris Beardshaw's protégé as his Scholar, Paul Hervey-Brookes' Equinox Garden lands a RHS Silver Gilt as well as the accolade for 'Best in Show'. Paul said: “We are absolutely delighted to win a Silver Gilt medal and to receive the Best In Show award. I am really enjoying working alongside Chris and his team and have learned a tremendous amount in the short time I have been a scholar. "It has been an amazing experience creating the Bradstone Equinox Garden at Malvern and the reception to it from visitors has been excellent."... Read more →

Vanishing of the Bees

The world's honeybees are in crisis. Disease and Colony Collapse Disorder has contributed to devastating losses amongst commercial and amateur beekeepers and the experts don't know why. Speculation that industrial farming methods are to blame are rife and beekeepers are convinced that bee deaths are a message to us all - change our ways or see our prime pollinator disappear - the alternative is a diet of rice and wheat, no fruit and an upside down ecology. The humble honey bee contributes £200 million to the United Kingdom economy and is responsible for the pollination of one third of all... Read more →

Martyn Cox sees salvation in the City of London

One thing I love about the new emphasis on horticulture, is the ambition by many people to change into something positive, what might have been for a long time a focus of negativity. Martyn Cox has been to visit a site in the middle of London, that was once a tip and a den of drug addicts, and witnessed a massive transformation led by one man's determination and patience. Weeds don’t really bother me and they don’t really seem to affect the plants,” he says, telling me about his novel use for the tips of Japanese knotweed that sometimes pop... Read more →

Lady Christine Skelmersdale defends the RHS

'I get so cross with people always criticising the RHS' - these are the words of Lady Christine Skelmersdale in an interview published on Hort Week. She says that criticising the RHS is like 'hitting an aunty' and arguing that we as gardeners, benefit very much from the RHS 'advisory service and the plants and from the opportunity to go to the fantastic flower shows'. Lady C then refuses to blame the RHS for the falling support for the Chelsea Flower Show but points her finger directly at the 'type' of clientèle that the show attracts and refers to the... Read more →

VegTrug raised vegetable border launched at Glee

Aimed at gardeners who have never grown vegetables before. The VegTrug is a raised growing platform with a 'V' shaped design to enable different vegetables to be grown together; the deeper rooted vegetables are planted towards the centre where the soil is deepest. A fully fitted liner enables air to permeate through to the soil and to the roots of the vegetables . The VegTrug is best described as a trough on legs and come in two sizes - large (2m) or small (1m) versions and can even be used on a balcony. The product was launched at the Glee... Read more →

Garden economy is not as rosy as you might think

Someone asked me this week what my thoughts were on the economy and will we go back to the 'same old, same old'? My honest opinion is that I think there is still a sting in the tail and the recession is not over - there will inevitably be further garden businesses that will go to the wall and I think we will continue to see considerable job losses - keep an eye on the larger landscaping businesses, especially in the commercial sector. The revelation that up to 30% of horticulture companies are in financial trouble comes as no surprise.... Read more →

Shoot Gardening adds You Tube plant video

If you are new to gardening and are not sure what plants to add you your garden then help is at hand. Shoot Gardening have added a series of videos to help amateur gardeners with their plant selection. Andrew McIndoe suggests such favourites as Euonymous 'Emerald and Gold' and Choisya 'Sundance' referring to them as 'bulletproof', requiring little maintenance and pruning. ...Not sure about his pronunciation of Aucuba though. Read more →

Transition Totnes takes over the World

Rob Hopkins is a man with a mission. Rob is co-founder of a movement - see how it started - which hopes to change human behaviour, from one of wide circles of extravagant oil dependency to a micro supply chain network that is less reliant on oil as the vast industrial society we have become. Transition Town Totnes is the centre of the Transition Network. Its aims are to help us, as a world, as nations, cities, towns and villages and as individuals, to accept that as the world's oil resources peak, we learn to find and live with the... Read more →

Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship comes to Malvern

Paul Hervey-Brookes has spent the last few months working alongside garden designer Chris Beardshaw and, on the 26th and 27th September, visitors to this Autumns Malvern Show will be able to see the result of this collaboration, after Paul's success in winning last May's Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship. Malvern is one of horticulture's favourite venues nestling under the rolling Malvern hills and is one of only a few that show, Spring and Autumn. Chris Beardshaw launched his mentoring scolarship to nuture up-and-coming garden designers. The twelve month vocational course is sponsored by Bradstone and has been running since 2007. Paul... Read more →

Outside learning area completed for Prestolee School

Prestolee Primary School in Stoneclough, Bolton, Lancashire, has improved its outside environment by turning an unusable area of scrub land, at the edge of the school, into an outdoor learning space. The Perfumed Gardens' Ladybird Outdoor Classrooms division was drafted in to design a facility that incorporates a classroom, as well as vegetable and plant growing beds so that children can learn and understand plants. The plan for a 'Secret Garden' included a covered classroom with seating for thirty children. The open air area incorporates a gravel path leading to a bug pile and then onto the plant growing area... Read more →