Landscape Juice

Flanders battlefield soil en route to World War One memorial garden

Soil gathered from the battlefields of Flanders is set to arrive in London this weekend as the world gets ready to commemorate one hundred years since the outbreak of the First World War. The historic cargo will arrive on the Belgian Navy frigate Louise Marie, mooring alongside HMS Belfast in the Thames. This Saturday (30 November) a military led procession will begin from HMS Belfast, through London, on route to The Guards Museum in , where it will be used to form a new 'Flanders Fields 1914-2014' memorial garden. At the procession will be the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery,... Read more →

Which? Trusted Traders questioned

The Which? Trusted Trader scheme has faced some questioning since its launch in early October. When we first reported the launch of Which? Trusted Traders, Managing Director, Stephen McCluskey was quick to join the conversation, saying: "We have set up Which? Trusted Traders in line with our policy of addressing consumer detriment in the market. We are doing this by introducing a thorough vetting process and marketing the scheme very actively. The fees are to cover the Assessor visits and assessments and the subsequent marketing. We believe that this will be to the benefit of both the consumer experience and... Read more →

New Forest ponies killed by eating acorns

Over thirty New Forest ponies have died already this year as result of eating acorns. Although edible to humans, acorns contain pyrogallic acid and tannin which is poisonous to some animals, including horses, sheep and cows. Because New Forest ponies are free wander to amongst the woods it's almost impossible to stop them eating the acorns, of which there of plenty of this season. Each year commoners, called Verderers - those with a right to eke a living from the forest - turn out pigs into the forest to forage for the acorns. This ritual, known as Common of Mast... Read more →

Helen Gazeley reviews Futurescape 2013

Yesterday was the second annual Futurescape one-day garden design show from Kempton Park. With the problems faced by shows in recent times, the question remains as to how useful an event like this is to the industry. It was certainly an enjoyable day out, the chance to interact with well-known figures, make acquaintances, exchange stories, meet suppliers. The feeling in The Beauty is in the Build was that everyone attending would be interested in progressing, expanding knowledge and business. But, said Mark Gregory, “Seventy-five to eighty percent of the industry isn’t interested in innovation, research, health and safety.” Harsh, or... Read more →

Nasturtium leaves inspire scientists to create driest ever surface

Have you ever wondered how a butterfly can fly in the rain, even though it appears to have paper thin delicate wings; Or how droplets of water nestle, like marbles, in the cleft of nasturtium leaves? A group of scientists in the United States have come up with what is thought to be the direst possible made made surface, based on what they observed in the natural environment. Published in Nature, the process is described as superhydrophobic and has been inspired by studying the super-dry surfaces of the leaves of nasturtiums and butterfly wings. Miniature ridges were added to a... Read more →

Alan Titchmarsh steps down as the BBC's man at Chelsea

Alan Titchmarsh has been BBC's man of Chelsea Flower Show for the last 30 years but 2013 has turned out to be his last. It's been announced that Titchmarsh will not present for the BBC at Chelsea for 2014. The Telegraph reports that due to changes in the wat the BBC will cover Chelsea, that Titchmarsh has decided to walk away. The Daily Mail speculates that there has been a conflict of interest between Alan Titchmarh's role as the BBC's front man and his role as the face of Waitrose, who sponsored a garden at last year's event. Monty Don... Read more →

Garden design ideas searches up 500%

In April this year I highlighted that Google trends - search result trends on the Google search engine - were showing that more people were researching topics relating to landscaping and gardening. Whilst these results aren't evidence that landscaping and horticulture is picking up. it is at least evidence that people are indeed thinking more about garden landscape ideas. Looking at the above graphic, one can see that the long-term trend for key landscaping and gardening searches from the beginning of 2004 remains firmly in the downward direction. However it does appear that the trend is flattening out with forecasts... Read more →

Lest we forget the war grave gardeners

I took a few moments yesterday to remember the men and women who, on all sides, gave their lives so that I (We) could live free. I didn't attend a ceremony and I didn't even watch the Remembrance Day coverage on television...but I walked with my dogs and thought about their sacrifice. Here in France, it is a national holiday today (11 November) as France always remember their war dead on 11 November. I will shortly walk my dogs, and remember again. Putting politics to one side for just one day, I do feel that the world should remember those... Read more →

How do you deal with the theft of project photos from your website?

Have you ever surfed the internet - or maybe even read a magazine - and seen an image you recognised from elsewhere, that's not the work of the author, but is being passed off as such? This is what I experienced yesterday whilst researching something for a project. I conducted a search via Google and whilst clicking through the search results I came across a website displaying a photo of a landscaping project that I instantly recognised. The photo belonged to a Landscape Juice Network member and the project design was so distinctive. I was somewhat flabbergasted, especially as the... Read more →

Forestry Commission search for Chairman

Are you passionate about improving the UKs forests and woodlands? The Forestry Commission is looking for a new chairman to take the organisation forward "through a period of potentially unprecedented reform" The successful candidate must also be able to galvanise partners and staff to deliver lasting change, driving forward outstanding performance and resulting in better outcomes for customers. The Forestry Commission is the non-Ministerial Government Department responsible for the protection and expansion of forests and woodlands in England and Scotland. See the full job spec here: http://bit.ly/1aYcIDc Read more →