What to do in the garden in July 2017
Summertime… and the living is easy. The hard work drops away and you have time to relax and enjoy the beautiful garden you’ve created. There are a few small jobs you can be getting on with, though: General tasks: Edge lawns with edging shears to keep them sharp and neat: lawn edges grow faster than surrounding grass so need trimming [...]
Hampton Court Flower Show
The world’s largest flower show opens its doors this weekas the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show gets under way. Hampton Court Flower Show There’s a new category this year, ‘Gardens for a Changing World’, with designers taking as their theme how gardeners can meet the challenges we face in our ever-changing world. Among the big subjects they tackle are [...]
Plant herbs in your Greenhouse
Plant herbs in your greenhouse and take advantage of their magical abilities to keep off pests and diseases, as well as looking pretty and giving you plenty of deliciously fragrant flavourings to pick for your cooking. Deter unwanted Insects with Herbs Essential oils from herbs have scents so powerful they can mask those of target plants, confusing predatory insects: [...]
RHS needs your help!
The Royal Horticultural Society needs your help to identify which plants are best for pollinating insects like bees, lacewings and hoverflies. A new research project carried out by the RHS in partnership with the University of Bristol is trying to identify the most commonly-planted pollinator-friendly plants, and assess how good UK gardens are for pollinators. Fill out the RHS [...]
Belfast is coming up roses
The city of Belfast is coming up roses this week as the nation’s favourite flower takes central stage for the annual Rose Week at Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park. Annual Rose Week at Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park The world-famous rose gardens in the park, already home to 40,000 roses, are playing host to thousands of visitors with [...]
First garden devoted to air quality
The UK’s first garden devoted to air quality has been planted at Sheffield Botanical Gardens. Local schoolchildren planted the 6m x 8m (20ft x 26ft) garden, set up by the universities of Sheffield, York and Leeds and funded by the White Rose Universities Consortium. It contains plants which are particularly sensitive to ozone and nitrogen dioxide pollution such as [...]