Plants
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Wildflowers for The Queen – a celebration of wildflower meadows
Famed for his portraits of Her Majesty The Queen and the Dalai Lama, Hugo Rittson-Thomas celebrates a very different cultural icon in his new book: the wildflower meadow. In partnership with conservation charity Plantlife, and with a foreword by their patron HRH The Prince of Wales, Wildflowers for The Queen, by fine-art photographer Hugo Rittson-Thomas, celebrates the unsung beauty and diversity of wildflower meadows. The book is inspired by the achievements of the Coronation Meadows established by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2013. He explains: “The idea of the Coronation Meadows initiative was a simple one: to find the…
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HTA’s Virtual New Plant Awards 2020
The HTA has announced that it has received 48 entries for its Virtual New Plant Awards 2020. The Awards would normally have been held next week during the National Plant Show, but following cancellation of the Show, it was decided that the Plant Awards would be held as a ‘virtual’ online event this year. Entries have been verified and cross checked against the Joy of Plants’ database to verify their ‘newness’ and judging is now underway. The judges this year are: Matthew Biggs – TV & radio gardening personality, garden writer Tamsin Westhorpe - Horticultural Journalist & Gardener, Joint Chair Garden Media Guild Ian Hodgson - Garden…
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The HTA launches ‘Plants Near Me’
Following on from the HTA campaign last week to highlight the financial plight of ornamental horticulture growers during the coronavirus shutdown, the HTA has been inundated with messages from the public wanting to support the industry. To help connect growers with the public, the HTA has launched the ‘Plants Near Me’ webpage –plantsnearme.hta.org.uk – allowing the public to find local growers and garden centres that are offering home delivery. To make this initiative a success, the HTA is urging members and non-members to add their details to the database, so that the resource can become a comprehensive online directory for…
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Johnsons of Whixley supplies over 25,000 plants to the Parks Trust
In Milton Keynes, the Parks Trust has ownership to ensure the city’s unique green landscape is managed and protected forever without having to compete for funds with other council departments. Caring for river valleys, ancient woodlands, lakesides, parks and landscaped areas alongside the main roads that represent 25% of the city, the Trust was created in 1992 and endowed with a substantial property and investment portfolio, that pays for the vital work of nurturing and enhancing the landscape, remaining entirely self-funded. Johnsons supply to The Parks Trust included more than 20,000 hedging transplants including 9,000 Cornus, 3,500 Ligustrum ovalifolium, more…
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Birmingham earns Tree Cities of the World status
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) along with the Arbor Day Foundation has recognised Birmingham with Tree Cities of the World designation. The international programme celebrates cities across all continents that meet core standards for the care and planning of urban trees and forests. To achieve recognition as Tree Cities of the World, Birmingham met the five core standards: – establish responsibility – set the rules – know what you have – allocate the resources – celebrate achievements. Cllr John O’Shea, cabinet member for street scene and parks at Birmingham City Council, said: “Within Birmingham, we…
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Greater Manchester to invest over £1.5m in new tree planting
Greater Manchester has secured funding from The Urban Tree Challenge Fund, matching existing resources, to plant both small saplings and large urban trees. The Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF) is a £10m government fund for planting both large and small trees in and around towns and cities in England. The fund is being delivered by the Forestry Commission as part of their work to expand woodlands and tree cover across England. City of Trees has been co-ordinating the bid for Greater Manchester in partnership with the ten districts and registered housing providers. In total, over 2,500 trees will…
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Johnsons appoints full-time plant health specialist
Johnsons of Whixley has appointed a plant health specialist. It is one of the first businesses in the industry to take on a permanent member of staff in this role. Rebekah Robinson joins North Yorkshire-based Johnsons from the Royal Horticultural Society. Her appointment is particularly timely as 2020 has been decreed the International Year of Plant Health by the United Nations. Rebekah will take a role in ensuring all plants produced at the company’s sites in Whixley, Cattal and Roecliffe are in peak condition. As well as ensuring Johnsons’ employees are appropriately trained on plant health issues such…
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Mayor of London announces thousands of new street trees across London
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today (29/01/2020) announced that thousands of new street trees will be planted across 20 boroughs. London has secured over £2m by the Forestry Commission from the Government’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund. It received one fifth of the national fund to plant almost 7,000 street trees across the capital. The funding was secured in collaboration with London boroughs, who will plant and maintain the new trees. Sadiq has matched funding from the Forestry Commission with over £1m from the Mayor’s Greener City Fund. This is alongside £280,000 from the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone, and £1m…
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New Threatened Plant of the Year competition to launch in February
Plant Heritage is calling for threatened plants to be entered into their new ‘Threatened Plant of the Year’ competition. The competition is being launched in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It will showcase rare and unusual plants – specifically cultivars grown or sold before 2005 in the UK or Ireland that are not currently supplied commercially or haven’t been consistently available. Applications will open from Saturday 1 February until Friday 29 April 2020. Plant Heritage invites all of its National Plant Collection Holders, Plant Guardians, members, and those exhibiting at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2020…
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Green wall protects kids at school in Enfield
The pupils of George Spicer Primary School, Enfield have had a living green wall installed on the Southbury Road side of their playgrounds. This vertical garden of growing ivy should reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions in their playground by up to 20% and help to protect the children from transport noises from one of the busiest roads in Enfield, the Southbury Road. The Council has a commitment to become a carbon neutral organisation by 2030 and for Enfield to contribute to London-wide carbon neutrality. The efforts will be led by the Climate Change Task Force, which is chaired by Enfield Council’s…
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Cambridge Canopy Project launched to create urban forest
Cambridge City Council has launched a project to increase the area of the city under tree canopy cover. The Cambridge Canopy Project will see the growth of Cambridge’s urban forest through a number of approaches during the next three years, including: Planting 2,000 new trees on council-owned land Distributing approximately 1,500 trees to residents through the council’s Free Trees for Babies scheme Working with residents and businesses to plant 12,500 trees in gardens and on other privately-owned land. Cllr Katie Thornburrow, executive councillor for planning policy and open spaces, officially launched the project on Friday 17 January by planting a…
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Expedition finds the tallest tree in the Amazon
The tree, Dinizia excelsa, known in Portuguese as Angelim vermelho, towers above the previous record holder at a height of 88.5 metres – equivalent to 20 double decker buses. This giant may store as much carbon as an entire hectare of rainforest elsewhere in the Amazon. The discovery was confirmed after a group of scientists, including Toby Jackson, a plant scientist from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences, embarked on an expedition deep into the Amazon rainforest. There, they measured the tree and collected samples from the vegetation beneath the main canopy to try to understand what makes…
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David Austin Roses announces two new roses
David Austin Roses have announced the introduction of two new characters to its collection of British grown English Roses. The roses celebrate the distinguished works of George Eliot, Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe (1861) and James Woodforde’s The Diary of a Country Parson (1758-1802). The new arrivals offer visually stunning and beautifully fragrant additions to the world-leading breeder’s collection of twenty literature-inspired roses. Silas Marner (Ausraveloe) is an unfussy rose of soft mid pink, bearing petals which are pale on the reverse and fade at the edges. Held on red stems, the medium-sized cupped blooms have relaxed, almost…
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Bushy Park to receive one of Newton’s eight space saplings
Bushy Park has been chosen to be the home of one of eight space saplings. The tree is derived from the pips of Isaac Newton’s apple tree, that were blasted into space with British astronaut Tim Peake in 2015. The project is a collaboration between the UK Space Agency, National Trust and Kew Gardens, to inspire the next generation of scientists. The Royal Parks, in partnership with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and The Friends of Bushy Park successfully bid for one of the eight saplings, that originate from the pips of the 400-year-old apple tree in Woolsthorpe Manor,…
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350 trees to be planted in Hertfordshire to help save bees
As part of Hertfordshire County Council’s Pollinator Strategy it will plant 350 trees. The planting event will take place today (18 December). The County Council’s Rural Estates Team will lead the members in planting tree species such as Hawthorn, Hazel, Crab Apple, Rowan, Goat Willow and Field Maple. All chosen to produce an all year-round food source for bees. Councillor Ralph Sangster, Resources and Performance Cabinet Member, said: “Bees are the most important pollinating insects of all the species. As we prepare countrywide for the rises in population, we also need to plan for more sustainable ways to…
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700 acre mountaintop woodland of 100,000 trees to be planted in Scotland
A groundbreaking bid to help save Scotland’s almost-vanished mountaintop woodland and their wildlife is being launched by Trees for Life. This will be with the creation in the Highlands of what is thought will be the country’s largest planted area of rare high-altitude woodland. Centuries of overgrazing by sheep and deer have left most of Scotland stripped of the once-common, tough, waist-high trees. In a major expansion of action to reverse the loss of these unique woodlands Trees for Life is establishing a 700-acre mountaintop woodland of 100,000 trees at its Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston near Loch Ness.…
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New rules on plant health to come into effect
New rules on plant health, designed to stop diseases spreading or jumping borders, will become effective on Saturday( 14/12/19). The EU Regulation 2016/2031 on protective measures against plant pests was steered through the European Parliament by UK member Anthea McIntyre, Conservative MEP for the West Midlands. It became law in December 2016 and is directly applicable in all EU countries from December 14. Miss McIntyre, Conservative spokesman on both agriculture and the environment, said: “Plant disease can have a devastating effect commercially, on biodiversity and the environment generally, so it was vital that we should make ourselves more resilient. “In…
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Provender Nurseries and Capel Manor continue competition
Provender Nurseries and Capel Manor College continue into the 8th year of Student Design Competition. Judges selected Clare Waters’ winning design from over 45 designs. The students of Level 3 Certificate in Garden Design each had 5 minutes to present their design to the panel. Each student was then given a Q&A session with feedback from the judging panel. The judging was held over 2 days at the Regent’s Park campus. The judging panel consists of Liz Hughes at Provender Nurseries, Judy Fish of CEPC at Regent’s Park and Ric Glenn at CEPC, Regent’s Park. The panel had…
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The Regent’s park sees first planting of 6,500 sakura trees gifted from Japan
The UK has been gifted 6,500 sakura trees by Japan as part of the Sakura Cherry Tree Project. The project will see the planting of the trees across the UK’s parks, gardens and schools to celebrate Japan’s relationship with the UK. The sakura cherry trees will be distributed to 400 schools and 160 sites across the UK. The first trees were planted at a ceremony at The Regents park in London. His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester and Japanese Ambassador to the UK Yasumasa Nagamine, as well as the Founder and Joint Chairman of Sakura Cherry Tree Project…
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Landscape Institute to plant trees to mark the 90th birthday of the Institute
In conjunction with the Luton Parks Service, the Landscape Institute will plant nine mature trees in Luton to mark the 90th birthday of the Landscape Institute. The project is kindly sponsored by Marshalls, and will comprise part of the creation of an arboretum in Wardown Park, Luton. The arboretum seeks to inform and educate local visitors on the value of trees. In particular relation to health, air quality, wildlife and biodiversity. The project aims specifically to connect children with nature whilst providing an educational resource in relation to climate change and the causes of pollution. It is intended that pupils…
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New hope for trees affected by ash dieback
New research has identified the genetic basis of resistance to ash dieback in UK trees, opening up new avenues for conservation. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew sequenced the DNA from over 1,250 ash trees to find inherited genes associated with ash dieback resistance. The study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, showed that resistance is controlled by multiple genes, offering hope that surviving trees could be used to restore diseased woodlands, either by natural regeneration or selective breeding. Professor Richard Nichols, author of the study from Queen Mary University of…
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David Austin Roses launches sustainable packaging for bare root planting
David Austin Roses have announced that its range of bare root roses now comes in sustainable packaging. Without the need for a pot, these dormant plants have until now been packaged in an inner carrier made of plastic, accompanied by paperwork protected in a separate plastic covering. Designed to lock in vital natural moisture and prevent dehydration during delivery and storage, these carriers provide vital protection in transit. Richard Austin, head of marketing explains this more: “Removing these carriers in their entirety wasn’t an option but we knew a plastic-free solution was out there. We wanted something…
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