Plants
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Cycad produces male and female cone at Ventor Botanic Garden
A Cycad (Cycas revoluta) has produced a male cone at Ventnor Botanic Garden. This is the second time this has happened outdoors in the UK, the first was at VBG in 2012. Cycads are primitive plants that dominated the Earth’s flora some 280 million years ago until the evolution of flowering plants. During their reign, the Earth’s climate had naturally high levels of CO2. The climate of the Earth today, with artificially raised CO2 resultant from fossil fuel emissions, may have influenced the cone production. This can be seen as further evidence from the plant kingdom of climate change…
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Raingarden at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh proves success
A new, experimental Raingarden at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) has proved its worth during recent heavy rainfall. It may also influence future site management and planting schemes for coping with climate change. The Raingarden, completed in spring this year, features a range of carefully selected plants in a special mix of soil, compost, sand and gravel. Following the August downpours, the garden successfully absorbed the excess water that fell, reducing floods on nearby paths and capturing rainwater for the benefit of the plants that grow there. Measuring 20m long by seven metres wide, the Raingarden is…
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Flat Holm is the first island to be awarded ‘Bee Friendly’ status
Flat Holm has become the first island to be awarded ‘Bee Friendly’ status. The ‘Bee Friendly’ scheme, which aims to make Wales the first pollinator-friendly nation in the world, has four priorities: Providing pollinator friendly food sources. Freedom from pesticides and herbicides. Providing ‘five star’ accommodation for insect pollinators. Fun! Involving the community and telling people why you are helping pollinators. Eleven different types of bee, including Large Red Tailed Bumble Bees, White-tailed Bumble Bees, Green Furrow Bees, Gooden’s Nomad Bees and Common Carder Bees, have been found on the island, which is also home to Painted Ladies,…
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DMU to plant 1,000 National Forest trees for new students
De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is to plant 1,000 new trees in the National Forest on behalf of students joining this year. To mark the release of A-level results across the country this week and to celebrate the arrival of a new cohort of students next month, the university is planting hundreds of saplings. As a commitment to making a positive environmental impact, these trees will be planted on the site of the National Forest, a 200 square mile environmental project in the central England, which stretches from the outskirts of Leicester to Burton-Upon-Trent, in East Staffordshire. This week the…
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John Chambers Wildflower meadow at Burncross Community Garden
Green-tech has supplied John Chambers Wildflower Seed to a community project in Burncross, which lies just outside of Sheffield City Centre. The neighbourhood is largely bounded by countryside with open fields and woods close by. The local community has a group set up, the Burncross Action Team, dedicated volunteers who work tirelessly to improve their local area and community. In 2017, as part of a Greening Great Britain initiative with the Royal Horticultural Society, the Burncross Action Team approached the John Chambers Wildflower team to help them transform a forgotten ‘grey spot’ in Sheffield into a mini haven for wildlife.…
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Ethiopia has planted more than 350 million trees in one day
Ethiopia has planted more than 350 million trees in one day as part of its Green Legacy initiative. Led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Green Legacy is a project which aims to combat the effects of deforestation and climate change. The UN says Ethiopia’s forest coverage declined from 35% of total land in the early 20th Century to a little above 4% in the 2000s. This was an official attempt at breaking the world record for planting trees in a single day. The current record is held by India, which saw 800,000 volunteers’ plant more than 50 million trees in…
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County Durham woodlands awarded funding to help restore them
The Durham Woodland Revival project has been awarded £434,200 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to restore and reconnect woodland in the county. The funding will enable it to work with partners Woodland Trust, Northwoods, Wear Rivers Trust and the Forestry Commission to bring neglected and under-managed woodland back into good condition and to boost woodland cover over a four-year period, starting this summer. Focusing on 5,000 hectares of woodland within a 10-mile radius from Durham City, the project looks at different ways of managing a range of different woodlands. From the diverse ecosystems of ancient woodland to…
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Trees to be removed in Roath Park Gardens, Cardiff to deal with Oak Processionary Moth
Evidence of Oak Processionary Moth (OPM) has been found on an oak tree in Roath Park Gardens in Cardiff as a result of proactive inspection by Natural Resources Wales of seven newly planted oak trees. A Statutory Plant Health Notice was issued on the trees on 24 July, which requires the treatment and removal of the trees. The infected tree in Roath Park Gardens were sprayed as a precaution using an insecticide on the evening of the 23 July and will be removed along with the other six trees today, 25 July. The Welsh Government has said…
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New grants available for local landowners to plant trees
A pilot Woodland Trust scheme is offering expert advice and grants of up to £4,000 to landowners who want to create small, new native woods. TRUSTwoods is open to people looking to create between one and three hectares of woodland in a trial area of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. Director of woodland outreach John Tucker said: “We need new woodland like never before. Government has recently committed to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The expansion of the UK’s tree canopy cover from 13% to 17% is an essential…
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New legislation introduced to prevent harmful rose virus
New legislation has been introduced on 23 July to stop the arrival of the Rose Rosette Virus (RRV), a damaging virus which is spread by a microscopic mite. The virus causes ‘witches’ broom’, distorted leaf growth and a reduction in cold hardiness. All roses are considered at risk from the virus and its insect vector, as no known tolerant or resistant species or varieties have been identified. The virus is not present in the UK or Europe, but has caused significant damage in the USA and Canada. The new regulation means that all rose plants and cut flowers…
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London Plane Tree Conference
On Wednesday 10 July approximately 80 delegates attended the London Plane Tree Conference at City Hall, organised by The Conservation Foundation. London Planes are a vital part of London’s landscape and the conference aimed to start a discussion on how to preserve them. The event was chaired by Matt Brown, editor at The Londonist, and Professor Chris Baines, Paul Wood, Greg Packman, Dr Ana Perez-Sierra and Barbara Milne were all speakers at the conference. Professor Chris Baines began the conference by giving a general introduction to London Planes. He spoke of how they were planted so widely due to their…
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Worfield plants supplies five-star RHS Hampton Court Garden Display
At the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival this month, Worfield Plants supplied SHEDx’s five-star rated ‘Perennial Cut Flower, Bee Pollinating and Herb Garden’ display. The garden was designed to replicate elements of the SHEDx regeneration project in Tolworth, London. For the past 10 months, Worfield Plants has collaborated with Court Farm Garden Centre to support the SHEDx project, supplying planting for freshly implemented borders and benches in Tolworth. SHEDx, a partnership between The Community Brain and Kingston upon Thames Council, has introduced plants designed to improve health and wellbeing into the local area. Georgia Neesham, Project Co-ordinator of SHEDx,…
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Tighter restrictions on oak tree imports to come into force
Strengthened measures on the import of most species of oak into England are to be introduced to protect native trees from the threat of the tree pest Oak Processionary Moth (OPM). The bolstered measures will only permit imports of certain oak trees, including: those from OPM free countries those from designated pest free areas including Protected Zones (PZ) – an area of the European Union declared free of OPM those that have been grown under complete physical protection for their lifetime. This Statutory Instrument (SI) – which is due to be introduced in Parliament shortly– builds on measures…
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Case of Oak Processionary Moth confirmed in Wales
A finding of Oak Processionary Moth (OPM) has been confirmed in Wales. A statutory Plant Health Notice has been issued on the trees which requires the treatment and felling of infested material. OPM have been found on trees planted in Cardiff City Centre and pest control experts will be begun treatment work as soon as possible. The caterpillars (larvae) defoliate and weaken oak trees, and are a hazard to human and animal health. The trees near Cardiff Central Station were chemically sprayed using an insecticide and will be removed today. The Welsh Government has said: “The first priority is to…
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Birmingham bids to become a Tree City of the World
Talks to establish Birmingham as the first officially designated “Tree City” of the UK are set to be held between the city council and an international foundation today. Council officers and Cabinet Members Cllr John O’Shea and Cllr Waseem Zaffar are due to meet a delegation from the US-based Arbor Day Foundation about the possibility of becoming a member of the Tree Cities of the World Network. The bid is being formally launched during the talks, which come on the first day of Love Parks Week (July 12-21). Achievement of the status requires the city and the council…
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Mobilane installs Woking town’s first green wall
Residents, customers and visitors to Woking High Street have been enjoying a new natural walkway since May with the installation of a 75m living wall from Mobilane. The Mobilane Green Screens have been placed along the length of the Woking Train Station’s exterior wall as part of the Council’s green commitments. Complementing other green initiatives in the transformation of the town’s Albion Square, the ivy screens now form a naturally green frame for the town’s iconic mural that depicts life along High Street in Edwardian times. With a mix of species for interest and colour, the wall will not only…
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Boningale ceases importation of oak trees
Oak Processionary Moth (OPM) outbreaks in the UK pose a serious threat to our oak trees. Boningale are ceasing importation of oak trees effective immediately, and will only be sourcing UK oak stock. OPM is already established in greater London and some surrounding areas. Defra have noted that the UK Plant Health Service are taking steps to eradicate recent findings of OPM in Hampshire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire. These steps may include surveillance, tracing and destruction of the caterpillars and infested trees. OPM feeds heavily on oak leaves and weakens the tree, leaving it very vulnerable to other pests, diseases and…
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Living wall installed at London primary school to fight air pollution
A group of parents at a London primary school have taken the issue of air pollution into their own hands, after successfully crowdfunding over £90,000, which included funding from the Mayor of London, to install a living wall in the playground of St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Chiswick. Featuring over 12,000 plants, the living wall was officially opened by London Mayor, Sadiq Khan. He had also pledged £32,000 to the Chiswick Oasis project. The 126m living wall, located in the school’s playground and running alongside the A4 aims to reduce air pollutants and improve air quality. This comes…
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London gets world’s first green lamp posts
Grosvenor Britain & Ireland is piloting a world first scheme in London’s Belgravia aimed at reducing air pollution, improving urban biodiversity, evapotranspiration cooling and noise reduction. Six lamp posts on the company’s Belgravia estate will be retro-fitted with green columns incorporating a range of vegetation able to promote biodiversity, purify the air and provide an attractive focal point on the street. The Smart Pillar™, which has been developed by The Scotscape Group and Greenwich University, takes the concept of ‘vertical greening’, as seen on living walls, one step further: Retro fitting lamp posts to make best use…
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Oak Processionary Moth found on trees imported from the Netherlands
Landscapers, nurseries, landowners and woodland managers are being urged to take action after the Plant Health Service intercepted a number of cases of Oak Processionary Moth caterpillars (OPM) on trees imported from the Netherlands. Anyone who has planted larger oaks (defined below) imported from the Netherlands and continent should urgently check their trees for OPM and report any findings to TreeAlert. It is vital that these trees are checked now to minimise the spread of this damaging tree pest and protect the health of our oak trees. OPM is an established pest in parts of London and surrounding…
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A survey reveals children’s favourite flower is the rose
Children’s favourite flower has today been revealed as the rose, following a survey by the National Trust. The Trust carried out the survey of children in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as part of its drive to encourage children to connect with nature and learn how to care for plants. More than 1,000 boys and girls aged eight to 15 took part in the survey. Just over one fifth (21%) choosing the rose as their favourite flower followed by the sunflower with 16%. Daffodils and daisies took third place with 7% each. The children were asked to…
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Festivalgoers urged to help rewild the Highlands
Music lovers attending this year’s Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival are being encouraged to help rewild the Scottish Highlands by having their own trees planted by conservation charity Trees for Life. With growing concerns about the threats of climate change and loss of nature, the organisers of ‘Bella’ 2019 are calling on attendees to mitigate the carbon impact of travelling to the event near Inverness through donations to fund native trees. Every tree will help Trees for Life restore the globally important Caledonian Forest together with its precious wildlife such as red squirrels and pine martens. The trees donated will be…
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Red hot Eden flowers bring blaze of colour to Hampton Court
A range of vivid red hot pokers grown at the Eden Project are to create a spectacular display at the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival. The red-hot pokers or Kniphofia have been grown at the Eden Project nursery and are now being set in 18 colourful pots in time for the show. Kniphofia are exotic, bee-friendly flowers which come in a variety of colours, from flame red to pale yellow and green. They can reach well over a metre tall. Eden’s Hampton Court display is a great showcase for a steep hillside emblazoned with many varieties of…
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