Plants
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How honeybees have changed the floral landscape
These tiny pollinators have been essential in understanding how the UK’s fields, hedgerow, wild spaces, gardens have changed since the 1950’s. By using cutting-edge DNA barcoding techniques, scientists at the National Botanic Garden of Wales have identified the plants honeybees appear to favour by looking at the pollen grains trapped within honey. The differences were clear. White clover had been the most important plant for honeybees but, with fewer pastures today and increased use of herbicides and inorganic fertiliser in farming, this has dropped to second place. Now the insects are visiting much more of: bramble – their modern-day favourite…
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Top 6 Houseplants of 2021
Houseplants are hotter than ever right now and are the perfect friend for the home office or as part of an interior design scheme. Bringing some green into your home is proven to offer a great deal benefits for our mental health and well being. Ian Drummond shares his top houseplants for 2021 1 Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Moonshine’ (Mother-in-law’s tongue ‘Moonshine’) Striking, silver-leaved, sword like foliage originating from the barren landscapes of Africa. It thrives in very arid conditions, meaning it can live happily in our centrally heated homes. It is a very low maintenance plant and easy to care for. 2 Asplenium antiquum (Bird’s nest fern)…
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12 houseplants of Christmas
Ian Drummond gives his expert advice on a selection of houseplants which are perfect for the festive season Your Christmas decorations don’t have to be all tinsel and baubles – you can go green and sustainable instead! Decorate your home with festive houseplants that can be displayed in any room to bring seasonal visual joy, or why not even decorate your Christmas tree with houseplants? Merry Christmas! Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) Easy to grow, these beauties have the most exuberant blooms. Water sparingly until you see signs of growth then water regularly and keep in a bright but indirect sunlight position. Use heavy pots…
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Wyevale Nurseries donates new mangave range to RHS Garden Wisley
Wyevale Nurseries has donated a collection of new mangave succulents to the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Garden Wisley in partnership with Plantipp B.V. The ‘Mad About Mangave’ range has been assessed by Wyevale Nurseries, managed by Plantipp B.V, for the past few years and the donation will help extend plant research. Wyevale Nurseries’ production manager Kyle Ross explains: “In cooperation with Plantipp, we agreed to donate a selection of the new succulents to RHS Garden Wisley. The plants will be displayed in both indoor and outdoor beds, where further winter hardiness evaluation will continue. “These very impressive plants are now…
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Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2020 report
RBG Kew’s fourth State of the World’s report takes a deep dive into the state of the world’s plant and fungal kingdoms globally. The new data, the result of a huge and unprecedented international collaboration bringing together 210 scientists from 42 countries, show how we are currently using plants and fungi, what useful properties we are missing, and what we risk losing. Plants and fungi are the building blocks of life on planet Earth. They have the potential to solve urgent problems that threaten human life, but these vital resources are being compromised by biodiversity loss. The report highlights the pressing need to…
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Begonia ‘Sweet Spice (TM) Bounty’ royalties donated
Plant sales of Begonia ‘Sweet SpiceTM Bounty’ have been donated to the David Colegrave Foundation (DCF) to support students studying horticulture in the UK. Plant breeder, Kerley & Co, set out to donate 50% of the royalties received from wholesale distributor, Ball Colegrave, to DCF for two years. This year £660 was gratefully received by DCF which will go towards its Student Scholarships. Specialising in breeding patio plants grown from cuttings, Kerley & Co is a growing family business based near Cambridge. Begonia ‘Sweet SpiceTM’ Bounty is a new variety of vegetatively-propagated Begonia bred by Tim Kerley, a partner in the business and also the first recipient of DCF’s Markham-Colegrave Scholarship. Ball Colegrave (formerly Colegrave Seeds), is the UK’s leading wholesale distributor of seed and plants to commercial growers and local authorities and was founded in 1962 by the late David Colegrave and his wife Nancy. Tim Kerley comments: “We are delighted…
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Scottish Government investment in Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Scottish Government funding of £50m will sustain the place of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) at the vanguard of global action to combat the climate emergency and address the biodiversity crisis. The Low Carbon Fund backing covers five years’ work on the visionary Edinburgh Biomes initiative, creating world-class facilities producing climate, economic, wellbeing and environmental benefits, as part of Scotland’s a green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. By supporting the Edinburgh Biomes project in the institute’s 350th anniversary year, it will safeguard the Garden’s public Heritage Glasshouses while enhancing research facilities and addressing weaknesses in its aging infrastructure. It also…
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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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