Landscape Juice

Are Britain's nesting birds about to disappear under new shooting legislation?

As from today, it is no longer legal to shoot certain types of carrion and wood pigeons without a special license. The move comes after conservationist and BBC pundit Chris Packham successfully petitioned the government for a ban to control bird species such as crows, magpies, gulls and wood pigeons. Sixteen species are affected overall. Farmers and pest controllers will need to apply for a special license to control pests. Failure to comply could lead to prosecution. "Anyone exercising lethal control of birds after Thursday 25 April 2019 without taking the above steps will not be covered by a general... Read more →

Philadelphia flower show entrance garden designed in Google Sketchup

The Philadelphia garden show has been in existence for 189 years. Visitors to the show are wowed even get through the door. The Entrance Garden of the Philadelphia flower show is designed in SketchUp by Dan Brown and Gary Radin. The garden concept is designed from start to finish in Google SketchUp. Read more →

Brinscall Quarry stone used on Gaudi's Basilica de la Sagrada Familia

Stone quarried from a Lancashire quarry is being shipped to Barcelona to be used in helping complete Antoni Gaudi's Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. The stone used for the bell towers on the Nativity and Passion facades is sandstone from Montjuic in Barcelona. The quarries in this region became exhausted and closed many years ago thus meaning original stone could only be sourced from demolished buildings. So began a worldwide search for stone that would match that already used, and it is through this process that the sandstone from Brinscall Quarry, near Chorley, was selected alongside stone from other Continents.... Read more →

Planting a seed for the future: Macmillan’s RHS Chatsworth Legacy Garden

On June 5th, Macmillan Cancer Support will be at the RHS Chatsworth Flower Show exhibiting a bespoke garden, inspired by the importance of planting legacies for the future. Designed by Michael Coley, the garden centres around a large oak tree which is surrounded by saplings – echoing the theme of growth and renewal. Michael Coley said: “Oak trees to me represent wisdom, strength and longevity – something constant that people can return to. The theme of leaving a legacy is communicated through the surrounding saplings and smaller seedlings which cover the majority of the garden. The idea is to give... Read more →

Chelsea Barracks Foundation donates gold medal winning garden to new Royal British Legion Industries village

The Chelsea Barracks Garden, designed by Jo Thompson for the 2016 Chelsea Flower Show, was today unveiled as part of the official opening of the first phase of the Royal British Legion Industries’ (RBLI) Centenary Village. Secretary of State for Defence, Sir Michael Fallon, led proceedings at the new village in Aylesford, Kent, to mark the completion of the 24 apartments designed for injured veterans. The new village will eventually include permanent homes for more than 80 residents along with a large community centre which will offer welfare, support and training. The Chelsea Barracks Garden will form the centrepiece of... Read more →

Plant-produced polio vaccines could help eradicate age old disease

Plants have been used to produce a new vaccine against poliovirus in what is hoped to be a major step towards global eradication of the disease. A team of scientists, including Dr Johanna Marsian working in Professor George Lomonossoff’s Lab at the John Innes Centre, has produced the novel vaccine with a method that uses virus-like particles (VLPs) - non-pathogenic mimics of poliovirus which are grown in plants. Genes that carry information to produce VLPs are infiltrated into the plant tissues. The host plant then reproduces large quantities of them using its own protein expression mechanisms. Professor Lomonossoff, from the... Read more →

Garden Bridge Trust announces closure of the project

Statement from the Garden Bridge Trust. The Garden Bridge Trust, the charity established to build and run the proposed Garden Bridge in central London, today announced that it will be winding up the project. It has informed the Mayor of London, as well as Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport, who have both allocated public funds to the project, of its decision. The Trust has had no choice but to take this decision because of lack of support for the project going forward from the Mayor. On 28 April, Sadiq Khan wrote to Lord Mervyn Davies, Chairman... Read more →

Where is Harry Dodson buried?

The star of the Victorian Kitchen Garden, Harry Dodson is to be buried in Blackmoor church yard. Some twelve years after he died, aged 85, Harry is effectively coming home to Blackmoor after living there as a child. Harry is famous for his role as the head gardener at Chilton Foliat where the BBCs Peter Thoday followed his progress throughout the year cultivating vegetables, fruit and flowers in an old walled garden, just like the Victorians would have done to provide for the gentry in the big house. Sadly, after he died, Harry Dodson's ashes remained with the undertaker but... Read more →

Is it OK to work over a bank holiday?

It is a topic that divides opinion within the landscape profession. Is it right to work in a customer's garden over a holiday weekend? Let's start with a few facts. Spring is the busiest time of year for gardeners and landscapers. Gardens are just awakening from their winter slumber, grass is growing at a pace....weeds are too. For a professional gardener, taking time off during this busy period is not always an option. Miss a scheduled visit and it's hard, not only to get a garden back into shape but also to get schedules back on track. The physical stress... Read more →

Threat to UK gardening from Climate Change

New report from the Royal Horticultural Society highlights the challenges and opportunities of gardening in a changing climate The quintessentially British lush, green lawn could become a thing of the past; gardeners in the north could enjoy a longer growing season and plant pests and diseases not yet established in some areas of the country could become commonplace; these are some of the findings of a new report from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and leading academics into the impact of climate change on gardening. Called Gardening in a Changing Climate, the far ranging report looks at both the impact... Read more →

Driveway installations are damaging butterfly population

Butterfly numbers are falling in towns and cities, as home owners turn their front gardens into driveways. Applications to pave over front gardens for parking have soared by almost 50 per cent in two years, devastating the flowers and bushes that butterflies rely on for survival. Charity Butterfly Conservation says the loss of gardens, along with pollution and development, has caused 25 butterfly species to decline faster in urban areas than the countryside. Research published by Direct Line last month showed successful applications for lowered kerbs to create driveways have risen by 49 per cent between 2013 and 2015, with... Read more →

Raccoon, mongoose and cabbage among invasive species banned from UK

The north American raccoon, an Asian hornet and an American cabbage are among 37 invasive species that will be banned from being brought into the UK from Wednesday when a new EU regulation comes into effect. The continent-wide rules now make it illegal to import, keep, breed or grow, transport, sell or use, or release into the environment without a permit the listed invasive, non-native plant and animal species. But the ban will no longer apply when then UK leaves the EU. The 14 plants listed include the American skunk cabbage, which has invaded Scottish marshes and wiped out all... Read more →