News - Page 91
Chase away the winter blues and travel to India this month as the 22nd annual Orchids Festival gets under way at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London.
Orchids Festival - Kew Gardens
The sounds of India surround visitors to the steamy tropical glasshouse from the moment they walk in: a giant Indian flag is being created from 900 chrysanthemums, with life-sized animal figures including an elephant, peacock and monkey.
But the stars of the s...
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Few hardy shrubs signal the end of winter better than camellias, highly valued for their stunning floral displays and fresh, glossy, evergreen foliage. With dozens of varieties available you’ll be spoilt for choice, so pick from camellias in shades of pink, red, white and cream.
Their ultimate size, habit and rate of growth vary immensely too, so consider how much space the camellia will need as it grows. Whether you’d like something that stays small and comp...
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Celebrate the beauty of butterflies as the glasshouse at RHS Garden Wisley fills with brilliantly- coloured insects for its annual Butterflies in the Glasshouse event (www.rhs.org.uk/wisley).
Butterflies
The huge tropical glasshouse at the garden becomes home to more than 6000 exotic butterflies, free-flying around visitors as they walk through palms, cycads, banana plants and philodendrons.
There are...
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The RHS is on the hunt for the nation’s best school gardeners for its annual competition to celebrate gardening in schools.
The charity wants to find inspirational gardeners across three categories, shining a light on green- fingered pupils, passionate school gardening teams and the teachers and parent volunteers who encourage them.
The Nation's Best School Gardeners
The RHS Young School Gardener of the Year is awarded to the young person who...
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Plant baby broad bean plants now for a super-early crop this summer. If you sowed seeds of winter- hardy varieties like ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ last autumn, they’ll be sturdy youngsters by now and can safely go in the ground over the next few weeks.
Planting Broad Beans
Choose a mild day to plant when the soil is workable, and cover with a clear polythene cloche after planting to keep them sheltered while they settle in – you’ll find easy-to- use tunnel...
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Binoculars at the ready: the annual Big Garden Birdwatch kicks off this weekend, when gardeners and wildlife lovers get outside to paint a nationwide picture of the state of our garden birds.
The Big Garden Bird Watch
The initiative, run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, is now the world’s biggest wildlife survey. Last year more than 519,000 people counted an incredible 8,262,662 birds. Their findings have helped build up a detailed p...
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Set off your flowers to perfection by planting a hedge this month. Filtering out the wind can turn a garden from windswept hillside to cosy flower haven; hedges also provide homes for wildlife and soften boundaries to a gentle green that’s the ideal backdrop for brightly-coloured perennials. Choose from deciduous hedges which drop their leaves in winter, such as elegant native beech or hornbeam; sturdy evergreens like yew for year-round shelter; or for a more natura...
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Ireland’s snowdrop season is about to begin, with gardeners all over the country itching to see the first shy white flowers opening their slender petals from this month onwards.
Snowdrop Season
Ireland is famous for its snowdrop collections, with some of the finest to be seen anywhere opening to visitors throughout early spring. The biggest and best of the snowdrop festivals is held at Altamont
Gardens in Co. Carlow, which has been building it...
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The RHS wants to know how you feel about front gardens – and you could help contribute to research into the therapeutic effects of a little greenery outside the front door.
The nation’s front gardens are disappearing at an alarming rate: more than 4.5 million contain no plants, and a quarter are now totally paved over. But there’s been little research into the impact that is having. Now RHS-sponsored PhD student Lauriane Suyin Chalmin-Pui of the University of...
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Are you proud of your garden? Then children’s hospice charity Greenfingers wants to hear from you.
Greenfingers Charity
The charity would like as many garden owners as possible to open their gates to visitors during 2017 and help them raise money towards their work providing gardens for children and their families staying in hospices.
If friends and family regularly admire your garden, it’s likely others will enjoy visiting it too. Don’t worry...
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The humble garden gnome is under threat, according to a new survey which found gnomes are a top target for thieves.
Garden Gnomes Need Your Help!
Four out of five gnome-owning households have lost at least one resident to gnome-nappers in the last five years, with the north of England a particular blackspot for unexplained disappearances. In the north-east, the average owner has lost nearly four gnomes in the last five years. The safest places for gn...
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Add the wow factor to your winter garden with striking plants that look their best right now. Whether you’d like to fill your borders with hardy shrubs covered with fragrant flowers, clad a fence or archway with colour, or plant a small flowering tree to create a focal point, you’ll find a great range of seasonal stunners in garden centres this month.
While a coating of frost or snow creates temporary magical moments, unifying our gardens with its icy frostin...
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