Britain is ‘under attack’ from swarms of winged creatures.
Large numbers of airborne common black garden ants have been spotted everywhere this summer and now; thousands of wasps are also set to come out in record numbers for the next few weeks.
Following a huge uplift in sales of insect repellents, Wyevale Garden Centres is forecasting September to be an insect battleground for UK gardens. Britain’s summer of insect invasion has paved the way for a 300 per cent year on year rise in sales of Ant control products. Plus, wasp control products peaked last week with an increase...
Gardeners in the South West are losing their green fingers as nine in ten young people struggle to identify common garden plants, new research reveals.
A study of 2,000 Brits aged 25-35 found that time pressures and lack of knowledge meant that the majority struggle when it comes to nurturing their gardens.
Over three quarters of those living in the region couldn’t identify a tulip when shown a picture of one, while 84 per cent struggled with a geranium.
Perhaps that’s why just over 2 per cent of those polled described their gardening skill as ‘very good’.
If you need some family inspiration this summer then look no further than Killerton. The Outdoor Team has created an action packed programme of weekly events for August that will inspire and entertain all members of your family. Some of these events are a first for Killerton, and the National Trust Rangers are very excited at this new opportunity to show off the wild side of the estate.
‘Try it Tuesdays’ give taster sessions of sports and activities including rock climbing, laser clay pigeon shooting, cricket, tag rugby, archery and more. You can turn up and join in any time...
A historically important garden gem owned by Teignbridge District Council has been given a double funding boost.
Homeyards Botanical Gardens, in Shaldon, has received £317,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and £40,000 from Viridor Credits Environmental Company through the Landfill Communities Fund.
The funding will be vital in continuing the invaluable work around conservation and improvements to Homeyards, ensuring the gardens remain the focus point of life in the village well into the future.
National Trust gardeners at the much loved holiday home of Agatha Christie, Greenway, are celebrating a huge swing to the bluebells after one of the finest showings in many years brought visitors to its woodland gardens.
Last year Greenway gardeners were battling the invasive and unwelcome Three Cornered Leek which is similar in appearance to a white bluebell, but with a distinctive smell and a narrow green stripe down the centre of each petal.
Simon Akeroyd, Head Gardener said, “The Three Cornered Leek can smother bluebells and has a strong onion smell whereas our native...
Floral designer and judge on BBC2’s “The Big Allotment Challenge”, Jonathan Moseley has gathered a selection of garden blooms and purchased flowers to create the eclectic mix of colours and varieties to bring a 17th century Dutch floral painting to life in anticipation of the exciting gardening spectacular Toby Buckland’s Garden Festival at Powderham Castle.
"The painters of the Dutch masters could arguably be termed the first arrangers of flowers in the Western style,” says Jonathan, “their intrinsic understanding of form, colour and texture are still inspirational to arrangers...
RHS Garden Rosemoor will be bursting with blooms when it hosts the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) National Rhododendron Show and Competition on 25 – 26 April. Once again the show will be combined with the RHS South West Camellia and Magnolia Show and, with competitors from as far afield as Oxfordshire and Hampshire, it promises more spring colour than ever before. Visitors will be able to enjoy the magnificent displays of rhododendrons, camellias and magnolias as well as trade and advice stands. In previous years exhibitors such as Exbury Gardens of Beaulieu, Kevin Hughes Plants of...
Gardeners should start preparing early for their great slug and snail hunt this year as winter temperatures have provided the perfect conditions for their arch enemies.
According to Wyevale Garden Centres – the UK’s largest garden centre group - last year, gardeners spent £11.6 million in their battle to protect their botanical spaces, battling over 30 species of slugs including a voracious invader discovered on our shores only last year – the Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris).
Slugs like mild and warm winters and Met Office statistics show that average temperatures were...
The Snowdrop has been voted the top spring flower in the South West, with the gardens at Killerton being one of the most popular places to see spring blooms. This year’s milder, calmer and less wet winter compared with 2014 has been much kinder on our garden plants as gardeners have been finding out while taking part in the Trust’s annual Valentines Flower Count. Although National Trust gardeners get a touch jittery when you the mention the dreaded words, frost and snow, words that should never be uttered in front of spring blooms Spring really is ready to spring, says our gardeners but it...
Toby Buckland’s annual garden festival at Powderham Castle, Devon, is fast becoming recognised as one of the most important events of its kind in the South West, attracting celebrity gardening experts and providing an annual rendezvous for enthusiastic gardeners and award-winning regional nurseries.
Next year's festival on 1 and 2 May will be a bigger event with the same mixture of some of the country’s best plant specialists plus gardening craft and equipment stalls, entertainment and high quality local food producers.
Horticulturist, writer, TV presenter and new President...
