Autumn has officially arrived in the UK but the weather is still in summer mode with glorious sunshine all this week and temperatures reaching up to 22c. Although many gardens start to loose their colour and form, Will Giles Exotic Garden in Norwich still looks wonderful with huge exotic plants and flowers . Open […]
Continue reading...28. July 2014
Comments Off on Three weeks rain in one hour
After the heatwave came huge thunderstorms delivering record breaking rainfall over Southern England today. Around three weeks of rain arrived in one hour in parts of East Sussex bringing chaos and flash flooding that affected the morning rush hour. http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/11369589.Storms_causing_delays__disruption_and_damage_as_heavy_rain_and_lightning_hits/?ref=var_0 Here is my East Sussex garden at 9.30am today. A very different scene to the […]
Continue reading...27. July 2014
Comments Off on Sizzling summer brings water challenges to gardens
Gardeners probably have mixed views on whether the current heatwave continuing into August is good or bad for their plants.http://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twoother/latest.aspx Endless sunshine and soaring temperatures may encourage flowers to keep blooming but keeping your garden watered and preventing the plants from wilting can prove to be an ongoing challenge. Less than 3 percent of the annual […]
Continue reading...5. June 2014
Comments Off on Trees tackle climate change
The UK needs to plant 20 million trees a year for the next half century to tackle climate change, protect wildlife and provide benefits for people, according to the Woodland Trust. The charity’s president, TV personality Clive Anderson, wants to see the UK’s tree cover double – bringing the amount of woodlands up to the […]
Continue reading...23. April 2014
Comments Off on Bluebells flower early in 2014
The rising temperatures of climate change mean spring is arriving earlier in the UK. British flowers came out two to 12 days earlier in the past 25 years than in any previous quarter-century , and the seasonal timing of reproduction has shifted forward by about 11 days between 1976 and 2005, previous research has shown. Bluebells in particular are flowering earlier […]
Continue reading...7. April 2014
On April 1st I attended the RHS Spring Fair in London on a beautiful sunny day. The blossom was out and the warm sunshine helped everyone think that the heavy downpours of […]
Continue reading...24. February 2014
Comments Off on Gardens by the Bay volunteering
I have just returned from an amazing horticultural experience in Singapore where I explored how this thriving city is greening its buildings and bringing the beauty and power of plants to Gardens by the Bay. Read what I said about volunteering at this futuristic garden and follow this blog for more updates on Singapore’s beautiful […]
Continue reading...19. January 2014
Singapore is a city full of cutting edge design and horticultural delights with a unique and inspirational 101 acre park called Gardens by the Bay which opened in 2012. I am very excited to be volunteering in this amazing environmental space. Gardens by the Bay offers a cloud forest, heritage gardens, cool conservatories, tropical flowers, […]
Continue reading...5. January 2014
Comments Off on Extreme UK weather greets 2014
Only 5 days into 2014 and the weather again delivers some extreme events. No matter how much we think that we can control our environment it is and always will be at the mercy of Mother Nature.Increasingly so as climate change makes periods of extreme and weird weather occur more frequently. The Met Office reports […]
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3. September 2014
Comments Off on Sunshine boost for September UK gardens