The RHS scheme ‘It’s your Neighbourhood’ is back in full swing again this year and due to the project’s communal nature, we felt it deserved any exposure we can lend (not that it needs it). IYN’s basic premise, in conjunction with the Britain in Bloom project is to encourage groups of people connected by their proximity and their community, to try to improve the aesthetic and ecological validity of their local areas, whilst also trying to inspire an interest in the subject of horticulture in younger gardeners by proxy of their relatives.

IYN acts as a micromanagement initiative for the larger project that is Britain in Bloom, which means that any community can register to the project. The groups are mainly volunteer-led and focus mostly on the ‘clean up’ aspect of community presentation including, though not limited to, cleaning up shared spaces such as alleyways or estate greens. As a part of Britain in Bloom, IYN shares its three pillars of conduct and criteria: Community Participation, Environmental Responsibility and Gardening Achievement.

However, at the mention of criteria it is not uncommon for people to assume that there be a competitive edge involved and while this is not exactly the case, each registered community is visited by BIB assessor who, as part of the initiative, will devote time to the suggested improvement of each constituency and, based on these visits, each group will receive a certificate of achievement from the RHS, relative to how effectively the aims of the project have been accomplished by its participants.

There are five recognised grades of achievement within the course of the project and these are Establishing, Improving, Developing, Thriving and Outstanding, which are fairly self-explanatory and if a constituency performs at a consistent level of excellence over an extended period, then they may be nominated for the RHS ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood National Certificate of Distinction’.

However, not just anyone can enter the initiative - there are certain characteristics required on behalf of would-be entrants like a hands-on attitude, being representative of a community or residential group, a certain degree of sustainability over time, and that the community take responsibility for their own work.

By reading the RHS case studies on the various IYN projects underway across Britain, one begins to understand just how diverse, not to mention popular, the initiative has become. Why in Manchester alone, a participant in Britain in Bloom for over a decade now, there are over 100 independent IYN groups focused on various aspects of horticulture. With a volunteer count of over 12,000 it is believed that the city has benefited from nearly £50,000 worth of free labour!

You may be thinking that there are few jobs to be done around your local area that could qualify for IYN, but this is not the case.  The responsibilities of these groups have in the past included restoring churchyards, adapting brownfield spaces for communal use, such as sporting grounds or social areas, and forming maintenance bodies to look after local parks and verges. It’s up to all of us to keep our local areas looking good and everyone can get involved –what’s stopping you?

By Josh Ellison

Aside from their obvious beauty and distinctive scents, roses provide an excellent lure to a varied list of wildlife ranging from insects and birds to small mammals due partially to their high pollen yield, but mostly due to their large attractive flowers, often followed by large, juicy hips. The fact that these species are specifically vertical growers means that they are one of the most effective means of attracting winged creatures to the garden. However, there are specific conditions that will best encourage the growth necessary to provide these blooms.

Roses do prefer a fairly sheltered area and the more sun the better, as it is sunlight that feeds the vividness of their colours, so try not to plant them in the shade of trees for example. They will also tolerate most soil types, as long as they’re well drained.  Add plenty of compost or well-rotted manure at planting time, make sure you feed them regularly. Watch out for pests and diseases and treating them promptly will provide a colourful display all summer long.

So without further gilding the lilies, here are our favourite choices, organised by which aspect suits them:

North

‘Golden Showers’

Golden Showers’ name derives from its buttercup-like petals and the rich yellow centre that connects them. It has dark green glossy leaves on matching, upright stems.

‘New Dawn’

One of the hardiest Rosa varieties, it has pale, silvery pink flowers with a faint scent.

‘Veilchenblau’

This rambling rose is a semi evergreen, possessed of a vigorous growth cycle with unusual violet flowers with white centres during the summer, and mid-green foliage in all seasons.

East

‘Madame Alfred Carriere’

Mme Alfred Carriere is a vigorous climber that displays glossy, emerald foliage with a minimum of thorns and throughout summer and autumn will produce clusters of scented white flowers with a pink blush.

‘Maigold’

This climber is compact in formation and will produce glossy, dark-green foliage armed with both thorns and large golden flowers that have a slight fragrance.

‘Zepherine Drouhin’

The bourbon climbing rose will yield deep pink blooms throughout summer and autumn with an accompanying fragrance and, as a bonus, its stems are thornless.

South

Banksiae ‘Lutea’

The yellow banksia rose is really a rapidly growing shrub rose with thornless stems, clusters of double, buttery flowers and pale green foliage.

‘Compassion’

Compassion is another fast grower with particularly attractive foliage, sprouting glossy green leaves on deep red stems and complementary fragrant, copper-pink flowers.

‘Swan Lake’

Swan Lake possesses a continuous display of pinkish white blooms that also bring a scent with them. It will take a bushy appearance as it matures.

West

‘Guinee’

The Guinee variety of Rosa is actually tea hybrid, though it still sports the characteristics of its forebears. It has vivid scarlet flowers with a strong aroma and long arching stems in summer and autumn.

‘Mermaid’

A slow-growing, deciduous or semi-evergreen climber that will bear cupped, single, pale yellow flowers atop stiff reddish stems decorated with hooked thorns and glossy green foliage.

‘Rambling Rector’

Rambling rector derives its name from the nature of its growth, requiring plenty of support to take definitive shape. It has clusters of fragrant white blooms with complementary yellow stamens.

By Josh Ellison

Trees and their subsequent by-products are one of the world’s foremost natural resources, second perhaps only to water. They’re possibly the most widespread form of biomass on the planet, and they are under threat. No, it’s not another deforestation article - this week we’re discussing the ‘Project Leaf’ (Law Enforcement Assistance for Forests) initiative - a new organisation endorsed and supported by both Interpol and the UN, and while it is still in its infancy, the initiative aims to create a more effective policing approach to international forest crime.

This specifically concerns criminals affiliated with illegal logging and lumber trafficking. The impetus of the initiative stems not only from the significant rise in these crimes in recent decades, but also the rising dependence of the world’s population upon the lumber industry. It was estimated in a study undertaken by Project Leaf (Law Enforcement Assistance for Forests) that over ¼ of the world’s population relies on trees and their derivatives for their food, fuels, medicines and livelihoods and as such, it is a matter of global imperative that this threat to international economies be nipped in the bud.

One of the major developments in the criminal activity has been the globalisation of the enterprise - it is no longer an activity restricted by nationality or borders. As David Higgins, Environmental Crime Programme Manager for Interpol, has stated:

"The international legislation to protect forests and curtail illegal logging demonstrates this, Project Leaf will ensure these global laws are supported by global enforcement and that the criminals responsible are brought to justice - no matter what their location, movements or resources.”

Of course the major threat posed by unchecked logging and trafficking is the increased and, more importantly, unrecorded deforestation and as our previous articles have asserted, we’ll need every tree we can get to ensure the eventual halt and reversal of climate change. Trees en masse act as great natural sponges to the carbon footprints our technology leaves behind, however, this alludes to a more nefarious side-effect of forest clearing and logging. Though the trees will absorb carbon dioxide as a part of the process of photosynthesis, the harmful elements of the gas will not be converted for some time and so by felling relatively young sections of forest these huge deposits of carbon are re-released, now in a more concentrated form, into the atmosphere.

In fact this problem is so widespread the it is estimated that over 15% of the world’s carbon emissions are a result of recycled carbon being dispersed during deforestation - a figure around 1.5 times that of all our transport, shipping and traffic combined!

Of course, while this has encouraged increased awareness and significance to be placed upon our forests, it is thought that only around 8% of the world’s forests are certified as sustainably managed and more than 90% of these are centralised to regions around North America and Europe while less developed nations (with much greater economic reliance on this material) are left with the crumbs. It is also developing nations such as those situated in the tropics that report that highest level of illegal deforestation, accounting for a whopping 50-90% of all logging activity in that region!

By Josh Ellison

In this piece we’ll be discussing the Gardeners’ World Live Show of 2012, currently running in Birmingham - how the project got started and has subsequently grown within the media and horticultural industries since its inception, and how exposure and your own enjoyment of its subjects can be improved through the awareness we hope to provide. Also, as with all the major gardening shows this year, we’ll be giving our personal opinion on the greatest triumphs of the show, the motivations behind these installations and also the people who helped transform them from a concept or design, to the reality GWL’s visitors will be able to enjoy en masse.

The beginning of Gardeners’ World Live, of course, stem from the titular television program of which the design expose was a spin-off (and a very successful one at that!). The TV broadcast piloted in 1968 and, by June 1992, it had been decided that perhaps the full potential of the show’s exposure hadn’t been taken advantage of and so Gardeners’ World Live was born. In its initial run the show enjoyed over 17,000 visitors and 100 exhibitors, and has since become a staple among the RHS’ seven annual shows. Since 2005 it has included the BBC Good Food show as one of its entertainment vassals. This year’s show expects around 85,000 visitors.

Also, due to its affiliation with the British Broadcasting Company, the GWL regularly entertains celebrity gardening personalities such as Monty Don, Julia Bradbury and Ainsley Harriott, further cementing its identity within the British psyche.

What this means of course, is that part of this year’s show will be devoted to the jubilation surrounding its 20 year anniversary , however, aside from celebrating the shows heritage, this year’s exhibition welcomes a host of new attractions that have only now been introduced. These include the ‘Going Wild’ feature which consists of a variety of different pursuits that can be used to strengthen our waning ecosystems and support the hugely varied wildlife endemic to our shores.

 

 

 

As such, it is sponsored and informed by a number of major charities and ecological preservation societies and trusts, including the British Beekeepers Association, Pond Conservation Charity and the Bat Conservation Trust. However, this exhibit is not limited only to the fauna of Britain, but also to her flora, as exemplified by the presence of the RHS sponsored ‘Seeds of Knowledge’ area. 

This area is devoted to the sharing of new horticultural theory and also to familiarise gardeners with recently developed methods and species, with the aid of various horticultural colleges and national plant associations.

Leaning more on the aesthetic side of things, GWL is also entertaining a myriad of gardening pedigree this year with a veritable all-star group of designers, including Chris Beardshaw and Andy Sturgeon - RHS gold medallists, who’ve both been commissioned for separate roles in the show.

Sturgeon will be judging a new competition entitled ‘On Your Marks, Get Set, Garden!’ that is hoping to encourage new designers on the larger stage that the GWL offers and, as part of this impetus on new blood within horticulture, the show is for the first time offering a kids-go-free policy for its two weekend days and any child under 6 will gain free entry throughout. This offer has come on the back of several attractions designed to stimulate kid’s interest in gardening.

The show closes on Sunday, so it’s not too late – try and get along there this weekend to enjoy everything the show has to offer. Might even make another good Father’s Day gift?

By Josh Ellison

In recognition of the Olympic committee’s huge undertaking in the East End to produce a massive meadow garden intertwined with the stadium grounds, we thought it would be worthwhile to compile a short guide on how to establish your own wildflower meadow and then how to look after it.

There are two major types of meadow flower - perennial and annual – that can only be planted effectively once you’ve gauged the fertility of your soil. Perennials will prefer a poor soil quality as it means that the grass you sow will not overgrow the flowers that are to follow, whereas annuals need a fertile soil to ensure they reach maximum growth potential and thus are excellent for converting pre-existing borders to meadows.

The next decision is whether to raise a summer or spring meadow, as each requires different species of plants to ensure consistent blooming - essential to the aesthetic of a successful meadow garden.

Summer flowering species include:

Feverfew

With small, white, daisy-like flowers, this one prefers loamy or sandy soil in full sun with good drainage and despite its hardiness it is important to keep this one sheltered from dry winds.

Pignut 

Suited to beds and borders and will bear white, insignificant flowers. Acidic or neutral soil is preferable facing anywhere but north.

Harebell

An upright, herbaceous perennial that performs best in fertile soil in either full sun or partial shade while exposure is not too much of a factor.

Ox-Eye Daisy

Tall stems of large white daisies, preferring chalky to neutral soils in full sunlight.

Tufted Vetch

A scrambling perennial with purple, pea-like flowers, it climbs through vegetation by means of tendrils and it prefers a damp soil.

Spring sprites include:

Bird’s Foot Trefoil

A spreading perennial with yellow, pea-like flowers and bluish-green leaves. It can tolerate dry or damp conditions, but needs full sun.

Ragged Robin

Star-shaped, deeply cut, pink or white flowers on tall stems. It will grow in sun or partial shade in any type of soil.

Dropwort

An upright and rhizomatous perennial with a rosette-forming habit, preferring heavy soils composed of either clay or loam.

Oxlip

A semi-evergreen perennial with low maintenance requirements which prefers full or partial shade and so is ideal among established grassland.

Goatsbeard

Dandelion-like, yellow flowers on tall stems. The roots and buds of this plant are edible and can be used in diabetic salads.

Once you’ve decided what to plant, the next question is whether to use seed or turf? The major difference between the two, of course, is cost, though this is weighted against the reliability of each as well. Using turf is a sure fire way to establish a meadow this year, where even in optimal conditions, seeding can take as long as five years to form a substantial meadow, or maybe not at all, as the weather and passing animals and birds can all serve to frustrate your efforts. 

Many companies will lay the turf, as well as supply it, making the turfing option even easier, however, for those traditionalists among you here are the basics to sowing your own meadow grass:

• Prepare the ground adequately by removing all weeds, particularly vigorous, perennial ones.

• Take off the top few inches of soil if possible to reveal the sub-soil beneath, as most meadow flowers prefer poor soil, dig or rotovate it, and rake it over as you would when planting a new lawn.

• Do not incorporate fertilisers as these will heighten the chances of existing grasses overcrowding the flowers you sow.

• Try to use native British seeds as these will be better suited to our climate.

• To ensure even dispersal, sow half of your seeds lengthways and the other widthways.

• Rake lightly and water thoroughly.

• If you live in an area with a heavy bird population, a layer of netting, or a scarecrow, may be necessary to protect the seedlings.

It may seem a lot of work, but whether you decide to take this, or the turfing option, the effort will certainly be worth it to bring a little bit of the countryside into your garden.

By Josh Ellison

As promised this piece will continue our top ten list of last minute gardening gifts for Father’s Day and this section will be focused on the more frivolous side of horticulture - specifically aids to help Dad further enjoy being in his garden. Now, with only a couple of days left, it is important that any prospective buyer get the ball rolling quickly, though we should warn you, some of the entries on this list are not the most bank account friendly. But what we can guarantee is originality and, hopefully, some genuine surprise when the Dad in question does the unwrapping.

1. Hammock

Anyone who’s watched an episode of the Simpsons will recognise the obviousness of this choice - there are few things that more succinctly or aptly sum up the concept of relaxation than a scrap of cloth hung between two trees. In its simplicity, the hammock reigns supreme over the likes of lawn chairs or swing sets. It can be erected practically anywhere and with greater ease than its rivals and there are models available with built-in mosquito nets, if the dad in question is a napper which, after a hard day’s digging, I imagine we all are.

2. Recycled Bird Feeders

Though in their infancy these were a fairly limited range of products, in both style and functionality, the aesthetic of their medium has seen more of the limelight in recent years particularly in the wake of ecological sirens being sounded. As such, these reclaimed glass jars serve as the perfect distraction to local birdlife, however, if you’ve already blown your budget on hammocks, then there’s also the option to make some yourself, for which all you’ll need is a couple of jam jars and matching numbers of coat hangers by which to suspend the jars.

3. Family Plotting

Next we have one of our more niche choices, though also probably our most sentimental, as its success depends on the contribution of the whole family. Customisable garden stakes are now available from certain suppliers that can be printed into a shape or design you specify. The example we found was a darling rendering of a 2.5 family and their dog, the heads of the stakes uphold the memory and the stakes themselves guide future saplings, quite a wonderful, if inadvertent, metaphor.

4. Butterfly Puddler

We’ve recently published several articles concerning the decline of British wildlife, more specifically the butterfly, and here we have not only a solution to this pressing ecological concern, but an attractive lure to take advantage of these marvellous insects’ comeback. The puddler essentially creates an artificial watering hole, however due to its small size it is tailored only for insects. The shallow cavity is filled with glass or rock salt and a teaspoon of water, once the fluid evaporates it leaves behind the minerals unlocked from the soluble materials and, once the butterflies know there’s a new gin joint in town, they will come back and back until the booze stops flowing.

5. Wireless Speaker

Finally, if you feel like splashing out why not give your dad music while he works, or even while he doesn’t (!), with a wireless speaker that he can tote around with him wherever he is in the garden, or in the house for that matter! This gives him freedom from extension leads or the need for expensive outdoor sockets. Just make sure he brings it in at the end of the evening, and doesn’t leave it out in the rain!

So, go on, get him something he’d really like – he’s worth it!

By Josh Ellison

Following on last week’s piece on shrubs suited for the shadier parts of the garden, this week we’re writing about those suited to sunnier spots. So without further ado let’s get started:

Abutilon suntense ‘Jermyns’

This variety of Abutilon is a semi-evergreen shrub with an upright habit - it is also extremely vigorous, meaning its large purple blooms will provide a stunning addition to your beds. For best results use a sand or loam based soil of neutral ph. level and decent drainage.

Callicarpa bodinieri giraldii ‘Profusion’

‘Beauty Berry’, as it is otherwise known, is a medium-sized, deciduous shrub with emerald green foliage, with a slightly purple tint and small lilac flowers,followed by bright purple fruits lasting all winter, that give it its common name. It should be planted in fertile, well-drained soils.

Ceanothus ‘Puget Blue’

This variety of ‘Californian Lilac’ is a large, evergreen shrub with oblong, veiny green foliage whose titular blooms appear in deep blue clutches from spring to summer. It has a spreading habit and prefers well drained, neutral soils.

Ceratostigma willmottianum ‘Forest Blue’

The marvellous ‘Forest Blue’ is a deciduous species that will spread vigorously showing dark green foliage bordered in purple accompanied by bunches of cobalt blue blooms appearing from late summer to early autumn, making it a useful addition to the border for late summer colour.

Hibiscus syriacus ‘Red Heart’

Hibiscus syriacus is an upright deciduous shrub with vigorous growth habits. It will provide toothed, dark green leaves which, during summer and autumn, will appear alongside, in the ‘Red Heart’ variety, large white flowers with, as the name suggests, a deep red centre. This plant should set in an alkaline soil in full sun with good drainage.

Myrtus communis ‘Tarentina’

The ‘Tarentum Myrtle’ is a small, dense, evergreen shrub that will bear fragrant, creamy white flowers in summer and matching fruit at the beginning of autumn. It has aromatic foliage too. It prefers a south eastern facing position in free draining soil and full sunlight.

Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Cardinal Vaughan’

The ‘Cardinal Vaughan’ variety of Paeonia suffruticosa, otherwise known as ‘Tree Peony’, is a medium-sized, deciduous shrub with upright branches. It has deep purple-pink blooms throughout late spring and early summer off-set by its lobed, green leaves. It prefers a humus rich, and full draining soil, ensuring it stays moist throughout the warmer season.

Phlomis fruticosa

Otherwise known as ‘Jerusalem Sage’, this small rounded evergreen  is so commonly named for the similarity of the two plants’ foliage, which consists of soft, furry, grey-green ovate leaves, but in this case, will be offset by hoods of yellow during the summer months.  Choose a spot away from cold winds for this one.

Pittosporum tobira

The ‘Australian Laurel’ is a tender, compact, evergreen shrub that has a bushy, upright habit and dark green foliage that, alongside its white, scented flowers in May and June, will retain its colour year round.  It prefers a rich, well-drained soil.

Romneya coulteri

The ‘Californian Tree Poppy’ is a sub-shrub, often treated as an herbaceous perennial as it will often die down in the autumn only to re-sprout in the spring and show vigorous growth to the tune of 1.5 by 2.5 metres in a season. It has blue-grey leaves from spring to autumn and poppy-like, white flowers with yellow centres from July to October. It needs a moist, but well-drained soil.

All of the above are unfortunately susceptible to the wear and tear of the English climate, particularly frost and strong winds, so make sure you give them a sunny, sheltered position in the garden – maybe against a house wall or protected by other hardy shrubs.

By Josh Ellison

‘Dads garden too’ - the motto of this editorial, encouraged somewhat by the dire lack of father’s day oriented horticultural kit, considering we are now less than a week from the day, we find it somewhat distressing how little attention, and indeed accolade, is paid to the man who, while driving the boys to football and the girls to dance class (or vice versa!) every Saturday, still finds time to tend his other ‘greener’ children.

As such, we’re listing our top choices, after scouring various retailers, for father’s day gardeners’ gifts, in the hope that this obscure niche of presents will become adequately swollen to represent the praise all these fathers deserve.

Having previously mentioned the relative non-existence of presents tailored to this idea, we’ve divided this list into two parts, the first will deal with tools for the garden and specifically things that will make the task itself easier for the recipient. The second list will deal with things that can be enjoyed in the garden including furniture and decorative items.

So, first the tools:

1. Garden Bucket Caddy

These are available relatively inexpensively, depending on the size and quality of what you’re after, and as the name describes it takes the form of any standard bucket, however, it also includes a custom made utility belt that looks like it would be more at home in the Batcave than on a lawn. They have deep pockets for all varieties of storage, mini-belts for things like trowels, forks and gloves; they also have specially design seed pockets attached that provide weather protection for said seeds.

2. Wet and Dry Blower

A bit more expensive than the caddy, these outdoor hoovers come with a detachable blower and, as their name suggests, are comfortable in dealing with run-of-the-mill lawn or bed debris as well as messy waterlogged detritus. Imagine the hours of raking and shovelling and bagging you’ll save your father with one of these convertible hand-held blowers, considering its huge 10 gallon capacity - I should guess quite a few.

3. Garden Kneeler-Come-Seat

I’d describe this next entry as essential for the active father - all that running and jumping and climbing that comes with raising hellions can play literal hell on your back and joints - similarly, as many of you can relate, to the aches and pains of gardening. Here lies your solution. This kneeler weighs in at an incredible 8 pounds while maintaining a weight bearing capacity of up to 250! Not only that but as its name suggests, this handy piece of kit can be folded to form a seat, for when the time for kneeling has finished, and the time for relaxation and enjoyment begins.

4. Aerobin Insulated Composter

Coming in at a little over £200, this is the most expensive present on our list, but if you’re feeling generous, it’s well-worth considering. The beauty of this device stems from the fact that it is completely automated. The Aerobin will instinctively register the colder weather of winter and adjust its temperature in order to maintain the optimum climate for bacterial action. As well as this, the air flow design is built vertically so that the compost effectively turns itself, freeing you, or the father in question, from the task.

5. Countertop Growlight

We move inward now while considering the final practical addition to our gardening father’s wish list, it is appropriate we do so as part two of our list will centre on the enjoyment of the garden, rather than its formation. This device is basically a simple, plug-in LED system that can be adapted to your cooker hood or countertop and therefore provide an extra space, protected from the elements, in which to raise seeds and seedlings, or to grow herbs all year round.

Tune in tomorrow for more, last-minute present ideas.

By Josh Ellison

Compost - it’s a material that all British gardeners are very familiar with - this much is evident from our consumption of over a billion bags of the stuff since 1990 – and for this reason it would be illogical and irresponsible to structure this piece as a warning. Compost comes with risks, but so does driving, and both are necessary in our modern lives.

However, recent news has been littered with outbreaks of a rare strain of Legionnaires disease and correlations have been drawn between the variety of bacteria necessary to its inception and its various sightings in the agricultural centres of the world - namely Australia and New Zealand, thus leading to a link with composts.

Apparently the strain, which is known as ‘Legionella longbeachae’, has a long history of association with compost in these countries and now it seems that the symptoms are beginning to affect gardeners in Scotland. 

Being the only common factor all these cases despite distance, lifestyle and climate, the responsibility has fallen to the penchant for greenfingers that they all share, and, as such, experts like Dr. Martin Donaghy, are warning gardeners to ensure they wash their hands thoroughly - particularly before eating or smoking.  

Those affected by the disease have exhibited pneumonia-like symptoms and while they’ve done so in Australasia for decades before now, they’ve only begun appearing in Scotland in the last five years, and even then at a rate of less than one confirmed case per year. The spate of recent cases therefore causes some concern.

However, this also presents one of the greatest anomalies about the event, the fact that out of all of the UK only Scotland has been affected. Since there is no consistent difference in the soil content between Scotland and the rest of Britain, this irregularity has previously been attributed to a combination of misdiagnoses and subsequently unreported cases. Doctors across the British Isles have now been warned in conjunction with the Scottish health services to be vigilant of any unusual pneumonia cases combined with coughing, headaches or diarrhoea. Unfortunately, despite its scarcity, this disease is already known to have claimed one life - a statistic made all the more tragic by the relative simplicity of treatment, which consists only of a basic antibiotics cycle.

However, stories like these are nothing new. It has long been the plight of gardeners to run the gauntlet of bacteria and parasites inherent to their work, ranging from the sharper edges of abandoned detritus to animal faeces, and legionnaires isn’t the only affliction that nestles in compost. Consider, after all, what is compost essentially, a bunch of decomposing organic matter that is kept extremely warm and damp during its production. Environments such as these can lead to the propagation of not only legionnaire’s bacteria but other, similarly nefarious, afflictions such as toxoplasmosis or hook worm. However, these latter two cannot be contracted directly from soil contact, rather they are found in animal faeces, and they must be allowed entry to the blood stream. This can occur in a number of ways from particles of soil being inhaled or ingested during gardening or, more commonly, via injuries sustained from detritus like broken nails and glass.

The ailments, however, that are contractible from soil alone, include tetanus, which can lead to muscular spasms and ‘lock jaw’. Toxoplasmosis, meanwhile, can lead to brain and eye damage, particularly in those with a compromised immune system. Pregnant women are told to be particularly careful. Swollen lymph nodes are also a good indication as well as other infections. Hookworm, on the other hand is a parasite and nasty little devil at that - by infecting the digestive system they can cause protein deficiencies that lead to anaemia and their larvae can also invade the skin causing non-fatal lesions.

I know this description reads more like a description of a petri dish, however, don’t fret about these ailments, for they can all be easily avoided by judicious use of gloves and hand soap and, despite the threat of these symptoms, it is important to remember what Dr. Donaghy has to say concerning the phenomenon - ‘gardening is a very healthy hobby, but like anything in life there are a few risks…’

By Josh Ellison

Following on from last week’s update on this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, we wanted to include a piece concerning your, the ‘people’s’, choice winners. Every year the Royal Horticultural Society awards two designers with this auspicious title based on the many thousands of votes they receive from the public. The people’s choice award is unique in the Chelsea flower show for being the accolade with an external adjudication process.

This has been something of a watershed year for the People’s Choice due to the sheer volume of involvement from voters - opinions were received in their tens of thousands and were eventually whittled down to two finalists. The winners of this year’s People’s Choice awards were the Arthritis Research UK Garden (Show gardens), as designed by Mr. Tom Hoblyn, and The Bronte’s’ Yorkshire Garden (Small gardens), that was devised by Ms. Tracy Foster.

Hoblyn states that the genesis for his design can be found in the court gardens of renaissance Europe, specifically Villa Lante and Villa d’Este, and that these were the motivation behind the space’s uniformity and the strict division of colours to be found between its abundance of white marble paving and its emerald hedges. This segregation is also signified by the diverse use of water and also of its Mediterranean planting scheme - particularly the cypress trees -  which lend a dramatic height to the space. The project was initiated by the charity as a means to celebrate its 75th anniversary, however, Hoblyn’s garden is not only inspired by arthritis, but its design is catered to the condition itself and particularly to would-be horticulturalists who feel too inhibited by the condition to cultivate a garden.

The marble walkways for example, aside from being aesthetically pleasing, also play the crucial role of providing a solid and even surface that can easily be traversed by the wheelchair-bound or to those who feel unstable on rough ground. These paths, however, act only as conduits to the beds of the garden and, to ensure the minimal amount of stretching and precarious balance, Hoblyn recommends using exclusively raised beds and to tailor the width, to guarantee they’ll be accessible from both sides, and also the height, to coincide within your own.

Tracy Foster’s people’s choice entrant took a decidedly more traditional tone, although one quality the two winners shared was the celebratory impetus that stemmed from the anniversaries each was commemorating. In Ms. Foster’s case it was the 165th anniversary of one of the most successful publishing years for the titular sisters and, as such, the garden’s planting scheme and layout were largely inspired by the Yorkshire countryside that plays such a crucial role in the Brontes’ fiction. 

Accordingly, the garden places a heavy focus on naturalism, which is evoked by its cobblestone paths and the roughly trod stream that divides it.

Of course, you may not have voted for these particular gardens, or at all, but it’s easy to see why they were so popular and why they clinched these awards.

By Josh Ellison

It has probably become apparent that, unless you’re quite well off, or lucky enough to be situated in a rural area of Britain, the advice we dispense every week on garden maintenance is probably reserved exclusively for the area behind your house. While it is, of course, a positive thing if any area of your home supports a large amount of wildlife, there is also an increasing responsibility to make sure that your front garden is just as ecologically sound. Therefore, we’ve tailored this piece specifically toward the potential advantages, if not necessity, of not simply paving or laying concrete over your front garden as so many people have done.

The key problem with paving our front gardens comes when the neighbours opposite us do the same, as this effectively triples (including the immediate roadway and pavements) the hard surfaced area of a given section of the street. Of course, concrete and mortar are not materials famous for being porous, so this equates to a threefold increase of impermeable surfaces that rainwater must be diverted from, thus increasing in some cases by 50% the run-off to nearby drains, which simply cannot cope.

After a study undertaken by the London Assembly, aerial photography has revealed that over 12 square miles of the capital’s green space have been paved over in collective front gardens. In fact, a study commissioned by the RHS shows that in the entirety of south east England over 20% of front gardens are three quarters paved.

In the majority of British communities this surplus rainwater runoff is less of a problem, as generally it can be redirected to storm drains and eventually river systems, however, in London our contingency plan for unmanageable flood waters is to flush the overflow directly into the Thames, a failsafe that in 2004 cost the Thames over 100,000 of its indigenous fish population.

Though slightly less detrimental in our temperate climate, the absence of well dispersed plant matter (particularly in urban areas where energy output is high) can also lead to a surplus of heat being dispersed into the locality. The dense materials used in paving are excellent at absorbing heat from the sun or from vehicular output during the day time; however, unlike plants they have no means of converting this to other types of energy and so, once the environment cools in the evening, the stone releases all the heat it has accumulated into the air around it.

Of course, the major concern for many of us in cities, and thus the motivation behind paving one’s front garden, stems from a lack of available space to park one’s car. With residential areas becoming increasingly stringent about the guidelines on where you can and can’t park, the driveway is a practical solution.

However, who says you can’t have both? With the government’s stipulations for permeable materials for all new drives, many more options have now become available. We are all familiar with the traditional gravel drive, and with block-paving, but there is also the fairly recent development of ‘resin bound’ or ‘bonded aggregate’, which is a mix of the aggregate of your choice with cold resin, which when laid leaves tiny air pockets for drainage. Reinforced lawn is another, simpler option whereby the turf is laid with plastic mesh to prevent wear.

You could, of course, use a mix of surface materials, or introduce some curves to the design to make for more interest too.  However, the trick is in the segregation between parking space and garden, so as to prevent the ‘NCP’ look!

If there’s room, you could plant flower beds either side of a driveway, or even plant into the driveway itself, between the wheel tracks, with spreading alpine planting, provided the car is out most of the day so as not to shade them.  Don’t forget the verticals too – house or boundary walls can take colourful or scented climbers to brighten up a sea of hard landscaping, whilst not taking up too much space. Even a couple of pots of cheap and cheerful annuals either side of your front door can brighten up a dull driveway.

So, you see it is now possible house biomass and a 2 litre in the same space, so get your thinking caps on and see what you could do to improve your front garden, not just for your own benefit, but for that of passers-by too!

By Josh Ellison