Restoring wild flower meadows

Kew Gardens has launched a new initiative to help protect and restore wild flower meadows in the UK.

The UK Native Seed Hub, part of Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank project, will provide conservation groups across the country with seeds for native wild flower species and the advice on how to manage natural meadows in their areas. Read the rest of this entry »

Edinburgh's Amorphophallus titanum aka "Corpse flower"

Staff at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden have been left disappointed (or should that be relieved?) after the smelliest plant in the world failed to come into flower as had been anticipated.

Botanists had predicted that the garden’s star attraction, a giant Amorphophallus titanum or “Corpse flower”, would finally bloom after eight years developing in their hothouse, but sadly it wasn’t to be this season. Read the rest of this entry »

Bee Orchid: One of the flowers making its home on the roundabout

While some councils are doing their best to encourage wild flowers to grow on their roadsides and verges, it seems some don’t need to make any effort at all.

Wild orchids have taken hold on a roundabout in Kendal, Cumbria of their own accord, and are not only flourishing, but spreading along the busy road network as the gusts from passing cars help spread their dust-like seeds, which number in the thousands for each plant. Read the rest of this entry »

Wild Flowers

The bleak economic climate and the nation’s spiralling debt has led to much publicised cuts in Government spending, forcing all of the local authorities in Britain to take steps to reduce their expenditure and save money.

In Cornwall, council gardeners have sought help from nature to prune their budgets – replacing expensive cultivated flower beds with wild flowers, and the effect is as stunning as the savings. Read the rest of this entry »

Professional quality photos can make a real difference

The ability to take high quality images of  products is important for many businesses, particularly those engaged in distance selling which need to show the customer something which can’t easily be presented in person.

Floristry probably isn’t the first profession most would associate with photographic skills, but if you sell online or need to put together a professional portfolio of your work then being able to take a decent snap is essential. Read the rest of this entry »

Valuable broken tulips fuelled Tulip mania

Today the tulip is one of the most popular and commonly-seen flowers in the world and is a particular favourite in the UK, where you will find them in almost every florists and in many gardens.

However, in 17th century Holland new varieties of tulips were so in demand that prices soared well above what even the rarest orchids now fetch in a bulb-buying frenzy now known as “Tulip mania”. Read the rest of this entry »

Diarmuid Gavin's Sky Garden

With the 98th RHS Chelsea Flower Show getting underway this week there are increased calls for garden designers to reverse the trend for weird and wonderful gardens and get back to basics.

To the dismay of some of the industry’s more traditional gardeners, this year’s show will see Diarmuid Gavin push the boundaries further than ever before with a Sky Garden featuring a giant pink pod raised 82ft off the ground. The garden will be an impressive 130ft by 50ft in size and be suspended by a crane. Read the rest of this entry »