News - Page 105

What to do in the garden in February

Slowly, slowly, the season begins to get into gear as you set about tidying borders and sowing the first seeds ready for the coming year. Here’s your list of jobs in the garden this month:

General tasks:

  • Get new borders ready for planting during any sunny, dry spells, clearing away turf and weeds and adding lots of organic soil improver.
  • Give paths and patios a good clean hosing off winter detritus and scrubbing away algae and dirt to...
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22nd annual Orchids Festival

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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February – HTA Plant of the Moment - Camellias for early colour

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

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

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

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: Big Garden Birdwatch

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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Plant a Hedge

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

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

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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