News - Page 80
It may seem ghoulish to grow plants which trap and eat other living organisms from flies and wasps to ants, spiders and other creepy crawlies, but carnivorous plants are a fascinating group which can also play a useful role in controlling your garden pests.
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Putting out food and providing safe hibernating spots in the garden provides a lifeline for creatures like hedgehogs, ground beetles and frogs – they’ll reward your efforts by providing a built-in pest control service next year, as they eat vast numbers of slug and snail eggs plus aphids and other nasties.
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There’s a host of cold-hardy salad ingredients which are able to grow quite happily even in watery winter sunlight, and are also resilient enough to put up with frost, snow and winter gales: just pop a cloche over the top during really bad weather to keep them in good condition.
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Calathea is straightforward to look after, happy in any shady corner where it can have steady warmth and moist air (spray occasionally with tepid water to keep humidity high).
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The future of commonly-used weedkiller glyphosate is less certain following a court ruling in the USA which ordered one of the biggest manufacturers, Monsanto, to pay $289 million (£226 million) in damages to a man who claimed glyphosate caused his cancer.
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Prisoners at HMP Hull have scooped the Royal Horticultural Society’s Windlesham Trophy for the best-kept prison garden – the first time the prison has won the award.The annual prize recognises the value of gardening within prison communities and has been running for over 30 years. It is hotly contested, with 18 prisons entering the competition this year.
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The gardening year is turning to its last dazzling farewell display of autumn colour soon, so it’s time to shake yourself out of the torpor of late summer and get going again.
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Capture an image of your favourite oak tree and you could win a brand new prize on offer from the International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) competition.
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It’s a rare plant that gives interest all year, with masses of spring flowers followed by brilliant red berries and glossy evergreen foliage all through autumn and winter.
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The virulent disease ash dieback has been found in three new species belonging to the same family, raising fears that other plants including some garden favourites might be next in line.
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