Problem gardening
- 23 February 2012 15:07155316i don't think that there is much left that we can do without being being accused
of damaging the planet.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/gardening/gardening-turns-out-to-be-very-eco-unfriendly-7180870.html - 23 February 2012 15:22155320At last, an excuse for not mowing the lawn.I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
- 23 February 2012 15:53155327Opposite view (or it might even be agreeing with them
), there was a fantastic program on BBC2 last night, Bees Butterflies and Blooms, "Sarah Raven takes her mission to halt the rapid decline in Britain's essential bees, butterflies and pollinating insects to our cities."
She had a campaign to replace typical greenhouse grown, foreign origin bedding plants in our parks and gardens and roundabouts with natural, insect friendly meadow flower mixtures, showing how this was being tried out in Birmingham, Leeds and the Olympic Park.
The upshot was the residents loved it, the visitors loved it, the insects loved it, and the council guy in Birmingham said even the rioters last summer avoided treading on the beds.
It's still available on i-player, should be compulsory viewing for any councillors with responsibilty for how the town and district look.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01cktgq/Bees_Butterflies_and_Blooms_Cities/ - 23 February 2012 15:59155329we had a very nice thistle in one of the town centre troughs last summer, made an eye catching change from all those colourful and highly scented bedding plants that are such an eyesore in many towns.
- 23 February 2012 16:13155335The program showed beds with thistles in the mix, and the bees loved them more than the bedding plants - added advantage of keeping the vandals off!
There's always a good display of thistles in the Princes St gardens in Edinburgh for obvious reasons.
Put some legumes in the mix, dig them in in the autumn and you've fertilised the soil so it doen't have to 'lay fallow' next year. - Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
23 February 2012 16:35155341howard,that was the scottish flower bed.
- 23 February 2012 16:52155345trouble is the thistle was surrounded only by other weeds.
- Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
23 February 2012 16:54155346it was called "rave" by the locals howard. - 23 February 2012 17:15155352Howard, why don't you try taking this test, see if you come up with a thistle!
My perfect plant is apparently Robert the rubber plant, at least they got the initial the same.
http://www.meandmyplant.co.uk/greenlove?utm_source=adjug&utm_medium=rectangle&utm_campaign=greenlove - Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
23 February 2012 17:17155354just wondering how it works,i've just planted 150 kilos of pea shingle. - 23 February 2012 17:19155356That's a lot of folks idea of a perfect garden1
- Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,931
23 February 2012 17:22155357I also saw the three programmes and thought how nice if we had similar areas that are so easy to look after and cheap as most of the plants are perennials or self seeding. A mass of colour with the added interest of plenty of beneficial insects, the beds when planted had more like a cottage garden feel. Well worth catching up with on iplayer BBC2 yesterday.
Dover should give it a go that is if they are planting anything before the height of summer.
Oh dear I forgot the Olympic Flame will be here so they should be planted early this year!!!!!!!-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
------------------------------------------------------------------- - 23 February 2012 18:39155366thanks for that ray, i got peter the phalaenopsis!!
certainly sounds immoral if not downright illegal. - 23 February 2012 23:13155404I was thinking of the wildflower meadow plantings in urban situations, when I passed the empty flower troughs in the Market Square today !!---------------------------------------------------
Lincolnshire Born and Bred