Friday, January 28, 2011

Spring cometh

I know it must be getting near the start of the growing season when I start getting lots of email about forthcoming shows and the first Chelsea press releases start arriving. I always find it an exciting time of year - Spring is not far away - we hope - and the promise of buds blossoming forth and shoots appearing everywhere becomes real after the dark days of winter.

We still have some way to go but let's put a spring in this post at least and take a look at what's happening in the gardening world.

This is the time of year when I anxiously watch my camellias and pray that frost does not damage the buds. I love camellias so I was interested recently to learn that Trehane Nursery, one of the UK's leading camellia and blueberry specialists, has launched a new camellia, Camellia japonica Black Magic. With flowers of the deepest, richest red, this late spring camellia boasts highly unusual holly-like foliage giving it real year-round appeal. You can order direct from Trehane www.trehanenursery.co.uk


This year's Malvern Spring Gardening Show  (12th - 15th May 2011) is dedicating its entire theatre programme to the subject of biodiversity in an attempt to encourage British gardeners to do their bit for the greater good of the planet. They will be showing green-fingered visitors how small changes in the way they garden can make a significant impact on local and ultimately global diversity.  The new 'Garden in Harmony Theatre' boasts two walk-through gardens designed by 2010 Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship winner, Paul Hervey-Brookes. The delightful James Alexander-Sinclair is the host for an exciting four-day programme of talks and demonstrations while Landscape Man, Matthew Wilson and herb expert Jekka McVicar are heading up the discussion panel on Thursday 12th May.
Tickets are available from www.threecounties.co.uk/springgardening

When the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) announced the 'Get your grown ups growing' campaign, Hartley Botanic, one of the world's leading suppliers of glasshouses, wanted to get involved. The campaign has been a huge success with over 5,000 schools around the UK signing up to participate. Participating schools were asked to fill out a questionnaire and feedback to the RHS. Schools were then entered into a grand prize draw which gave them the chance to win a number of fantastic prizes, one of which was a Patio Glasshouse worth £900 donated by Hartley Botanic for the winner.  Hartley have a large range of glasshouses and greenhouses and you can view their range by logging onto: www.hartley-botanic.co.uk

Finally, just in case you had forgotten how cold it was over Christmas here is a little reminder!!! It's a pic of snow falling believe it or not! Just hope we don't see any more before next winter!

Remember to check out the Reckless Gardener website for all your 2011 show news - our calendar of events is updated regularly and we will be bringing you all Chelsea latest.
www.recklessgardener.com

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