Publications

The Garden
May 2004

RHS news

Spearheading scientific research

Scientists and gardeners have agreed that the RHS should continue to lead the co-ordination of scientific research for gardeners and spearhead a campaign to widen horticultural education to safeguard the future of gardening.The Society was given this clear message by the horticultural science community at the RHS Bicentenary Science Exchange, held in the Darwin Centre of the Natural History Museum on 16 March 2004.

Speaking at the RHS Science Exchange, Phil Gates, a botanist at the University of Durham, outlined his vision of the future of gardening. He explored opportunities for gardeners that might be presented by new technological advances, including GM. He lamented the lack of funding for horticultural research and education, and called on the RHS to lead the way in ensuring that horticulturists are trained for future generations.

He felt that scientists and gardeners should not be seen in isolation of each other. ‘Gardeners underestimate their ability to contribute to horticultural science through their vital role as observers and monitors of environmental trends. The RHS works hard to communicate key issues affecting gardeners and is best placed to lead the way for the future of gardening by continuing to commission and co-ordinate research.

‘Funding for some of the more traditional skills in plant sciences, such as taxonomy and systematics, continues to decline in universities. Without botanists,our understanding of the living world will not advance.’

Support and partnership

Simon Thornton-Wood, RHS Head of Science, Advice and Libraries, said, ‘The RHS will need the assistance of a wide range of partner organisations to address the scientific challenges which these complex issues present. There is a need to learn from the experiences of gardeners in dealing with these more complex environmental problems and using their talents as natural scientists to support the work of the RHS.’

The RHS Science Exchange was webcast live online. To view the proceedings click here

Winners’ images to feature on greetings cards

Winning pictures from the 2004 RHS photographic competition will be reproduced on a series of greetings cards. Fine-art publisher Medici is sponsoring the competition and has agreed to reproduce a selection of winning images as part of the RHS greetings-card collection.

Now in its seventh year, the competition is open to amateur and professional photographers. The overall winner receives £1,000 and the title RHS Photographer of the Year, and winners of the first prize in each of the six categories will receive £350.



Pictured above is Jayne Britton’s entry for the Garden View Photograph of the Year category, which won second place in the 2003 competition.

The closing date for the 2004 competition is Friday 30 July.

To download an application form click here

or are available in return for an SAE sent to Photographic Competition, RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH.

Image: Jayne Britton

New allotment garden opens

A new garden has been created at RHS Garden Wisley to show how a wide range of high-quality fruit, vegetables and herbs can be produced on an allotment-sized plot. The emphasis is on quality rather than on producing large amounts of one type of crop.

Situated in the Model Fruit Garden, the Allotment Garden covers an area of 170sq m (1,830sq ft) – about the size of a 10-rod allotment – and has been divided into sections.

Vegetables and strawberries will be grown in raised beds in the first section; the central section will be used for soft fruit, plums and apples; and the third will contain a polytunnel for the production of early fruit, salads and a summer crop of vegetables and herbs. There will also be a raised section for growing fruit and vegetables in containers and cut flowers.

Bearded iris offer swathes of colour

Providing a glorious multicolour spectacle on the Trials Field during late spring, the bearded-iris trial is now in its final year and will be judged by the Joint Iris Committee in May. Standard dwarf bearded, intermediate bearded, border bearded and miniature tall bearded iris – some raised in the USA and Australia as well as home-bred cultivars – are included as well as plants which have previously received an AGM.

Good standard dwarf bearded iris include American ‘Little Showoff’ (ice blue with lavender beard), which also reblooms, and Australian ‘Bee’s Knees’, a pink plicata (dark speckles on a pale background) with a bronze-tipped, white beard. ‘Apricot Drops’ (orange with a deeper fall spot) from the USA, stood out among the miniature tall bearded iris.

There is an opportunity to walk and talk the trial with committee members on May 4 and 18 during an Open Day on the Trials Field. To obtain free tickets, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Trials Office (IOD), RHS Garden, Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB.

Sweetest, earliest and biggest corn

In 2003 a sweetcorn trial was held at RHS Garden Wisley to assess recently released cultivars bred for their culinary quality, and AGMs went to four cultivars. These were: ‘Earlibird’ F1 from Unwins (early, uniform cobs, good vigour); ‘Golden Giant’ F1 from Marshalls (vigorous plant, largest, well-filled cobs); ‘Prelude’ F1 from Suttons (vigorous plant, well-filled cobs); and extra-tender sweet ‘Swift’ F1 from Marshalls (high yield, medium-sized sweet and tender cobs).

Pulling power of pink Calibrachoa

Stealing the show and the agms in a recent RHS trial were four bright pink Calibrachoa cultivars – Million Bells Trailing Pink ‘Sunbelkupi’, Superbells Pink ‘USCALI11’, Carillon Carmine Red ‘SK9-151’ and Million Bells Trailing Fuchsia ‘Sunbelrkup’.

Calibrachoa were previously included in Petunia but have recently been recognised as a distinct genus on the basis of their woody stems and details of flower bud, seed coat and chromosome number.

Foreign apricots may suit UK gardens

Apricot trees are rarely successful in a northern climate because the buds are killed by late frosts, but RHS Garden Wisley is trialling a number of new cultivars bred especially for a northern climate. Some were raised in France, while others originate from the USA and Canada. Prunus armeniaca ‘Delicot’ (pictured), ‘Douceur’, ‘Tomcot’, ‘Larquen’ and ‘Larclyd’ have been planted and others will be added to the collection including ‘Petit Muscat’ with small, almost stoneless fruit.

Fruit nurseryman Clive Simms said, ‘Any species has a lot of variation and the breeders have selected plants that flower later in the year, some of which may also tolerate a few degrees of frost.’

For more information, write to the Trials Office, RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB.

Image: Tim Sandall

Wildlife projects put into place

A biodiversity survey is being carried out into the fauna and flora present at RHS Garden Rosemoor, and information gathered from the study will form a basis for an ongoing biodiversity management plan for the garden.

The Devon Wildlife Trust is carrying out a basic wildlife survey, specialised surveys will be undertaken by the Devon Bat Group and Devon Moth Group, and the gardeners will make a detailed survey of the garden’s dormouse population. Because the dormouse (Muscardinus arvellanarius) is one of Britain’s most endangered species, the gardeners will be trained in the use
of dormouse nesting tubes. The bird life is already well monitored by
garden staff.

Director of Rosemoor Malcolm Duncan said, ‘This is an exciting project; with the help of the Devon Wildlife Trust and local groups we will gain a much better idea of the biodiversity that is at Rosemoor, and the measures we can take to promote the mutual benefits of gardening and wildlife.’

In addition, staff at Rosemoor are helping protect one wildlife species from another. A floating island has been constructed (below) to provide the garden’s ducks with a safe haven from marauding foxes.

The islands are based on those at the Wildfowl Trust, at Slimbridge, in Gloucestershire. Plastic containers provide the necessary buoyancy and the wooden frame is topped by plywood. The top has been covered with soil
and turf.

The lake was originally constructed as a reservoir, but its compact appearance is deceptive because it has a capacity of 400,000 gallons.

Image: Stephen Record

Ironing out the mulch

A new mulch in use at RHS Garden Harlow Carr has become available for home gardeners.

Strulch – a straw-based environmentally friendly mulch – has been developed by Geoff Whiteley at the University of Leeds. Made from straw that has been mineralised with iron, the mulch lasts for two years as the rate of decomposition is slowed, and the brown colouring it develops makes it look less unsightly than other straw mulches.

As with all mulches, it reduces watering and helps control weeds, but Strulch is made from locally produced wheat straw rather than imported products.

Further details tel: 01943 863610 or visit: www.strulch.co.uk

back to The Garden contents page