Here's how you can make a difference...
By Jean Vernon
In what has been designated the Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations, this year’s Hampton Court Palace Flower show highlights the breadth of horticultural biodiversity in all its glory.
Gardeners are perfectly positioned to make a difference and help protect and enhance the biodiversity of the planet. You don’t even really have to do anything very different. Simply by planting a wider range of plants you instantly make a difference.
Ideas for supporting wildlife
Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth and also includes the insects and wildlife that use our gardens for food sources, breeding sites and shelter. You can enhance your garden as a sheltered haven by adding insect boxes and hedgehog shelters. Make your own or take advantage of the wildlife-friendly shopping opportunities around the show. Don’t miss the RSPB stand where you’ll find plenty of ideas and examples of supporting garden wildlife.
For an insight into the huge biodiversity of plants, simply visit the Plant Heritage Marquee where you can experience a true living plant library. It’s a fascinating insight into the world of plants and showcases a dozen or more National Plant Collections such as agapanthus, dahlias and astrantias. You’ll be amazed how many variations there are of each type of plant and who knows, you might get hooked yourself.
Around the show
If you needed proof of the importance of plants to our survival, you only need to visit the Crops for Health garden. Don’t miss the Pharmaceutical Crops highlighting the vital role of botanical ingredients in medicine. There are lots of interesting plants including the inconspicuous rosy periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) a source of Vinca alkaloids, which are used in cancer chemotherapy.
Wherever you look at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show it’s the plants that take centre stage, but without the insect life the plants might very well not be here. It’s a message highlighted by the Copella Bee Garden. Without pollinating insects the apple harvest would fail. “We want to show people what they can plant to support bees through the current crisis,” explains garden designer Sadie May Stowell. “Things like leaving a wild area and growing herbaceous plants to attract and support bees.”
But there are other messages in the garden's design which is based on the bee’s ‘waggle dance’, something they use to communicate the location of nectar and pollen sources. “The wild area is an indication of wild planting and farmland, bees don’t differentiate between the wild and gardens.”
The garden also contains good trees for bees that provide early pollen and nectar, such as hazel, birch and willow.
A cornucopia of colour
For a lesson on how to pack the most colour and variety into a small garden, don’t miss young designer, Jack Dunkley’s show garden Birchfield. Jack has invented a totally new style of planting combining park bedding and herbaceous into a modern, no holds barred cornucopia of colour. It may not tickle the fancy of traditional horticulturalists, but the bees and other insects aren’t judgemental and will turn the nectar into their own precious gold.
And if you think you haven’t got another inch of garden to pack any more plants into your plot, look up and examine your roof. A living roof is the perfect way to insulate a building or shed from extreme heat and extreme cold. Drop in and see Oxford Green Roofs for practical advice and inspiration.