News Digest: March – April 2021

PlantNetwork members regularly share their news through the PlantNetwork newsletter, which is sent out every week to the membership. This news digest captures some of these items and provides another opportunity to share news, events and opportunities across the network.

Survey into methods of weed control on hard surfaces in heritage gardens

Back in March, Steve Brett asked for help with his research into weed control on hard surfaces. Steve says:

“I am studying for my RHS MHort and require some information for my dissertation which is looking at alternative methods of weed control on hard surfaces in heritage gardens. If you are lucky enough to be a gardener and have hard surfaces such as gravel paths, tarmac drives or a grand parterre, could you please spend 5 minutes filling in the questionnaire. Your answers will be invaluable in researching this topic. Thanks so much.”

We hope to be able to report back on the outcomes of Steve’s research later this year.

Wildflowers for wellbeing? Green-fingered citizen scientists sought for UK study – and to help NHS hospitals bloom

The National Botanic Garden of Wales will send free seeds to 2,000 volunteers to nurture and grow wildflowers this summer. Once the plants have bloomed, the citizen scientists will be asked to turn ‘gatherers’ and collect all their seeds. These will then be planted at NHS hospitals and clinics next summer for patients, staff and visitors to enjoy. All will form part of the Growing Together project which will look at benefits of growing on mental health and well-being…

Do you record the location of your trees?

The Royal Horticultural Society was seeking feedback from gardens using GPS or other equipment to record and geoposition new and existing tree plantings. What equipment are you using and which coordinate system best suits your collection management protocols and systems? Have you encountered difficulties returning to a recorded position at a later date only to find it has wandered a bit. Do please contact PlantNetwork with your feedback if you would still like to contribute to this request!

Yorkshire Arboretum Garden Talks

Yorkshire Arboretum announced a series of garden talks taking place over Zoom. These talks were open to all and could be booked at The Yorkshire Arboretum website events page. 

• Thursday 11 March, 7.30pm – Why Trees? with John Grimshaw (£5): From palimpsests and pointers, to well-being and carbon capture, John charts the development of his interest in trees with examples from around the world (and especially the Yorkshire Arboretum), and considers why they are so important to us all, in so many ways.
• Thursday 8 April, 7.30pm – The garden at Windcliff and some special plants with Daniel J. Hinkley (£10): Well-known American gardener and author Dan Hinkley will join us from Washington State, to tell us about the beautiful garden he has created at the aptly named Windcliff, and some of the many wonderful plants he grows there. 
• Thursday 13 May, 7.30pm – Life on a tree nursery with Nick Dunn (£5): Nick will tell us about the history of the family nursery F.P. Matthews Ltd in Tenbury Wells, and the fascinating and complex process involved in producing trees for the nursery trade.

Unlock the visitor experience with Candide

Candide is helping people break new ground in their garden. They are fast building out their products to be the gateway to inspiration for garden visitors, using exciting immersive technology and enabling quick, contactless, timed ticketing.

As the Promoting Excellence in Horticulture Conference feels like some time ago, here is a quick recap of their Excellence in Horticulture presentation.

To find out how to unlock your garden’s visitor experience potential using Candide, contact Candide to chat through what they have on offer for your garden.

New colour changing spider mite predator!

The spider mite killer predatory mite, Phytoseiulus persimilis, was one of the first successful biological controls introduced, providing natural and chemical free control of red spider mites. Now they have had a significant product upgrade with an improved rearing system, which provides them food during production and transportation. This results in the predators having much higher energy levels when they are released enabling them to find spider mites much more quickly. The extra nutrition early in their life also improves their egg laying capacity with the predators producing eggs very soon after they are applied to plants. This means that predator populations build up faster leading to quicker control of red spider mites. This new way of producing predatory mites has one very striking characteristic, the predators change colour after feeding on spider mites, changing from white to red, providing proof they are they are feeding on lots of red spider mites!

This new, improved biological control for red spider mite is called Spidex Vital and is replacing our standard Phytoseiulus persimilis Spider mite killer products. Don’t be alarmed if your Phytoseiulus persimilis is a different colour when it arrives in the bottle, as most will now be white in colour on arrival but they will turn red once feeding on spider mites begins.

For more information on rates of application, seek advice from your Dragonfli advisor or visit www.dragonfli.co.uk.

Unfinished/Unpublished, with Kevin Frediani: Gorillas, Vertical Farming, and Abandoned Gardens

Listen to the podcast which features Kevin Frediani, Curator of Dundee University Botanic Garden. Kevin is the Curator of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden. Before that, he’s had a hugely varied career – to name just a couple of his roles, he’s managed the Amsterdam Botanic Garden and was the first Curator of Plants at London Zoo. The many rewards he’s received for his work include a Chelsea Flower Show gold medal.

In this interview we talk about the gorilla exhibit that he took to Chelsea, the innovations Kevin made in vertical farming, and how gardeners often work for the benefit of future generations rather than their own time.

You can get in touch with the presenter, Emily Anderson, via email at unfinished.unpublished@gmail.com, or on Twitter.

Some special thanks are due for this episode. First, to listener Helen Barker for suggesting that I should speak to a gardener. Second, to Katy Merrington, the Cultural Gardener at the Hepworth Art Gallery, and to Rebecca Slack from PlantNetwork, for helping me make contact with Kevin.

Unfinished/Unpublished, with Maggie Tran: Performance, zen gardening, and the future of historical gardens

Maggie has the enviable job of being the Head Gardener at the beautiful Bramdean House in Hampshire. We talk about overlaps between gardening and performance, why gardeners may not be as relaxed as you might think, and the future of historical gardens. Listen here.

Maggie’s love of gardening began 10 years ago when she started community gardening. It’s led her on a path that’s taken her gardening around the world. She had a colourful career before working at Bramdean. Among other things, she was an artist doing performance and experimental theatre, worked at the Royal Pavilion Gardens in Brighton, and was an RHS/ GCA Interchange Fellow at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, USA. As Maggie explains in the interview, she is also enthusiastic about sustainability and was awarded the Prince of Wales Trophy for Sustainable Horticulture in 2016.

Some special thanks are due for this episode: thank you to listener Helen Barker, to Katy Merrington from the Hepworth Gallery, and to Rebecca Slack from the PlantNetwork for helping to put me in touch with Maggie.