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British Horticulture - Page 19

3D Printed Garden Design Show Announces Top Designer Line-up
British Horticulture

RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winners and designers from Australia and the Republic of Korea will show their garden designs at the first 'miNiATURE' show.
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Horticulture British

Thanet Earth Again Claims Earliest UK Cucumbers In Supermarkets
British Horticulture

Kent glasshouse growing complex Thanet Earth has claimed to have got the earliest British-grown cucumbers to market, a week earlier than last year. On Thursday 23 January Addy Breugem, partner of A A Growers, one of the Thanet Earth consortium, and staff from Thanet Earth Marketing delivered the first of the new harvest to a Tesco Extra store in nearby Broadstairs, and talked to customers about the fruit and how they are grown. Cucumbers from the site's 6-hectare glasshouse will increase in number through to summer, but will continue to be harvested until November.
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British Horticulture UFO & Writing Art Education Sciences

Nunhems Launches "more Efficient" High-wire Cucumber
British Horticulture

Vegetable breeder Nunhems has launched a new compact high-wire cucumber variety, Hi Power, which it says offers North European growers a reliable long cucumber with high yield throughout the season. Cucumber breeder Robert Swinkels said: "The high-wire cucumber sector is particularly labour-intensive, so labour-saving varieties are a top priority for development. "Thanks to the horizontal position of the leaves of our high-wire varieties it is easier to harvest the fruits. Also the leaves are smaller, making it possible to plant our varieties at high densities, which is more efficient."
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Page 19 Horticulture British

Scuffle Breaks Out As Trees Felled In Popular Memorial Garden
British Horticulture

Police were called to a memorial garden in Christchurch, Dorset last week after a scuffle broke out between a resident and a contractor over the felling of two trees judged to be unsafe. The trees at the town's Druitt Gardens were felled on Friday 7 February, despite having tree protection orders recently put on them, as council officials ruled that digging work on a neighbouring development site had undermined them. The council had been alerted by the developer to the damage to the trees' roots caused by a ditch dug as part of an archaeological investigation on the site. The council's tree officer confirmed the trees were in a dangerous state and recommended their felling. Leader of Christchurch borough council Cllr Ray Nottage said: "I am saddened by the fact we have lost the trees but I do not think officers have got any alternative in view of public safety." In January a community campaign backed by more than 450 residents persuaded the council to grant protection to seven of the garden's trees which the developers of the adjacent site had proposed felling. Cllr Peter Hall, ward member for the town centre said he was "outraged and disappointed", and added: "I will be pursuing an investigation into this and call for replacement trees to be planted immediately." Christchurch and East Dorset Councils chief executive David McIntosh confirmed that no action would be taken against the developer, Renaissance Retirement.
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Horticulture British

British Horticulture

With two weeks left to apply for £1m of grants from the Rethinking Parks fund, the scheme's programme manager Lydia Ragoonanan has offered advice to applicants.
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British Horticulture

Open Letter Demands Flood Action
British Horticulture

The Landscape Institute and Arboricultural Association have joined together with 15 other professional organisations, who regularly work together on projects designed to manage water, prevent flooding and increase resilience, to ask for proper long-term planning to avoid further flooding devastation in the UK.The group, which also includes the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management, The Institution of Environmental Sciences, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Energy Institute, calls for a complete re-think to the way the country manages, stores and distributes its water, and how we plan both the natural environment, and the built environment of our towns and cities to make them more resilient.In the letter to the Daily Telegraph, experts from 17 environmental and planning organisations - including landscape architects, engineers, hydrologists and ecologists - made a plea for the government to listen to them when it came to devising a flood defence policy for the future."While we are pleased to hear that the prime minister will provide leadership and funding, it is essential that government actions are based on best practice developed over many years," they said."Water management techniques could have helped prevent the effect of flooding on villages, towns and over surrounding land seen recently."Emergency measures are in order for the immediate crisis. But in the long term, the management of water requires a clear strategy."They suggested measures to cut the risk of future flooding, including:Use of forestry and land management to hold back water in the upper reaches of rivers, as well as dredging for the lower reachesFitting sustainable drainage systems on existing buildings and new buildingsBuildings and land that cannot be properly protected should be made to withstand floodingAll new housing on flood plains must be resilient when builtMore co-operation between experts, the water companies, internal drainage boards, local authorities, the Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales, as well as between them and landowners or residentsThe letter urged David Cameron to hold a cross-departmental conference, similar to one set up to deal with ash dieback, and to include Whitehall departments, the Environment Agency and other experts to prevent a repeat of the scale of damage caused by recent floods.Shadow chancellor Ed Balls accused the government of 'short-termist salami-slicing" of budgets for flood defences.In response to the letter, a Downing Street spokesman said: "We are looking at all potential options to tackle flooding and are spending 2.4bn on flood management and protection from coastal erosion. That is more than ever before."We have already announced a record level of capital investment at 370m in 2015/16 rising to over 400m in 2020/21 as part of our long-term plan to improve resilience."We need to employ a range of techniques to alleviate flooding, including dredging in some areas."We will look at the lessons to be learned to see where additional flood protection can help."The Landscape Institute wants all new housing in flood plains to be resilient from the moment they are built and for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDs) to be comprehensively retro-fitted, and for SuDs to be a compulsory requirement for all new buildings.The group calls for an immediate cross departmental conference with DECC, DEFRA, DCLG, the EA and NRW, in a similar manner to that which was convened to address the problem of ash-dieback.Speaking about the letter, Sue Illman, president of the Landscape Institute said: "Why do we keep spending money putting homes and lives back together when we could spend it more effectively preventing the problem? The Landscape Institute has long been campaigning for Water Sensitive Planning - that considers the entire water cycle - for a comprehensive programme of retrofitting SuDS in our towns and cities, and the full implementation of schedule 3 of the Floods and Water Management Act. We need hard and soft engineering to work together to manage water, protect people and their livelihoods, whilst improving the natural and built environment for all."The letter was also sent to the Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP, Anne McIntosh MP and Lord Smith, chairman of the Environment Agency.To view the full letter visit https://www.landscapeinstitute.org/PDF/LettertoPrimeMinisterFeb14.pdfThe full list of signatories include:Sue Illman President, Landscape InstituteGeorge Adams President, CIBSEHeather Barrett-Mold Chair, Institution of Environmental SciencesMartin Baxter Executive Director Policy, IEMAShireen Chambers Chief Executive, Institute of Chartered ForestersAdam Donnan Chief Executive Officer, Institution of Environmental ScienceMichael Doran SocEnv RICS Council Representative, Royal Institution of Chartered SurveyorsJohn Gregory Institute of Fisheries ManagementSally Hayns Chief Executive Officer, Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental ManagementLouise Kingham OBE Chief Executive, Energy InstituteSteve Lee Chief Executive Officer, Chartered Institution of Wastes ManagementKaren Martin Chief Executive, Arboricultural AssociationDr Peter Spillett President, Institute of Fisheries ManagementAlastair Taylor Chief Executive, Institution of Agricultural EngineersProfessor William Pope Chairman of the Environmental Policy ForumMike Summersgill President, CIWEMJim Whelan Council Member, Institution of Environmental Science
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British Horticulture - Page 19

Sustainable Green Space At Centre Of Gillespies Design For Bangor University
British Horticulture

Gillespies has won the contract to design the green spaces and public realm in a new £30 million student halls of residence development at Bangor University.
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British Horticulture Sciences Education Art Writing & UFO - Page 19

Plant-buying Change Identified
British Horticulture

Quick turnaround and less reliance on big reserves feature among plant buyers' requirements.
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