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Articles from Floral and Hardy | Selfgrowth.com
- More than Just a Lawn - by Submitted on Mar 22, 2012 from Floral and HardyGrass - it’s one of the most common elements of any garden style, be it as a simple filler or part of a practical play space, or even an all-encompassing border to divide different plant types. The majority of gardeners will recognize its basic application - the lawn and, although this ...
Views: 793 - No School like the New School - by Submitted on Mar 07, 2012 from Floral and HardyFollowing on from our previous article, we’ll be discussing the ‘New School’ of garden design, how it has been shaped by the current ecological climate, and also the aesthetic focus, and how this has been supplanted by the concept of the interactive garden. As we discussed in ‘Gardens through ...
Views: 656 - Orange is Not Only a Fruit - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2012 from Floral and HardyFortunately we’ve already seen the first snows of the year and can soon expect the last frost to fall, thus signalling the dawn of spring and all the colourful flowers that will bring. Our editorial, centred on the application of specific hues in the garden, continues this week with the vibrant ...
Views: 775 - Petal Poetry – how to say it with flowers… - by Submitted on Feb 10, 2012 from Floral and HardySince Juliet first lamented, and earlier still, all manner of flowers, trees and shrubs have been used as a form of language due to either their appearance, or their meaning to the beholder - symbolic of every emotion and concept we could think of and one of the most frequent characters in all ...
Views: 586 - Reclamation and Sustainability within Design - by Submitted on May 29, 2012 from Floral and HardyPreviously we discussed the viability of the night time garden and also promised a piece detailing the ways in which you can outfit your property to be more environmentally friendly, as witnessed by the products and practices exhibited at two of London’s largest ecological and domestic shows - ...
Views: 799 - Rhododendrons - by Submitted on May 04, 2012 from Floral and HardyIn recent memory no genus has seen such a spike in popularity as the Rhododendron. Although it has become a widely cultivated plant in the British Isles, the Rhododendron is endemic to the Himalayan ranges of Nepal where it is the national flower. This species also includes the cultivar known ...
Views: 2382 - RHS Cardiff Show - by Submitted on May 14, 2012 from Floral and HardyA couple of weeks ago began the years first major garden show, courtesy of the people of Cardiff and of the RHS and the Cardiff Flower Show is as much a celebration of the beginning of spring, as it is of the advancements in horticulture and breeding over the previous year. This year the show ...
Views: 866 - S.O.D. OFF! - by Submitted on Feb 03, 2011 from Floral and HardyS.O.D, or Sudden Oak Death, caused by the fungus Phytophthora, filled some headlines recently due to the mass de-forestation it has triggered. In an effort to contain the disease that afflicts the common Oak with bleeding cankers and destroys the trunk foundation of Magnolia and Rhododendron ...
Views: 791 - Save Shadwell Park - by Submitted on Jul 05, 2011 from Floral and HardyIn one of my recent visits to the East End, a friend of mine, and a local resident to the Stepney end of Tower Hamlets, imparted to me some disturbing news. Those of you familiar with this area of London will readily recall the urban dominance of tower blocks and concrete and steel. Needless to ...
Views: 621 - Save the Butterflies - by Submitted on Aug 04, 2011 from Floral and HardyAre you sick of rainy days? This so-called July weather? Is it dampening your spirits and killing the social calendar? Is it threatening your species? If the answer to the last question is yes, then you are one of the butterflies that feature in this article, if not then you're like me - just ...
Views: 826 - Saving Watery Habitats - by Submitted on May 10, 2012 from Floral and HardyAs is discernible from the recent press coverage they have been receiving, not to mention initiatives such as Lodmoor and Radipole Lake Reserve in Dorset, reed banks are becoming an increasingly threatened biosphere in Britain. In fact, in a recent new release, the publication ‘Southern Farmer’ ...
Views: 716 - Sculpture Gardens - by Submitted on Apr 04, 2012 from Floral and HardyWe have previously discussed the recent RHS London Flower and Design Show, which I was fortunate enough to attend, and one of the exhibitions I saw was for ‘The Sculpture Park’, a Surrey based company that essentially serves as an outdoor gallery for developing sculptors. It is so important ...
Views: 786 - Sensory Gardens (if not necessarily sensible!) - by Submitted on Jan 22, 2012 from Floral and HardyTo many, a garden is just a glorified bouquet, somewhere to apply an artistic touch and allow nature to do the leg work and, while the aesthetic appeal of this idea is undeniable, to truly appreciate all that a garden has to offer the senses, we cannot be resigned to be mere voyeurs. A garden ...
Views: 575 - Seven Deadly Species - by Submitted on Aug 23, 2011 from Floral and HardyIn recent news, a gardener in Somerset has reported the death of a Great Tit at the hands, or stems rather, of one of the Nepenthes specimens he cultivates. Having been only the second recorded case of a bird falling prey to this species, Mr. Hewitt-Cooper was reportedly 'staggered' by the ...
Views: 537 - Some Fine Ferns - by Submitted on May 16, 2012 from Floral and HardyFerns are something of a British institution, being one of the most common members of most of our forest and woodland based eco systems. Ferns are also an extremely diverse family of plants, as they can be suited to a variety of different weather conditions and situations, and varieties can be ...
Views: 812 - Something Fungal This Way Comes... - by Submitted on Jan 10, 2012 from Floral and HardyThe gardening headlines this week have been plastered with the threat of two new diseases that could potentially devastate Europe’s indigenous tree population. In southern France, along the famous Canal du Midi, a plan has been in motion since last winter that will see the felling and ...
Views: 561 - Ten Easy Annuals To Sow Now! - by Submitted on May 25, 2012 from Floral and HardyAnnual plants are an excellent way of bringing colour into your garden and, as any gardening centre will tell you, the best time for sowing them is in the height of spring from March to early June, so here at the end of May it is not too late for planting to provide late summer bloomers. Below ...
Views: 784 - The Bees Needs - by Submitted on Mar 23, 2012 from Floral and HardyIn previous articles we’ve talked about the environmental influence that our indigenous bee population has - from flower pollination and, subsequently, propagation, to their agricultural applications - indeed they are one of the most critically needed insects that exist on earth today. But ...
Views: 775 - The Buena Vista Gold Rush – A Cuban Weed Makes Good! - by Submitted on Feb 02, 2012 from Floral and HardyIn Cuba, word is spreading like a wild fire of a new use for a weed that has blighted the local agricultural industry for decades. With the growth of the sugar industry during the reign of the Soviet Union, and then the sudden depletion following its collapse, the ‘Marabou Weed’ quickly took ...
Views: 681 - The Ecobuild Rumpus - by Submitted on Apr 18, 2012 from Floral and HardyA few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend London’s Ecobuild conference on the emerging role of sustainability in infrastructure on the domestic and global stage. As a brief outline for those unfamiliar with Eco build, its role is that of an annual ecological summit designed to encourage not ...
Views: 699 - The Ides of Spring - by Submitted on May 10, 2012 from Floral and HardyDue to the uncharacteristically wet springs we have suffered in recent years (although not so much the early part of this year), our blossom trees have suffered accordingly - an unfortunate and somewhat alienating side effect, seeing as the common cherry blossom symbolizes for many the dawn of ...
Views: 903 - The New School is Green - by Submitted on Mar 23, 2012 from Floral and HardyIn recent news it has become a point of national pride that nearly half of Britain’s schools have not only actively encouraged their students to take an interest in horticulture, but that they have made a private space on their grounds a standard as much as the playground, or the assembly hall. ...
Views: 746 - The Return of the Butterflies - by Submitted on May 14, 2012 from Floral and HardyYou may remember some time ago we published an article covering the necessity of a healthy butterfly population to the British ecosystem, that due to particularly rainy summers and springs, their numbers had been dampened because a lack of hospitable breeding grounds. However, their recent ...
Views: 672 - The Shape of Our Cities - by Submitted on Apr 19, 2012 from Floral and HardyIn our initial report on the Ecobuild conference we touched on a seminar given by Duncan Baker-Brown representing BBM design and titled 'Searching for an eco vernacular' wherein he described briefly the imminent need for change in our architectural infrastructures. That due to the global ...
Views: 757 - The Shelf Life of a Show Garden - by Submitted on Jul 21, 2011 from Floral and HardyPreviously I shared my thoughts on this year’s Hampton Court entrants, from the point of view of a judge, based on skill and imagination. In retrospect, however, it begs the question of a garden’s purpose - should artistic merit overtake its function as a garden? Many of the more esoteric ...
Views: 593 - The Veg of Tomorrow, Sown Today - by Submitted on May 16, 2012 from Floral and HardyBeing the month of May, we each of us have an opportunity now to begin sowing new crops in time for a summer harvest, more specifically salad and vegetable crops that, weather willing, we’ll be able to enjoy with a barbeque come July. Aside from the satisfaction of raising your own dinner, home ...
Views: 785 - There’s a Bright Golden Haze on the Meadow… - by Submitted on Mar 22, 2012 from Floral and HardyContinuing with last week’s instalment on colour based foliage, this time we’re continuing with the gold tinted medallists of our gardens. That’s right - it’s time for the amber leaves of our locality to rear their gleaming heads. 1. Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’ Sharing its name with my ...
Views: 898 - Third Degree Shade - by Submitted on Mar 21, 2012 from Floral and HardyDefining the border between privacy and security is a particularly precarious balancing act, especially when you are situated in the close quarters of urban living. In our previous article concerning hedges we named a few species which could provide adequate measures of both, without completely ...
Views: 753 - Toxic Caterpillars - by Submitted on Jun 28, 2011 from Floral and HardyIn recent weeks a new threat to the British ecosystem has reared its tiny head. Due to the rising rate of imported plants by domestic horticulturists, an infestation of exotic moth larvae has seen the increased propagation of a new breed of toxic caterpillar. The Oak Processionary Moth, as the ...
Views: 644 - Trees For Small Gardens - by Submitted on Feb 01, 2012 from Floral and HardyLast week we gave you information on proper pruning techniques and its many benefits, however even the most dedicated maintenance cannot make a large tree suitable for a small garden, and this week we address this with a list of smaller trees that are ideally suited to such a calling. All of ...
Views: 675 - True Blue - by Submitted on Jan 22, 2012 from Floral and HardyContinuing from our previous piece concerning the introduction of select colour schemes within the garden, we now bring you a variety of cool, blue cultivars to compliment the fiery shades we talked about last week. Floral and Hardy’s Top Five Blue Blooms: 1. Aconitum Aconitum, aka ...
Views: 701 - Tulipmania - by Submitted on Mar 09, 2012 from Floral and HardyWhen it comes to the world of luxury, you can’t put a price on exclusivity, and horticulture is no different. Recently Thompson and Morgan made headlines and history in their successful bidding war for the world’s rare yellow variety of snowdrop, Galanthus woronowii ‘Elizabeth Garrison’. The ...
Views: 762 - Ways to Cope with the Hosepipe Ban - by Submitted on Apr 04, 2012 from Floral and HardyDespite our country’s worldwide reputation for being wet and grey, last year may have been grey but certainly it wasn’t very wet and, consequently, this week a hosepipe ban comes into force in many areas. Among the uses of hoses that are banned are watering lawns and borders with a hose attached ...
Views: 729 - What's in a Name? - by Submitted on Feb 14, 2012 from Floral and HardyEtymology, or the origin of words, is a fascinating subject, particularly where plants are concerned. Often named after the discoverer’s love interest, or for the characters of fables and fairy tales, or perhaps their origins are just anonymous and lost among the many languages that have tried ...
Views: 604 - Where The Wild Things Aren’t - by Submitted on Mar 01, 2012 from Floral and HardyThe other day I watched the jungle book and while I enjoyed myself with all the abandon of the first viewing of my youth, the ending disturbed me unlike I remembered - how quick Mowgli was to abandon his jungle, the place he’d been raised in. The reason I’m citing a cartoon this week is due to ...
Views: 630 - Yellow Fellows - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2012 from Floral and HardyContinuing our colour coding of the garden, this week, if yellow is your thing, we bring you a host of butter-toned cultivars. Yellow is considered, in psychological circles, to effects one’s self esteem, specifically to trigger confidence or anxiety depending on the way in which it is ...
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