Archive for June, 2014

Explore your garden next week – go on an Insect Hunt

20/06/2014

Next week is National Insect Week (23-29 June) it is organised by the Royal Entomological Society and encourages people of all ages to learn more about insects.

Did you know that there are over one million species of insects in the world these are just the ones that have been discovered and named with possibly many more new species out there just waiting to be found? In the UK alone there are more than 24,000 species, they are very varied in appearance (shape, size and colour) and live quite differently in their own habitats, many go unnoticed in our day-to-day life, why not go and explore your patch to see what is living in your school garden or your garden at home.

Be prepared

Hopefully the sun will be shining but you may need waterproofs, old clothes and Wellingtons.

Equipment

A Minibeast/Insect Identification Guide, Camera, Magnifying Glass…

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14 agricultural infographics – The rise and rise of the infographic part two

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One Billion Hungry: Can We Feed the World?

Last year we posted a blog article about the role of infographics in communicating policy and advocacy messages in a simple, accessible and powerful way. The trend for the infographic to present big data and hard hitting facts to the masses is still growing and here are some more infographics we think you should take a look at:

Oxfam Australia in their infographic, What’s wrong with our food system, look at why so many farmers are hungry.
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center documents Advances in global agriculture.
Public Health Degree investigate the Two sides of the global food crisis.

Online Schools compare Oil fields with corn fields in terms of their productivity and greenhouse gas emissions.
The United States Agency for International Development’s infographic, The global state of agriculture, looks ahead to how we must increase food for a growing population.
The International Food Policy…

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Greenfly

Filed under: Gardening and Gardeners: historical snapshots, Pests and diseases — 5 Comments

‘Greenfly, it’s difficult to see

Why God, who made the rose, made thee.’

A.P. Herbert (1890-1971)

Look Back and Laugh

Tags: greenfly, herbert, nature, poem, rose

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Dragon Hedge Fun

Filed under: Design, Gardening techniques, PicPosts- great photographs — 2 Comments

19/06/2014

: A work of art in East Rudham, Norfolk

Tags: dragon, hedge, norfolk, rudham

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Hornsey Town Hall, Crouch End: ‘the quintessential English modern public building of the decade’

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18/06/2014

Municipal Dreams

It’s easy to miss the modernist masterpiece of Hornsey Town Hall, completed in 1935, as you fight your way through the yummy mummies and baby buggies of Crouch End but take time to admire it. It’s been described as ‘the quintessential English modern public building of the decade’. (1) And look to the buildings to left and right and through the clutter of contemporary commercialism – this was a civic complex intended to enshrine the role of local government at the very centre of local life.

Hornsey’s first local administration had been formed as far back as 1867. The Hornsey Local Board built its offices in Southwood Lane in Highgate the following year. At that time, Hornsey was basically a collection of local villages but the coming of the railways would radically transform it. With seven local rail stations by 1887, Hornsey became a centre of middle-class villadom – the…

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Recycled Pallet Wood Lawn Edging

Gallery

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Backyard DIY

A couple of months ago I had the idea of using pallet wood as a cheap lawn edging solution. Lawn edging is something I’d wanted for a while but with around 80m to cover the cost was always prohibitive.

When I first thought of using pallets I tested out some self made stakes along a metre stretch and really liked the results. So, for the last two days I’ve been making hundreds of pallet wood stakes and making my way around the lawn. I think the result is great!

The wood is untreated so it won’t last forever but since pallet wood is free and these stakes are so easy to install I didn’t consider the benefit to be worth the cost and effort of treating it.

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To Fertile Ground

Filed under: Gardening and Gardeners: historical snapshots, Soils and soil improvement, This and that — Leave a comment

‘Of composts shall the Muse descend to sing,

Nor soil her heavenly plumes? The sacred Muse

Nought sordid deems, but what is base; nought fair

Unless true Virtue stamp it with her seal.

Then, planter, wouldst thou double thine estate;

Never, ah never, be asham’d to tread

Thy dung heaps, where the refuse of thy mills,

With all the ashes, all thy coppers yield,

With weeds, mould, dung, and stale, a compost form,

Of force to fertilise the poorest soil.’

James Grainger 1721-66

Tags: compost, dung, grainger, manure, organic, poem, soil

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PicPost: Floored

Image

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17/06/2014

moss floor

Tags: moss, path, stepping stones, woodland

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PicPost: Son Flower!

Image

Filed under: Heritage Gardens & gardening, PicPosts- great photographs, Play, Wildlife and Nature — Leave a comment

16/06/2014

Fathers’ Day at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse Museum yesterday. Self seeded sunflowers in ‘Curiosity Corner’- a mini garden for under 5’s I designed and built (with help).
Old School Gardener

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A -Z of Garden Trees: E is for Euonymus europaeus

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Picture by Bob Osborn

The ‘E’ in my A-Z of garden trees is a star autumn performer and can also be grown as a deciduous shrub. As I write this, my own (shrub) example of Euonymus (the alatus or ‘winged spindle’ species) here in Old School Garden has just lost all of it’s new leaves – possibly a virus or scale attack? Still, I have gathered some seeds from hedgerow examples of europaeus and the small seedlings seem to be doing well, so maybe I shall- in a few years- have a replacement or two!

Common name: ‘Spindle’, ‘European Spindle’, ‘Common Spindle’

Native areas: native to much of Europe, where it inhabits the edges of forest, hedges and gentle slopes, tending to thrive on nutrient-rich, chalky and salt-poor soils. It is a decduous shrub or small tree.

Historical notes: European spindle wood is very hard, and can be cut to a sharp point- it was used in the past for making wool spindles (used to spin the wool into thread).

First flush

Summer leaf

Flower

Unripened fruit

Features: Euonymus europaeus grows to 3–6 m (10–20 ft) tall, rarely 10 m (33 ft), with a stem up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter. The leaves are opposite, lanceolate to elliptical, 3-8 cm long and 1-3 cm broad, with a finely serrated edge. Leaves are dark green in summer. Autumn colour ranges from yellow-green to reddish-purple, depending on environmental conditions. Flowers are produced in late spring and are insect-pollinated; they are rather inconspicuous, small, yellowish green and grow in cymes of of 3-8 together. The capsular fruit ripens in autumn, and is red to purple or pink in colour and approximately 1-1.5 cm wide (opening, when ripe, to reveal orange seed cases).

Uses: Spindle is a popular ornamental in gardens and parks due to its bright pink or purple fruits and attractive autumn colouring, in addition to its resistance to frost and wind. It has been introduced to North America where it has become an invasive species in some areas. Grown as a shrub it is useful for hedging and screens, is relatively low maintenhance and as a tree looks good in ‘Cottage’, informal and wildlife gardens.

The cultivar ‘Red Cascade’ has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit (AGM).This is a small arching tree (mature height 3-5 metres), and produces an abundance of rosy red fruits which open to reveal vivid orange seed cases. The foliage display in autumn is fantastic with green leaves turning to rich red by November. This variety is one of the best forms for gardens, parks and resticted spaces.

Ripe fruit clusters

Ripened fruit and seed cases

Spindle trees

Growing conditions: Grow in well-drained soil in sun or partial shade. propagate by sed or semi-hardwood cuttings. A good choice for even chalky soils, it will thrive in most soils, but avoid waterlogged ground. Prone to caterpillars and vine weevils and may suffer from powdery mildew.

Old School Gardener

Tags: autumn, euonymus, fruit, garden, leaf colour, planting, spindle, trees

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Archive for June, 2014

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‘Greenfly, it’s difficult to see

Why God, who made the rose, made thee.’

A.P. Herbert (1890-1971)

Look Back and Laugh

Share this:

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‘Of composts shall the Muse descend to sing,

Nor soil her heavenly plumes? The sacred Muse

Nought sordid deems, but what is base; nought fair

Unless true Virtue stamp it with her seal.

Then, planter, wouldst thou double thine estate;

Never, ah never, be asham’d to tread

Thy dung heaps, where the refuse of thy mills,

With all the ashes, all thy coppers yield,

With weeds, mould, dung, and stale, a compost form,

Of force to fertilise the poorest soil.’

James Grainger 1721-66

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Fathers’ Day at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse Museum yesterday. Self seeded sunflowers in ‘Curiosity Corner’- a mini garden for under 5’s I designed and built (with help). Old School Gardener

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Common name: ‘Spindle’, ‘European Spindle’, ‘Common Spindle’

Native areas: native to much of Europe, where it inhabits the edges of forest, hedges and gentle slopes, tending to thrive on nutrient-rich, chalky and salt-poor soils. It is a decduous shrub or small tree.

Historical notes: European spindle wood is very hard, and can be cut to a sharp point- it was used in the past for making wool spindles (used to spin the wool into thread).

Growing conditions: Grow in well-drained soil in sun or partial shade. propagate by sed or semi-hardwood cuttings. A good choice for even chalky soils, it will thrive in most soils, but avoid waterlogged ground. Prone to caterpillars and vine weevils and may suffer from powdery mildew.

Further information:

Old School Gardener

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Fathers’ Day at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse Museum yesterday. Self seeded sunflowers in ‘Curiosity Corner’- a mini garden for under 5’s I designed and built (with help).
Old School Gardener