Peony- picture by Ellen Zillin
Euphorbia myrsinites
“As the world stands at a climate crossroads, it is powerful yet humbling to think that our actions today will decide what tomorrow will look like for generations to come.” Saturday 19th March at 08:30pm local time is Earth Hour, a worldwide grassroots movement organised by WWF, which originally began as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Since then this annual global celebration where people switch off their lights for one hour has become a symbolic display of how much we care for and want to protect the planet. Last year a record number of people from across 172 countries celebrated Earth Hour.
A recent article from WWF outlining climate events of 2015, makes it clear that Earth Hour this year is crucial to continued progress on climate change. Firstly changes in our climate continue to be worrying: 2015 became the official hottest year on record…
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The final solution for the trained fruit trees along the central path?
Montreal, Canada
So, my penultimate object in this series symbolises our need (all too often neglected by the busiest gardeners) to sit and enjoy the fruits of our labours- the garden bench. And the one in the featured picture is made from reclaimed wood and, I think, looks rather inviting (especially with the addition of a couple of large cushions?).“The right places to sit in a garden have to be discovered. They cannot be decided in advance. Alan [her husband] once erected a two-seat wooden bench beneath the laburnum tree because it was sheltered from the wind, caught the sun and looked out towards Moel Siabod [a mountain in Snowdonia].
On a few occasions we took out our cups of tea and sat there self-consciously, but it didn’t feel right. We would find ourselves drifting across to a patch on the drive about 10ft away, and we would stand there to finish our tea. So we moved the bench there. It caught all the sun, was not so sheltered and didn’t have quite the same view, but it felt right.”
The classic ‘Lutyens Bench’- one to add a bit of class to your plot?
“Discomfort remains the defining quality of outdoor seating. The goal of meeting the tripartite challenge of comfort, weatherproofing and looks continues to defy designers. Most seats make minimal concession to the fragility of the human frame. Sharp angles, hard edges and an absolute absence of ergonomics abound. Wooden seats promise a coating of green slime. Metal or stone ones freeze the buttocks. Grass or moss are obviously not to be taken seriously.”
Hmm, the ultimate in benches designed not to be sat upon?
Picture: Sally Smith
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh saw an impressive increase in visitors last year.
The UK as a whole saw a 3.2 per cent increase in visitor numbers, while Scottish attractions proved particularly popular, gaining 5.48 per cent overall.
“2015 continued to be a record year mainly due to our members continuing to show how diverse the UK is to both domestic and overseas visitors….The current weakness of the pound to the dollar and Euro is making the UK a more affordable destination and 2016 is on target to be another memorable year for ALVA members.” ‘
Nigel Boldero aka 'Old School Gardener'
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