Jardin en al Casar, Madrid by Fernando Martos Perez de Ayala
My third offering from a book I bought in a charity shop recently…..
I mentioned my trip to Bury St. Edmunds a couple of days ago. On the afternoon of that trip we visited a new garden to us, Wyken Hall, just a few miles north east of the town. This is my sort of garden. 
I’ve mentioned Abbey Gardens before, in the context of my role as a Green Flag Award judge. That time- spring last year- the place was looking great in its colourful bedding of bulbs and other spring flowers. I visited it again recently and the formal beds were once again looking superb; bright, clever combinations of flowers provided the sort of formal scheme once extensively used in public gardens and parks around the U.K. However, it’s very labour and resource intensive and has therefore been replaced by lower cost alternatives in many places, but it’s still good to see it done well. And here it IS done very well.
I’m one of 700 volunteer judges for the ‘Green Flag’ Award scheme in the U.K. This involves inspecting parks and open spaces, meeting staff and volunteers and looking at Management Plans and other documents, with the aim of assessing each space against eight strict criteria, including horticultural standards, cleanliness, sustainability and community involvement.
‘It’s another record-breaking year for the scheme. This is something well worth celebrating and testament to the efforts of the thousands of men and women, supported by some amazing volunteers, who work tirelessly to maintain the high standards demanded by the Green Flag Award. ‘The parks sector is facing some tough challenges so it is heartening to see that they are committed to maintaining and improving standards. We know how passionate people are about our parks and green spaces and the recent Heritage Lottery Fund report, State of UK Public Parks, highlighted the need for everyone to work together to ensure they are maintained for future generations.’
One of the great things about traveling in far northern Ontario this July was the fact that our multi-disciplinary botany team included a lichenologist.
It was great because lichens are amazing, because lichen experts are very rare, and because there’s so much left to learn in lichenology that every lichen outing seems to result in spectacular discoveries.
Powdered funnel lichen (Cladonia cenotea)—Just like in this photo, the specimen of powdered funnel lichen that we collected for exhibition at the museum is mixed with the common boreal feathermoss called big red stem (Pleurozium schreberi). Image: R. Troy McMullin © R. Troy McMullin
It was also great timing, because we’ve been making the (already ultra-cool) temporary exhibition Creatures of Light even better by adding material from the Museum of Nature’s research and collections… and as it turns out, some lichens are dazzling creatures of light.
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St Wilfred’s, Kirkharle. ©Gary Webb 2014
On this day in history, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1716 – 1783) was baptised in St Wilfred’s Church, Kirkharle. Set in the rugged Northumbrian landscape, this charming church would be the place of Worship for the Brown family for many years to come.
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Nigel Boldero aka 'Old School Gardener'
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