Sales of slug pellets and weedkiller have gone through the roof, as gardeners battle soggy growing conditions. Retailers say chemicals have been flying off shelves after the wettest April on…
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Brewin Dolphin garden wins best-in-show at Chelsea
The Brewin Dolphin garden by Cleve West has won gold and best-in-show at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Cleve’s Main Avenue masterpiece highlighted the popularity of topiary, and aimed to…
Drought is over – but hosepipe bans stay
The drought has been declared over in 19 counties – but hose bans will remain in force. Recent record-breaking rainfall led the Environment Agency to re-analyse water levels, as dozens…
Bird box is fit for feathered royalty
A bird box fit for royalty is giving our feathered friends something to tweet about. Peckingham Palace, one of the world’s most luxurious bird boxes, has been created to give…
Red alert over Monty Don’s lily beetle tip
Plant protection firms have accused Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don of issuing biased advice on how to control a troublesome plant pest. On BBC2’s flagship show last Month, Monty told how…
Critic slams National Gardens Scheme
The National Gardens Scheme (NGS) has come under fire from gardening’s most outspoken critic. Anne Wareham argued that the NGS “blighted gardens in the UK forever” when it was created…
Concern over pesticides and bee death
Gardeners are set to come under more pressure to ditch a group of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, due to worries over bee colony death. An investigation at Reading University, backed…
Talent show seeks wooden entries
A garden competition lampooned by The Sun as ‘Britain’s most boring contest’ is back for a second year. Fence Factor, the national challenge that sets out to find Britain’s best…
New clematis beats the wilting blues
A clematis that’s said to resist wilting and dieback is to make its debut Chelsea. Clematis ‘Shikoo,’ which has double, rosette-style blue flowers, is new from Thorncroft Clematis of Norwich.…
Alan Titchmarsh slams water firms over hosepipe bans
TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh has lashed out at water companies as hosepipe bans come into force. “It has always been my bugbear that gardeners keep being blamed for [water] shortages…