Sunday, 29 November 2009

RECOMMENDED WEBSITES



adekun's japan blog Peanut failure Allotment Growing: Vegetable, Fruit and Herb Gardening on an Allotment Amateur Entomologists' Society news Gift ideas for entomologists avonbeekeepers.co.uk Beds Northants branch of Butterfly Conservation Beekeepers Honey Directory - Norfolk Honey's directory of related websites Bougainvillea Growers International (BGI) Butterfly Conservation - Glasgow and South West Scotland Branch Butterfly Conservation - Bedfordshire & Northants Butterfly Conservation - Glasgow and South West Scotland Branch - Links to other web sites and resources Butterfly Conservation - Gloucestershire Branch Butterfly Conservation - Gloucestershire Branch Butterfly Conservation - Sussex Branch - Links to other web sites and resources Butterfly Conservation Yorkshire Homepage Butterfly Conservation: Highland Branch Cornic Directory - Only The Best Websites Cornwall Moth Group - an independent group of enthuiasts studying and recording British and migrant moths in Cornwall, England. Devon Moth Group








Posted by Simon Eade at 12:48 1 comments
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HEVER CASTLE, VISCOUNT ASTOR AND THE WORLDS GREATEST PLEASURE GARDEN


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Back in the early 1900’s when America seemed to be producing millionaires at an exponential rate, one man stood head and shoulders above the rest. Born to an enormously wealthy family who’s fortune was built on fur trading, real estate and opium, William Waldorf Astor (1848-1919) was brought into this world with his life already mapped out. After suffering the traumatic experience of being sent away to Europe for his education he later returned to America to study law, although this wasn’t to be his chosen career. Once graduated, he took over the running of his fathers considerable estates, and following in the family tradition also became a successful financier and statesman.

However, his life took an unexpected turn when in 1882 he was appointed ‘Minister to Italy’ by the then US President, Chester A. Arthur. This was a position that required Wiiliam Astor to once again leave his home land and spend the next three years of his life in Rome. It was during this time that he developed a passion for ancient Roman history, but this became an obssesion after visiting the ruined city of Pompeii. Destroyed and buried during a catistrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvious, Pompeii had remained lost and buried for nearly 1700 years. It would have remained so had it not been accidentally rediscovered in 1748.

It was the intoxicationg nature of this place that had touched Williams Astor’s heart, a mixture of unavoidable tragidy balanced seductively with the haunting beauty of a civilisation frozen in time. Inspired by what he saw, he developed an almost compusive desire to obtain anything that reflected his feelings for the place. It was here, surrounded by the outstanding beauty of classical architecture, that his plan for the perfect Edwardian pleasure garden was conceived. But there was just one problem; he had nowhere to build it.

In early 1890, five years after William returned from his appointment in Rome, his father John Jacob Astor III died leaving him a personal fortune so vast that it made him easily the richest man in America, if not the world. One year later, after a family feud got out of hand, he moved to England.

At first Astor settled in London renting Lansdown House for a few years, but eventually he purchased a country estate at Cliveden–on-Thames that would act as his main residence. The search for a suitable property with which to fulfill his pompeiian dream continued though, but it was to be a further ten years before he eventually commited to Hever Castle. At this time it was just a small dilapidated castle, you can imagine its state of disrepair especially as the previous owners used to overwinter their farm animals inside it on the ground floor. Astor immediately called for his collection of classicle artifacts to be shipped over from Italy.

Although Hever Castle is not a ‘castle’ in the strictest sense of the word, it is by definition a fortified manor house. Part of its protection was gained through the construction of the surrounding moats. However, in order to guarantee these main lines of defence a constant supply of water was required; this was why the Castle was built here on low lying marsh land. Unfortunately this meant that the romantic images of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn walking hand in hand across the beautifully manicured gardens would only have happened if they were prepared to wear waders!

It is difficult for us to understand today, but at the beginning of the 20th century the art of recreational gardening was still very much a pastime for the wealthy. The Edwardian pleasure gardens (as they are known today) were the pinnacle of this art, an expression of culture, refinement and financial power. But it was the sheer scale of this project combined with an almost analytical attention to detail that put these gardens at Hever into a league of their own. To give you some idea of the importance that Astor placed on his grand design, it took an entire year just to think it through and agree the plans.

In 1904 work commenced on such an unprecedented scale that it is unlikely ever to be equalled. William knew that he was creating something quite unique here and he took some unusual steps to protect his investment. While construction was in progress no visitors were allowed to stay over night. This was to remove the temptation of guests slipping out under the cover of darkness for a crafty peek. His workmen, and there were over a thousand of them, were kept mostly on site. Their accommodation, food, and more importantly beer were all provided at Astor’s expense and this helped to prevent them from wandering off and blabbing. If all else failed, he slept with a revolver under his pillow which was to be used as a last line of defence. This was particularly important for warding off horticultural intruders (presumably armed with sketch book and pen) who may conspire to jump over the fence and steal his ideas.

If employing a thousand men to landscape a garden seems a little excessive then you would be right. The completed gardens that you see today probably took no more than between 250 and 300 craftsmen to finish. The rest of the work force, which accounted for almost 800 men, were engaged in the creation of the magnificent man-make lake that you see just west of the castle. Imagine if you can thirty five acres of open marsh land dug down to 6ft just by hand and spade. Incredibly this feat of human engineering was completed in less than two years, but what makes this all the more fantastic is that because their food, beer and shelter were already provided, most of the labourers had to work unpaid!

To supply the amount of block work and natural stone needed to complete the Italian gardens and beloved Pompeiian wall, Astor looked to the local quarries at Tunbridge Wells. Such was the amount required that two of these quarries were effectively emptied in trying to keep pace with the building work. What’s more remarkable is that every single piece of stone had to be transported here by horse and cart. Some of the larger pieces as used in the Pergola Walk weighed upwards of several tonnes! Fortunately William Astor went to the trouble of installing a light steam railway around the garden perimeters, as well as several great steam engines to give his men a fighting chance.

Nothing was going to stand in the way of completing his vision and that included spending the enormous sums required to get what he wanted. The cost of plants alone came in at around £25,000, that’s equivalent to approximately £1,000,000 in today’s money. But despite the enormous practical challenges that William Astor faced, the words ‘…It can’t be done…’ always managed to evaporate once enough resources were thrown at it. An example of this was the need to supply mature trees for the strip of woodland that ran along Anne Boleyn’s walk. The solution to this was to take a team of men down to Ashdown forest, choose the trees which took his fancy and wait for them to be dug up and transported the 12 miles back to Hever. It was achieved but each tree took ten men and a team of four horses!

Everything was thought out down to the last detail, even the ‘fashionable’ hermits cave was 65artistically presented by the exposed roots of a gnarly old beech tree. To further entertain his guests, a ‘live-in’ hermit was employed to partake in witty banter, but unfortunately there was a flaw in the plan. One of the hermits had developed a strong taste for beer, something that may have been picked up from working on Hever Lake. As it turned out he spent more time in the local King Henry VIII Inn than he did in his cave and as a result his entertaining stories and witty banter became increasingly rude as alcohol took effect. This was a rather unsettling experience, particularly for the fragile constitutions of Edwardian ladies. With the cave set precariously close to the hermit’s man-made pond it made feinting a dangerous and possibly life threatening response. Clearly believing that the drunk hadn’t experienced enough hardship in his life to successfully use in the role of hermit, William Astor decided that more training was required and so sacked him after just three weeks of employment.

His ideas for Hever didn’t just stop at the gardens; there was plenty of work to be done on the living quarters too. As with the garden, things had to be done exactly how he saw it no matter what the cost involved. With Hever being on the small side, it was considered unsuitable for the style of entertaining he was accustomed to. To fit in with the period feel of the outer walls, he completely restored the Castles interior before adding an interconnecting mock Tudor village. What is more remarkable is that before they could even consider starting with the building work there were two further obstacles that needed to be over come. In true Astor fashion the road, which used to run along side the castle and therefore directly in the path of his new building scheme, was completely removed and then re-laid almost a hundred yards away. But this pales into insignificance when compared to the successful diversion of the river Eden, a formidable task undertaken for the very same reason!

Even after a century, the detail and workmanship still stands up to close inspection, but no more so than the superbly executed Pompeiian wall that runs along the south facing side of the Italian gardens. Littered with a collection of exquisite Roman artefacts, some of which are up to 2000 years old, what you see today is the realisation of one mans dream who had the power, money and more importantly the determination and drive to achieve it. But the greatest gift that Astor has given us is what we see here today. Because the gardens have now had a century to mature it is us, and not the man himself, who can experience the reality of William Astor’s dream, the pinnacle of Edwardian pleasure gardens as he envisioned over 120 years ago.

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Posted by Simon Eade at 06:43 4 comments
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Saturday, 28 November 2009

MINT TEA – THE LATEST IN PAIN RELIEF?


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A research team from Newcastle University has just published a study on the pain relieving qualities of the Brazilian mint – Hyptis crenata. Working on mice, the study suggests that when the plant is used to make a decoction it can produce qualities that match those of commercially available analgesics. The decoction is made by boiling dried leaves in water for 30 minutes. It is then allowed to cool before drinking it like a tea.

Although new to the scientific world, the use of Hyptis crenata has been used by traditional Brazilian healers for thousands of years, not just for general pain relief but for fevers and influenza too.

The team went to Brazil to carry out the survey to find out how the medicine is typically prepared and how much should be consumed. They found that when the mint was given at a dose similar to that prescribed by traditional healers, the medicine was as effective at relieving pain as the synthetic aspirin-style drug called Indometacin.

The lead researcher - Graciela Rocha, is herself Brazilian and she remembers being given the tea as a cure for every childhood illness. She had this to say on the matter:

"…The taste isn't what most people here in the UK would recognize as a mint. In fact it tastes more like sage which is another member of the mint family.Not that nice, really, but then medicine isn't supposed to be nice, is it?"

She also added

"…since humans first walked the Earth we have looked to plants to provide a cure for our ailments - in fact it is estimated more than 50,000 plants are used worldwide for medicinal purposes… besides traditional use, more than half of all prescription drugs are based on a molecule that occurs naturally in a plant. What we have done is to take a plant that is widely used to safely treat pain and scientifically proven that it works as well as some synthetic drugs. Now the next step is to find out how and why the plant works..."

The next step for the team is to launch clinical trials to find out how effective the mint is as a pain relief for people.

Graciela is in fact herself Brazilian and remembers being given the tea as a cure for every childhood illness.
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The Brazilian Mint, is also Brazil's official national mint.
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Posted by Simon Eade at 09:27 2 comments
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Wednesday, 25 November 2009

DETOX YOUR BODY WITH FRESH FRUIT


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The world today is becoming an increasingly unhealthy place. The air we breathe is contaminated by pollutants, the food we eat has often been treated by agro-chemicals, and throughout the world many of us are dependant on stimulants such as alcohol, tobacco, caffeine or perhaps worse. In the twenty first century, toxicity is becoming a subject of growing concern. Major diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular illnesses can be directly associated to the accumulation of toxic wastes within the human body - along with less obvious health issues such as obesity, skin and gastrointestinal problems. It's because of such factors that the use of de-toxifying diets is becoming evermore popular.

The human body constantly strives to remove toxins from within itself and this is – of course - a perfectly natural process. However, through the choices that we make, we can often create a build-up of toxins that remain in our bodies for extended periods of time – much of which would be stored within our body’s fat cells and liver.

There are two ways with which to approach this issue. One is to stop putting toxins into our bodies while the other is to eat those foods that enhance our bodies abilities to remove such poisons. One of the best-known and highly effective methods to do this is through a fruit detox diet – it is also one of the least expensive.

When commencing a fruit detox diet, you are encouraged not to eat anything other than fruit from morning until mid-day. The reason for this makes a lot of sense as the human body is still in the process of detoxification from the previous night.

It is the choice of fruits that are important here. Acid fruits such as grapes and lemons have a very strong detoxifying effect in comparison to all other fruit. Their natural enzymes give the digestive system a boost helping to breakdown food quicker and more efficiently as well as helping to release more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants into the body.

Another benefit of detoxifying the body with fresh fruits is that fruit does not create mucus - unlike meat and dairy productc - as it travels through the gut. Any undigested fruit fibres that are left behind in the colon are moist and cleansing in nature, and are able to soften and remove existing mucus that has been allowed to build up over time.

In addition to this and to make the most of your time on a fruit ‘detox’ diet, try to avoid adding more stimulants - such as alcohol and caffeine - into the body. Also try to limit your intake of fast food, junk food, and any other heavily processed food items.

Before beginning a fruit ‘detox’ diet, you should consult with your doctor first, especially if you have any medical problems or are on any medications.

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Posted by Simon Eade at 08:50 2 comments
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Tuesday, 24 November 2009

TWO MANY AWARDS?











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Today has been a very unusual day, in so far as the Garden of Eaden site has been honoured with two – yes, two - different awards.
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The first was from Barbara Elaine of ‘Gardening in Mannheim’ who sent me the infamous ‘Honest Scrap’ Award, while the second is the 'Best Blog' award which came from Praveshree Edenglen (I am so very sorry if I have spelt your name incorrectly – please advise) who is responsible for the web blog ‘Whatever’.

The ‘Honest Scrap’ Award

As self obsessed as I am, I am also extremely uncomfortable when it comes to self promotion as there is always someone out there waiting to knock you off your own pedestal. However, because there are 4 parts to this acceptance – all of which I am duty bound to achieve – and I am obliged to make an effort.

1.Brag about the Award:

I’ve won it, and now I’ve got it no-one can take it away from me. Also, ‘IN YOUR FACE’ to anyone I have trodden on to get where I am today (apologies to my Mother who went to great lengths in order to teach me good manners – Mum, I haven’t actually trodden on anyone, I am just following the ‘Rite of Passage’ for accepting the award).

2. Link back to the Awarder – Many thanks to Barbara at 'Gardening in Mannheim'.

3. Write ten honest things about yourself

First. I ironically suffer from hay fever.
Second. I really don’t like Roses, an irrespective to what Shakespeare has to say – call them stink flowers if you want, they don't smell sweet to me!
Third. I don’t even have a garden. This is because I sold up and bought an apartment a couple of years ago because I thought that there was going to be a crash in the housing market. IN YOUR FACE TO EVERYONE WHO TOLD ME IT WASN’T GOING TO HAPPEN – sorry mother.
Fourth. I have a long scar by my right elbow from where I was viciously attacked by the spine of a mature orange tree. The tree was in my father’s garden and I whole heartedly blame him for not looking out for the Health and Safety of his only son – although to be fair I was about 35 at the time – oohhh the blood!
Fifth, Sixth, seventh, eighth, nine and tenth. Not one of my fingers is actually green, unless I have recently blown the nose of one of my children. Sorry, I have run out of any more honest ideas – I may add to them at a later date.

4. Pass on the Award Seven Times - I don't agree with this, although I will do three - see below.

I hereby bequeath the Honest scrap Award to:-
'Persephone in Bloom' - because I love the way she writes
'Liz and the Professor' - because it is so good
'Elephantseyegarden' - because you can become absorbed by it.

The 'BEST BLOG' award

Rules. Post the award on your blog along with the name of the person who passed it on to you and link to their blog. Choose blogs which you have recently discovered and you think are great and pass it on to them. Don't forget to leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

This one is so much easier. Many thanks to my Patron 'Praveshree Edenglen' at the 'Whatever' website who gave me the 'Best Blog' award. I will now award it to 'Liz and the Professor'

On a more serious note

Unfortunately, awards such as these which are given out in this 'pyramid selling' style will eventually become meaningless, because once everybody has one, they will no longer have any real value. However, the true goal behind such awards - and this is just my opinion - is to create a way of generating large numbers of links between individual websites. This is important because the more links that feed back to your particular website, the more credibility it has to search engines. Who has the most to gain from this? Clearly the originator of the award, but for what purpose - nobody knows?

If you consider google, they work using a system - amongst others - known as PageRank. This is a link analysis algorithm owned by Stanford University and named after Larry Page, a co-founder of Google. This algorithm assigns a numerical weighting to each hyperlink that is connected to your site. It is a combination of the amount of, and 'weighting' of these links that helps to create a value for your own website.

This weighting is used to 'measure' your sites relative importance amongst other sites within the World Wide Web. The importance that search engine algorithms give your site is very valuable as it has a direct result on where your site is positioned within search engine listings. This is why having other websites or blogs link up to your own is so important and why it is actively encouraged - otherwise it is highly unlikely that anyone will get to see your work.

The PageRank ranges from 0-10, with 0 as the lowest number and 10 the highest. An example of a 10 would be the BBC, believed to be the largest website in the world today. As an further example, the 'Garden of Eaden' site has a PageRank of 4. You can check out your own page rank by clicking onto http://www.whatsmypagerank.com/

A suggestion for any future award giving - so that it would have more value and meaning - is to only allow each recipient to give out three nominations. However, to gain an award you would need to receive 6 nominations - only then can you display the award. The computer literate can then create a link from the award back to those who gave out the original nominations as proof of worthiness.

I am happy to receive comments on this - am I being too cynical, what do you think?

For more obscure articles click onto:
Public Bench Misdemeanours
Posted by Simon Eade at 10:44 8 comments

Monday, 23 November 2009

WHY IS FRESH FRUIT SO GOOD FOR YOU?


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Much is said about the importance of maintaining a decent amount of fruit and vegetables in our diets, and even the government is in on the act promoting ‘5 a day’ every day. But what is it about fresh fruit that make it so good for us?

We know that the human physique has been evolving over hundred of thousands of years and perhaps part of our success on this planet is due to our ability to make do with a wide variety of foods. Typically, we would have survived on diets consisting mainly of berries, fruits, nuts, roots and leaves, but there would have been the odd fish, bird, reptile and occasional handful of insects thrown in (some of these insects would of course have been ingested unwittingly).
Fresh fruit consists mainly of water, carbohydrates and a small amount of protein. More importantly, they also contain very little - if any - fat. In fact most fruits will contain less than one gram of fat per serving, although Avocados are an exception to this containing about 31 grams of fat per fruit.

The carbohydrates found within fresh fruit are available to us in the form of starches and sugars (fructose, sucrose and glucose), and along with the small amounts of fat are – or at least should be - the primary sources of energy in the human diet.

Many fruits are also able to provide valuable folic acid and magnesium. Folic acid is essential for a number of chemical processes in the body, although most notably for the synthesis of haemoglobin and the nucleic acids DNA and RNA. Magnesium is essential for cellular metabolism, protein digestion, and the healthy function of the nervous system.

As well as being an important source for vital vitamins and minerals, fresh fruit is a food source that contains no cholesterol, little or no sodium, and is an excellent resource for dietary fibre. The term fibre - sometimes known as roughage - is commonly used to describe the indigestible portion of plant foods (skin, seeds and pulp) that helps to ‘push’ food through the digestive system. It also forms bulk for the stool.

It is important to eat foods that are high in fibre because they help to promote normal bowel function. In addition to this, fibre is also very useful in the prevention and treatment of constipation. Research from Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) recommends that a healthy adult should have an intake of fibre equivalent to 20 - 35 grams per day. However, further research by the USDA – United States Department of Agriculture - showed that the average intake of both men and women is around half this amount.
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Diets that are high in cholesterol, and in fat - especially saturated fats - can contribute to increased cholesterol levels within the blood. This in turn can significantly increase the risk of heart disease. However, there is some indication that dietary fibre can also play a role in helping to lower blood cholesterol.

If further proof were needed the taste organs within the human mouth are genetically pre-disposed to prefer sweet tastes over bitter ones. This ability is in fact an ancient one and common with many mammals, it helps to protect us from selecting foods that may include bitter-tasting, harmful toxins. The fact that we naturally enjoy and seek out sweet fruits is just further proof that they are perfectly suited to our bodily needs.

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Posted by Simon Eade at 06:09 7 comments
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Saturday, 21 November 2009

THE ‘NATIVE’ TREES OF ENGLAND


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The word ‘native’ in this context has to be used loosely because many of the tree species that you would consider as native to this country are not. There are intellectuals out there who believe that only those species that existed here before the formation of the English Channel – approximately 20,000 years ago - actually qualify as our true British natives.

However, there is a slight problem with that definition because prior to that specific period in time the British land mass – as it was then – was either covered in frozen tundra or melting glaciers. These conditions would have made the spread and growth of existing trees virtually impossible.

The so called ‘true natives’ – as far as I can ascertain - are list below.

Scots Pine – Pinus sylvestris
Common Juniper – Juniperus communis (S)

Trees that would have quickly colonised the wet mudflats after the last ice-age had passed are as follows

Bay Willow – Salix pentandra
Black Popular – Populus nigra
Crack Willow – Salix fragilis (S)Common Beech – Fagus sylvatica
Downey Birch – Betula pubescens
Elder – Sambucus nigra (S)European Aspen – Populus tremula
European Larch - Larix europaea
Silver Birch – Betula pendula
European or Black Alder –Alnus glutinosa (S)
Common Hornbeam – Carpinus betulus
Goat Willow – Salix caprea (S)Grey Willow – Salix cinerea (S)
Wych Elm – Ulmus glabra
English Elm – Ulmus procera

Trees considered useful by early colonists, merchants and occupying forces.

Apple – Malus sylvestris
Common Ash – Fraxinus excelsior
Blackthorn – Prunus spinosa (S)Common Box – Buxus sempervirens (S)Common Lime - Tilia cordata
Damson – prunus insititia
English Oak – Quecus robur
Field Maple – Acer campestre
Gage - Prunus domestica
Hawthorn – Crataegus monogynea (S)
Hazel – Corylus avellena (S)
Holly – Ilex aquifolium (S)Large leaved Lime – Tilia platyphyllos
Osier Willow – Salix viminalis
Pear – Pyrus pyraster
Purple Willow – Salix purpurea
Rowan – Sorbus aucuparia
Sessile Oak – Quercus petraea
Small leaved lime – Tilia cordata
Spindle – Euonymous europeus (S)Sycamore – Acer pseudoplatanus
Common Walnut – Juglans regia
Wild Cherry – Prunus avium

The more recent introductions

Bird Cherry – Prunus padus (S)Sweet Chestnut – Castanea sativa
Strawberry tree – Arbutus unedo (S)Common Lime - Tilia cordata
Large leaved Lime – Tilia platyphyllos
Whitebeam - Sorbus aria (S)
White Willow – Salix alba
Wild Service tree – Sorbus torminalis
Yew tree – Taxus baccata (S)

All of these groups - apart from the last - would merit inclusion with regards to individual or government woodland planting schemes. However for those of you who have limited space but would still like to make a difference by planting native trees then consider growing the smaller species. My suggestions have a (S) for ‘small’ listed after them – small being a tree that grows between approximately 3 and 5 metres.

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Posted by Simon Eade at 13:12 2 comments
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Wednesday, 18 November 2009

WHICH SALAD CROPS AND HERBS ARE TOLERANT OF SHADE


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Wouldn’t it be wonderful, if everyone who wanted one had a perfect plot for vegetable growing? However - as with many things in life - perfection is usually out of reach, and unfortunately gardening is no different.

Most people’s image of a vegetable garden is one that will receive direct sunlight all day long, and that’s fantastic for growing old favourites such as tomatoes, peppers, and melons. But what are you supposed to do if you have no other choice than to grow in the shade? Of course, if your shade is caused by overhanging trees then you can try and improve the growing conditions - ambient light levels can easily be increased by careful pruning. Unfortunately that may not be the end of it as you will probably need to improve the soil too - established tree roots will not only remove a large percentage of the available nutrients they will also be taking out a good proportion of the soil water.
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A good rule to remember is that if you are growing crops for the fruit or edible roots, then you are best suited with a sunny position. If you are growing crops for the leaves, stems, or buds, then a certain amount of shade will actually improve the crop.
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Luckily there are plenty of herbs and salad varieties around that will not only tolerate these lower light levels, they will in fact prefer them, and positively thrive.
There are of course some benefits to growing in the shade because you won't need to water as often and crops that are quick to bolt in hot weather - such as lettuce and baby leaf spinach - will have a sweeter flavour and a far longer harvesting period. This is especially true for crops within the mustard family - cruciferae - such as radish, lettuce and herb rocket.
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When growing crops from the cruciferae family you should find them reasonably productive during the early part of the year. However if they are grown in full sun during the beginning and height of the summer the quality of their flavour can drop enormously - often to a point where they become unpalatable. This is due to the production of bitter tasting compounds known as Glucosinolates, and these are produced in significantly increased amounts when the plants become stressed. These stresses can include high temperatures, high light levels and reduced moisture content within the root environment. Supplying these plants with a certain amount of shade will reduce environmental stress and in turn prolong the productivity of the crop.
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Below is a list of the best salad crops and herbs for growing in the shade:

SALADS
Salad Greens, such as leaf lettuce - cruciferae
Herb rocket - cruciferae
Arugula
Endive
Radish - cruciferae
Baby Spinach
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HERBS
Cress
Parsley
Chives
Mint
Wild garlic
Sage
Dill
Oregano
Borage
Chamomile

If your shade is caused by overhanging trees then you can try and improve the growing conditions. Light levels can be increased by careful pruning, and the soil will probably also need to be improved as tree roots will remove a lot of the available nutrients and water.

Take advantage of warmer and hopefully brighter conditions at home by germinating seeds earlier on in the year using modules. This will get them off to a far quicker start and will also help to establish their root systems before they are planted into the ground.

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Posted by Simon Eade at 09:19 9 comments
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Monday, 16 November 2009

THE PLIGHT OF ENGLISH WOODLANDS


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You wouldn’t think it could be true in an ‘enlightened’ society such as ours, but in recent years there's been a steep decline in the amount of land that supports our native British woodland.

In comparison to other European Nations – where natural forests cover on average 37.8% of the land mass - Great Britain is in a terrible state laggings way behind with forests covering just 11.8% of it land mass.
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To make things worse, government funding reductions and a complicated England Woodland Creation Grant Scheme (EWGCS) have severely suppressed the UK new woodland market. This has caused a 40% reduction in new woodland plantings over the last five years in non-Forestry Commission woodlands.

Much has been said about the destruction of the worlds rainforests and rightly so, but that is no excuse to neglect our native eco-systems. There was a time when this country was almost saturated with ancient wood land – a complex system that takes thousands of years to mature. Even if land was put back to woodland today it would still take centuries before the full benefit of this returning environment is realised.

WHY REPLANT NATIVE WOODLAND

This is not just about creating a varied and thriving habitat for our native animal species - many of which are also in decline - there is also the greater issue of climate change. Large woodland areas can help reduce some of its effects by - for example - preventing flash flooding by reducing runoff into rivers, but it is the relationship that woodland has with carbon dioxide that is the real advantage. Carbon dioxide is one of the main greenhouse gases and a major factor in rising global temperatures. However, by re-establishing Britain's natural woodland, it's possible to combat climate change - in a significant way - on our very doorstep.

As part of the normal photosynthetic process, woodlands absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the atmosphere and store it within its own growing vegetation. The more woodland we have, the more carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere- it is a very simple equation. To give you one example of the amount of woodland required to offset human activity, the amount of carbon that is absorbed and retained by half a hectare of established woodland over approximately 10 years will compensate for the emissions made by one car during an average driver's lifetime. Re-establishing native woodlands really is everyone’s responsibility, unfortunately so few of us have the required land resources to begin with.

The eyes of the government are slowly being opened to this problem stating that it wanted to see 10,000 hectares of new woods planted each year to store carbon, as part of the Low Carbon Transition Plan. However with no money yet on the table, who is going to make this happen?

SO, WHAT CAN WE DO?

Unfortunately, the majority of home owners in this country who are lucky enough to have gardens do not usually have enough room in them to safely accommodate even just the one native tree. Of course if you are one of the few who do have the space then you owe it to your children to plant as many different native tree and shrub species as you reasonably can.

But what about the vast majority of the population you do not live on private estates? Well, take a look around where you live and where you work. Are there areas of land local to you that have been left to waste that could benefit with the addition of a few trees? Ask your boss of you can plant saplings within the grounds of where you work. Approach your local cash-strapped council and ask if you can plant native trees into roundabouts and suitable verges. Write to your nearest National Trust or English heritage property - or even a local school or college - to see if you can help to replant there. The options are endless but it is all about making that first step. Or are you really prepared to trust the government with the future of your children, and your children’s children?

Please read Jo's additional comment further down, she makes a very valid point.
Percentage of woodland coverage comparison data taken from the Forestry Commission document 2006.

For more information click onto:
Are Slug Pellets Poisoning Our Wildlife
British Birds of Paradise
Caring for Insect Eating Birds in Winter
Easter Island - a Lesson in Environmental Exploitation
Edible Crop Pollination and the Decline of Bees
Fall in Bee Populations Linked to Decline in Plant Biodiversity
How to Attract Bumblebees to the Suburban Garden
How to Attract the Hummingbird Hawk Moth
How to Make a Wildlife Pond
Light Pollution and the Decline in Bat Populations
Light Pollution and the Decline of Native Insects
Light Pollution - The Hidden Threat
Lost Frog Returned from Extinction
Nectar Rich American Wildflowers for Attracting Native Bumble Bees
Nectar Rich Plants for Attracting Long-Tongued Bumble Bees
Non-Native Invasive Species - The Japanese Knotweed
Non-Native Invasive Species - The Harlequin Ladybird
Non-Native Invasive Species - The American Signal Crayfish
The Eagle Owl - Friend or Foe?
Pesticides Toxic to Honey Bees
Plants that Attract the Hummingbird Hawk Moth
Seed Bearing Plants for Attracting Wild Finches
Sustainability Through the Consumption of Things Conserved
The Decline of Butterfly and Caterpillar Habitat
The Decline of Insect Eating Birds
The Importance of Log Piles to Native Wildlife
The 'Native Trees' of England
What can we do to Help Save the Rainforests
What is 'Slash and Burn' Farming and How does it Affect the Rainforests?
What is the Rainforest?
Which Plants can Attract Bats into the Garden?
Why are Tropical Rainforests so Important?
Why is the Amazon Rainforest being Destroyed?
Why Shark Fin Soup is Devastating World Shark Populations
Why Should we Protect the Rainforest?
Posted by Simon Eade at 06:08 8 comments
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Saturday, 14 November 2009

TULIP ‘SEMPER AUGUSTUS’ - DOES IT STILL EXIST?













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Many believe that the Tulip ‘Semper Augustus’ is the holy grail of all tulip bulbs. Made famous during the well documented Tulip-mania period of 1637-1637, they were considered by many to be the most beautiful of all flowers and a pinnacle of achievement from the breeders. Unfortunately, such exquisiteness commanded an incredibly high price, making the Semper Augustus tulip affordable only to the very rich.
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Even before the madness of bulb price hyperinflation took place, a single Semper Augustus bulb was documented to have been sold for 5,500 guilders. In 1637 - just before the crash - the price for even a single Semper Augustus bulb would have been valued at approximately 10,000 guilders. When you consider that the average yearly earnings for a skilled craftsman would have been around 150 florins, 10,000 guilders was such an exorbitant amount of money that it would have easily purchased a grand house on the most fashionable canal in Amsterdam.

Unfortunately the extraordinary beauty of Semper Augustus is the result from a viral infection which 'breaks' the single block of colour normally displayed on tulips, adding a stunning striation of white or yellow coloured strips. As beautiful as this effect may be, there is a terrible downside due to the harmful effects of the virus. In many cases the virus is severely detrimental to the health of the bulb, reducing its vigour, and making it difficult to propagate. Eventually the bulb would lose its strength and eventually wither to nothing - ending the genetic line. It's for this reason alone that the famous, colour broken Semper August bulb no longer exists.

Or at least it doesn’t as a direct genetic line. What is often forgotten is that the breeding of tulip bulbs and their subsequent production and marketing was not in the sole domain of the Dutch. The fashion for rare and beautiful bulbs was common throughout Europe with one of the more significant countries following the fashion being Great Britain.

Broken flame-patterned tulips - like the Semper Augustus - are said to have come to England from merchants in Holland and France and have been recorded in the UK since at least the 17th Century. From this point Tulips societies sprung up throughout the country attracting enthusiastic amateurs interested in developing and perfecting the broken, flame-patterned cultivars. These societies reached their peak in the 1850’s when interest in such things was at an all time high. Unfortunately since their heyday, these old tulips societies have lost their base of interest and one by one they have become disbanded over the centuries. Today we are incredibly lucky to still have once society left - known as the Wakefield and North of England Tulip Society - and it is the only place that still actively continues trying to develop the breed.
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Over the years the Wakefield and North of England Tulip Society have developed their own creations and although techniques and the science behind tulip breeding have changed, the breeders of 17th century Holland would easily recognise the results. Once such cultivar of particular interest is the tulip ‘Wakefield Flame’- perhaps the most beautiful of the modern cultivars. But how does it stack up against the legendary Semper Augustus? Well - taking into consideration a certain amount of artistic licence - you can decide for yourself, because I have put them side by side at the top of the page - Photograph courtesy of Oldhousegardens.com and the Wakefield and North of England Tulip Society.

I am happy to hear you comments.
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Posted by Simon Eade at 11:02 5 comments
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WHY DO LEAVES CHANGE COLOUR IN THE AUTUMN FALL




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.If you live in northern Europe or North America/Canada then you will be familiar with the stunning seasonal colour changes of the native deciduous trees. Although it may look pretty to us, this movement from the usual green colouration to an often spectacular red and orange hue is actually just a by-product of the plants natural leaf dropping mechanism.

The chlorophyll pigment – as used for photosynthesis - is green, and the reason why the majority of leaves are coloured green is because leaves are packed full of the stuff. So how is it then that they are then able to change their colour?

Well, besides the highly specialised green chlorophyll pigment, there are two other important pigment groups that found within the leaf - carotenoids and anthocyanins. Carotenes are yellow coloured pigments while anthocyanins are red coloured pigments and along with the chlorophyll they all occur in differing ratios depending on the plant species, the variety, and sometimes the uniqueness of the individual plant.

Carotenoids and anthocyanins exist within the leaves for good reason because they are there to perform two important tasks. Firstly, they help by absorbing, and then transferring some of the light energy to drive the photosynthetic process. The second is to protect leaves from the damaging effects of UV light if they become over-exposed to high levels of sunlight. They do this by harmlessly dissipating excess light energy by – once again - absorbing it as heat. In the absence of carotenoids and anthocyanins, this excess light energy could easily destroy proteins, membranes, and other vital molecules within the leaf structure.

During the growing season the abundance of chlorophyll pigments effectively masks these other two pigments in the majority of plants. However, as winter approaches, days will become progressively shorter and cooler, and this small yet crucial day by day change acts as a trigger for dormancy in deciduous plants. This environmental trigger begins the absorption of leaf nutrients and carbohydrates back into the stems, but it also starts an irreversible phase of leaf drop.

At the same time a membrane of specialised cells known as the abscission layer will begin to develop at the base of the leaf’s stem. As the membrane grows, it increasingly restricts the flow of sugars and water between the leaf and the rest of the tree. Incidentally, this change also helps to promote the breakdown of chlorophyll pigments for absorption back into the stems. As the building blocks for chlorophyll are absorbed back into the plant the carotenes and anthocyanins remain and it is their remaining red/orange/yellow pigmentation which gives autumn leaves their colour. The intensity of the colour will also depend on the concentration of remaining stored sugars still within the leaf.

When the abscission layer is completely formed, it is then dissolved causing the physical separation of the leaf from the tree.

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Posted by Simon Eade at 01:00 3 comments
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Friday, 13 November 2009

WHICH VEGETABLES ARE TOLERANT OF GROWING IN THE SHADE


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Wouldn’t it be wonderful, if everyone who wanted one had a perfect plot for vegetable growing? However - as with many things in life - perfection is usually out of reach, and unfortunately gardening is no different.

Most people’s image of a vegetable garden is one that will receive direct sunlight all day long, and that’s fantastic for growing old favourites such as tomatoes, peppers, and melons. But what are you supposed to do if you have no other choice than to grow in the shade? Of course, if your shade is caused by overhanging trees then you can try and improve the growing conditions - ambient light levels can easily be increased by careful pruning. Unfortunately that may not be the end of it as you will probably need to improve the soil too - established tree roots will not only remove a large percentage of the available nutrients they will also be taking out a good proportion of the soil water.

Luckily there are plenty of vegetable varieties around that will not only tolerate these lower light levels, they will in fact prefer them, and positively thrive.

There are of course some benefits to growing in the shade because you won't need to water as often and crops that are quick to bolt in hot weather - such as lettuces and spinach - will have a far longer harvesting period.

A good rule to remember is that if you are growing crops for the fruit or edible roots, then you are best suited with a sunny position. If you are growing crops for the leaves, stems, or buds, then a certain amount of shade will actually improve the crop.

Below is a list of the best vegetables for growing under shade.
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Brassicas such as Broccoli, Brussel sprouts and Cauliflower
Peas
Beets
Swiss Chard
Leafy Greens, such as collards, mustard greens, and spinach.
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You can also try growing vegetables that have been selected for their shade tolerance. Consider varieties such as beetroot 'Boltardy', calabrese, kale, and kohl.
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If your shade is caused by deciduous trees then it is possible to try and work around it by making the most of growing early vegetables such as spring cabbage, and broad bean ‘Aquadulce’. Their seeds will need to be in the ground in early autumn so they are well established by early spring.
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Take advantage of warmer and hopefully brighter conditions at home by germinating seeds earlier on in the year using modules. This will get them off to a far quicker start and will also help to establish their root systems before they are planted into the ground.
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Posted by Simon Eade at 08:03 4 comments
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