Newsletter 24 - May 2013

Tulipa 'Esperanto' is a late flowering tulip which appears in early May. Each tepal has a central line of dark green, which fades to a scarlet red. The green leaves are variegated with a pretty, silvery-white edging. Find out more...

Pollen beetles are small (2 to 3mm) black or green/bronze beetles which can be found, usually in large numbers, feeding on flowers from May throughout the summer. They damage flowers and can completely destroy them. Shake the beetles off or put infested flowers into the shade for a few hours to get rid of them. Chemical controls are not recommended. Find out more...

The European Commission will introduce EU-wide restrictions on the use of neonicotinoid insecticides from July of this year at the latest. The controls will prevent the use of these chemicals on crops which are attractive to bees and other pollinators.

Chef Raymond Blanc has announced a competition to design a new heritage kitchen garden for his Michelin starred restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. Two winners will be selected, one professional garden designer and one amateur enthusiast, who will work together on an integrated programme of gardening, horticulture and design.

The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) have called for a ban on the import of sweet chestnut trees in order to arrest the spread of the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica. This disease has already affected plants at two UK sites and 180 trees have been destroyed as a result. While the disease is not as aggressive as ash dieback disease, the HTA believe that sweet chestnuts may become more important to the UK's woodlands as replacement for ashes.

A recent Homebase survey of 1,000 children has discovered that 62% of them would like to learn more about gardening at school. Their interest is keenest at junior school age - 41% of seven year olds stated that the garden was their favourite part of the home.

This month's RHS Chelsea Flower Show will be looking back at a centenary of shows and forwards towards the sustainable gardens of the future.

Many of the displays will be themed to mark this milestone, including the M&G garden which will reflect garden design past and present, a public vote to find the Plant of the Century, an exhibition of photographs from the 100 years of shows and Sitting Spiritually will be selling 100 bespoke, commemorative benches - a snip at just £4,499 each!

Here are some of the highlights to watch out for, whether you're visiting the show in person or catching up with it on TV:

• This year's Arthritis Research UK garden is designed by Chris Beardshaw, who was diagnosed with the condition at the age of 19. The garden will show a journey of someone with arthritis. The design is split into three areas which take the visitor from the early confusion of diagnosis to the successful management of the disease.
• In the Floral Pavilion many displays will juxtapose modern plants with those found at the 2013 show. In fact three exhibitors will find this particularly easy as they have been at every show since 1913 - McBean's Orchids, Blackmore & Langdon and Kelways.
• The Delancey's East Village Garden, designed by Michael Balston and Marie-Louise Agius, will demonstrate the sustainable redevelopment of an urban area by reflecting the landscaping and planting used at the London 2012 Olympic Park.
• Jo Thompson's garden, designed for the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA), is a sunken garden which aims to publicise the threat to our native plants from pests, diseases and invasive species. The controversial design will include an avenue of dead trees and hopes to encourage people to 'stop the spread'.
• Christopher Bradley-Hole will be designing this year's Daily Telegraph garden which will combine a Japanese style with native UK planting.
• Prince Harry has had a hand in garden design this year, supporting Jinny Blom in the planning of a garden sponsored by B&Q and the Prince's charity, Sentebale. Sentebale, which means 'forget me not' in Sesotho, works with vulnerable children in Lesotho, and the Chelsea garden will evoke the landscape of this impoverished African country.
• The Trailfinders/Flemings Australia Garden is one of several designs at this year's show which focus on sustainable gardening. Philip Johnson's Aussie themed design is powered by the sun and all the water is ecologically channelled from surrounding areas. The materials used on the site are either locally sourced or reclaimed.
• After last year's successful debut the Artisan Retreats will return to Chelsea with the summerhouses designed by the likes of Wayne Hemmingway and Cath Kidston.
• The Stoke-on-Trent Garden Partnership garden celebrates the city's journey from an industrial giant to a vibrant modern city. The design will feature the skeleton of a bottle kiln and thousands of ceramic flowers made by local school children.

The RHS will also announce the winner of their public vote for the 'plant of the century'. The shortlist for this award are:

• 1913-22 Saxifraga 'Tumbling Waters', bred by Bertram Symons-Jeune.
• 1923-32 Pieris formosa var. forrestii, introduced by Victorian plant hunter George Forrest.
• 1933-42 Lupinus Russell group, bred by George Russell.
• 1943-52 Rhododendron yakushimanum, collected by Takenoshin Nakai.
• 1953-62 Rosa 'Iceberg', bred by Reimer Kordes.
• 1963-72 Cornus 'Eddie's White Wonder', bred by Henry M Eddie.
• 1973-82 Erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve', breeder unknown.
• 1983-92 Heuchera villosa 'Palace Purple', raised by Brian Halliwell.
• 1993-2002 Geranium wallichianum 'Rozanne', bred by Donald Waterer.
• 2003-12 Streptocarpus 'Harlequin Blue', raised by Lynne Dibley.

You can vote for your favourite at the RHS website.

Image: The Arthritis Research UK Garden, designed by Thomas Hoblyn, at the 2012 show. More about the 2012 show.

Your garden might be demanding your attention, but why not take a break from all that hard work to get some inspiration from someone else's efforts:

• 4th to 6th May - Hertfordshire Garden Show, Knebworth House, Knebworth, Hertfordshire.
• 4th to 6th May - Southend Spring Garden Show, Garon Park, Southend, Essex.
• 4th to 6th May - Milton Keynes Garden and Home Show, National Bowl, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
• 9th to 12th May - Malvern Spring Gardening Show, Malvern Showground, Malvern, Worcestershire.
• 10th to 12th May - The Norfolk Spring Garden Show, Norfolk Showground, Norwich, Norfolk.
• 11th & 12th May - Spring Vegetable Weekend, Barnsdale Gardens, Oakham, Rutland.
• 15th May - London Head Gardeners lecture, Fulham Palace, Fulham, London.
• 17th to 19th May - The Essex Garden Show, The Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, Essex.
• 19th May - Sow and Grow, Ham House and Garden, Richmond-Upon-Thames, London.
• 21st to 25th May - RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London.
• 25th & 26th May - Edible Gardening; Seasonal Advice, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh.
• 25th to 27th May - Lea Valley Cactus and Succulent Show, Capel Manor Gardens, Enfield, Middlesex.
• 26th & 27th May - Tavistock Garden Festival, Tavistock Town Hall, Tavistock, Devon.
• 31st May to 2nd June - Gardening Scotland, The Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh.
• 31st May to 2nd June - Holker Garden Festival, Holker Hall and Gardens, Cark-In-Cartmel, Cumbria.