May '23 in the Garden

Dig It - Discussions on Gardening Topics

Join Dig It’s Peter Brown and Chris Day and catch up with the latest garden news, views, events and tasks as we enter one of the busiest gardening months of the year.

What’s On

1st – 31st May No Mow May

2nd-8th May: RHS National Gardening Week.

6th May: King’s Coronation. Turn Your Garden Red, White and Blue – Patriotic Planting for The King's Coronation.

Sunday 7th May: Specialist Spring Plant Fair at Borde Hill, Haywards Heath, West Sussex.

11th - 14th May: RHS Malvern Spring Festival.

14th May: World Topiary Day.

23rd – 27th May: RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Royal Hospital Chelsea, London.

30th May – 2nd July: Tree Listening. Visit Exbury Gardens in Hampshire to find out what happens beneath the bark of trees.

Plants mentioned: Antirrhinums, Basil, Broad beans, Cosmos, Courgettes, Hyssop, Kinder Plant Drop-in / Pop-ins, Lobelia, Mints, Petunia, Photinia Red Robin, Potato ‘Swift’, Runner beans, Rhubarb, Rosemary, Sweet Corn, Thyme, Tomatoes, Tulips,

Products mentioned: Malvern Garden Buildings at the RHS Chelsea Flower show with their Houseplant Studios, Levington Seed and Cutting Peat-Free Compost, Agralan Plum Moth and Codling Moth pheromone traps, yellow sticky traps, Slug traps, Provanto Veg & Fruit spray, Poppy Forge plant supports, Perlite and Vermiculite.

News Houseplant books: Legends of the Leaf by Jane Perrone and Not Another Jungle by Tony Le-Britton.

NEWS

London’s Natural History Museum survey focusing noise pollution and insect life.

Research by The New Scientist suggests Plant Ident Apps are not particularly accurate.

A new crowdfunded sensory garden ties a strong bond with the Ukraine in Liverpool.

A new 1.2-mile-long railway park to connect Camden Town and King’s Cross gets a green light and it will be designed by Piet Oudolf.

The Victorian Palm House at the Royal Botanic gardens in Edinburgh undergoes a major structural restoration.

Newby Hall in Yorkshire celebrates its 75th anniversary with a special royal theme.

Tesco have become the first UK retailer to go peat-free in its British-grown bedding plants.

Government backtracks on commercial peat ban with professional growers to continue to use products until 2030.

Melcourt SylvaGrow® Multi-Purpose 100% peat-free compost has been recognised as a top performer and a Which? Best Buy, earning it the right to use the prestigious endorsement. It is stocked at the Garden Centre.

Orchid grower Marius Grzelik has taken on Geoff Hands’ National Plant Collection® of Dendrobium after Geoff Hands passed away in November 2020. www.plantheritage.co.uk

Boyd Douglas-Davies to leave British Garden Centres and will be setting up his own consultancy business.

Blue Diamond acquires its 43rd Garden Centre - Beckworth Emporium.

RSPB birdwatch 2022 results announced.

Dig It Top 5 KINDER PLANTS 1st Nepeta hederacea. Joint 2nd Petunia ‘Tumbelina ‘Diana’ and Bacopa ‘Megacopa White’. In 3rd place Petunia ‘Tumbelina Anna’ and in 4th Fuchsia ‘Voodoo’.

Our thanks to Chiltern Music Therapy for supplying the music.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.