Latest news with #PlantHeritage
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
North Yorkshire stately hall wins gold at RHS Chelsea Flower Show
A North Yorkshire hall has won a prestigious gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for its plant display. Newby Hall's woodland-themed display, which highlights some of the most 'eye-catching and unusual' varieties of Cornus, was given the top award by RHS judges. This was the hall's first-ever entry at the world's famous horticultural event. The display was inspired by Newby Hall's renowned National Plant Collection of Cornus, which are 'beautiful' flowering dogwood trees and shrubs that boast colourful 'flowers' in April, May, and June. Newby Hall's Lucinda Compton and Lawrence Wright with its prestigious gold medal awarded at its first ever Chelsea Show (Image: Newby Hall) The RHS Chelsea display was 'carefully designed' by Newby Hall's head gardener, Lawrence Wright, in collaboration with owners Richard and Lucinda Compton, who now curate the collection. Mr Wright said: "We are absolutely thrilled to have won a gold at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. "To be judged as being amongst the best of the best in the horticultural world is incredible, putting Newby Hall's plant collection firmly on the national and international map. "Thank you to all of our team for their hard work in helping us prepare for this. Plant Heritage president Alan Titchmarsh with Lucinda Compton and Lawrence Wright of Newby Hall (Image: Newby Hall) "We are now really looking forward to showing the thousands of show visitors the wonder of these beautiful plants and encouraging them to visit Newby Hall in person." Newby Hall's exhibit forms a key part of Plant Heritage's display within the Floral Marquee at RHS Chelsea, which celebrates the beauty of the National Plant Collections. It was officially opened by broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh, who is president of Plant Heritage, which champions and conserves garden plants. Newby Hall's Cornus collection is one of the UK's 'most extensive', comprising more than 100 individual specimens, 48 cultivars, and 25 species. It was originally started in 1990 by Robin Compton, a passionate horticulturist and former president of the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens – now known as Plant Heritage. The very first Cornus kousa was planted by his father, Major Edward Compton, in 1937, sparking a passion that would eventually grow into this nationally recognised collection. Richard and Lucinda's daughter, Sasha Compton, who is an established artist and designer, has been painting the Cornus display at the show, while Jake Sutcliffe Studio helped build the display. Newby Hall's famous gardens are a hailed a 'jewel of the Yorkshire countryside', and are frequently featured in television productions such as Peaky Blinders and Victoria. The garden boasts 14 stunning 'rooms', two heritage orchards, and one of the UK's longest double herbaceous borders. Other highlights include a Rose Garden at its fragrant peak in June, an Autumn Garden filled with Dahlias and more than 80 different varieties of Salvia, and an Edwardian Rock Garden nearing the end of major restoration which is due to be complete in spring 2026. This September, Newby Hall will also host the popular Harrogate Autumn Flower Show from September 19 to 21. Newby Hall & Gardens are open to the public from April to September, welcoming more than 120,000 visitors annually.
The Sun
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
I'm a Peony Expert – my 10 essential tips will keep them flourishing for months
FLAMBOYANT, frilly and utterly fantastic - Peonies are the secret weapon to filling your outside space with stunning colour right now. But how much do you know about the blowsy blooms? 3 Were you aware they can live for 100 years? Or that they get better with age? Alec White from Primrose Hall Nursery in Bedfordshire loves them so much, he gave up his job as a lawyer 15 years ago to grow them full time. Since then he's won a Chelsea Gold Medal and holds the Plant Heritage National Collection for unusual Peony Varieties. He told Sun Gardening: 'One of the things I love most, is that they're so easy to grow. They've got a reputation for being funny as they don't like being picked up and moved. 'But actually they're tough as old boots. They've been around for 100,000 years, they're all over the Northern Hemisphere. 'They've really adapted to all sorts of conditions, whether it's mountainous, prairies, woodland, wherever- there's peonies for everything. 'And there's lots of different foliage, lots of different colours and types. 'They flower from April in the UK until the end of June, or July depending on where you are. 'And they're really not that fussy. 'If you're a beginner gardener, they're perfect, because you plant them and the more you leave them, the more they thrive. The Sun's Veronica Lorraine visits the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 'I call them an 'inheritance plant' because they can last for a hundred years - and every year you leave them - they flower more. 'It's is astonishing how they die down completely - then the next year, they quickly go from this little jewel sticking out the top of the soil in February, to a bit more by March and by April, they've shot up. 'That's down to the quality of the roots - that enables them to shoot up so suddenly." He added: "You just need to watch out for Peony Wilt. "You'll know this fungal airborne disease by the stem turning black and wilting - normally in the UK around July time. "There's nothing you can do apart from cut it out and dispose of it Any material infected material touches will die as well. 'Peonies don't generally flower until they're five years old. Because they're such a long lived plant, they've very slow, they're very steady and they're very measured. 'They may look delicate and fragile, and each plant may only flower for a few weeks each year, but they are incredibly robust and long-lived and require very little care and maintenance.' Alec's Top Peony Tips If you want to feed them, then maybe just do it once a year - a couple of teaspoons of growmore - no more - otherwise you'll tire them out. Water them - even in the summer. They're really drought tolerant and will take a lot of punishment - but if they don't get looked after two or three years on the trot, they will start to suffer. They don't like to sit in water, they have quite a fat tuberous root - and if they're in water over the winter they'll rot. Buy a well established plant - some take 7-8 years before they flower reliably. Full sun or part shade, as long as it's not heavy shade. Any soil will do - they're not fussed - as long as it doesn't get waterlogged over the winter. They mustn't have wet feet over winter. The biggest thing with planting peonies is depth. The top of the peony doesn't want to be more than inch or two under the surface. If you're a novice and you're not quite sure, I'd say keep it on the surface. If they're any deeper - they will never flower. Don't mulch them - the more you bury them, the more you stop the flowering. Give them space for airflow. 3 3 Alec's Favourites EARLY Clair de Lune - pale lemon, single, birds and bees love it, doesn't mind a bit of shade. Foliage has a slight blue hue, really big flowers, beautifully scented. Flowers Mid to Late April. MID SEASON Catherina Fontijn - Herbacious, double, big flowers, blush pink, very delicate, very highly scented. LATE Paul M. Wild - nice strong red, flowers towards the end of June. Shirley Temple is a bit more subtle with slightly smaller flowers, double, white, with a raspberry fringe on them. Open pink but turn white and beautifully scented. Win a £200 Wildlife Community Voucher The Wildlife Community is an online community and shop dedicated to connecting people with nature Win a £200 Voucher to Spend on Wildlife & Gardening Products! Fancy giving your garden a wildlife-friendly makeover? Enter our giveaway for a chance to win a £200 voucher to spend on The Wildlife Community website! Or use the code SUNTWC10 on the Wildlife Communuty Website to get 10 per cent off all products. Explore a fantastic range of eco-friendly wildlife and gardening products, including beautifully handcrafted bird feeders and nest boxes, pollinator-friendly bee hotels, fair trade planters, sustainably sourced hedgehog house and Plastic Free Gardening seed trays. To enter, visit or write to Sun Wildlife Community Competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Ends 23.59GMT 24.05.25 T&Cs apply.
BBC News
13-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Hunt for rare daffodils that are feared lost
Rare British daffodils may be hiding in plain sight in gardens and parks and experts want to track them down. They have drawn up a wanted list of long-lost varieties linked to local places, such as the vibrant "bonfire yellow" daffodil associated with bonfire nights in Sussex. Rare varieties could be lost if they're not found and cared for, said Gwen Hines of the plant conservation charity, Plant Heritage. "There's the joy that they bring to all of us in the springtime ... and also, in the future, they might be important for medicines for science," she said. Believed to have been brought to Britain by the Romans, daffodils are a source of galantamine, a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The much-loved plants have been bred for centuries and now come in a dazzling array of about 30,000 different shapes, sizes and colours. Most daffodils are yellow but some are white, orange and salmon-pink. The gardening charity, the RHS, is asking for help in finding rare and missing daffodils that are feared lost to history and science. The Sussex Bonfire Plant Heritage The Sussex bonfire is named after the famous bonfire night in the Sussex county town of Lewes. The daffodil is one of many bred by the local plant breeder, Noel Burr, but has not been seen for at least 20 years. It is known for its very bright orange-yellow flower. Sussex horticulturist Roger Parsons hopes it is still growing in a garden somewhere. "Perhaps someone planted it in their garden and it still exists but our challenge is to find that person," he said. "Finding this and other daffodils thought to be lost helps maintain those genes for future plant breeding." The Mrs R O Backhouse daffodil RHS This daffodil is one of many bred by the plantswoman Sarah Backhouse. It was named for her by her husband after her death in 1921. The daffodil is unusual in being one of the first daffodils with a pinkish colour. It has a salmon-pink trumpet surrounded by ivory flowers. The daffodil is known to exist in national collections but its actual whereabouts are unknown. The Mrs William Copeland daffodil Daffodils were fashionable in late Victorian and Edwardian times, bred into different shapes and forms. William Fowler Copeland (1872 to 1953) is a particularly well-known daffodil breeder from this time. He named this white, double-flowered daffodil after his wife. The RHS is also calling on the public to record where and when they see daffodils appearing this spring. RHS scientist Dr Kálmán Könyves has spent 15 years studying "these remarkably fascinating plants". He said mapping which daffodils grow where will help us find out how the plants are responding to the changing climate. "With this we can get some data on whether the flowering time changes as our climate changes," he said.
BBC News
12-02-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Can you help track down the rare British daffodils?
If we started talking about the Mrs R O Backhouse and Sussex bonfire, would you know what we are talking about?These are actually super rare varieties of are on a list of varieties which are so unusual that experts are worried they could be lost forever unless they are found and looked Hines, who is from the plant conservation charity Plant Heritage, said not only do daffs bring us joy in the springtime, but also in the future "they might be important for medicines for science". Daffodils are the national flower of Wales and are often worn by people on St David's of the flowers are yellow, but they can also be white, orange and even are thought to have been initially brought to Britain by the Romans and there is now around 27,000 different Royal Horticultural Society - or RHS - is asking for help in finding some of the rare and missing varieties that they are worried have been lost to history and science. The charity is asking people to make a note of when and where they see the flowers this spring and tell Kálmán Könyves is one of the scientists working for the RHS, he says mapping out where they grow could help them to find out how they are responding to the changing of the rare varieties like the Sussex bonfire haven't been seen for at least 20 like Roger Parsons hope it is still growing in a garden somewhere, he says finding it could help "maintain those genes for future plant breeding".
The Guardian
12-02-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Britons urged to join hunt for rare daffodil breeds amid extinction fears
Britons have been asked to hunt for rare pink, white and 'bonfire yellow' daffodils in order to save threatened varieties from extinction. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which is running the daffodil count, is hoping to build a map of the spring blooms. It is asking people to log where daffodils are flowering in their area along with basic information such as colour, type and height. It is hoped the data will help RHS scientists understand environmental influences on the plant, as well as revealing rare varieties at risk of being lost for ever. There are three varieties of daffodil in particular the plant charity has asked the public to look out for. These include the Mrs RO Backhouse, which was one of the first pink daffodils to be bred, in 1923, with a solid coral-pink trumpet and ivory flowers. It is known to exist in national collections but its whereabouts beyond that is a mystery. Scientists are also trying to find the Mrs William Copeland – a white, double-flowered daffodil, which has not been for sale in recent years but is known to have been given to a direct descendant of its original UK breeder by an American grower in the early 2000s. The charity is also looking for the Sussex Bonfire – a double-flowered yellow and orange breed that has not been seen since 1998. Gwen Hines, the CEO of the charity Plant Heritage, said: 'Springtime daffodils are abundant, but rare varieties could be lost from our gardens and roadsides if they're not found and cared for. While six national plant collections do protect some, many others aren't yet safeguarded, which is why we encourage everyone to look for rare varieties this spring.' It is hoped that finding these unusual flowers will help aid their survival and allow scientists to preserve their genetic material, which could be valuable for future breeding of daffodils. It is important to have varied varieties of flowers as the climate changes and some are found to be more resilient to extreme weather than others. All information and images of daffodils thought to be the above varieties should be submitted via the RHS website. Although now ubiquitous across the UK and a sign of spring, daffodils originated in the Iberian peninsula and north Africa. They were originally grown for medicinal use, but by the 1600s they began to be noticed for their cheerful blooms and grown for aesthetic purposes. There was a daffodil boom in Britain in the 1800s and enthusiasts hybridised them to create new garden daffodil forms and colours. Now, the UK grows 90% of the world's cut flower daffodils. Dr Kálmán Könyves, principal scientist in the cultivated plant diversity team at the RHS, said: 'Daffodils have come to mark the arrival of spring and are celebrated for their welcome burst of colour in gardens, parks and roadsides. But there's more to this ubiquitous yellow flower than meets the eye, with 31,000 known varieties available in green, pink and red. Understanding where they can be found will help us in preserving this diversity for the future.'
