Latest news with #RHSGardenWisley
Daily Mirror
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Netflix makes huge Thursday Murder Club announcement and fans won't want to miss it
The Thursday Murder Club movie, directed by Home Alone's Chris Columbus, is coming to cinemas and Netflix later this month. Netflix has unveiled some thrilling news for fans eagerly awaiting The Thursday Murder Club movie, adapted from Richard Osman's hit novel. In a unique collaboration, the streaming service is teaming up with the Royal Horticultural Society to mark the release of the much-awaited film, directed by the renowned Chris Columbus. The star-studded cast of The Thursday Murder Club includes Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie, and audiences can catch it in cinemas and on Netflix later this month. The plot synopsis reads: "Four irrepressible retirees spend their time solving cold case murders for fun, but their casual sleuthing takes a thrilling turn when they find themselves with a real whodunit on their hands." For a limited period of one week, enthusiasts of the popular book series will be able to immerse themselves in a cosy crime experience at five RHS gardens, reports the Express. At these locations, murder mystery buffs are invited to "put their sleuthing skills to the test" through engaging scavenger hunts that "blend horticulture with homicide". From Friday August 22 to Thursday August 28, the event titled 'Murder Amongst the Marigolds' will offer visitors themed scavenger hunts, impressive floral billboards, and a special tearoom experience at RHS Garden Wisley. Participating gardens across the UK include RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey, RHS Garden Bridgewater in Manchester, RHS Garden Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire, RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Essex, and RHS Garden Rosemoor in Devon. The event description teases: "Fans will enjoy exclusive activities, clues, and prizes; from interacting with film billboards meticulously brought to life in flowers, to channel their inner sleuths in scavenger hunts for themed prizes. "For those with a taste for something truly killer, visitors to RHS Wisley can even indulge in a murderously good afternoon tea at Joyce's Tearoom. "Named in honour of the character played by Celia Imrie in the film, the menu is packed with delightful nods to the gang, from Elizabeth's Earl Grey (with a twist) to Ibrahim's Calming Chamomile. "And fans certainly won't want to miss Joyce's famous Lemon Drizzle or Ron's must-try Sausage Rolls - some might say they're to die for." Reflecting on the adaptation of his novel last year, Osman shared: "I'm so proud of this book, so it is a dream to see The Thursday Murder Club in such incredible hands. "From Chris Columbus to Amblin to Netflix, there are geniuses everywhere I look. And what a cast. I'm pinching myself." On his widely followed podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, which he co-hosts with Marina Hyde, Osman also touched upon potential alterations to the narrative for its cinematic rendition. "The plot, as I understand it, for The Thursday Murder Club movie is based on the first book but it's not entirely the same, because you have to change things is the truth," he explained. "And to have me looking over their shoulder telling them every five seconds that they couldn't do this or they couldn't do that I think would be hard." The Thursday Murder Club film is set to hit the big screen on August 22 and will be available for streaming on Netflix starting August 28.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ever wondered how to shape your evergreens? Experts share their tips
Topiary offers a unique way for plants to shape our gardens. Shaping plants into balls, pyramids and even birds doesn't have to be as complicated as it might seem, so you don't just have to admire topiary in the gardens of stately homes and horticultural shows. A new photographic exhibition, On The Hedge, opening at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey, charts our relationship with hedges and topiary, from their role in shaping our landscapes and homes, to their environmental benefits. 'From a design point of view, topiary is really important, even if it's just a simple basic structure. A cube, or a cone, or even just a ball of some sort gives really good structure through the winter when a lot of gardens go quiet,' says RHS horticultural advisor, Nick Turrell. 'If your shape – it could be a simple cone or a cube – is repeated through a garden, the eye will immediately pick up on that repetition. In summer, it might just sit in the background but it still provides an important structural framework. 'Then in the winter it looks amazing because the frost sits on it.' 'Yes – it could be knee high, a cube or a dome and you could grow them in a border, like an exclamation mark among all the froth of the flowers. I've done it even in tiny little postage stamp-sized gardens, when you have two or three in the border which adds a good bit of solidity,' says Turrell. If you've only got room for a pot, put your evergreen in as big a pot as you can, which won't dry out as quickly as smaller containers, but be aware that it will require more TLC than if you plant it in a border, he advises. 'It will require a bit more attention. Any plant, whether it's clipped or not, is totally dependent on you for food and water. It will need feeding through the summer, ideally every three weeks. 'After the first season the potting compost will have run out of nutrients so it's down to you to feed it.' If the compost needs changing, the chances are you'll need to repot your topiary into a bigger pot. If you don't have room for that, it will need regular feeding and will benefit from mulching with some well-rotted manure in the autumn, he suggests. Box blight and box tree caterpillar are still a real problem, so find an alternative, he suggests. His top three choices are yew, small-leaved privet and Wilson's honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida). 'With yew, you can have it whatever size you like, it always comes back and it has tiny needles, which lends itself to close clipping.' The small-leaved privet doesn't grow too tall – reaching around 1.5m if you let it – and is quite happy to be clipped, he says. Wilson's honeysuckle is strong-growing, with tiny leaves. You can grow it in a pot and if you occasionally forget to water it, it can bounce back, he says. Look at the size of the leaves of whichever plant you choose, because the bigger the leaf the worse it is to topiarise, he adds. 'You can end up cutting through a broad leaf halfway through when you are clipping it and then the ends can start fraying and going a bit brown, which doesn't look good.' Don't plant, for instance, three of the same species next to each other hoping that they will be dense enough to give you a shape more quickly, because they will eventually end up fighting for space and light, he advises. 'If you're looking for a cone or a ball which is say, a metre high, you can buy them ready-made but they are expensive. If you buy a yew just as a plant, which is 60cm tall, it won't cost as much and as long as you are patient and feed and water it you can start trimming it once it reaches the size you want it to be. 'They will grow fairly quickly. Within 18 months – two seasons – you should start to see the beginnings of the shape, if it's not too intricate, like a cockerel.' 'Keep it simple. A good pair of sharp shears or even some little handheld long-nosed snips are perfect. Don't worry about electric hedge trimmers – it's the difference between using an electric shaver and a razor blade. You get a much better finish with a sharp pair of shears or long-nosed snips. 'Using those tools also encourages you to look carefully at what you are doing, whereas electric hedging shears are a bit slapdash.' Put a frame over the plant – you can buy shaped frames at garden centres and topiary specialists. Anything that grows outside the frame can be clipped to get the shape you want. Position the frame over the top of the plant after you've planted it. They are like a plant support. Once the plant has grown and you have achieved your desired shape, you can remove the frame, or leave it in place as a marker, especially if it is an intricate shape, he suggests. Beginners might start with easy cones or cubes, but you can progress to cloud shapes, birds and animals. There's no hard and fast rule about when to trim but it would normally be in spring or autumn, depending on how fast it grows, he says. Step back every few snips when you are trimming, to check on the shape and the perspective. 'If you cut off too much in one section, you'll probably need to cut the whole lot down to that size,' he suggests. 'It's not the end of the world, it just delays the ultimate size that you want.' If you buy a plant which is already shaped, take a picture of it at the outset, so that if it starts growing fast, you can see what shape it looked like at the start. If you want your topiary to inhabit your flower borders, don't be afraid of planting your colour close to the topiary, which will create a contrast between a crisp, shaped evergreen and a froth of flowers, he says. If you want your topiary to be a stand-alone showstopper in, say, a lawn, don't plant anything nearby which will take away its prima donna status, he suggests. On The Hedge runs at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey from Jun 13 to Sep 28.
