Coverage of Hampton Court Flower Show - Page 2

I live in the countryside Lowenna but unfortunately it's a bit of a desert as far as wildlife is concerned.  Most of the hedgerows are gone, the herbicides and pesticides used on crops have a habit of spreading further than field boundaries, wiping out many of the wildflowers, people dump their rubbish anywhere out of sight, housing developments creep into greenbelt.  In the villages people pave and tarmac over their gardens, they plant sterile bedding plants, fence off their gardens like prisons, use chemicals to control anything they don't like, let their cats roam about without collars with bells.....the list is endless, and I could rant for hours.
All this aside, whether we want wildlife venturing into our gardens or not, without pollinating insects such as bees, we're facing major problems in food production on a global scale.
It's taken SO long for the horticultural industry to get the message (or at least to share that message), and though it's a bit late in the day, it's not too late to do something. So I say, keep banging on about gardening for wildlife, it's vital that people get the message.

Couldn't agree more with your sentiments. It was ten years ago a friend raised the awareness of gardening for wildlife and since then my garden has been transformed which now includes a mini-meadow. I will repeat again though, the RHS has only recently in the last couple of years got on board and are now sending out the message of how important gardens are for wildlife and what plants to choose to create a wildlife haven.

what's wonderful is when the city councils start to incorporate more insect-friendly plants into the minicipal parks and gardens.  we should all lobby our local councils to move away from "plastic" plants to a more natural way of gardening, and not wait for the RHS to take the lead.  

I agree rosa, and I personally dislike rows of bedding plants, One thing I have noticed though, when we have a stall, the amount of people who ask for plants that attract butterflies and NOT bees, because they're worried about their children getting stung.  Perhaps some education about bees as well as the plants that attract them is required?  I've mentioned this before on a post here, wondering whether local councils would play the health and safety card regarding bees.

I visit Oxfordshire regularly and walk my sister's dog and as a London dweller would expect the countryside to be an onslaught to my city senses - but the shocking reality is that huge swaithes of the fields are as diverse as a concrete car park in the centre of the West End - just square mile after square mile of one crop and absolutely nothing else. As for the Hampton Court show - FAR too much talk - not enough flowers!

I agree with grai, we live in rural Lincolnshire, where theres acre upon acre of rape, great for bees in the spring when it's in flower ,but after that there is nothing much for them to feed on. However a lot of the farmers are leaving the grass verges uncut until they have set seed and we are getting far more wild flowers than we have had in recent years. Every one who gardens should try to plant a few beneficial plants to make corridors for the insects,bees,butterflies etc. A lot of these plants are really attractive and add to the beauty of the garden. For the first time in quite a few years we have seen good a number of bats, they seem to have recolonised our area after being down in numbers. So come on you gardeners, do your bit for the insects, etc, you help them and they will repay you.

As for all the garden shows, Tatton Park is next week, let's have less talk, more flowers and plants .