WORLDWIDE GARDEN NEWS
Posted August 29th, 2012
WORLDWIDE GARDENING NEWS ARTICLES
UNITED KINGDOM
Special Dates for 2012
Sandwich Dahlia Festival – September 1-16
A two-week celebration of the Dahlia gets underway at The Secret Gardens of Sandwich at the start of September. With more than 76 different varieties of Dahlia planted throughout the gardens, there really is no better place to see the flower this summer. Our gardening team will be giving talks and holding workshops on the flowers each day and there will be the opportunity to learn how to grow your own Dahlias at home.
The Gardens
The Secret Gardens is the perfect venue for a great day out. Now recognised as one of the finest gardens in Kent – it has had over 100,000 visitors so far. They offer exclusive discounts for group visits, guided tours, group teas and free coach parking.
Re-opened in 2007 after years of neglect, come along to discover the Lutyens and Jekyll Gardens transformed to its former glory. You can expect to enjoy the spirit and style of the original garden on an audio tour around the White and Yellow Gardens and the elegant Bowling Lawn, as well as taking in more modern features that have been added such as the Tropical Border and the tranquil Lake Patricia Island. Their friendly team of gardeners are always on hand to answer any questions.
The gardens hard working team
After you have wandered around the beautiful gardens, relax and unwind in their Jekyll and Lutyens tea rooms which evoke the refined and elegant Edwardian pastime of taking tea. They offer group teas where you can enjoy a selection of leaf teas, herbal teas and freshly ground coffee on their spacious wooden terrace, or perhaps indulge in some delicious treats such as their home-made cakes and light lunches, all freshly baked on site and ideal for a leisurely afternoon.
Before you head home why not take a little of the gardens with you? The plants on sale are perfect for you to take back as a souvenir, as they all feature in their gardens. Or treat yourself in their exquisite gift shop which stocks high quality and great value gifts.
They'll be holding many events throughout the year for you to take part in to help them celebrate their 100th birthday. These include a Classic Bike Show, a World Tiddlywinks competition, a Midsummer Dusk Tour and the Dahlia Flower Festival, to name a few.
Before you head home why not take a little of the gardens with you? The plants on sale are perfect for you to take back as a souvenir, as they all feature in their gardens. Or treat yourself in their exquisite gift shop which stocks high quality and great value gifts.
They'll be holding many events throughout the year for you to take part in to help them celebrate their 100th birthday. These include a Classic Bike Show, a World Tiddlywinks competition, a Midsummer Dusk Tour and the Dahlia Flower Festival, to name a few.
The glorious grounds will also be holding a traditional garden party with cream tea on the lawn, to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and there will be an Olympic flower show featuring work of fine ceramic artist, Paul Cummins. His installation of beautiful and unique roses will be displayed at only six unique venues including The Secret Gardens from May this year.
For more information visit www.the-secretgardens.co.uk
GARDENING NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT HOLLAND
Floriade 2012 returns to Venlo in the Netherlands
The World Horticultural Expo will take place from 5th April until 7th October 2012. This unique event only takes place once every 10 years in Holland. It is the largest horticultural expo in Europe and will have five themed areas - Relax & Heal, Education & Innovation, Green Engine, Environment and World Show Stage. The exhibition site will cover 40 hectares and include a seven tousand square metre indoor flower and plant exhibition. Spectacular panoramic views of the show can be enjoyed in the cable car riding above the site.
FLORIADE SUCCESS SEES SHEARINGS SALES BLOOM
Leading escorted tour operator Shearings Holidays has seen sales soar thanks to its range of breaks to Floriade, Holland’s horticultural expo.
The company is offering a range of short breaks and river cruises incorporating visits to Floriade, which is held only once every ten years.
Caroline Brown, commercial director for Shearings, said: “Holidays including visits to gardens are a firm favourite of our customers, and Floriade has proven to be no exception. Our itineraries offer a great value, convenient way for customers to experience this once-a-decade event.
“Demand has been so strong for breaks to Floriade that we’ve had to add three extra coaches per week to the programme. What’s more, we’ve already sold 93% of our capacity for our four-day weekends and recently added a seven-day Floriade & Valkeburg itinerary, offering customers the chance to experience Floriade while enjoying a longer holiday.”
Other garden-themed holidays introduced by Shearings for 2012 include an exclusive no-fly five-day Gardens of Cornwall & Normandy Cruise and a 12-day Gardens of Italy escorted tour.
Shearings’ breaks to Floriade depart throughout April and May, starting from £249 per person for a four-day break by coach.
For full details about this stunning garden show visit www.floriade.com
GARDENING NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT INDIA
India’s oldest sunken garden discovered
Isa Khan’s garden tomb in the precincts of Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage Site in Delhi can now be considered the earliest example of a sunken garden in India attached to a tomb, a concept later developed at Akbar’s Tomb and at the Taj Mahal.
Restorers at Isa Khan's tomb have discovered that Isa Khan's tomb stood within a hitherto unknown sunken garden that predates the famed gardens that the Mughals built and popularized. Also uncovered at site are pieces of underlying archaeology.
Restorers at Isa Khan's tomb have discovered that Isa Khan's tomb stood within a hitherto unknown sunken garden that predates the famed gardens that the Mughals built and popularized. Also uncovered at site are pieces of underlying archaeology.
GARDENING NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT THE UNITED KINGDOM
Bedfordshire
Neglected for decades, Wrest Park’s unique, yet largely ignored Grade I registered landscape is being returned to its early 20th century glory by English Heritage.
Generations of the de Grey family, who owned the estate from the middle ages until 1917, employed some of the greatest names in British landscape design, including Capability Brown, Batty Langley, Thomas Archer, Thomas Wright, Thomas Ackres, William Chambers, Lord Burlington, Nicholas Hawksmoor and GiacomoLeoni. Rather than remove ‘old’ designs as new designers made their imprint to reflect changing fashions, they retained and remoulded them, so that today, the landscape offers a unique walk through 250 years of English garden history.
Phase one of the Wrest Park revival is open to the public. This includes the restoration of the Rose Garden and Italian Garden and the reinstatement of miles of paths and vistas. A new visitor centre complete with shop and café, children’s play area and new exhibitions opens and selected rooms inside the French-style mansion will be open to public view for the first time. Work has also started this year on the French parterre and American gardens. Visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/wrestpark
Surrey - RHS Wisley
The Bowes-Lyon Rose Garden at Wisley has been designed by RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner, Robert Myers, and contains more than 4,500 roses. Selected by experts at the RHS, the 150 rose cultivars show the full range of roses available to the modern gardener, from true old roses, hybrid musks, English Roses and floribunda, through to species roses which are rarely seen in a garden setting. Visit www.rhs.org.uk/wisley
The Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston near Worcester is a living museum of plants, featuring 132 acres of a hilltop garden paradise with a panoramic view toward Mt Wachusett and the nearby Wachusett Reservoir. Special events, guided tours, lectures, and workshops are also on offer. Visit www.towerhillbg.org.