Grass Clippings
‘May is the month of promise and the sweet beginnings of summer’ is an unknown quote which sums up the potential of this time of the year. The unusually high frequency of hours of sunlight this April has meant that all forms of plant life have sprung into life and flower. This year’s flower displays are particularly good too, as they have not been affected by heavy frosts or clobbered by rainstorms.
So far, there is sufficient moisture in the ground to keep all the non-irrigated areas going on the golf course but we have had to begin watering the playing surfaces earlier than at any time I can remember in the last ten years to keep the grass maintained.
The dry spell has been to the advantage of the lawn tennis courts, which have seen play during the first weekend of opening, which is a minor miracle in itself. Usually, we have a cloudburst a day before or after the opening date that sets back the grass courts a good week or two. How long these halcyon days will last is anyone’s guess but so far, it’s wonderful to see everyone’s mood lift and Members’ playing tennis, golf or croquet into the early evenings.
With my agronomic hat on, a good period of rain would be welcome as the soil moisture deficit grows by the day with the possibility of a parched summer. This weekend’s Telegraph newspaper ran a story with the byline that the southeast is currently drier than Sydney, Dallas, Marrakech or Istanbul and that we should all conserve water now as it may be a tough summer. Time will indeed tell.
It’s a dog’s life at the Chelsea Flower Show
It is the final countdown for what many see as the opening event of the season, the Chelsea Flower show. For the last month, the hospital grounds have been a hive of activity with the usual performance of stressed-out garden designers trying to outshine each other in creating the ultimate garden, on a temporary basis. Meanwhile, plants specialist companies are either trying to retard their stock from flowering or induce them into making blooms, ready for the great week of the horticultural masses.
Anyone who has turned on a radio or TV recently to a BBC outlet will probably have been alerted to the fact that Monty Don and his retriever, Ned have co-designed a Dog Garden with Jamie Butterworth. I am reliably informed that Ned has made a vital contribution to the design too. I shall not spoil the surprise for those who wish to go see Ned’s efforts in person. Chelsea week is a huge income generator for the Royal Horticultural Society, and with taking effected by the works on being undertaken at the Wisley road interchange, this funding stream is badly needed this year. The usual week’s coverage of the event will be hosted by the BBC over its various channels during the week.
Trees under attack
In a new study, the University of Exeter has been looking at future threats to British native species from an attack, similar to that which has affected the ash tree in the UK. They have assessed 636 tree pests and diseases to work out the invasion probability and likely effects on tree growth. Based on recent rates of pest and disease arrival, it estimates that by 2050 more than half of tree growth could be lost (compared to growth if no new pests and diseases arrived from now onwards).
Tackling pest and disease invasions is very difficult in a world of global trade and travel, the study adds, but tight biocontrol would slow the process, and tree-planting policies can also boost resilience. ‘The defence against uncertain risk is always diversity,’ said Professor Dan Bebber. ‘In the UK, we have relatively low tree diversity, both in terms of the number of tree species and the genetic diversity within each species. The ash dieback epidemic showed us how devastating a single tree disease can be, and how urgently we need to learn about these threats and protect our biodiversity.’