Gardening & Environment
The family of grasses, the Poaceae, is the fifth largest, with 12,000 species. Their physical stature varies enormously, from low growing bents on golf greens, to pretty ornamental grasses grown in gardens, to the bamboos and elephant grasses used to feed pandas and burn for energy.
Grasses are also crucial for life. They act as a larger carbon sink than the Amazon rainforest and are used to manage floodwaters, improve soil health and provide erosion control on slopes and roadside verges.
The blogs I write here demonstrate how gardeners and researchers are increasingly using grasses to create amazing gardens, as well as helping to save our planet.
My own celebration of National Meadows Day
It was National Meadows Day on 2 July this year – the second time this celebration of meadows at the peak of their gloriousness has taken place. More than 100 events took place across the country, on nature reserves, country parks and other sites, with guided walks, family activities, photography courses and even scything workshops!
When is a lawn, not a lawn?
I saw grass specialist Neil Lucas the other day at the Hertfordshire Group of the Hardy Plant Society talking about the use of grass in gardens in California and Las Vegas.
Grasses feature in Chelsea Fringe e-book project
I was honoured to be asked to contribute to an e-book project collated by the lovely people at Modern Mint, a creative garden design company based in Essex, which also runs a lovely internet shop for gardeners. The idea of Modern Mint owner Darren Lerigo (a...
Wild pastures make nature flourish and produce fantastic meat
Changing course because a business isn’t profitable, despite everyone working incredibly hard, seems to be a recurring theme in recent posts, and this one is no exception. But once again it is grazing and grassland that have come to the rescue! In the 1980’s and early...
Manage grazing to protect precious grassland
Earlier this month I attended a Conservation Grazing conference in Worcestershire, hosted by Natural England, which challenged the concept of set stocking cattle in low numbers, on sensitive sites.
My grass year in pictures!
My grass year in pictures! I have seen some amazing grass this year – on farms, in gardens, in the countryside and in one of the temples of British sport! Here is a snapshot of some of these wonderful grassy places and events…