Amateur Gardening – 20 July 2019

W

HEN you pick your garden
products off the shelf,
do you ever consider the
finance and research that
goes into their production?
Last month, AG was invited behind
the scenes at the Evergreen research
centre based in Levington in Suffolk.
This is where the company behind the
Miracle-Gro, Tomorite, Roundup and
Roseclear create and test their products.
The site comprises laboratories,
greenhouses and a vast testing area
where weedkillers, grass feeds,
herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers
are put through their paces.
When we visit the lawncare research
side of the site is pegged out into
squares ready to test fertilisers and
weedkillers (one area has been seeded
with different weed varieties to check
their robustness) and in a large tilled
area staff are planting asters in
preparation for fungicide trials.

Testing, testing...
It is slow, thorough work. In one massive
greenhouse where nicotianas are
growing in sealed areas, science site
co-ordinator Wayne Josselyn explains
how they test pesticides.
“We artificially infest each plant with
one or two aphids, and then check them

6 AMATEUR GARDENING 20 JULY 2019

The research behind garden success

Got a story?

Call 01252 555138 or

email [email protected]

every day, three days, seven days and

finally weekly to see how their numbers

increase before testing products.

“Plants are given a second application

of insecticide, and we hope they are

effective because it is hard work

counting a lot of aphids!”

Staff at the 7.5sq hectare site also

have to count rose rust pustules in the

rose garden where different varieties

of the plant are tested on a four- or five-

year rotation for rust and black spot,

which are then treated with Roseclear.

“We are still developing Roseclear but

are also moving towards more natural

products,” said Wayne.

The greenhouses also contain

hundreds of plants ready for fertiliser

trials. The difference between plants

that are only given water and those

that are also fed is remarkable.

Wayne said: “It always amazes me

that people spend money on plants

and don’t feed them. You wouldn’t do

that to a pet!

“They think they just need water

and then are surprised when they

don’t do as well as they hoped!”

Commemorative D-Day garden arrives at its final home

A COMMEMORATIVE garden

created by the veterans’ charity D-Day

Revisited has moved to a permanent

site on the Normandy coast.

The D-Day 75 Garden,

which was unveiled at the

Chelsea Flower Show,

was re-located and re-

built in seven days by its

designer John Everiss,

with help from the Royal

Engineers. It now sits

above Arromanches

overlooking Gold

Beach and the famous

Mulberry Harbour.

The stunning garden combines

sculpted tributes for D-Day veterans

as they are today and as they were

75 years ago. Two life-size sculptures

bookmark the entrance. To one side, a

veteran modelled on Bill Pendell sits

on a stone plinth, proudly wearing his

medals and beret. He looks across at

an image of himself as a young soldier,

constructed from thousands

of individually welded

metal washers.

The young figure

pauses before rushing up

the beachhead, with fellow

comrades struggling to

get ashore behind him.

With surviving veterans

now approaching 100 years

of age, the 75th anniversary of

D-Day will be the final opportunity

for many Normandy veterans to return

to the beaches and battlefields and pay

tribute to the friends they left behind.

The Mayor of Arromanches-les-

Bains, Patrick Jardin, said:

The D-Day 75 Garden at

the Chelsea Flower Show

AGgoes behind the scenes to learn how your garden products are tested

“Thousands of people come here

every year from all over the world

to learn about the story of D-Day.

This garden epitomises that story,

and inspires younger generations

on the 75th anniversary – and in

years to come.”

which was unveiled at the

constructed from thousands

of individually welded

metal washers.

pauses before rushing up

the beachhead, with fellow

comrades struggling to

get ashore behind him.

now approaching 100 years

of age, the 75th anniversary of

D-Day will be the final opportunity

The Levington Research and Development

Station near Ipswich in Suff olk

The statue of

Bill Pendell

are also moving towards more natural

The research behind garden success

goes behind the scenes to learn how your garden products are tested

Levington site

co-ordinator Wayne

Josselyn

Petunias undergoing

fertiliser tests