Amateur Gardening – 20 July 2019

These long-handled shears make

easy work of border edging

20 JULY 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 7

Urban success: City schools triumphed at the RHS School Gardeners of the Year 2019. Springhallow

School in Ealing (pictured) scooped the gardening team of the year trophy, Michelle Jones, a parent

volunteer at Ashmount primary School in London was named gardening Champion of the Year and

William Rae from Edinburgh Academy Junior School is the Young School Gardener of the Year.

PLANT species are facing extinction at
unprecedented levels, say scientists who
have carried out a global analysis of the issue.
Human expansion is largely responsible
for the disappearance of over 570 known
species since the Industrial Revolution. Experts
believe that this is a vast underestimation
of the real number, which is ‘bad news’ for
the planet.
“Plants underpin all life on Earth,” said
Dr Eimear Nic Lughadha, who was part of
the analytic team from Kew Gardens and
Stockholm University.
“They provide the oxygen we breathe
and the food we eat, as well as making up
the backbone of the world’s ecosystems – so
plant extinction is bad news for all species.”
Hawaii tops the ‘extinction table’, with 79
plant species reported to have vanished.

Gardeners can help stall plant extinction

This is followed by the South African Cape,

which has lost 37, followed by Australia,

Madagascar, India and Brazil.

Guardians of the landscape

However, experts also say that if

gardeners pass on their knowledge to the

next generation, and if children are taught

to recognise and value local flora, there may

be hope for the future.

This theory is echoed by Alan Titchmarsh,

who touched on the subject when he opened

the new visitor’s centre at RHS Wisley in June.

He said: “Gardeners are often thought of

as no more than cultivators of windowboxes

and hanging baskets, but we’re so much

more than that. We are the only interactive

naturalists. We sow, plant and grow. We are

the custodians of the immediate landscape.”

EDGING the lawn is a quick and easy way of
making the whole garden look neater – but it
can be tricky and uncomfortable if you need
to kneel and twist and manoeuvre shears and
clippers to trim straggly grass.
The task becomes even more challenging
if you need to trim under low-hanging tree
branches and collapsed border-edge plants.
However, leading garden brand Gardena
has come up with an ingenious solution –
lightweight, long-handled wheeled shears
with rotating, non-stick blades that let you
cut to the angle you require.
The shears’ handle is at a comfortable
height so you can edge the grass while
standing upright. The wheels make it easy
to steer them along the edge of beds.
There is an ergonomically shaped handle
that is comfortable to hold and a nifty switch
that lets you lock and unlock the blades for

Shears take the back-ache out of edging

use and safe storage.

The Comfort Long-Handled Grass Shears

have a 25-year guarantee and cost £49.99 from

Homebase and independent garden centres.

Sweet Peas: An

Essential Guide

(2nd Edition)

By Roger Parsons

The Crowood Press

(£19.95)

WITH their fantastic scent

and stunningly beautiful

colours, sweet peas are

some of Britain’s favourite

flowers. In this, a revised

edition of his book, Roger

Parsons looks at sweet

peas in detail, from their

early history in 17th

century Sicily to how new

varieties are produced.

He explains how the

size and vigour of the

species has evolved,

the types of sweet pea

(Spencer, grandiflora),

growing better sweet

peas of the garden, cut

flowers or exhibition, and

the varieties according

to colour.

Roger, who maintains

the UK National Collection

of Sweet Peas and has

successfully raised and

introduced new award-

winning varieties, also

looks at keeping plants

healthy, how to choose

varieties, and how to

produce new varieties.

If you love growing

sweet peas, this book is

an invaluable resource,

packed with practical

information and

fascinating research.

BOOK

REVIEW

Human expansion is seen as the reason

behind the extinction of many plant species

Tool

review

Gardeners can help stall plant extinction

Alan Titchmarsh

sees gardeners as

plant custodians

The ergonomic

shears handle