RHS asks for gardeners’ successes and failures to plan for changing climate

Charity wants to know how climate crisis is affecting plants and what UK gardeners are doing to mitigate effects

Most gardeners love nothing more than the chance to chat about what has worked and what hasn’t in their flowerbeds this year.

So the latest callout from the Royal Horticultural Society will be music to their ears; the RHS is asking for information about what flowered for ages, what loved being waterlogged and how plants did on the occasional hot day, so that they can draw up a plan for how to keep gardening alive during the climate crisis.

Continue reading...

* This article was originally published here

Life in the fast lane for snails this year | Brief letters

Year of the snail | Poetic pylons | Hilary Mantel | Poo bag premium | Difficult decisions

While it’s so sad to hear about the decline in the number of butterflies, partly due to the wet spring weather (‘Warning sign to us all’ as UK butterfly numbers hit record low, 29 July), I have declared it “the year of the snail”, as the population of these creatures seems to have exploded this year, with no birds such as the song thrush around to eat them.
Sheila Preston
Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex

• Sue Moser’s letter (Pylons can be pretty if you use your imagination, 29 July) made me recall Stephen Spender’s poem The Pylons. In it, Spender refers to pylons as being symbolic of the impact of change and industrialisation, and describes them as being “like nude giant girls that have no secret”.
Norma Postin
Rugby, Warwickshire

Continue reading...

* This article was originally published here

Blackcurrant jam, a sharply sweet reminder of a life well lived

The summerhouse is bursting with fruit – and much of it has made it into jars, a preserve made to preserve a memory

There are 15 jars of jam from the summerhouse blackcurrant bushes. Half a day’s work. There has never been so much fruit here. A large bowl of redcurrants waits on Henri’s decision on what best to do with them. More jam most likely.

Henri’s mother, Ina, was the queen of blackcurrant jam, sharp and just sweet enough – the preserve not her. We bought another bush in her memory. How to mark the passing of a mother. Jam-making as meditation.

Continue reading...

* This article was originally published here

In the picture: a vibrant art-filled home in Chicago

Blue walls, green ceilings… Inside the colourful home of a creative couple

Danielle Taylor, an Illinois native, moved into her top-floor Chicago apartment in 2020. When she and her then boyfriend, writer-director Curtis Taylor Jr, saw the building, it reminded them of something out of a Harry Potter film. Period features recalled Old Chicago with crown mouldings, hardwood doors and a quaint foyer exuding charm. “The apartment has beautiful bay windows, a spacious floor plan and plenty of natural light,” explains Danielle, a sustainability marketing executive. “There were built-in bookshelves and an archway separating the small galley kitchen and the dining area.” A combination of interesting elements made it feel magical, propelling the couple to secure the lease.

The building is in Hyde Park, which is a historically black neighbourhood in Chicago that’s become increasingly diverse. Despite being only an hour away from where Danielle was raised, it was a world apart. “I grew up in a predominantly white neighbourhood and when I moved here, I wanted to immerse myself in black culture.” It’s where Curtis co-owned a concept store called The Greens, which Danielle managed. It also doubled up as an art curation space, where they hosted exhibitions and talks and built up relationships with artists.

Continue reading...

* This article was originally published here

How do I clean a flat-screen TV covered with fingerprints?

Microfiber cloths, distilled water, a light touch and other keys to cleaning screens without damaging them.

* This article was originally published here

The lawyer who fights for people’s right to grow ‘weeds’

She used to enforce local weed ordinances. Now she helps native plant enthusiasts combat them.

* This article was originally published here

The cardboard Olympic beds aren’t ‘anti-sex.’ But are they comfy?

The cardboard beds in the Paris Olympic Village are touted as both sustainable and recyclable. But do athletes like them?

* This article was originally published here