The Garden Minute ⏰: Wednesday 11 October 2023

☀️Good morning Gardeners. Here’s your Wednesday Garden News Minute.

💊Humanity could lose up to half of future medicines through plant extinctions. Nine out of 10 of our medicines come from plants but deforestation and extreme weather from worsening climate crisis is making these plants ‘vulnerable to extinction’. The Independent.

🧠How Gardening Sows the Seeds of Better Mental Health. If an Englishman’s home is his castle, his garden is his kingdom – and, as the 87% of UK households that have access to a backyard know, ruling a kingdom isn’t all sunshine and roses. From doing battle with knotweed to mowing the lawn when you’d rather have a lie-in, tending a garden can feel like a chore. Yet it can also be the ‘purest of all pleasures’, as the British philosopher Francis Bacon once put it – and its benefits are profound. Men’s Health.

🦊Homeowner devises ingenious way using cameras to keep foxes and badgers out of his garden. Following his success, the homeowner has said he does not intend to profit from his new device and has made his code open source. Daily Express.

🌨️Alan Titchmarsh's snow warning to everyone with a garden as UK set for first snowfall 'in days'. It's another mild October day today but the unseasonably warm temperatures are not going to last. Here to burst everyone's bubble, the Met Office has predicted when the first snowfall of the winter is set to hit the UK - and it's just days away. Yorkshire Live.

🎨Garden Event: ‘Thirty Gardens’ by Francis Hamel. 11 October – 3 November, London. Landscape painter Francis Hamel records the essence of the English garden through a journey of thirty leading UK gardens in this touring exhibition hosted by John Martin Gallery. John Martin Gallery.

🌼RHS Britain In Bloom: Swindon gardening group wins gold. Tadpole Garden Village In Bloom is a community-led volunteer group which was set up four years ago for the residents of the relatively new area. Swindon Advertiser.

🥗So-called ‘foraging’ is damaging our beloved gardens. It’s become a fashionable foodie pastime – but could it be harming some of our favourite gardens? Daily Telegraph. Please note needs a subscription to access.

In other news:

• If You See This 1 Thing In Your Garden, You Probably Have Rats.

• The Gunny on Canvey to be transformed into a community hub and garden.

• Hospitals’ gardening team receive special recognition award.

🏠Visit Scampston Walled Garden in North Yorkshire for free this Community Weekend. There are still a few weeks left of the 2023 open season at Scampston Hall & Walled Garden, and this weekend on Saturday 14 and Sunday, October 15, they will be welcoming Ryedale residents to explore the Walled Garden & Parkland completely free-of-charge. Gazette & Herald.

🏡Seeds of community spirit sown in Croy for community garden open day. The Inverness Courier.

🥀Rose hips' seedpods provide a pop of color in the fall and winter garden. The rose has long been regarded as the “queen of flowers,” revered for its fragrance and beauty. But less lauded are the orange and red hips, or seedpods, that form after the flowers fade. And that's a shame. The Independent.

💰Kirkcudbright branch of Scotland's Gardens Scheme raises more than £20,000 for charity. More than 20 gardens opened to the public during 2023 to support a range of good causes. Daily Record.

🪰Strange reason millions of tiny white flies swarming across UK - looking like snowfall. Swarms of an insect called Whiteflies have been seen across parts of the UK in part due to the lingering heat even into October which has created ideal breeding conditions for them. Daily Mirror.

🎖️D-Day memorial garden plans unveiled for Stokes Bay in Gosport. Portsmouth News.

🍂Not tidying your garden too much this autumn is a good thing. Some of your debris could be left to provide food and shelter for overwintering insects, birds and mammals. Gloucestershire Live.

🏡Garden Offer - It’s border planting season at Crocus with up to 50% off. Crocus.co.uk.

🪴Weymouth garden helps residents with learning disabilities. A community garden has been created for residents with learning disabilities or dementia. The Park Community Garden in Weymouth, Dorset, is an accessible space with raised beds, potting tables and benches. BBC.

🐶Which plants are toxic to dogs? See 7 that come out in Autumn. Pet owners have been urged to watch out for these seven plants and flowers that come out in Autumn that are toxic to dogs. Dunfermline Press.

🌳Haringey Council: Park group chair resigns over tree-felling dispute. Chris Arnold, chair of the Friends of Stationers Park, said he was stepping down following anger over Haringey Council's decision to fell a large willow and 15 smaller trees last month. BBC.

🪴How to (Finally!) Get Rid of Gnats In Your Plants. If you have a gnat problem, you may have noticed them swarming around your house plants. Fungus gnats are the most common type of gnat found around house plants. While fungus gnats do not bite people, fungus gnats can damage your plants. Yahoo News.

🌺Thanks, Edward, for your all-year round wallflower. There are two type of gardener at this time of year, those who clear everything from the beds and those who desperately cling on to summer colour by leaving the clearing up until only the last petal has fallen from a saturated dahlia. Torbay Weekly.

📈 The most-clicked/tapped links from the last newsletter:

1. Robin overtaken as UK’s most beloved garden bird, says Deeping St Nicholas-based Vine House Farm.

2. How deep to plant allium bulbs for beautiful vibrant blooms in your garden next year.

3. Easy garden plants that 'live for 50 years' without any maintenance.

⏰ Thank you for reading our daily gardening news :) Do you have a local gardening story you would like to share? Leave a comment and we will get back to you right away.