In This Issue
Garden centres report busiest ever day as gardens are the focus for family re-unions this week - More comments added
Primeur raring to go for spring/summer 2021!
Studley Grange Garden Centre installs WinRetail
Cherry Lane acquires Langford Garden Centre
Suez Canal blockage causes further delays for garden furniture
One year on and sales keep growing
Garden Re-Leaf Day 2021 raises £35,000 with the total still rising!
Record high for plants in March
little dobbies opens its doors in Bristol
AMES UK goes the extra mile for Greenfingers
DJ Turfcare responds to Monty Don’s call to stop mowing our lawns
Gallery of pictures from Garden Re-Leaf Day
Tong Garden Centre invests in new Food Hall
Garden centres see big boost in furniture and BBQ sales
Clock-change signifies frustrating Spring for Northern Ireland’s cooped-up gardeners
Gardening boost for local primary school
Gardeners urged to help beetles
Dobbies teams up with the RSPB for latest podcast episode
Inside Outside... A New Beginning for the garden market - Read GTN's March Issue on-line now
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Record sales for garden products
No sign of a let up in Veg-2-Gro sales
Growing media up by 8% on last year
RHS Gardens Spring Activity Programme
‘Peonies’ – comprehensive new book by award-winning nurserywoman Claire Austin
The best of last week's
Westland call for reality to be brought to the peat debate
Eddie Topping retires
The BBQ game changer!
Garden centres facing cap on business rates relief
Barton Grange Christmas 2020 - Exclusive GTN Xtra Photo Tour
Squires Badshot Lea - Christmas 2020
Perrywood at Christmas 2020 - with correct photo gallery now...
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to the GTN Bestsellers printed weekly newsletter
All the latest news from the world of pet products
Water gardening industry looks forward to AQUA’s return
The Kennel Club cancels Crufts 2021
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Gardeners urged to help beetles

 

Beetles are the unsung heroes of the garden and need our support urge the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and The Wildlife Trusts, as they launch 2021’s Wild About Gardens campaign.

 

The two charities are calling on gardeners to create habitats for these important but often overlooked insects which are a vital part of every healthy garden. 

 

Providing a patch for beetles, including ladybirds, ground beetles and rose chafers, is a great way to encourage balance in the garden and boost biodiversity, with many species under threat from habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change.       

 

The UK has more than 4,000 beetle species and, although a handful may eat plants, many are predators, pollinators and decomposers, feeding both the soil and larger garden visitors such as birds and hedgehogs.

 

Ladybirds help gardeners by eating aphids while some ground beetles feed on vine weevil grubs and water beetles keep mosquito larvae under control in ponds. Even the much-maligned lily beetle provides food for three parasitoid wasps.

 

A new campaign guide published today, ‘Bring back our beetles’, includes ideas for making your garden more beetle-friendly this year:

  • Build a beetle bank – Adding a mound of soil, particularly in flat gardens, adds both shady and sunny habitat and provides shelter for lots of invertebrates
  • Make a dead hedge – Structured piles of branches and twigs can be used to divide up an area of the garden and provide a residence for beetles as they rot away
  • Create a beetle bucket – perfect for small gardens, filling a bucket with rotting wood and leaves makes a home for all sorts of beetles and other insects

Log and rock piles, plenty of pollen-rich flowers and not cutting back dead plant stems until late winter are other good ways to attract beetles and other wildlife. 

 

Helen Bostock, Senior Horticultural Advisor at the RHS says: “Beetles are really cool. They come in so many shapes, sizes and colours and play lots of different roles in garden life – nibblers, pest controllers, pollinators, recyclers, and even undertakers. Like so much of our wildlife, they are under threat so we hope by shining a spotlight on them people will really start to appreciate and encourage beetles in their gardens.”

 

Ellie Brodie, Head of Land Management at The Wildlife Trusts says: “Beetles play an absolutely crucial role in maintaining a natural balance in your garden. At a time when insect populations are on the ropes, it is so important that we create and restore wild areas to give them a fighting chance to recover. Beetles are such fascinating creatures – take the Maybug – look closely at its antennae, you’ll never see anything quite so exquisite!

 

“The Wildlife Trusts want to see nature recovery happening across 30% of all land and sea by 2030. Absolutely everybody can play their part by rewilding part of their garden – collectively we can do so much to give nature a boost and now’s the time to get started!”

 

The downloadable ‘Bring back our beetles’ guide and more information about the campaign can be found on the Wild About Gardens website at: www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk

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