Gardener’s Cuttings


Newquay Zoo opens a new look for its gardens


Newquay Zoo is renowned for its horticultural beauty. Its sub-tropical gardens with natural streams and lakes provide delightfully tranquil surroundings for its exotic animals and visitors are instantly removed from the chaos of Newquay.


Richard Jenkin, gardener for Newquay Zoo has spent one of the coldest winters on record refurbishing the Oriental Garden in preparation for this summer. “The garden is very a lovely area of the Zoo but it was beginning to lose its identity a little. It was an array of plant species many of which did not belong to Asia. We wanted to incorporate several different elements and create our own interpretation.


“Firstly nearly all existing plants and shrubs were removed, as well as one large maple and most of the smaller trees, which were getting congested and resulting in a rather dense mass of leggy trees.


“As far as the plants are concerned,


the symbolic theming was continued with the use of leylandii that have been clipped to represent clouds. Traditionally Leylandii ‘castlewellan gold’, would be used but they are expensive and I could well have spent the project’s entire budget on them alone!


“The plants were purchased as pom- pom shapes and clipped and wired up into their current form.


“I have been working with John Geraghty from the Bodwen Nursery, St Austell. It’s been a great opportunity.”


John has worked on a number of high profile garden shows including Hampton court.


“He provided what must be the icing on the cake – the glorious Japanese maples supplied by John Geraghty at the Bodwen nursery. Many of them are relatively new introductions to the horticultural world, ‘shirazz’ in particular being cultivated relatively recently. The colours of these maples, really seem to create an ‘other worldly’ effect that ties in with the idea of the garden being a spiritual and mystical place.”


Places of Change garden takes silver at Chelsea


Eden led homeless project scoops silver medal


Chelsea Flower Show’s biggest show garden at 6,350 sq ft and called Places of Change won acclaim last month - particularly from the Queen. A mammoth task involving more than 500 people the garden was not just immense in size; it also had grand social ambitions. It was built by hundreds of homeless people and scooped a silver medal.


The garden was the largest plot the show has ever seen, at 590 square metres, and is the result of a collaboration between the Eden Project, Homeless Link, the Homes and Communities Agency and the Communities and Local Government department.


More than 300 homeless people from 41 agencies across England and Wales took part in designing and building the garden with designer Paul Stone. They also grew the plants which featured on the plot. The garden was split into separate zones designed by different agencies. There was a food zone, which included an allotment and a mini-orchard; a sensory zone where the ground was covered with shattered glass; a health zone containing healing plants, poisonous plants and a ‘medicine man’ clothed in medicinal plants; an industrial split into three fields of barren land and crops; and an environment zone.


Albino bluebells discovered at Heligan


Rare albino British bluebells - which only occur in one in every 10,000 flowers - have been discovered growing in the Lost Gardens of Heligan where a small group of white bluebells were found growing in the ancient woodlands. The bluebells lack the pigment that gives bluebells their traditional purplish blue colour. Heligan’s Lost Valley is home to a wealth of bluebells and the spring flowers are currently giving the woodlands their annual purple haze. Although white versions of the more modern Spanish bluebell are relatively common these days the ones at Heligan are of the much rarer native British type. The main group of ‘albino’ bluebells are located close to the charcoal kilns, while single stems of the flower can be sighted sporadically


Albino bluebells found at Heligan


among the native bluebells currently adorning the woodland floor. Since 1998 the Wildlife and Countryside Act has ensured the bluebell is a protected flower making it illegal to collect bluebells from the wild. White versions of the Spanish variety of bluebells, introduced 200 years ago, are relatively common.


Devon Orchid Society sets out autumn meetings


Devon Orchid Society has announced its autumn programme of events. Meetings are held at Burnham Nurseries, Forches Cross, Newton Abbot TQ12 6PZ (just off A38 between Newton Abbot and Bovey Tracey) starting at 2pm. Non-members welcome free to their first meeting. The four autumn meetings are:


16th August


19th September 17th October 21st November


Michael Penney – Plants and Views of Thailand Ray Creek – Why Chipped Coconut Husk? Sara Ritterhausen – Members’ Chosen Subjects Members’ Forum and Plant Auction


For more information, contact Nicola Wakley on 01404 850354. Country Gardener


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