botanic garden

Archive for the ‘royal botanic gardens’ Category

The below gardens are some of the most beautiful and well known in France that your gardening group may enjoy. Each of these locations does have coach travel in a variety of forms but you will need to research the exact times based on the time. Remember your return fare and agree on a good time to meet with group if you separate at any time. 

 

Some of these locations have free admittance, but traveling to each of the locations will cost a fee and should be planned on accordingly. You can save money on these fees by traveling together in a group. If there are ticket fees for one of the gardens, you can save money by purchasing all of your tickets together as a group.

 

When traveling, always remember to carry a small pocket guide of translations with you and a map of the area. You might also wish to print up text directions for all members of your party and even a bit of the history of the areas you will be visiting.

 

Clos du Coudray, Etaimpuis - Open April 1-October 31, daily 10am-7pm, last entry 6pm. Admission €7.5  www.leclosducoudray.com Travel from Folkestone to Calais via Eurotunnel (www.eurotunnel.com) costs from £49. Other travel may be determined from visiting the main website. Vicinity of Dieppe and Rouen,  are well marked but a good map is essential

LE JARDIN PLUME – Normandy Open from 1 April to 1 November, between 2pm and 7pm, every day except Wednesday. Guided tours for groups between 9am and 7pm, any day by appointment. The garden is situated between Dieppe and Rouen, in Grigneuseville.

Les Jardins Agapanthe, Grigneuseville Halfway between Dieppe and Rouen to the east of Totes, on N29. Open April 1-November 1, 2-7pm, daily except Wednesdays. Plants for sale. Admission €7

Manoir de Troguindy – The RBG, or Royal Botanic Garden, is a garden in all senses of the word. This garden is beautiful and filled with all kinds of plants. Local transportation can take you there. If you decide to walk or drive yourself, you should take the right of the square at Treguier in front of the cathedral and follow it to “Lannion/Perros Guirec”. When you come to a stop sign, proceed straight. After 1km, descend the right and follow it all the way to the village of Le Guindy. Follow the road to your left and the entrance is on the right.

Sceaux – Le Nôtre designed the garden on a hill running between a valley and another hill. The garden was completely deserted and left unattended during the revolutionary years. However, in the nineteenth century, a new chateau was built and the gardens were completely renovated. A canal system and large pool has been added, complete with water plants.

Address Sceaux, Ile-de France, Paris, France, 92330

Opening times All year, Daily, Open 7am to 7.30pm in summer, Open 8am to dusk in winter

Keeping the Ground Clear of Weeds

Begin weeding as soon as growth appears. Neglecting the job only leads to more work later on if the weeds are allowed to mature and disperse their seeds. Also, weeds flourish in well-prepared soil and deprive the perennials of both nutrients and moisture. Keep a basket nearby, and drop weeds into it as you remove them. If left on moist soil, many of them will reroot. Add the weeds to the compost pile. Once the ground has been cleared of weeds, a mulch can be applied to deter further growth. Another benefit of a mulch is that it conserves soil moisture during dry spells.

In small beds weeding can be done with a short-handled cultivator. But for larger areas, to eliminate prolonged stooping, a long-handled tool is preferable.

To remove weeds with a standard hoe, cut them off with a chopping motion, drawing the hoe toward you and taking care not to injure any of the desirable plants. The flat side of a Warren hoe is used the same way; the two-pronged side is used for larger weeds.

The scuffle, or Dutch, hoe is pushed backward and forward through the soil, just below the surface, to cut off the weeds.

Cultivators break up the surface soil and uproot weeds at the same time. When such persistent, deeprooted weeds as quack grass are growing around the base of a plant, it may be necessary to dig up the plant, split it apart, and replant it in order to remove weeds in the center of the clump or entangled with the roots.

Loosening the Soil in Established Beds

At the start of the growing season, and again in late autumn, the soil in established beds should be loosened. This is particularly important on heavy or unmulched soil that has become compacted. Loosening allows air and moisture to penetrate to the roots of plants and at the same time eliminates any weed seedlings. A fork can be used, but a long-handled, tined cultivator is ideal.

Supplying Plant Food and Constant Moisture

The health of plants can be maintained or improved, and their growth encouraged, by the application of a complete fertilizer containing the three most important plant nutrients — nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash — in varying proportions.

Organic fertilizers are particularly suited to perennials, since the nutrients are released slowly over the full period of growth. In early spring, just as growth becomes apparent and before mulching, apply fertilizer by hand. Avoid letting it come in contact with foliage. Use a complete organic fertilizer with an analysis such as 4-12-4. Always apply fertilizers according to directions.

Between late spring and early summer feed the plants once with a fast-acting liquid foliar spray such as liquid seaweed.

Watering should not be necessary if the bed has been mulched, except during prolonged dry spells. The mulch, which is a layer of organic material over the soil, conserves moisture by reducing evaporation. If watering is needed, the most effective method is to use a watering wand that will direct the water to the soil surface.

Clay soils, which compact under heavy rain, should have their surfaces loosened before watering, feeding, or mulching. A mulch also serves some other worthwhile purposes. It prevents compacting. It improves the quality of both clay and sandy soils. It helps to keep water from spattering the undersides of leaves and thus lessens the spread of soil-borne fungous disease. It helps to suppress weed seedlings. And as the organic materials break down, they add nutrients to the soil.

Apply mulch in late spring after the ground has been weeded but before growth is advanced. In dry weather soak soil before mulching.

It is best to cover the planting bed completely. But if this is not possible, it is better to apply a thick mulch around some plants than to spread it thinly over the whole bed.

The above is an excerpt from the book The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening: Planning – Selection – Propagation – Organic Solutions by Edited by Fern Marshall Bradley and Trevor Cole. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Copyright © 2009 Fern Marshall Bradley and Trevor Cole, editors of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening: Planning – Selection – Propagation – Organic Solutions

Author Bio

Fern Marshall Bradley, co-editor with Trevor Cole of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening, is a writer and editor whose favorite topics are gardening and sustainable living. A co-author of Reader’s Digest’s Vegetable Gardening, she also conceived and edited The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Insect and Disease Control, The Expert’s Book of Garden Hints, among others. Bradley is a former gardening books editor for Rodale.

Trevor Cole, co-editor with Fern Marshall Bradley of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening, was curator of the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa, Canada, for over 20 years. He was educated in horticultural science at the Royal Botanical Gardens in the U.K. Cole’s previous offerings include numerous magazine articles and the books Care-Free Plants and The New Ottawa Gardener.

Sydney is the largest city of Australia and most foreign visitors arrive to the country through this amazing Australian city. It is regarded as one of the top travel destinations in the region and visitors will certainly never get bored as there are so many activities and places to visit.

If you are planning a trip to the venue of the 2000 summer Olympics then there are definitely a number of activities which you should participate in and various different places which you should visit. Please find below a list of thing things which all tourists should do while in town.

Beaches

Sydney is home to a number of amazing beaches so if you enjoy surfing, taking a swim or simply getting a tan then there are plenty of options for you. The most well known beaches are Palm beach, Bondi beach, Manly beach and Balmoral beach.

Aquarium

A great place to spend the day with your family is at the aquarium which is home to the premier exhibit on the Great Barrier Reef. There are more than twelve thousand marine animals at the Aquarium and it has the biggest collection on earth on Australian aquatic life. Opening hours are daily from 09:00 until 22:00.

Opera House

One of the most famous buildings in the world is most definitely the Sydney Opera House which was designed by the Danish architect Utzon. Even if you don’t enjoy going to an opera, you should still head down to the Opera House and take some pictures of this beautiful building.

Toronga Zoo

The Toronga Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in Australia and first opened its doors to the public in 1884. Visitors can enjoy walking through an Asian rainforest at this Zoo and there is a spectacular selection of different Asian animals including Asian turtles and Asian Elephants. Opening hours at the Taronga Zoo are daily from 09:00 until 17:00

Royal Botanic Garden

One of my personal favorite places to visit is the Royal Botanic Garden which is open daily from 06:30 until around 19:00. If you would like to spend a part of the day in a relaxing environment then you should definitely plan a visit to the Royal Botanic Garden. It is divided into various different sections which include the Herb Garden, Oriental Gardens, Pyramid Glasshouse, Rose Gardens and the Succulent Garden. Admission to this leading Sydney tourist attraction is free of charge.