Limited success in Tree O'Clock campaign

17:09 18th January 2010

An initiative that saw thousands of garden and greenhouse lovers join together has achieved limited success.

The BBC's Tree O'Clock programme saw horticulture fans attempt to break the record for the most trees planted in an hour, but fell short of the 654,143 planted in the Philippines in 2006.

Around 500,000 trees were planted by teams of 100 at sites throughout the UK and, although the total record was not broken, the scheme achieved some success.

Three groups broke the record for the most trees planted by teams of no more than 100 in a single hour.

A collection of planters in Northern Ireland's Londonderry managed to set the new record after putting more than 26,000 saplings in the ground, beating the previous total by more than 8,000 trees.

Meanwhile, the Royal Horticultural Society has revealed that a major contract has been awarded for a garden project as part of the 2012 Olympic Games project in London.