New book could be ideal gift for garden and greenhouse fans
13:48 1st December 2010
A new book from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) could be just the thing Brits buying Christmas gifts are looking for.
The Wild Flowers of Wisley publication could be ideal for people with a passion for garden and greenhouse growing.
It looks at the wild plants at RHS Garden Wisley and compares the results of this year's survey to those of the last comprehensive assessment of the site's wild flowers in 1910.
In the intervening 100 years, 16 per cent of the species listed in the previous study have vanished, including lamb's succor Arnoseris minima, which was first collected at Wisley by Alan Titchmarsh's great uncle.
However, authors James Armitage and Barry Phillips explained that there is encouragement to be taken from the fact that 84 per cent of the species at the attraction have survived, in spite of wholesale changes to the land use in the past century.
There have even been some new discoveries, including early meadow grass Poa infirma, which is the first inland example in the UK.
Garden and greenhouse enthusiasts may be struggling to deal with the heavy snow that is currently covering many parts of the UK, but moving pots and containers under cover may help to save the plants inside.
