- A pledge by environment secretary Caroline Spelman to the delegation from the All-Party Parliamentary Gardening & Horticulture Group to look again at the seemingly discarded issue within Defra of applied research for the ornamentals sector is welcome news.
- Back in 2008 when the UK's Urban Canopy Initiative was launched to highlight the consequences of urban deforestation, co-founder Jeremy Barrell noted that while trees' importance in the urban environment was now accepted, what was missing was a coordinated approach to reversing widespread losses.
- The Horticultural Development Company's (HDC) report on the benefits of collaboration in horticultural research arrives at a time when public funding for applied research has reached its lowest point following a quarter-of-a-century's worth of cuts and reform.
- Six or seven years ago, no garden retail conference would be complete without the presentation of the latest market-share trends data with the threat to the independent garden centre sector from the sheds highlighted prominently.
- In our industry preview for 2012, Willerby Landscapes' John Melmoe concurs with colleagues across many sectors of horticulture that next year will prove a difficult one, whether in the private, commercial or public arenas.
- In its "rationale for action" on the use of peat in England, published alongside June's Natural Environment white paper, Defra's Impact Assessement is quite explicit about the link between its decision to pursue policy in this area and the EU Habitats Directive.
- While this week's warning from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development that the UK is likely to slip back into recession is deeply disappointing, it is unlikely to have caused much surprise given recent events within the eurozone and worsening consumer confidence.
- Many in the green space sector will remember the shock we all felt two years ago, when news broke of California's proposals to close a large number of its state parks in response to its budget crisis.
- The critical importance of the green space under the management of social landlords throughout England is highlighted this week by the Neighbourhoods Green good practice guide for managers.
- Earlier this year, garden designer Andrew Fisher Tomlin struck a chord with many in the industry when he warned that a new range of pests and diseases, combined with other factors such as climate change, meant the traditional vision of a typical English garden "will all have to change".
- What an uplifting and inspiring night Monday's Garden Retail Awards 2011 proved to be.
- Quizzed at last week's Environmental Audit Committee meeting about his department's definition of "sustainable development" in the draft National Planning Policy Framework, and how the framework might function given its lack of precision, planning minister Greg Clark reportedly said he hoped the words in the final document would be sufficiently "watertight" so as not to be open to misinterpretation. And that this would come out of the consultation.
- Congratulations to Majestic Trees, which picked up the silver rose in this year's International Grower of the Year competition.
