What a wretched contrast to the start of the garden retail season in 2011 this season's opening has proved to be. This time last year, industry stalwarts such as Peter Seabrook were hailing the best ever spring for retail sales for 50 years.
In this, the careers edition of Horticulture Week, it is only fitting that we should have as the subject of our main interview Des Smith, who landed one of the biggest roles in horticulture when he became head gardener for the Olympic Park gardens two years ago.
We report on yet more evidence this week that cuts to local authority green-space budgets risk undermining many years of highly-valued community involvement within the parks and tree-care sectors.
For the past four years, our columnist Dr Ken Cockshull of Warwick University's crop centre has kept readers up to date with the latest findings from horticultural research published in scientific journals through his Research Matters column. He has covered a vast array of crops, targeting subjects...
Summing up perfectly the anger and frustration felt by landscapers and their suppliers across the hosepipe ban-hit regions this week, Palmstead Nurseries sales and marketing manager Nick Coslett spells out the situation thus: "Water companies have made a dogs's mess of the restrictions, saying 'yes'...
Over the past two to three years, primary care trusts have slowly begun to respond to calls for the well-documented contribution to public health made by the UK's parks to be recognised with desperately needed investment in their infrastructure.
News this week of more progress made by industry bodies in winning concessions for drip-irrigation in hosepipe ban-hit regions - all seven regions have now agreed to the measure - is very welcome indeed.
After the nightmare that the hosepipe bans of 2006 unleashed on parts of the garden sector, the news that drip-watering systems are to be exempted at three of the seven water companies that have announced similar bans this week, is very welcome indeed.
When a requirement for householders to seek planning permission before paving over their front gardens was introduced, the news was warmly welcomed by many. Less warm was the reaction of yet more living in urban environments where it was clear that the legislation had arrived at least a decade too late....
Congratulations to the winners of the Grower of the Year Awards 2012, announced at last week's evening of celebration of the outstanding achievements of so many businesses and individuals from the production horticulture community.
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