A hybrid farmland grass, developed by a team of UK researchers, could help reduce flooding, a study has shown.

A team of plant and soil scientists said tests showed the new cultivar reduced run-off by 51%, compared with a variety widely used to feed livestock.

They added that rapid growth and well developed root systems meant that more moisture was retained within the soil rather than running into river systems.

The findings appear in the journal Scientific…

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There was remarkably little excitement from the construction industry at the news that the UK economy has narrowly avoided a triple dip recession.

Official government statistics yesterday revealed that the economy grew by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2013. It was also up 0.6% on the same quarter a year ago.

However, construction has declined by 2.5% quarter-on-quarter and by 5.9% over the year.

Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association,…

As we finally re-accustom ourselves with spring, and the sun finally decides to grace the UK with a more prominent presence, Shade Zone UK Ltd is now bracing itself for what we hope is going to be a busy summer.

With the large range of shading products our www.s-zone.co.uk and www.retractablecanopies.co.uk websites have to offer, our classic and contemporary solutions are a great functioning…

I KNOW it's not landscape related, but a NASA video of the sun is quite mesmerising.



NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has had virtually unbroken coverage of the sun's rise toward solar maximum, the peak of solar activity in its regular 11-year…

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Fullers Mill Garden under Perennial ownership

In January 2013 Perennial were delighted to accept ownership of Fullers Mill Garden at West Stow, Bury St Edmunds, which remains fully funded by its creator, Bernard Tickner.

Bernard moved to Fullers Mill in 1958 and began creating the garden in…

The £4 million WRU National Centre of Excellence, which provides training facilities for the Welsh rugby team, Cardiff Blues, Cardiff City FC and the Welsh FA at the Vale Resort near Cardiff, South Wales has selected Complete Weed Control (South Wales) for its selective weed control maintenance programme ensuring the resort and two golf courses are always in pristine condition.

The state-of-the-art resort provides the best available pitches and training facilities on both natural and…

http://www.marshalls.co.uk/ProfileCreator/upload/pdf/R02137.pdf

Open Garden Squares Weekend (OGSW) takes place in London this year, opening some 218 hidden and little-known gardens to the public on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June, 2013.

Gardens are located across 27 London boroughs and range from the historic and traditional to the new and experimental, including private gardens, roof gardens, community allotments, urban wildlife and ecology centres, as well as gardens belonging to historic buildings, institutions, restaurants,…

Garden guru Chris Beardshaw is recommending a new technique for bigger blooms – blast your plants with heavy metal.

The broadcaster and gardening expert reveals on Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time on Friday that a constant diet of Black Sabbath worked wonders on a greenhouse full of plants, but exposure to Sir Cliff Richard killed every plant in a horticultural experiment.

More:…

It is not likely to bother the judges at Chelsea, but you have to smile at Debbie Ballard who her turned her front garden into a 'living room' after falling out with her local council.

The BBC reports that Debbie put an old chair in the garden of her house in Westcliff-on-Sea and was saving up for it to be removed, but Southend Borough Council was not happy after receiving complaints, giving her 14 days…

Up to £250,000 will be available to reimburse farmers for the cost of removing sheep killed in freak snow in England last month, farming minister, David Heath announced today.

This is the latest move in a programme of support to help farmers affected by recent snow. Defra has already permitted farmers to bury or burn livestock onsite if snow makes it difficult to get them to a collection vehicle, and has relaxed rules on driver hours to allow extra time for essential deliveries of…

The daffodil is one of the few plants with a 'corona', a crown-like structure also referred to as the 'trumpet'. New research suggests that the corona is not an extension of the petals as previously thought, but is a distinct organ sharing more genetic identity with stamens, the pollen-producing reproductive organs.

The origin of the corona has long been a subject of debate in botany, and in the 1930s botanist Agnes Arber claimed that it was an extension from the petals. With its…

One of Scotland's rarest carnivores is showing encouraging signs of recovery, a new report has highlighted.

From Argyll to Aberdeenshire, and Caithness to the central belt, the pine marten is proving that rare mammals can recover their numbers, given the right conditions.

And in the Year of Natural Scotland, it is a real success story for an animal which…

Bayer AG and Syngenta AG face more pressure over crop chemicals suspected in bee-deaths as retailers including Sainsbury's, the UK’s third largest supermarket chain, said they’re looking into the matter.

“At present we have not banned the use of neonicotinoids in plant protection products but we are monitoring the situation very closely,” a Sainsbury’s spokesman said yesterday by e- mail.

Retailer Marks & Spencer is reviewing its position on the pesticides and will announce…

Composite Decking is an ideal alternative to traditional timber decking, with the following key advantages:-

• The warmth and feel of timber
• An attractive and contemporary…

The "extraordinary level of conservation" of genetic data in the tulip tree remains largely unchanged since the dinosaurs, a study suggests.

The species' genomic change is about 2,000 times slower than in humans, making it a "molecular fossil", a team of US researchers said.

The new information has affected our understanding of flowering plants'…

The number of dead and distressed seabirds found on the south coast increased dramatically over the weekend. Hundreds of birds, mostly guillemots, but also a smaller number of razorbills and puffins, were washed up on beaches in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset.

After five days of reports of birds being found covered in a sticky, oily substance, the area affected seems to have widened. Meanwhile the proportion of dead birds among those washed up has increased.

Locals and visitors…

It is National Gardening Week and this year's event is concentrating on two themes, horticultural careers and wild flower meadows.

Running until Sunday, April 21 there are a number of events and open days across the country, an online map is…