Gardening news round-up
Post categories: autumn colour,Ìýexhibitions,Ìýnews
| 08:17 UK time, Saturday, 30 October 2010
In the news
After the barbecue summer and the 'mild' winter (that was last year's three weeks of snowdrifts, then) the Met Office could be forgiven for throwing in the towel. But though , others haven't.
Positive Weather Solutions forecasts : Netweather reckons on . Meanwhile the Met Office's talks of 'mild' and 'very mild' weather with only occasional frosts until at least December. Who's right, I wonder?
At least I can believe the predictions of Tony Russell and others that . But how much do you think it's worth? Environmentalists have been turning economist at the Biodiversity Summit in Nagoya, Japan this week to argue that a price should be set on the value of nature - the only way, they say, to save it in a cash-strapped world.
You couldn't have a Hallowe'en weekend without at least one pumpkin turning up in the news. But what a pumpkin. Just a week after the UK record fell to the Paton twins and their 682kg (1,504lbs) monster, the world record has also taken a tumble. This time it was Chris Stevens, a farmer from Wisconsin, USA, and the pumpkin in question weighs an eye-popping 821.24kg (1,810.5lbs). Now that's what I call a lot of soup.
Elsewhere on the web
If you need immediate distractions, (Amorphophallus titanum), flowering its socks off right now: don't stand too close if you visit, as it stinks of rotting meat. There's a wonderfully quirky idea from Emma, aka Fluffius Muppetus, for this year; and Mark Diacono has been picking his: there will, it is said, be wine.
Out and about
All together now... wooooooooooo.... yes, it's Hallowe'en this weekend, and that means pumpkins and all things autumnal. strikes a suitably spooky note with a talk from author Amy Stewart on 'Wicked Plants' - that is, plants which 'kill, maim, intoxicate or otherwise offend'.
Enter your artistic creations in the Pumpkin Carving competition at , or set the little ones loose in the in Derbyshire, for a feast of pumpkin parades, broomstick-making and serpent mazes.
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After all the ghosties and goblins have crept back to bed for another year, you can turn your attention to a bit of gardening. It's bulb-planting time, and there's expert advice from , demonstrating how to plan and plant them at its Somerset headquarters on Wednesday. And the gets under way in this weekend celebrating the . Festivities include tcookery competitions and the chance to have your hair dyed purple.
Sally Nex is a garden writer and blogger and part of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Gardening team.
Comment number 1.
At 1st Nov 2010, U14657938 wrote:Sally Nex giant pumpkins are useless for soup and taste rubbish.
Besides display use or giant jack o lanterns they totally useless.
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Comment number 2.
At 1st Nov 2010, Sally Nex wrote:Sorry Perfectpenny - I have to disagree with you there!
In fact I'd go so far as to say that - apart from Hallowe'en lanterns - soup is the ONLY thing pumpkins are good for. Generally speaking I don't like them in pies as I find them too sweet - and the same goes for roasting them (whole or cut up and brushed with olive oil) in the oven, which is the other standard recipe.
My pumpkin soup, on the other hand, is absolutely delicious: even the kids like it, so I rest my case! The recipe relies on adding a lot of savoury to counteract the sweet - the one I do includes lashings of red wine vinegar and lentils. Trust me - it's good. Very good.
Although I must admit I saved a recipe for pumpkin and ginger cake last year which I haven't tried yet. Looking forward to that one...
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