Find out how much you will pay in stamp duty following the government’s major changes What is stamp duty? Stamp Duty Land Tax is a tax paid by homebuyers when they purchase a property or land. It is a banded tax relating to the overall cost of a property and applies to all property transactions […]
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Botanical Latin comes from a plethora of other languages with a multitude of pronunciations. So say them how you like
For newbie gardeners, learning about horticulture can seem daunting, especially when it comes to that great sticking point: Latin names. I’ve frequently heard confident, experienced amateurs hesitate, even stutter, when using them.
To me as a botanist this is a huge shame as it acts as a barrier, excluding many from the joy gardening can bring… and the worst thing is it’s totally unnecessary. Here’s the thing: there is no “correct” pronunciation of botanical Latin. Horticultural snobs look away now.
Continue reading...Single-storey living is the way ahead for the textile designer Ptolemy Mann
During its colonial heyday, the bungalow – a word derived from the Hindi word “bangla” meaning “belonging to Bengal” – was a practical, elegant structure. Shuttered rooms provided refuge from tropical heat. Deep verandahs were the setting for sundowners with tea planters, tax collectors and fellow servants of the British Raj. Then the bungalow arrived in Britain – and things went downhill. The advent of cheap, pre-fabricated building materials led to a rash of “bungaloid” developments across countryside and coastline. By the 1960s bungalows caught on with retirees who appreciated their lack of stairs. A symbol of a carefree, expat existence came to epitomise all that was unimaginative, and frumpy, about British housing.
Continue reading...Single-storey living is the way ahead for the textile designer Ptolemy Mann
During its colonial heyday, the bungalow – a word derived from the Hindi word “bangla” meaning “belonging to Bengal” – was a practical, elegant structure. Shuttered rooms provided refuge from tropical heat. Deep verandahs were the setting for sundowners with tea planters, tax collectors and fellow servants of the British Raj. Then the bungalow arrived in Britain – and things went downhill. The advent of cheap, pre-fabricated building materials led to a rash of “bungaloid” developments across countryside and coastline. By the 1960s bungalows caught on with retirees who appreciated their lack of stairs. A symbol of a carefree, expat existence came to epitomise all that was unimaginative, and frumpy, about British housing.
Continue reading...When the rooftop tomatoes are gone so too is the heat and the bright light
Black Russian, Old Rose, Green Zebra… Things have come some way from pallid English salads. Though I love a butterhead lettuce, tomatoes are now as likely multishaped and multicoloured, more intensely flavoured.
Plot 29 started with tomatoes, trying to find a home for a few competitive colleagues to grow together, to redefine our roles, get a bit muddy, grow special things in a special place. Now it’s just me and, more occasionally, Howard, though my tomatoes are grown at home because August and September tend to signal rain and reawaken blight on the site.
Continue reading...Botanical Latin comes from a plethora of other languages with a multitude of pronunciations. So say them how you like
For newbie gardeners, learning about horticulture can seem daunting, especially when it comes to that great sticking point: Latin names. I’ve frequently heard confident, experienced amateurs hesitate, even stutter, when using them.
To me as a botanist this is a huge shame as it acts as a barrier, excluding many from the joy gardening can bring… and the worst thing is it’s totally unnecessary. Here’s the thing: there is no “correct” pronunciation of botanical Latin. Horticultural snobs look away now.
Continue reading...They’re sorely missing in British landscapes, so start by sowing your own
Everything you’ve heard about Transylvania’s wild flower meadows is true. It’s not just the remote side of the mountains or the lesser-worn passes– every roadside, every field is full to the brim with flowers. The one thing that no one mentions, I discovered on a recent trip there, is how hard it is to get to sleep in such a landscape. By dusk the symphony of insects starts and by midnight it is a full climax of fluttering moth wings and crickets. This is the roar of small things. This is the sound of what we are losing.
These kinds of meadows are now considered one of the richest habitats on Earth. Per metre squared, these botanically diverse spaces contain more species than a tropical rainforest. These pastures have changed little since the middle ages. They are rich for many reasons: they are not fertilised with chemicals or treated with pesticides; they are still mostly cut by hand, with a scythe.
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