Country diary: why did the snail tiptoe across the road?

Crook, County Durham: Rain makes for an easy journey, but dry and dusty asphalt is a different matter

Forty-nine early morning lockdown walks, and I’d only been rained on twice. Today balanced the account a little, with raindrops hammering on my umbrella. Not a day for lingering, with a cold wind and scudding grey clouds, but ahead, crossing the asphalt of the lane, was a fellow traveller, almost luminous in the gloom: a white-lipped snail, Cepaea hortensis.

Cepaea shells come in several colour schemes, with variable numbers of thick or thin spiralling brown bands or, more rarely hereabouts, simply bright yellow with no bands at all. Since the 1940s academic careers have been built on fathoming the evolutionary significance of this genetically determined variation within the genus. Climate, habitat and susceptibility to predation all play a part in the local frequency of morphs.

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Plantwatch: vital peat needs protection from compost sales

Damaged peatlands account for 5% of all annual manmade greenhouse gas emissions

Gardeners have been loading up with compost and plants as garden centres have reopened in the UK, except for Scotland. But compost made with peat is still being used by both gardeners and commercial growers, even though it is dug up from peatlands, devastating wild bogplants, wildlife, and sabotaging the fight against the climate crisis.

Peat is made up of dead plants saturated and preserved in water, locking away vast amounts of carbon in the plant remains. Peatlands account for about 3% of the Earth’s land area but hold more than one-third of all the carbon in soil, and more than twice as much as the world’s forests. But when peatlands are damaged they release their carbon, some 2bn tonnes of CO2 worldwide annually, more than 5% of all manmade greenhouse gas emissions.

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Plantwatch: vital peat needs protection from compost sales

Damaged peatlands account for 5% of all annual manmade greenhouse gas emissions

Gardeners have been loading up with compost and plants as garden centres have reopened in the UK, except for Scotland. But compost made with peat is still being used by both gardeners and commercial growers, even though it is dug up from peatlands, devastating wild bogplants, wildlife, and sabotaging the fight against the climate crisis.

Peat is made up of dead plants saturated and preserved in water, locking away vast amounts of carbon in the plant remains. Peatlands account for about 3% of the Earth’s land area but hold more than one-third of all the carbon in soil, and more than twice as much as the world’s forests. But when peatlands are damaged they release their carbon, some 2bn tonnes of CO2 worldwide annually, more than 5% of all manmade greenhouse gas emissions.

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Can renovation work restart now?

We’ve broken down the latest advice for those of you planning a renovation.

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'The garden helps me cope with the virus.' How the Chelsea flower show is aiding the NHS

Plants grown for the cancelled show are bringing a sense of calm and relief to hospital patients and staff

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The physical and mental benefits of gardening are well documented. And as the Chelsea flower show begins its virtual show this week, a new survey by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) shows that nearly three-quarters of people who have access to a garden, courtyard or balcony, say it has helped their mental health during lockdown. It follows analysis of data from nearly 8,000 people published earlier in May, which found that those who spent time in their garden were significantly more likely to report higher psychological wellbeing than those who did not.

Nowhere has this been more apparent than in a hospital setting during the coronavirus pandemic. Take Albert Ridge, a patient at the Highgate Mental Health Centre, in north London. Most days he can be found either sitting, smelling the herbs and roses or painting in the 200 sq metre-space between two of the centre’s secure wards.

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'The garden helps me cope with the virus.' How the Chelsea flower show is aiding the NHS

Plants grown for the cancelled show are bringing a sense of calm and relief to hospital patients and staff

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

The physical and mental benefits of gardening are well documented. And as the Chelsea flower show begins its virtual show this week, a new survey by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) shows that nearly three-quarters of people who have access to a garden, courtyard or balcony, say it has helped their mental health during lockdown. It follows analysis of data from nearly 8,000 people published earlier in May, which found that those who spent time in their garden were significantly more likely to report higher psychological wellbeing than those who did not.

Nowhere has this been more apparent than in a hospital setting during the coronavirus pandemic. Take Albert Ridge, a patient at the Highgate Mental Health Centre, in north London. Most days he can be found either sitting, smelling the herbs and roses or painting in the 200 sq metre-space between two of the centre’s secure wards.

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Silly Billy: what the Ikea bookcase tells us about the true cost of fast furniture

A Billy bookcase is made every three seconds. But with a third of people admitting to throwing away furniture that they could have sold or donated, does the cheap furniture boom have a heavy environmental price?

Jo Jackson remembers the day when it was clear that nothing was going to be the same for a while. It was mid-March and Made.com, an online purveyor of millennial-friendly furniture, had big plans for growth in the year of its 10th anniversary.

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