horticulture

MOTF THOUGHTS: God is green - for without plants, all life on Earth would cease to exist - Pete Perry 'This garden Earth' 2007

For PETE'S PLANTS on WIKI CLICK HERE

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Click on bottom R/H corner of pictures to enlarge

Please note that although this went before The EU on 6th May, there is still time to act and get things changed... Pete & Nikki 

New EU law that could ban our seeds

Rozie Apps |

 

Wednesday, 1st May 2013

Seed lovers, growers and local producers could all be harmed under the proposed Regulation on Marketing of Plant Reproductive Material by the EU. Sign this petition and email the decision makers to stop this happening.

 

 

A New Seed Law will go before the EU commissioners on May 6th 2013. 

The Regulation on Marketing of Plant Reproductive Material law will mean no seed can be sold, or potentially even given for free to anyone in the EU unless that seed is already registered on the EU Plant List as an 'approved' variety. 

This would outlaw heritage seeds, that are historical and natural seeds which have not been manufactured into hybrids. They produce natural plants that our ancestors would have grown.

This new regulation threatens farmers' varieties and rare varieties, stoping diversity and could bring distinction to the many seeds that will not be on the EU list.

Small-scale farmers and local producers will be harmed as industrial seed companies extend their dominance and reap the benefits.

Sign the Avaaz petition HERE calling for the Law to be amended.

A more radical petition: We will not comply! can be signed HERE.

Visit: www.open-seeds.org/bad-seed-law/#Custom to find email addresses of the decision makers and a template letter that you can email to them. Send an email to the three EU directorates and each decision member of the commission to fight against this strict law.

You can also email your MEP with a letter, addresses can be found on www.open-seed.org/bad-seed-law/#

Please share on Facebook and on Twitter with #saveseed

The Directorate General of the EU for Sanitary and Consumer affairs (DG SANCO) has been working towards this law for years with the lobbying of the gloablised agricultural seed industry. Two other directorates oppose the law and so DG SANCO are taking the new law directly to the Commission on May 6th. 

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NIKKI & PETE'S SNOWDROP ADVENTURES

at Benington Lordship

Our Intrepid couple travelled to Benington Lordship , just outside Stevenage, Hertforshire, on 26th February 2013, for one of nature's most amazing spectacles - thousands upon thousands of snowdrops covering the ground.

Galanthus nivalis, Galanthus nivalis flore plena, Galanthus Elwesii - you name it, it was sure to be here...

 and to compliment the snowdrops were the early yellow buttercup-like flowers of The Winter Aconite, Eranthus hyamalis.

It was a voyage of discovery, - so, instead of telling you more, and as a picture speaks a thousand words, - here is their Adventure in pictures...

Now watch the video by

CLICKING HERE

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EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSES...

Pete & Nikki's garden has been blooming well since late spring, with some beautiful roses at the forefront, as you can see from the fragrant Nikki smelling the fragrant rose, 'Peace'....

Yes, there are several varieties of roses blooming in the Perry garden at the moment, including a small red bush rose that was rescued from Nikki's parent's garden a couple of years ago, some beautiful pink roses that adorn the dividing hedge bettwen Pete & Nikki's garden and their next-door neighbours, plus, of course, the glorious Peace rose itself, as you can see from these photographs...

 Prior to these blooming however, there have been some lovely Irises, some yellow Iris Louisiana and a lovely purple Iris Sibirica, but before even these came into flower, right outside our couple's back door was a glorious Wiegelia...

And then, to compliment them all, and in juxtaposition with the

Rose of Peace, there is Pete & Nikki's pride, the Pink Willow, Salix Hakuro Nishiki 'Flamingo', pictured on the right.

Yes, there is certainly a lot of beauty in the garden this year, - and it's not just Nikki! 

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After the White and Pink Dandelion and coloured daisies and cowslips...

MORE COLOURED DAISIES AND COWSLIPS!

Readers may remember that Pete & Nikki found a chance seedling in on the lawn of their garden that happned to be a daisy with pink -tinged petals, (see poicture on the left) so Pete decided to ask for more interesting forms of lawn daisy through the power of 'plant mind-reading'. Well, yes. we know it sounds crazy,

- but it has worked!

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Not only has it worked with the daisies, but also the cowslips, which, if you remember, he also asked about getting different colours, - and here's the proof...

 ABOVE: Two pink double daises and a beautiful double white

ABOVE: Various Coloured cowslips, with a very rare green cowslip in the centre

(Remember you can click the bottom R/H corner of each picture to enlarge)

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 THE QUEST FOR THE WHITE DANDELION

Well, in fact, as you can see below, Pete has already found his white dandelion, as well as a pink one and one with red leaves, - but it's the spirit of the quest that counts, and Pete has found something new...

Whilst walking to the local shops, he spotted a strange plant growing in the grass of a local garden, and upon close inspection, found it was an ORANGE HAWKWEED! He knocked on the door and obtained a sprig of the plant, with seed heads. WATCH THIS SPACE FOR THE FIRST SEEDLINGS!

 On the left, a common hawkweed, and on the right, the orange hawkweed.

...and now the PINK dandelion!

We have just given you news of Pete's new white dandelion seedlings,(see below) - now hold on to your gardening hats, - here is Pete's PINK dandelion seedling...

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