MAKING OUR TOWNS GREENER Greening Grey Britain is a new initiative inviting the nation to help tackle the growing trend of Britain paving over its gardens and green spaces and not growing any plants. It’s a scheme relevant all over the south and south-west of England where the Royal Horticultural Society, the scheme organisers, believe it is vital to reverse this trend for the country’s health and wildlife, and to protect the UK from flooding, pollution and heatwaves. Thousands of people from communities and schools have already helped the cause by either ‘greening up’ a grey area or adding their promise to help to the RHS Greening Grey Britain website. The phrase ‘greening' simply means growing plants wherever possible in towns and cities. Each individual may only have a small garden but, together, the amount of green space we look after really adds up – it’s about 25 per-cent of the land in most cities. The principle is based on the fact that green is better than grey. In other words plants are better than paving. So the scheme urges communities to try and keep as much of your space as green as possible. The RHS urges as wide a diversity of plants as you can for projects. Wildlife will benefit from year-round food sources, with different plants in flower at different times of the year,
and trees, shrubs and perennials all offer different kinds of habitat. Trees that ultimately grow to large sizes (and large green spaces) also provide more environmental benefits than smaller ones. It could be an empty concrete corner, an ugly alleyway or a boring stretch of tarmac that could use a new plant pot or hanging basket. Or perhaps there is a local medical centre or nursing home that could use a little colour. Alternatively you might want to improve an already green space by adding more nectar and pollen-rich plants. A FEW IDEAS TO INSPIRE YOU: • Add flowers to your lawn • Add water to the garden with a wildlife pond • Provide new habitat such as log piles • Plant a tree: trees can support hundreds of species of insect, which in turn attract birds and other wildlife • Create a pollinator-friendly mini garden • Add climbers to cover a wall. Find a plant to suit your conditions
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Country Gardener