Day: July 1, 2015

Garden Plant of the Month: Hydrangea

Fling the doors open to the garden and head outside!  Summer is here and what better way to spend your free time than being outside and enjoying the sunshine in your beautiful, flower-filled garden. July is the month when the blooms of the hydrangeas are at their extravagant peak and gardeners everywhere simply cannot believe their luck.  For this reason, Thejoyofplants.co.uk Garden Plant of the Month, with its abundance of blooms, has to be the hydrangea!

Hortensia-07

Take your pick

The hydrangea is a vigorous and hardy plant and is also extremely popular.  There are numerous different varieties and colours ranging from white, pink, blue and purple. One of the best known is the delightful ‘Annabelle’ (Snowball) variety, with its heart-shaped leaves and large, white, ball-shaped blooms (hence the name!).

The ‘Paniculata’ Hydrangea, with its gracefully arched branches and clusters of cone-shaped blooms, is also a great garden favourite.  Many varieties, particularly the lace-cap and mopheads, have the fascinating, chameleon-like ability to change colour when adapting to different environments and soils and will often change colour in late summer.

So, if you want to give your garden that natural, luxurious, extravagant feel, why don’t you fill your borders and terraces with white Annabelles and Paniculatas, or, if you would rather go for a playful and lively kaleidoscope of colour, try composing a combination of multicoloured hyrdrangeas in your borders and containers.

Water, water, water

The name Hydrangea, roughly translated, means ‘water barrel’ and this alludes to the hydrangea’s cup-shaped flower and its need for plenty of water. You will know straight away when your plant needs water because it will go limp but it will also immediately spring back to life once its thirst is quenched.

Enjoy for as long as you can

Hydrangeas are even beautiful in Winter. Leave the flowers on the plant and when they are covered in a layer of frost, they become the sparkling jewels of the Winter garden.

Fire Service issues summer appeal

FireService

As we move into summer and the school holidays, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is appealing to the public to join Scotland’s fight and do what they can to prevent fire.

During the summer months SFRS traditionally see an increase in the amount of deliberate fires across Scotland compared to the rest of the year. These fires present a danger to life, property and can have a detrimental financial impact on the Scottish economy.

SFRS will work together with partner agencies such as Police Scotland, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Crimestoppers Scotland to prevent fires and support Police Scotland in highlighting the need to report fire offending.

Station Manager Graham Arnott, Glenrothes, said: “We want the public to have an enjoyable break over the summer holidays – and also a safe one. Over the next few months we’ll typically see an increase in the amount of deliberate fires.

“SFRS is appealing in particular to young people as they go on school holidays to consider the consequences of deliberately setting a fire. We would urge parents to ensure that their children know about and understand the potentially tragic consequences deliberate fires can have, as well as the impact for responding emergency services. Fire setting is an offense – don’t accept it, report it.

“We ask local residents and businesses to ensure that rubbish does not accumulate outside their property and that wheelie bins are stored in a safe and secure area until collection. Bin and rubbish fires can quickly take hold and spread to buildings and vehicles, posing a major risk to life and property.

“As we enter the time of year where we typically see warmer weather we would also expect to see an increase in the amount of woodland, grass and forest fires. Our crews work hard to provide education and advice about the risks and also respond when fires do break out. The public can help them to keep people safe by heeding our safety advice and sharing it with others. We’ll be working hand in hand with rural communities, businesses and landowners to establish ‘Fire Plans’ that will focus on reducing the risk of fire and provide advice on what to do if an emergency does occur.

“There is lots of information available online now at www.firescotland.gov.uk and residents wanting further advice in relation to keeping their home safe from fire can contact us for a FREE Home safety visit on 0800 0731 999, or text ‘FIRE’ to 80800.”

Granton Campus: proud to be green

Friday 3 July is Solar Independence Day

Granton Solar PV

Edinburgh College will open the doors of Granton Campus on Friday to showcase its green credentials as part of Solar Independence Day celebrations.

Visitors can see the campus’ rooftop solar panel installation and find out how solar photovoltaics could work for them. While the open day is aimed at owners and managers of commercial premises, members of the public are welcome to come along and talk to clean energy experts from iPower Energy.

Social enterprise iPower Energy has organised the event in collaboration with the college’s Institute of Construction & Building Crafts as part of a national two day solar energy celebration led by the Solar Trade Association.

There will also be an optional tour on the college’s electric minibus to view the onsite electric vehicle charging point and visit the Forthside Training Centre, where construction students are taught the practical skills for their chosen trade.

The event will take place on Friday 3 July at Edinburgh College Granton Campus, 350 West Granton Road, Edinburgh, EH5 1QE, from 9.30am – 3.30pm. To book a visit, please contact Alistair Roberts, iPower Energy community renewables manager at alistair.roberts@ipoweruk.com

The solar panels at Granton Campus are just one aspect of Edinburgh College’s green credentials across its four campuses. Solar panels also feature at Midlothian Campus in a 5 acre solar meadow site with 2,560 solar panels, that generate the equivalent energy to take the campus off grid. The college runs and researches a fleet of electric vehicles, including cars, the minibus and an eco-travel buggy, which effectively save 6.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. The recently opened Elemis & Wella Hair and Beauty Academy at Granton Campus features a fuel cell and LED lights, which cut down the salon’s environmental impact while also reducing the running costs.

Alistair Roberts, Community Renewables Manager at iPower said “We are delighted to be collaborating with Edinburgh College and the STA to showcase solar PV on a commercial rooftop. There is so much potential in Scotland for rooftop solar to get energy bills down and cut carbon emissions, and a range of funding options available. It always helps to be able to see an operational installation.”

Paul Barwell, CEO of the Solar Trade Association, said: “These Solar Independence Day open days are a great way to showcase how versatile this technology is. We’ve got everything from a housing estate in Northumberland to a stately home in Aberdeenshire, a community solar farm in Hampshire to a waste facility in Berkshire, all generating clean, green, home-grown energy.”