2011 in gardening

The Telegraph has provided a recap of top gardening news and events from 2011. Highlights in the world of gardening in 2011 include the Chelsea Flower Show and Kate Middleton’s bouquet for the Royal Wedding.

This year also saw one of the warmest autumns on record, which resulted in many plants flowering into the winter season. According to the Telegraph, the RHS received many calls during the autumn period due to concerns over heavy falls of acorns and beech mast.

The Chelsea Flower Show included many highlights, such as Cleve West winning the Best in Show award for his Daily Telegraph garden design and Alan Titchmarsh hitting out at Prime Minister David Cameron for describing gardening as an unskilled activity that is similar to litter picking.

Other notable gardening events included the decline of the busy Lizzie plant, which was hit by a deadly mildew disease and removed from parks and gardens.
2011 also saw a breakout of the Phytophthora ramorum disease, which kills flowering shrubs such as rhododendrons. In January 2011, it was reported that the disease, which is also known as sudden oak death, had killed thousands of trees. Later, in April, the disease was reported to have hit a number of locations in the UK, including Cornwall and Cumbria.