eveningstandard--2019-02-13--Chelsea Flower Show 2019 preview of the best gardens and top trends

If there’s one message that the RHS Chelsea Flower Show wants us to take home this year it’s to reconnect with nature.  Woodlands and forests abound, from a playful family garden full of adventure co-designed by the Duchess of Cambridge to Sarah Eberle’s stately forest glade.  "Get outside and get your nature fix," say Adam White and Andree Davies of Davies White Landscape Architects, who are designing the RHS Back to Nature garden with the Duchess of Cambridge.  The garden, which will not be judged, will include a hollow log to hide in, a tree house, stream, campfire and den to reconnect children to the natural world through play.  Trees may be taking stage this year, but there is one exception. Oak trees are banned from the show to prevent spreading the destructive pest oak processionary moth which has been found in the grounds.  With Europe-grown lavender already off the menu because of the disease xylella – a headache for designers because English-grown lavender is hard to get to flower in May – plant health is no longer a subject that can be ignored, even at Chelsea.  We all need to do our bit to prevent diseases spreading said RHS Director General Sue Biggs at a press conference to launch the show in central London this week.  "If there’s one message we’d love to get out there, it is ‘Don’t bring plants back from holiday.'"  So, royal tree houses aside, what will be the other highlights this year for the 170,000 people who will swarm the showground this May?  Look out for Tom Dixon’s indoor food laboratory for Ikea, the return of Chelsea heavyweights Thomas Hoblyn and Andy Sturgeon and an installation to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day featuring haunting figures of servicemen that recede into the distance amid a sea of 10,000 pink sea thrift plants.  There will also be a Yorkshire canal, Patagonian waterfalls, a Zimbabwean classroom, a new clematis called ‘Meghan’ named after the Duchess of Sussex and the intriguing prospect of the introduction of a ‘watermelon radish’.  As for the Donkey Sanctuary garden in the Artisan Category, we’re hoping for a real donkey.  Take a look through our gallery above for the best highlights to watch out for at this year's show.  Designer Tom Dixon’s ‘Gardening will save the world’ garden for Ikea is an exciting prospect that celebrates how we can grow food even in inner cities.  The lighting, furniture and accessories innovator has turned his hand to a sort of ‘upstairs, downstairs’ edible fantasyland where subterranean mushrooms and other hydroponic edibles in the lower storey are topped with a wild landscape. The public will be able to wander through garden which will be in the Great Pavilion.  A first-time Chelsea designer, Dixon confesses to nerves about how the yellow lighting in the tent will make the plants look, but reassured that he will be dry whatever the weather.  The power of the natural world takes centre stage with several gardens celebrating its ability to endure and regenerate.  Andy Sturgeon’s M&G landscape is a Jurassic-looking bold-leaved woodland sliced through with enormous charred timber formations inspired by rocks he saw on a Australian beach.  Sarah Eberle’s restful forest for the Forestry Commission is inspired by the gardener William Robinson who introduced the idea of wild gardening to the Victorians.  Titled ‘The Resilience Garden’, it highlights the importance of helping forests adapt to climate change and pests and diseases.  Multi-award winning Eberle is never boring. Last year her garden was a giant cricket wicket. This year the centrepiece is an enormous farm grain silo that doubles as tree researcher’s workshop.  Thomas Hoblyn returns to Chelsea with the Dubai Majilis Garden inspired by the beauty found in arid landscapes.  Last year Mark Gregory scooped the People’s Choice Award for his patch of the Dales complete with babbling brook, bird sounds and sheep poo.  This time for Welcome to Yorkshire, in his 99th garden for Chelsea, Gregory is building a canal with flowing water, a lock keepers lodge and working gates.  You can almost smell the bilge water. Likely to be another crowd pleaser.  Jo Thompson celebrates Wedgwood's rich 260-year history by setting its foundations in Etruria, the 18th-century Staffordshire village that Josiah Wedgwood created for his workers.  Framed by pavilions and arches and underplanted with airy planting, this will have an elegant, classical feel inspired by Thompson’s childhood in Rome.  Kate Gould is designing a garden for Greenfingers, the charity that helps life-limited children and their families.  A lush split-level garden with sloped walkways and a lift to access the top storey, it evokes a peaceful space filled with trees where children and their families can relax together.  Last year Jonathan Snow recreated the burnt landscape of the South African fynbos in his show garden.  This year he’s heading west to Patagonia for his Trailfinders garden complete with waterfalls, to evoke a ‘land of snow-capped mountains covered in ancient forests and dense vegetation’.  Expect gunneras, ferns, fuschias and geums. His challenge will be trying to make a dramatic waterfall with only a few metres of height to play with. But the former army officer will doubtless relish the challenge.  The Space to Grow gardens always offer a fresh take and Jilayne Rickard’s garden for the charity Camfed that supports girls’ education in Africa brings rural Zimbabwe to Chelsea with colourful oil drums and edibles.  Kampo no Niha celebrates healing plants for common ailments inspired by the landscape of northern Japan.  And Facebook comes to Chelsea with Joe Perkins’ Beyond the Screen garden which imagines an ever-changing coastal landscape to explore the positive side of social media.


eveningstandard--2019-08-01--Five easy ways to keep your garden flowering in the hot summer months

We all go to seed eventually, but it’d be nice if the garden could last through the barbecue season.  In August, just as we’re spending most time out there, our favourite flowering plants lose their oomph, providing no colour to complement our new outdoor cushions.  These five simple tips will keep your garden flowering fabulously during this hottest of months, even if you can spare only a few minutes a day.  When a flower has faded, it turns into a seedhead and the plant stops producing any more blooms. Snip off faded flowers before they set seed so the plant keeps on flowering.  Cosmos, marigolds, roses, Shasta daisies, California poppies, dahlias, rose campion and zinnias will all reward you with new flowers if you snip off the old ones.  Cut back to the next flower bud down.  Break off the old flowers of your potted pelargoniums back to the main stem. If they’re ready, they’ll come off cleanly with a snap.  Mini snips let you do the deadheading one-handed (Mini Snips, £5.99, burgonandball.com). A Hip Trug (£7.99, burgonandball.com) will keep your hands free for tidy deadheading as you go.  As for hardy geraniums, shear them down to the ground now in one go and they will bounce back with a new lease of life.  If you’re going on holiday, time it for just before you leave and they’ll be looking better by the time you get back.  Frequent watering in August is unavoidable but lawns and established plants can be ignored.  Concentrate on potted plants and new arrivals. Five minutes a day before or after work is a good routine.  Spray hoses are convenient but can be fierce. The gentle Gardena City Gardening Balcony Sprayer (£9.99, robertdyas.co.uk) won’t create a mudbath on your decking.  For rooftops, terraces or balconies, attach your sprayer to a 10m Terrace Hose (robertdyas.co.uk, £26.49) which automatically rolls up after use. Or fit an automatic watering system.  If you haven’t an outside tap, the Gardena Adaptor for Inside Taps (homebase.co.uk, £3.50) lets you attach a hose to an inside kitchen or bathroom tap.  Don’t waste time pulling up weeds by the roots in summer. Chop off the tops with a hoe and leave them on the soil to shrivel up in the sun.  A long- or short-handled razor hoe is small enough to avoid damaging plants (£29.99, burgonandball.com).  Water on a general liquid plant food such as Miracle-Gro All Purpose Concentrated Plant Food (£4.42, diy.com) or a tomato fertiliser high in potash to encourage more flowering every couple of weeks.  Next year add a handful of slow-release fertiliser to the compost when planting and you won’t have to bother to feed later.  Smarten up edges of lawns with shears or a lawn edger. For a classy finish, do what professional gardeners do — make the edge of the flower bed a little lower than the lawn to create a neat shadow gap.


naturalnews--2019-11-06--These 5 flowering plants will attract good bugs to your garden

Create the right habitat for beneficial insects  Not all insects are bad for your crops. While some insects feed on and destroy your plants, other bugs will feed on the bad bugs.  These bug-eating insects will protect your crops and planting the right kinds of flowers to attract them is the key. To ensure that your garden has a lot of carnivorous bugs that will keep the herbivores from ruining your crops, create the right habitat for them.  Provide food and shelter for carnivorous bugs by planting beautiful flowering plants that offer both. The good bugs will make their home in the flowering plants.  Time your planting right so the carnivores are in full force when the herbivores arrive. Carnivores like hoverflies, lacewings, ladybugs, parasitic wasps, pirate bugs, and praying mantises will get rid of pests like aphids, cabbage worms, leafcutter ants, squash vine borers, and whiteflies.  Other insects will feed on nectar from the flowers at various stages of their life cycle. The beneficial bugs may also feed on nectar when their prey isn’t available in your garden.  Listed below are five flowering plants that provide habitats for your tiny garden helpers. (Related: A simple guide to creating a pollinator-friendly garden.)  Coneflower (Echinacea) plants have two-foot-tall flower stalks that suit a perennial border adjacent to your vegetable garden.  Sponsored solution from the Health Ranger Store: The Big Berkey water filter removes almost 100% of all contaminants using only the power of gravity (no electricity needed, works completely off-grid). Widely consider the ultimate "survival" water filter, the Big Berkey is made of stainless steel and has been laboratory verified for high-efficiency removal of heavy metals by CWC Labs, with tests personally conducted by Mike Adams. Explore more here.  Coneflowers attract butterflies that feed on the nectar from its flowers, but the plant’s unique purple blossoms also attract various smaller, beneficial insects.  Goldenrods are known for their loose yellow blossoms, which are an eye-catching late-season addition to any home garden. While the other plants included in this list usually blossom during spring and summer, goldenrod tends to bloom late in summer all the way into fall.  Pair the other flowers on this list with goldenrod to ensure that the beneficial bugs stay in your garden throughout the year.  Marigolds are a small annual plant with orange- and yellow flowers. Incorporate marigolds into your vegetable beds to beautify your garden and keep out pests.  Marigolds don’t just repel above-ground pests. Their roots are also toxic to root-knot nematodes. This common pest attacks your precious vegetables from below.  Sweet alyssum has honey-scented white flowers that will completely cover the plant. A ground-hugging annual, sweet alyssum flowers will blossom for several months during the growing season.  This small and low-growing plant acts as a ground cover around taller vegetables like chard and kale. As a bonus, sweet alyssum may seed itself. After you plant it once in your home garden, it will sprout again every year.  Yarrow is a perennial flower that bears red, yellow, and white blossoms. The flowers grow from a spreading mat of lacy foliage that exudes a lovely herbal fragrance when crushed.  Yarrow attracts good insects like hoverflies and ladybugs. The plant also attracts butterflies that feed on the large blossoms full of nectar.  Additional tips that will attract beneficial bugs to your home garden  Planting dill and gazania also attracts ladybugs while nasturtium attracts ground beetles and spiders.  Clover will help attract pollinators like bees. Grow native flowers in your garden to attract more beneficial bugs than cultivars.  Finally, don’t use harmful pesticides that may kill the good bugs that you need in your home garden.


pravadareport--2019-12-18--Flowers bloom in snowless Moscow

Flowers bloom in snowless Moscow

Central Russia is experiencing an unusually warm winter. It rains instead of snowing, grass turns green, and buds swell on the trees. Flowers started blooming at a Moscow botanical garden. Dandelions, hellebores, primroses and snowdrops started blooming in the middle of December 2019.  On December 17, snowdrops started blooming. The phenomenon of winter flowering is dangerous to botanicals as they may not bloom in spring.  Warm weather is not going to leave Moscow in the coming days due to the influence of air masses from the Atlantic. This week, temperatures will be above the climate norm by an average of 8 degrees, according to the Meteorological Center of Russia. Weather forecasters do not expect any snow in Moscow until the beginning of the third decade of December.


theguardianuk--2019-02-28--Early spring flowers around the UK readers travel tips

Early spring flowers around the UK: readers’ travel tips

This fascinating four acre-garden was created in the early 20th century by noted artist and botanist Edward Bowles, whose nickname, the Crocus King, gives an indication of his passion for spring flowers. The Alpine Meadow, a scrubby slope for most of the year, is carpeted with snowdrops, fritillaries, daffodils and crocuses from February to April. There are beds of gorgeous cyclamen and hellebore currently in bloom and the well-stocked Victorian glasshouses are a delight at any time of the year. In May, the 111-year-old wisteria adds to the attractions. There’s also a small cafe and museum.   • Free entry, car park £2.50, visitleevalley.org.uk  Emma  As St David’s Day approaches, what better way to celebrate the arrival of spring than by being surrounded by thousands of that most optimistic of flowers, and national emblem of Wales, the daffodil? In the sheltered eight acres of wooded valley that form part of Colby Woodland Walk in Pembrokeshire, you’ll not only find banks of cheerful golden trumpets but also drifts of snowdrops, dotted with jewel-like purple crocuses. Hard to imagine that this was once a coal-mining area; nature has reclaimed it, painting it in vibrant spring colours.  • Adult £8.40, child £4.20, nationaltrust.org.uk  Clare  Enter the cream garden gates of Dunham Massey at this time of year and you are swathed in the sweet scent of flowering shrub daphne Jacqueline Postill. As my sight is getting worse, I particularly appreciate these fragrant shrubs, plus winter honeysuckle and sweet box. There is much else to enjoy: a classic group of white birches gleaming against the black leaf litter and a neighbouring copse of the delicate multi-stemmed variety; shy clumps of tiny magenta cyclamen; an avenue of sulphur yellow witch hazels; and sunlit dogwoods, bare stems glowing salmon, ruby and lime.   • Adult £11, child £6.50, nationaltrust.org.uk  Helen Brazier  Spring brings a tapestry of colour in these gardens near Kingbarns, home to a national collection of snowdrops and a woodland walk to the sea. Snowdrop season is enchanting but, as well as these intriguing little beauties, there are aconites, anemones, irises, daffodils, crocus, hellebores, primroses and fragrant shrubs bursting into hopeful bloom. It’s a family-friendly place, with a lost elf village, snowdrop tours, yummy veggie and vegan food in the cafe, plant sales and cute new-born piglets.  • Adult £5.50, under-16s free, cambogardens.org.uk  Rebecca  William Wordsworth was warden at St Mary’s Church church in Rydal and when his daughter Dora died of TB at the age of 42 in 1847 he and his wife planted hundreds of daffodils as a memorial to her. The Wordsworths’ had bought the land to build on in 1826 because they were concerned they would lose their tenancy at neighbouring Rydal Mount. Not just the beauty and tranquillity of the garden appeals but the view from it overlooking Windermere.  Walter  Many Cambridge colleges lie with their rears facing the River Cam, creating wooded meadows called the Backs. In February the area is carpeted with purple crocuses. As you pass along the path towards the flowers, view King’s College Chapel and Trinity’s Wren Library across the Cam. Walk or cycle from Cambridge railway station towards Silver Street, cross the Cam and then follow the hoggin (gravel and sand) path north and parallel to the river for about 500 metres. The densest flowering is behind Trinity College, west of North Paddock.  John Hall  When it comes to early spring it’s hard to top these gardens and walks near Chiddingfold in the Surrey Hills. The natural woodland feel and layout means every walk feels like a discovery instead of a meticulously planned garden. The visitors’ map we received on entry helped in our spotting of camellias, magnolias and azaleas and helped us identify the many rare flowering shrubs. There are plenty of spots to sit and take in the views and it’s also wonderful for photography as the garden’s lakes and pools add amazing reflections. And, very importantly, there’s a tearoom.  • Opens on 16 March, adult £7.50, under-16s free, ramsterevents.com  Stan  This garden between Rugby and Kettering is among my favourite places to visit in spring. It has a woodland area where white narcissus grow alongside anemones and violas. In the orchards I am quite jealous of the spring-flowering shrubs. The camellias, magnolias and viburnums all look so healthy. There is an on-site plant nursery but maybe I could employ the Coton Manor gardeners to spruce up my garden. Well worth a visit.  Adults £7, child £3, cotonmanor.co.uk   Candice  Each spring wild crocuses carpet this meadow seven miles south-east of Newbury. A delight to view and a joy to visit – for free. One legend has it that 12th-century crusaders brought them back from central Europe. Others believe that they are garden escapees that have established themselves over the past 200 years. Alongside the crocuses you may find wild orchids, oxeye daisies and vivid mauve and purple scabious and knapweed.   • bbowt.org.uk  J Messenger  Snowdrop Valley puts on a marvellous show each spring. The woodland and dells surrounding the River Anvil play host to hundreds of thousands of delicate snowdrops. The estate is privately owned but opens for about a month each year to share just how beautiful it is. This year it is open until 3 March. There are five walks of varying difficulty to take: we chose walk two, which takes about an hour-and-a-half and consists of bridle paths and footpaths, largely through woodland. The snowdrops line the route and lie in front of you like a giant white carpet.   • Car park £2, wheddoncross.org.uk  lisa anderson  This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.    The links are powered by Skimlinks. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that Skimlinks cookies will be set. More information.


theguardianuk--2019-04-24--Dutch fence off tulip fields to stop selfie-takers crushing flowers

Barriers and advertising banners are being erected around fields in the tulip bulb region of the Netherlands in an attempt to deter a growing number of tourists from flattening the flowers to take selfies.  Tourists have been seen jumping above the tulips to secure the perfect picture, or lying down in the middle of fields, squashing the bulbs.  Simon Pennings, a grower near the town of Noordwijkerhout in the bulb region of south-west Netherlands, was the first to erect a barrier in his field, emblazoned with the slogan of a pilot campaign backed by the local tourist board: “Enjoy the flowers, respect our pride.”  “They are so careless,” Pennings said of the tourists. “We get large groups of people visiting, which we find very nice and fun, but they flatten everything. It is a shame and we suffer damage as a result. Last year, I had a plot with €10,000 [£8,700] in damage. Everything was trampled … They want to take that selfie anyway.”  Nicole van Lieshout from the local tourist office said a group of 40 “ambassadors” – a voluntary team of guides, including retired farmers – will seek to teach visitors about the history of the tulip fields.  “In recent years, the number of tourists coming has been higher and higher,” said Van Lieshout. “I think the tourists think the fields were made for them. Everyone wants the perfect selfie and the pictures go all over the world, lying or dancing among the flowers.  “We don’t want to send the tourists away. The farmers make the fields beautiful for the visitors, but pictures need to be taken on the edge of the fields, not in or on the flowers.”  Pennings told the Dutch newspaper the Algemeen Dagblad people were generally respectful when they were educated about the fields.  “They don’t think about it,” he said. “People have lost sight of how a plant grows and that we are working on it all year round. When I explain that to people in the field, they say, ‘Oh, oh, yes, you’re right’, and ‘I’m sorry I didn’t see it at all and didn’t understand it’.  “It’s largely ignorance. I assume that. Milk also comes from a factory and not from a cow. That is also the case with the bulbs. It is thought that it is a kind of plastic.”  The Dutch tourism board has made a “dos and don’ts” guide to taking a selfie near a tulip field.  Van Lieshout said growers’ difficulty in dealing with the interest in tulips had been highlighted over the weekend when the roads into the Keukenhof, a 32-hectare (79 acre) floral garden where growers showcase their latest flowers, became gridlocked. Drivers had spilled out of their cars and into the fields.  The annual number of visitors to the Keukenhof has risen from 800,000 to 1.4 million in the past six years. The garden’s director, Bart Siemerink, described the situation as “unacceptable for residents and entrepreneurs in the bulb region”.  The curse of the selfie-taking tourist is not a new phenomenon. Last summer, the New York Times reported on the case of the Bogle family, who had opened their farm in Ontario to allow visitors to wander past tall sunflowers. After eight days, the family shut the gates, blaming hordes of amateur photographers who trampled on plants in order to secure the best selfie, plucked sunflower heads to use as props and left rubbish strewn across the farm.


theguardianuk--2019-06-01--The best scented flowers and foliage Alys Fowler

The best scented flowers and foliage | Alys Fowler

I came home late to a damp road and an empty house. In the neon glow of the street lamp, I could smell the purple honesty, Lunaria annua, their heads popping over the front-garden wall. I could smell them before I opened the gate, subtle, sweet and strong in the cool air after the rain. The house might have been dark and the fridge half-empty, but these scented plants in my front garden said, “Welcome home.”  Lilac’s glory may be brief; the flowers last for only a few weeks but, oh, how fragrant and divine they are. There are numerous varieties of Syringa vulgaris, the common lilac, such as ‘Katherine Havemeyer’ with its lavender-blue flowers, or the elegant, white double ‘Madame Lemoine’. But as both will eventually grow to 7m tall, if allowed, they are not the best for very small spaces.  Not so the Korean lilac, S. meyeri, and its cultivars, which is tiny in comparison, at 1.5m tall and that again wide, with small, highly scented flowers. All syringa are deciduous, which is a bonus as they won’t gloom out your front room in winter.  The mock orange, Philadelphus species, are fast-growing, hardy shrubs with dark green leaves in summer and wonderful yellow autumn colour. These are minor details compared with their scented flowers, which appear in June and July, when their intoxicating perfume floats long on the breeze. A magnet for bees, they are known to be tolerant of urban pollution, salt-laden air and chalky soil as well as not minding a little shade. ‘Belle Étoile’ is an elegant single; ‘Manteau d’Hermine’ a blousy double.  Lavender and rosemary are both good choices for scented foliage. On a hot day, you can often smell both long before you arrive at their destination. The low-growing Rosmarinus officinalis Prostratus Group will happily sprawl over pathways and won’t mind a little errant treading to release its oils. ‘Miss Jessopp’s Upright’ is the opposite, staying very stiff, but lending vertical interest to a sunny spot.  Every bit of Russian sage, perovskia species, smells good, from the leaves to the flowers; it also manages to glow once in bloom, with its silver-grey leaves and tiny, violet-blue flowers. The taller varieties such as ‘Blue Spire’ tend to be quite floppy, but ‘Little Spire’ stays trim and is perfect for a path edge. It combines happily with any number of other later summer-flowering types, such as the softer pink of Phlox paniculata ‘Franz Schubert’, which has deeply honeyed notes to its scent and is much loved by both bees and butterflies.  This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set. More information.


thesun--2019-02-27--Scientists discover flower that MOVES its male parts over the female organs to self-pollinate

SCIENTISTS have found the first self- loving plant — which slowly rubs itself for hours in a bid to reproduce.  The yellow wallflower sets to work when the sap rises.  Tips of its stamen — the male part of the flower — slowly brush over the stigma — its lady bits.  That deposits pollen on the female organ and allows it to reproduce without pollinators like bees.  Experts from Stirling University and the University of Granada dubbed the phenomenon “anther rubbing” and revealed it resulted in healthy offspring.  The Erysimum in- canum, found in Spain and North Africa, also produced as many seeds as those cross-fertilised with other plants.  The Sun’s Gardening Editor Peter Seabrook said: “The world of gardening is fascinating and every day I learn something new.  “This is the first time I have heard of a plant actually moving to self-pollinate.” Study boss Professor Mohamed Abdelaziz said: “With the loss of pollinators worldwide, any plant trait that promotes reproduction is important.”  The findings appear in the journal American Naturalist.


thesun--2019-06-29--When is the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2019 how do you get to the palace and how do I get ticket

When is the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2019, how do you get to the palace and how do I get tickets?

IF YOU are fan of all things horticultural, the Hampton Court Flower Show is an extravaganza not to be missed.  Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s colourful show and getting your hands on tickets for the event.  The event, which showcases gorgeous gardens and floral displays, kicked off on Tuesday July 2 and will end on Sunday July 7.  The flower show aims to be a great family day out, which allows guests to immerse themselves in displays showcasing over 250,000 flowers.  You can stroll round the show gardens, try your hand at workshops, browse stalls with gardening products and food, see talks and see the Scarecrow competition.  From Tuesday to Saturday, the event will be open from 10am to 7.30pm.  On the Sunday, there are slightly reduced hours from 10am to 5.30pm.  There was also a preview evening on Monday July 1, which takes place from 5pm until 10.30pm.    Tickets are currently on sale and there are a range of options available.  Tuesday and Wednesday are currently RHS Members only days, and members can book up to four tickets in total for these days or the preview evening.  The general public can buy tickets from Thursday to Sunday, and these cost £33 for a full day event (or £39.50 if you pay on the day).  Alternatively you can enter the grounds after 3pm for a late ticket which costs £22 or £25.50 on the day.  You can buy tickets at seetickets.com and at ticketmaster.co.uk.  Hampton Court Palace is located in East Molesey in Surrey and the post code is KT8 9AU if you are travelling by car.  The palace is on the A308 and is well signposted from all major local roads.  The nearest train station is Hampton Court, which is located a five-minute walk away.  Services to Hampton Court run from London Waterloo every 30 minutes, calling at Vauxhall, Clapham Junction, Earlsfield, Wimbledon, Raynes Park, New Maldon, Berrylands, Surbiton and Thames Ditton.  You can travel to Zone 6 Hampton Court from Waterloo using your travelcard/oyster card.  There is no underground station at Hampton Court, and the nearest stations are Wimbledon and Richmond.  The buses that run from Kingston are the 111, 216, 411, 461 and 513, and from Richmond is the R68.


thetelegraph--2019-01-08--Root to flower eating is to be food trend of 2019 experts say

Root to flower eating is to be food trend of 2019, experts say

Root to flower eating is sweeping the menus of Britain as food waste worries mean chefs are using the whole plant instead of throwing away leaves.  From the River Cottage to Nobu, diners can enjoy carrot tops, beetroot stems, cauliflower leaves and cucumber flowers.  Vernon Mascarenhas , a vegetable wholesaler from Nature's Choice at New Covent Garden Market, said that dainty cucumber flowers are perfect for garnishing sushi and salads.  He told The Telegraph: "Cucumber flowers are used as as a garnish, they're very pretty. I first discovered these in our glass house when the farmer was basically thinning out the crop. So he was just picking these cucumbers with small flowers and dropping them on the floor as waste.  "I immediately started putting them into punnets and the first restaurant to take them was Nobu in Park Lane - and it's just sprung up. Some farmers just grow plants to be cucumber flowers, just for the flower now."


thetelegraph--2019-02-11--Oak trees to be banned from Chelsea Flower Show for the first time due to Processionary Moth infesta

Oak trees to be banned from Chelsea Flower Show for the first time due to Processionary Moth infestation

Oak trees have been banned at Chelsea Flower Show because of fears the Oak Processionary Moth could spread across Britain.  The moth causes significant damage to oak trees and releases tiny hairs as a caterpillar which can cause severe allergic reactions.  It has taken hold in West London, and any oak tree taken to Chelsea risks being infected.  This has caused a headache for exhibitors with one insider telling the Telegraph: “We know one designer who had to redo his whole garden because all the trees he was planning to use were on the banned list.”  Guy Barter, Chief Horticulturalist at the RHS, told the Telegraph: “The Processionary Moth is embedded in London now. It only appears on oak trees and has now spread around west London. If anyone brought oak trees to Chelsea it would have to be destroyed in situ because of a contamination risk. We have plant health inspectors on site to check.  “If the disease comes to Chelsea it could easily spread all around the country.  “We strongly encourage people to source all their plants from Britain."  Also on the banned list this year is non-native lavender, with anyone showing a garden with the fragrant herb having to source it from England.


thetelegraph--2019-02-16--Plants that dont need soil or water to feature at Chelsea Flower Show in bid to attract Millennial

Plants that don't need soil or water to feature at Chelsea Flower Show in bid to attract Millennial gardeners

Plants that require neither soil nor water to grow will make their debut at this year's Chelsea Flower Show as organisers hope to encourage young novices into gardening.  Photos of air plants displayed neatly in glass terrariums are expected to be uploaded all over social media after the country's top horticulturists said their low maintenance made them a good match for millennials.  Houseplants in general are becoming more and more fashionable among young people, who are increasingly strapped for time and space in their homes.  They are already a firm Instagram trend, with green-fingered youths contributing over 2.2 million pictures of greenery to the #plantsofinstagram hashtag.  This year air plants are expected to lead the way because they require minimal attention, can fit in small spaces and brighten up house shares and flats. They only require occasional misting and sunlight.  A whole section at the Chelsea Flower Show will be dedicated to them. Guy Barter, the chief horticulturalist at the RHS, said: "Air plants are compact, exotic and stylish, making them a great addition to rooms of any size.  "As relatively low maintenance plants, they are a good match for young novices taking the first steps into the wonderful world of gardening.  "These strange and outlandish plants are a great introduction to the wonders of botany and fit very well into any sized space.


thetelegraph--2019-03-31--Botanist warns of trend of poisonous flowers on food after toxic blooms appear on Mothers Day cak

Botanist warns of trend of poisonous flowers on food after 'toxic' blooms appear on Mother's Day cake

The trend of sprinkling petals onto food could prove poisonous, a botanist has warned, after a food magazine printed an image of a lemon cake on its front cover, adorned with toxic flowers.  Ahead of Mothering Sunday, The Guardian’s Feast magazine printed a cake recipe by the food writer Tamal Ray, which had been embellished with ranunculus blooms.  But science writer and plant expert James Wong, who trained at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, warned that the flowers were poisonous and called for people to take greater care when selecting inedible and potentially deadly decorations.  Plants in the ranunculus family can cause blistering in the mouth and intestines and an upset stomach. Even if...


thetelegraph--2019-04-02--Top 25 flowers to plant for spring

Top 25 flowers to plant for spring

Spring is the season that many gardeners look forward to the most, especially if it follows a long cold, dark winter. The official first day falls around March 20 or 21, otherwise known as the March equinox. At this time, in Britain at least, deciduous trees will still be bare or only just showing signs of life. Some early bulbs will have been flowering already, such as snowdrops, crocus, chionodoxa.  Spring is a great opportunity to enjoy colour in areas of the garden that are dominated later in the year by shrubs and trees -  before the tree canopy closes up,  higher light and moisture levels at ground level mean that woodlanders and ground cover plants can come to the fore and flower.  Here, expert Val Bourne has chosen a range of spring-flowering plants for different situations around the garden that will take you through from March to June.  1 Lungwort 'Diana Clare' (Pulmonaria) Long, silvered leaves with an apple-green cast flatter deep violet flowers, making this pulmonaria perhaps the best of all. Part shade (30cm/2ft).


thetelegraph--2019-04-09--Six clever ways to keep cut flowers alive

The truth is cut flowers don't last forever, but garden expert Sarah Raven has some simple tricks for keeping them fresh and maximising their life span so you can enjoy them for longer.  Anything that looks floppy should have its stem ends seared in boiling water for 30 seconds. Give woody stems a bit longer – so bluebells only 10 seconds, whereas lilac needs one minute.  Put 2.5cm-5cm (1in-2in) of boiling water into a mug and plunge the stems in. The amount of stem you sear is to an extent proportional to the length of stem you’ve cut. I sear 10 per cent. If it’s 6ft tall, sear 6in. If it’s 18in, sear 1in-2in. Don’t leave the stems in too long or they’ll cook and disintegrate....


thetelegraph--2019-05-21--Chelsea Flower Show 2019 awards revealed full list of medal winners

Chelsea Flower Show 2019 awards revealed: full list of medal winners

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show has revealed its medal winners for 2019.  Known as the most glamorous event on the gardening calendar, the Chelsea Flower Show returned for its 60th year, boasting an impressive display of 11 show gardens and 17 smaller gardens.  The event, which is open to the public from 21 - 25 May, takes gardening to the next level, showcasing plants and sculptures to create a conversation around contemporary topics.  While the top prize, Best Show Garden, will be announced later on Tuesday, below are the best of the best.


thetelegraph--2019-05-21--Chelsea Flower Show 2019 dates tickets transport advice and the best day to go

Chelsea Flower Show 2019: dates, tickets, transport advice and the best day to go

When it comes to the Chelsea Flower Show, the earlier you visit, the better. The first two days of the show (21-22 May) are for RHS members only, but for £47.25 you can become a member and have access to all gardens throughout the year. Visiting on these days will mean less crowds and fresher displays.  If visiting later on in the week, it is best to go early in the morning or later on, in the early evening; the crowds tend to peak in the middle of the day.  It is worth noting, however, that most of the tickets have now sold out - except for the day-long Thursday ticket, which costs £107 on the RHS website.  The prestigious flower show has been held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea every year since 1913 (excluding breaks during the war years).  The address is: London Gate, Royal Hospital Road, Royal Hospital Chelsea, London SW3 4SR. Note, however, that if you are driving to the show and parking at Battersea Park, you need to type the postcode SW11 4BY into your sat nav. This will take you straight to the Rosary Gate entrance.


thetelegraph--2019-05-21--The best gardening events and flower shows and where to book tickets

The award-winning Hole Park Gardens in Rolvenden will be open every day from March 30 until June 8 for visitors to enjoy the gorgeous bluebell blooms in their 10-acre wood. For the first time this year, owners may bring their dogs into the gardens provided they are kept on leads, making this a lovely springtime option for dog-walkers.  Light lunches and homemade cakes are available in the Coach House, where apple juice, local beer and homemade jam and honey produced from the fruit and bees on the Hole Park Estate can be purchased. Admission is £7.50 for adults and £1 for children.


thetelegraph--2019-09-22--Let caterpillars eat your flowers this autumn to help pink moth RHS says

Let caterpillars eat your flowers this autumn to help pink moth, RHS says

The Royal Horticultural Society has halted anti-caterpillar measures on its plants after seeing an increase in the larvae of pretty, pink moths.  Gardeners have been urged to let grubs munch holes in their honeysuckles in order to help the elephant hawkmoth, which has attractive pink wings.  The giant caterpillars of the moth are also interesting to look at, with distinctive markings which look like eyes.  The striking larvae have been spotted in RHS gardens as they wander from their feeding plants to find a safe place to bed down for the winter (as pupae).  Earlier this year there were also sightings of the rare migrant spurge and death’s head hawkmoths; these moths breed in warmer climes but a good year allows them to fly over the channel and visit the UK.  The charity is urging gardeners to turn a blind eye to the small-time damage it can cause this autumn and plant evening flowering favourites of the adult moth to support their dwindling numbers. These include Nicotiana, Honeysuckle and Evening primrose.  Hawkmoths are the biggest of the UK’s moths, and along with their smaller cousins are an essential part of the ecosystem, acting as pollinators and providing food for birds and bats.  Hayley Jones, entomologist at the RHS, said: "Moths get a bad rap and are often overlooked in favour of their cousins, the butterflies, which are thought to be more showy and beneficial to gardens. In fact, moths come in a huge range of colours and patterns and act as important pollinators – less than seven species are known to favour clothes in your wardrobe.  "Now with many species in decline, it’s time we celebrated the more than 2,500 species of moth found in the UK. Early autumn is the perfect time to set out and see these beautiful creatures and lay the groundwork for their proliferation next year."  In recent years reports made to RHS advisory reveal six times fewer sightings in gardens. Although hawkmoth caterpillars cause some small damage to plants, they are an essential part of the ecosystem, acting as pollinators and providing all important food for birds and bats.  Many of the UK’s moths are in decline, a symptom of changing climate and destruction of their natural habitats but they are likely to have benefitted from the recent warm weather. Gardeners can help by planting caterpillar food plants and nectar plants for the adults, and tolerating some caterpillar damage in order to benefit these amazing creatures.  A spokesperson for the RHS said their gardeners had been turning a blind eye to caterpillars, adding:  "The moths cause only superficial damage and their benefit to the environment vastly outweigh the pesky holes they leave in some of the plants. Plus, particularly in the case of the beautiful elephant hawkmoth, they make for a beautiful sight!"


thetelegraph--2019-11-26--Chelsea flower show contestants could be judged on how eco-friendly their gardens are, RHS reveal

The Chelsea flower show is considering judging gardens on how environmentally friendly they are, the Royal Horticultural Society has revealed, as it unveils the greenest ever line up for 2020.  Contestants who enter the up and coming show could face questions on where they sourced materials from and whether any plastic was used.  The proposal for the new criteria is due to be discussed today at the annual judges meeting.  “We want to show visitors who come to Chelsea that their gardens can be places that are good for the environment with long-lasting materials,” Catherine Potsides, head of shows development, said. "I cannot promise the environmentally friendly judging criteria will be in place for the 2020 show but I can say that the conversation is taking place."  Award winning design duo Hugo Bugg and Charlotte Harris have designed a communal residential garden for show sponsor M&G, with a focus on forging "vital green space" in places that need them most.


theweekuk--2019-01-16--What to expect from Kate Middletons Chelsea Flower Show garden

What to expect from Kate Middleton’s Chelsea Flower Show garden

Kate Middleton has helped to design a garden for the Chelsea Flower Show, Kensington Palace has announced.  The Duchess of Cambridge’s horticultural creation, titled Back to Nature, is said to have been inspired by “magic” childhood memories of spending time in the “great outdoors”, and uses “wild planting and natural materials”.  Her collaboration with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and Kingston-based landscape architects Davies White marks the first time that the Royal has been involved in a display at the world’s most famous horticultural show, the London Evening Standard reports.  Award-winning garden designer Adam White explained that he and the Duchess “spoke about our childhood memories, being outdoors and exploring nature”, and that she had been “very open and has been hugely collaborative”.  “She is very hands-on, model making, emailing images, coming up with all the ideas that we want to capture. She would often bring a folder of cuttings with her full of ideas,” he continued.  According to well-being magazine Happiful, the Duchess hopes to “encourage families to rediscover nature, as well as the physical and mental health benefits it has to offer”.  A Palace spokesperson said: “The garden seeks to recapture for adults the sense of wonder and magic that they enjoyed as children, in addition to kindling excitement and a passion for nature in future generations.  “The garden will build on Her Royal Highness’s passion for the outdoors and the proven benefits that nature has on physical and mental health.”  RHS director Sue Biggs added: “We could not be more thrilled, or feel more honoured, that the Duchess of Cambridge has co-designed our RHS Garden at Chelsea Flower Show.”


theweekuk--2019-05-20--The royals at Chelsea Flower Show in pictures

The royals at Chelsea Flower Show – in pictures

The Duchess of Cambridge has shared family photographs of the young royals larking around in her garden at the Chelsea Flower Show, which opens to the public tomorrow.  Kate Middleton teamed up with landscape architects Andree Davies and Adam White to design the Back to Nature Garden, which was devised with the aim of encouraging families to spend more time outdoors.  The Duke and Duchess’s children, Prince George, five, Princess Charlotte, four, and one-year-old Prince Louis helped gather moss, leaves and twigs to decorate the display.  In images taken by award-winning photographer Matt Porteous, the two older children sit with thir legs dangling over the side of a bridge    George climbs up a waterfall as Louis runs around with a stick     “The garden’s centrepiece contains a high-platform tree house, clad in stag horn oak that draws inspiration from a bird or animal nest. It also features a swing seat, rustic den and a campfire as well as tree stumps, stepping stones and a hollow log for children to play on,” says Hello! magazine     The Duchess returned to the show today with a group of schoolchildren, climbing into the treehouse and roasting marshmallows.  “The Duchess of Cambridge is a strong advocate for the benefits that the outdoors has on physical and mental health, and the positive impact that nature and the environment can have on childhood development,” says Town & Country magazine.  Speaking to presenter Monty Don for a BBC interview, she said: “There’s an amazing fact I learnt recently that 90% of our adult brains are developed before the age of five. And really what a child experiences in those really early years directly affects how the brain develops and that’s why I think that it’s so important that all of us, whether we’re parents or carers or family members, really engage in quality time with children and babies from a really, really young age.”


eveningstandard--2019-02-07--This is the worldaposs most expensive bouquet of flowers

This is the world's most expensive bouquet of flowers

Nothing says I love you more than a bunch of flowers on Valentine's Day - especially when they cost £20,000.  Artists behind Endura Roses, the UK's leading preserved flower company (yes, that is indeed a thing) have truly outdone themselves by creating the Cullinan, the world's most expensive bouquet.  Inspired by the Cullinan Diamond, a gem which now sits in Her Majesty's Crown, the delightful spruce contains no less than 100 specially preserved flowers.  So what's in it? Lush black hydrangea, a towering forest of roses, including six grandeur roses encased in 24-carat gold (obvs); a grande rose sourced all the way from the volcanic-rich soils of Cayambe, Equador; a trio of handmade heart roses and a large, uber rare and lavishly shaped Juliette Rose with double petal galore.  If that's not enough, the bouquet has been finished off with Diamond Dust, a semi-precious kind of fairy spray containing multi-faceted diamonds. In other words, it's v. bling.  The pièce de résistance? A Mon Chérie curved glass cloche sits at the centre and hides two Cullinan diamonds, one 0.5 carat and the other 0.3 carat. Casual.  And if £20,000 seems a little steep for a bouquet, designer Oliver Hibbert says the it lasts for "between three and five years, though if you want it to last forever you can have it encased in glass" (all very Beauty and The Beast).  Now if that doesn't make your partner want to bed you, we don't know what will.  For those that want to buy it, visit Endura's website to find out more or email contact@enduraroses.com.


newyorkpost--2019-04-05--Howard Stern sends former foe Kathie Lee Gifford a huge bouquet of roses

She is leaving after 11 years on the show.


themanchestereveningnews--2019-03-21--How to get a free bouquet of flowers for Mothers Day worth 23

How to get a free bouquet of flowers for Mothers Day worth £23

Mother's Day falls on 30 March this year and it is time to get organised with something nice for the women we love.  We have secured a reader offer that will allow you to get a beautiful bouquet of flowers free using a combination of voucher code and cashback deals.  There are deals in your local flower shop which can sometimes do the trick but this online offer from Bloom & Wild is too good to miss.  Using a voucher code and a cashback website it is possible to get a bouquet worth £23 free after cashback.  The deal is available on 'The Ella', a Spring-themed bouquet with cheerful yellow alstroemeria, scented freesia and solidago. It includes 18 stems delivered through the door in our bespoke letterbox packaging, with a gift card including your personal message.  To get the deal sign up to cashback website Quidco here and Bloom & Wild Flowers & click 'Redeem Bonus'. The site is giving £2.30 discount using the code QUIDCOTEN at checkout, bringing the price down to £20.70.  However, the site is also cutting the price of a bouquet for all members by 30% automatically. That brings the price down to just £14.19.  Still with us? Well, if you are also a new member to the website you can get £15 back when you order the flowers, making it free when ordered before 31st March.  The free bunch is the Ella- which is one of the online stores best selling letterbox bouquets.  Here is the step by step of how to redeem yours- and it should only take a couple of minutes.


thepoke--2019-07-24--This woman took a bouquet she found in the woods and her realisation what shed done is a slow burni

This woman took a bouquet she found in the woods and her realisation what she’d done is a slow burning delight

We’re grateful to a woman called Dani for sharing this exchange she found on Facebook, which began with a woman saying how lucky she felt to have found a bouquet of flowers left by someone in the woods.  And when we say it rather escalated from there, well it really, really did.  “I’m never deleting Facebook,” said Dani, and here are just a few of the things people said after she shared it on Twitter.  And if it reminded you of something, you weren’t alone.  This classic Facebook exchange about a dead cat is sad and very, very funny


thesun--2019-02-12--Where to get cheap Valentines Day flowers The best deals on roses and bouquets for 2019

Where to get cheap Valentine’s Day flowers – The best deals on roses and bouquets for 2019

LOVEBIRDS hoping to impress their other half with a bunch of roses this Valentine's Day face forking out a small fortune on the traditionally romantic blooms.  But don't worry, we've got your backs and put together a guide to where you can get the cheapest bouquets - and most of the deals are under a tenner.  If you're looking to save some cash then your best bet is to head to your nearest supermarket, but it doesn't mean they will last the longest.  Typically, high street retailers sell short-stemmed flowers while ones with long stems are premium and considered the best.  Flowers with bigger heads also tend to be more expensive too and are generally available from florists - supermarkets tend to stock smaller "sweetheart" roses.  Surprisingly, prices actually drop on Valentine's Day itself as supermarket try to shift surplus stocks.  But if you're not prepared to leave it to the last minute, then these are your best bet.  If you're ordering your flowers online and they're not in a good condition by the time they get to you should be able to get a full or partial refund.  In 2016, Moonpig - which sells more than one million roses a year over Valentine's Day - was bombarded with complaints after delivering damaged flowers on Mother's Day.  In some cases, it didn't deliver anything at all.  If your bouquet isn't up to scratch then the first thing you should do is take a photo of the flowers which will support your complaint.  Complaints to the retailer must be made by the person who bought the flowers because they will need to access the order information to resolve the problem.  You'll also be able to get a full refund for flowers that don't arrive at all.  If you order a specific number of flowers but less are delivered to you then you are also entitled to a partial refund, according to consumer group Which?.  We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team? Email us at money@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 78 24516. Don't forget to join the Sun Money's Facebook group for the latest bargains and money-saving advice.


thesun--2019-05-15--Best summer bouquets delivered to your door

WHETHER they’re for your home, workplace or a gift for a loved one, you can be sure a bunch of fresh, bright and beautiful flowers will never go unappreciated.  And if you don't have time to head over to your local florist, it's now easy to order expertly arranged bouquet, without even leaving your home  With a few clicks on your computer, your friend or loved one can have a blooming surprise delivered to their door in time for any celebration.  Equally, if you want to inject a little summer into your own home there are plenty of beautifull bouquets available online.  The only downside to the burgeoning online flower delivery trend is that there are now so many sites and blooms to choose from.  With so many factors to consider, we handpicked the best summer bouquets available out there, so you don't have to.  The Summer Glow bouquet from Bunches is made of stunning sunflowers, yellow roses and cream stocks complemented by matricaria daisies.  The vibrant bouquet which costs about £24 can be delivered for free across the UK.  According to the retailer, the blooms should stay fresh for at least seven days.  All flowers and plants from Bunches are shipped in specially designed packaging to ensure that your gift arrives in style - perfect if you want to surprise a loved one.  This real rainbow of colours is sure to brighten up your home or put a smile on the face of a loved one this summer.  Tulips are a spring flower that start to bloom when the weather warms up.  They tend to be available all year around as they are imported from overseas when available locally, mainly from Holland.  Called Rainbow Tulips, you can get this bouquet from Bunches for just under £23 with free delivery across the UK.  This beautiful collection of flowers from Interflora is available in three sizes with 18 stems in a small bunch and up to 30 stems in an extra large bouquet.  Prices vary from £35 to £55 depending on which size you opt for.  Featuring pink large headed roses, cream spray chrysanthemums, cerise germini, purple phlox and cerise roses, it comes wrapped and presented in gift packaging.  Same-day delivery is available although bare in mind that it will set you back £8 as opposed to £6 for next-day delivery.  If you want to cut the costs, Summer Sunshine, is a slightly cheaper option from Interflora.  Prices vary between £30 to £50 depending on the size you choose - £5 less than the Summer Adventures bouquet.  Arranged and hand-delivered by local florists with wonderful "wow" factor upon arrival, this bouquet features lemon germini, cerise medium headed roses and orange LA lilies.  Bare in mind that Lilies can be toxic to cats and dogs if ingested, so avoid this one if you're a pet owner.  Hand-arranged by skilled florists, the high-quality arrangement comes hand-wrapped in a sheet of frosted cellophane.  Again make sure you keep the flowers away from your pet if you're a dog or a cat owner.  Next-Day delivery is available for just £4.  Are you heading to a festival this summer? No festival kitbag is complete without a statement wellie or some stylish boots.  Here's our selection of the best ones available out there including unicorn wellies and sequins Dr Martens boots.  Or if you need some staycation inspiration, here's how to make it feel like you've gone abroad without the added travel.  If you're travelling with a pet, check out our selections of the best pet-friendly hotels in the UK.  Find offer codes, for Interflora and Bunches with The Sun Vouchers  This article and any featured products have been independently chosen by The Sun journalists. All recommendations within the article are informed by expert editorial opinion. If you click a link and buy a product we may earn revenue: this helps to support The Sun, and in no way affects our recommendations.


birminghammail--2019-01-30--The best Valentines Day roses deals from supermarkets and florists

The best Valentine's Day roses deals from supermarkets and florists

Love is in the air for Valentine's Day and roses will be top of many shopping lists in the run up to the big day.  Buying the one you love a single rose is often seen as a sign of love on the most romantic day of the year but a single rose - or a full bouquet - can be expensive.  There are many deals out there to get a cheap enough bouquet or rose without breaking the bank also and here are the best of them.  Asda has some extremely affordable bunches of roses in store and online.  For a small bunch at Asda, they are just £2 and you can add them to your shopping cart even when shopping on the Asda website.  So, be ready to order these within 5 days before you see your Valentine to make sure they are still nice and fresh.  Home Bargain- our favourite affordable store is running a deal on bunches of Kenyan Spray Roses for £15.99 this year.  The bunch comes in a mix of colours including red, yellow, pink and white- and for a huge bouquet of 50 roses, this as always is an absolute steal for shoppers.  You'll need to order the flowers online, where you can also chose a personalised romantic note to be written on the message card.  The £50 bouquet is one of the more popular deals couples will consider this year- with a special twist to help them last longer.  The supermarket favourite has released the bouquet deal with 12 freeze dried roses which they are promising will keep for up to a year.  Even though they are a little more expensive, at least brownie points are there to be earned every time your spouse sees them in pride of place in your home for a whole year.  They will be available in stores from February 11.  Morrisons Flowerworld section of their website is seemingly a huge hit with Morrisons shoppers with some Valentines worthy bouquets available.  The store features this beautiful letterbox bouquet (above) called the Raspberry Ripple Roses & Pandora Bell Lollipop for just £25, for something a little different.  Or, if you would rather order to hand to a loved one, they also have numerous other Valentines Day bundles, including the Best Unicorn Roses for £43, which we can imagine will be massively popular.  This one is available for delivery from February 4.  Lidl will be offering shoppers a dozen red roses for Valentines Day for just £4.  From February 13- the supermarket will have limited stock of the cheap bunch, and its looking to be one of the cheapest deals we can find.  Also, the store is going to have a single red rose in a cone for £3 for those not wanting to splurge.  Other popular  bundles include their 100 roses for £25 or a dozen "deluxe" large head roses for £10.  Ranging from £25- £175, Waitrose is one of the more high end options for shoppers.  The store features some rose bundles which you can have delivered from February 12- and some from February 13.  Waitrose shoppers have many bunches to choose from, it just all depends how much you want to spend.  If you fancy a splurge, the store is offering a £90 gift set of premium red roses and Champagne.  Featuring large headed white roses hand-tied with thlaspi, pistache and salal leaves, and presented in Interflora Gift Packaging.    The Standard size contains 12 stems, large contains 18 stems, Extra Large contains 24 stems- this popular bundle is £49 for 12, £69 for 18 and £89 for 24 roses.  With Interflora, rest assured all bouquets are:  Have a look through their huge array of flower arrangements on the website here- where The Florist website is also offering £10 off when you spend £60 with code AFFHIGHTEN or £5 off when you spend £45 with code AFFHIGHFIVE.  The online florists bestsellers include the Rose and Lily bouquet and their classic 40 roses with free chocolates for just £24.99.  Prestige Flowers offer a number of different bouquets with roses included for various other occasions- which would still also be perfect for Valentines.  But, you can be sure to find plenty of options in their Valentines section- where there are TONNES of savings to be made.  For instance, the J'adore bundle featured (above) with tulips, red berries and forest greens for just £26.99 features a free bunch of chocolates.  The Bloom & Wild website has the ultimate crush package to send out for that special someone.  12 deep roses with three stems can be delivered through their door without any trace of you for the secret admirers.  Colours may vary, but they promise to always give the highest quality bouquet.  You can grab this bouquet at £33.  They also have various other bundles between £30-£60 available online.  Many of eFlorist's bouquet's are on offer at the moment- with some going for under £30 with £5 and £10 savings.  The online florist features even a single rose and chocolates for just £16.99.  This article contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently, see more details


chicagosuntimes--2019-11-06--Chicago’s official Christmas tree a 55-foot  blue spruce

Millennium Park is getting one step closer to the kickoff of the 2019 holiday season in Chicago.  After weeks of a search for the ideal candidate to become the city’s 106th official Christmas tree, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events on Wednesday announced that a 55-foot blue spruce is the winner from among more than 40 entries in this year’s contest.  The Gene Nelson family of Elgin is donating the tree, which will be cut down Thursday morning from their front yard and delivered to Millennium Park on Friday evening.  Chicago has had an official Christmas tree annually since 1913, when the first tree was lit in Grant Park. The tree and festivities moved to Daley Plaza in 1966 (in 1982 the tree was positioned at State and Wacker but returned to Daley Plaza the following year) and then to Millennium Park in 2016.  The Nelson family will join Santa and other special guests for the official tree lighting ceremony on Nov. 22 in Millennium Park at Washington and Michigan. The fun begins at 6 p.m. with the lighting at approximately 6:30 p.m. Admission if free. The tree will be on display through Jan. 6, 2020.  The illuminated tree’s proximity to “The Bean” and the annual Caroling at Cloud Gate, as well as the park’s ice skating rink, make for a full-out holiday experience for the whole family.


thedenverpost--2019-09-11--A beetle that burrows into spruce trees has infected Denver city parks

Beetles that feast on spruce trees have invaded Denver’s parks and now crews are cutting down infected trees, starting Wednesday in Cheesman Park.  On Wednesday morning, two crews cut down three trees, and they have plans to remove nine more by the end of the week, Cynthia Karvaski, a Denver Parks and Recreation Department spokeswoman, said. In all, parks officials have found 74 infected trees in city parks.  The trees have been invaded by the Ips engraver beetle, a species that burrows beneath bark to feed on a tree’s nutrients and lay eggs. The beetle infestations occur in nine-or ten-year cycles and cause trees to die, creating the risk of branches falling and putting people and property in danger. The beetles are drawn to trees that are newly planted, sick or simply weak.  “The trees have been stressed from drought,” Karvaski said. “Once they’re infested, there’s no treatment. And it spreads.”  This isn’t Denver’s first rodeo with the beetle.  The city removed 300 spruce trees in 2002 due to an infestation, then 200 more in 2012. The beetles are drawn to the smell of trees stressed from drought. According to the National Weather Service, Denver experienced some of its warmest months in 2018. This weather prevents trees from turning water into a layer of resin for defense. Because of this, trees become more susceptible to the engraver beetle. The insects start at the top of spruce trees and feed and lay eggs in the most carbohydrate-rich layer of the tree.  “The first generation hatches in the spring, and the second hatches between July and August,” Dan West, an entomologist with the Colorado State Forest Service, said. “They feed on the phloem layer, which provides nutrients to the entire tree.”  Karvaski said that the department has spotted 31 infestations on private party. The parks department has sent a notice on NextDoor advising residents to keep an eye on the health of their trees.


activistpost--2019-01-14--Change Your Phone Settings So Apple Google Cant Track Your Movements

Change Your Phone Settings So Apple, Google Can’t Track Your Movements

Technology companies have been pummeled by revelations about how poorly they protect their customers’ personal information, including an in-depth New York Times report detailing the ability of smartphone apps to track users’ locations. Some companies, most notably Apple, have begun promoting the fact that they sell products and services that safeguard consumer privacy.  Smartphone users are never asked explicitly if they want to be tracked every moment of each day. But cellular companies, smartphone makers, app developers and social media companies all claim they have users’ permission to conduct near-constant personal surveillance.  The underlying problem is that most people don’t understand how tracking really works. The technology companies haven’t helped teach their customers about it, either. In fact, they’ve intentionally obscured important details to build a multi-billion-dollar data economy based on an ethically questionable notion of informed consent.  Most companies disclose their data protection practices in a privacy policy; most software requires users to click a button saying they accept the terms before using the program.  But people don’t always have a free choice. Instead, it’s a “take-it-or-leave-it” agreement, in which a customer can use the service only if they agree.  Anyone who actually wants to understand what the policies say finds the details are buried in long legal documents unreadable by nearly everyone, perhaps except the lawyers who helped create them.  Often, these policies will begin with a blanket statement like “your privacy is important to us.” However, the actual terms describe a different reality. It’s usually not too far-fetched to say that the company can basically do whatever it wants with your personal information, as long as it has informed you about it.  U.S. federal law does not require that a company’s privacy policy actually protect users’ privacy. Nor are there any requirements that a company must inform consumers of its practices in clear, nonlegal language or provide consumers a notice in a user-friendly way.  Theoretically, users might be able to vote with their feet and find similar services from a company with better data-privacy practices. But take-it-or-leave-it agreements for technologically advanced tools limit the power of competition across nearly the entire technology industry.  There are a few situations where mobile platform companies like Apple and Google have let people exercise some control over data collection.  For example, both companies’ mobile operating systems let users turn off location services, such as GPS tracking. Ideally, this should prevent most apps from collecting your location – but it doesn’t always. Further, it does nothing if your mobile provider resells your phone’s location information to third parties.  App makers are also able to persuade users not to turn off location services, again with take-it-or-leave-it notifications. When managing privileges for iOS apps, users get to choose whether the app can access the phone’s location “always,” “while using the app” or “never.”  But changing the setting can trigger a discouraging message: “We need your location information to improve your experience,” says one app. Users are not asked other important questions, like whether they approve of the app selling their location history to other companies.  And many users don’t know that even when their name and contact information is removed from location data, even a modest location history can reveal their home addresses and the places they visit most, offering clues to their identities, medical conditions and personal relationships.  Websites and apps make it difficult, and sometimes impossible, for most people to say no to aggressive surveillance and data collection practices. In my role as a scholar of human-computer interaction, one issue I study is the power of defaults.  When companies set a default in a system, such as “location services set to on,” people are unlikely to change it, especially if they are unaware there are other options they could choose.  Further, when it is inconvenient to change the location services, as is the case on both iOS and Android systems today, it’s even less likely that people will opt out of location collection – even when they dislike it.


activistpost--2019-12-22--Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla Named in Child Cobalt Mining Deaths and Injuries Lawsuit

Cell phones, computers, and other digital, electronic, and wireless technology require ingredients often referred to as “conflict minerals” in order to operate (see 1, 2). There are reasons why they are referred to that way – mining for them is dangerous, sometimes deadly, and frequently involves exploited children.  Thanks to Annie Kelly for investigating and The Guardian for publishing details about another tragic situation involving “conflict minerals”:  A landmark legal case has been launched against the world’s largest tech companies by Congolese families who say their children were killed or maimed while mining for cobalt used to power smartphones, laptops and electric cars, the Guardian can reveal. Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla have been named as defendants in a lawsuit filed in Washington DC by human rights firm International Rights Advocates on behalf of 14 parents and children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The families and injured children are seeking damages for forced labour and further compensation for unjust enrichment, negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It is the first time that any of the tech companies have faced such a legal challenge. In the court documents, the Congolese families describe how their children were driven by extreme poverty to seek work in large mining sites, where they claim they were paid as little as $2 (£1.50) a day for backbreaking and dangerous work digging for cobalt rocks with primitive tools in dark, underground tunnels.  Activist Post reports regularly about the many issues associated with digital, electronic, and wireless technology. For more information, visit our archives.  Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Become an Activist Post Patron for as little as $1 per month at Patreon. Follow us on SoMee, Flote, Minds, Twitter, and Steemit.  Provide, Protect and Profit from what’s coming! Get a free issue of Counter Markets today.


activistpost--2019-01-30--New State Regulations Force a California Charity for the Homeless to Close Shop

For the past four years, Deliverance San Diego has been delivering hot meals to the city’s homeless population every Friday, averaging 200 donated meals on any given evening. Now, due to new guidelines passed by the State Legislature of California, the non-profit is ceasing operations and will dissolve by the end of the month.  Through their existing model, hot meals were prepared in volunteer homes and distributed on the streets.  “Volunteers from various churches gather at 17th and Commercial downtown to load four food wagons with chili, soup, cornbread, water, and other snacks,” the group’s web site explains. “We offer prayer and spiritual support, but one of the easiest things we do is get someone’s name and remember it.”  Through the new requirements, set forth by the San Diego Department of Environmental Health, Deliverance would need to use licensed, state-approved kitchens, implement hand-washing stations, and meet a variety of other requirements.  With a yearly budget of less than $7,000, according to the non-profit’s treasurer, Deliverance determined it can no longer sustain operations without extensive and expensive organizational changes. “We’re on a shoestring budget,” explains volunteer Gary Marttila, “so working out all those logistics became too big of an obstacle to overcome.”  ABC 10 News in San Diego tells more of their story:  As the San Diego Union-Tribune explains, several of the law’s backers have expressed surprise at the closure of Deliverance. According to Heather Buonomo, a program coordinator with the Department of Environmental Health, some sort of workaround may have been available or achievable. “We’re happy to work with them to find a solution that works for their charitable organization,” she said. According to Monique Limón, one of the bill’s authors, “The law would encourage more charities to provide food for the needy while also creating a level of oversight to ensure they follow proper health guidelines.”  The fact that it didn’t even try says something about the pressure that these policies put on small and vulnerable charities and institutions who don’t feel they have political sway.  Yet it’s unclear what exactly would or could have been done if Deliverance had tried to negotiate with the state and find “a solution that works.” And the fact that it didn’t even try or think it could try says something about the pressure that these policies put on small and vulnerable charities and institutions who don’t feel they have political sway.  Likewise, one can make any number of arguments about food safety, as Limón does, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which more burdens, more requirements, and tighter regulations will somehow “encourage more charities to provide food for the needy.”  The reality is that the state’s dream of regulated soup and sandwiches is taking precedence over the bottom-up activity of neighbors who are passionate about loving their neighbors. Is that really an acceptable trade-off, particularly in an area that so desperately needs an intimate and personalized approach?  “We’ve sought to provide comfort to those who are going through an incredibly difficult time,” says Deliverance’s press release on the closure. “In many situations, they are without a home due to no fault of their own. This action by the state creates significant barriers to those organizations like ours who simply want to show God’s love through a hot meal and some conversation.”  Given the good—and thus far, safe—work of organizations like Deliverance, such regulations represent a prime example of the “unseen costs” of government action. In some cases, well-intended government policies lead to trade imbalances or economic surpluses or corporate cronyism or community inequities—all of which yield their own forms of social corrosion. But in cases such as these, we see the ill effects of these policies on charitable activity, resulting in real and tangible barriers to human love and relationship. This article was reprinted with permission from the Acton Institute and was sourced from FEE.org Joseph Sunde is an associate editor and writer for the Acton Institute. His work has appeared in venues such as The Federalist, First Things, Intellectual Takeout, The City, The Christian Post, The Stream, Patheos, LifeSiteNews, Charisma News, The Green Room, Juicy Ecumenism, Ethika Politika, Made to Flourish, and the Center for Faith and Work. Joseph resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife and four children.


activistpost--2019-01-31--New State Regulations Force a California Charity for the Homeless to Close Shop


ageofautism--2019-05-30--Seth Berkley the fattest charity fat cat of them all and the money sloshing behind the Global Heal

Seth Berkley "the fattest charity fat cat of them all" and the money sloshing behind the Global Health Security Agenda

Seth Berkley, the director Gavi, who led the call for a clamp down on vaccine criticism in social media two years ago in the British mainstream journal the Spectator had a few months before been named in the Mail on Sunday as the worst charity fat cat. Ian Birrell had written  an article entitled 'The fattest charity fat cat of them all: Foreign aid boss made Millions out £1.5  billion handed to his charity by British taxpayers' (actually nearly £2.5 million, heading for $4million). He reports:    "Seth Berkley has taken home more than £2 million over the past four years as chief executive officer of Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi), which has been given £1.5 billion by Britain...Another official at the Geneva-based group collects a pay package of more than £500,000 a year...Incredibly, Dr Berkley was given a housing allowance on top of his £623,370 pay package... Like others at Gavi, he is also offered help with school fees and is exempt from paying Swiss income taxes under a deal struck by the organisation."  In November 2017 I wrote in evidence to the UK House of Commons media committee (DCMS) inquiry into Fake News:  "In this regard it is disquieting to look at the global campaign by vaccine lobbyists which reached these shores this summer advocating compulsory vaccination, having scored recent successes in Australia, Italy, France and parts of the United States. The British Medical Association jettisoned its traditional opposition to compulsory vaccination... – dismissed only a few years ago by a former chairman, Hamish Meldrum, as “Stalinist” ... -   and called for the matter to be discussed. Just a few days before an article appeared in the on-line Spectator by the CEO of GAVI, a global agency promoting vaccination, calling for “anti-vaxxers” to be excluded from “social media”... It must be emphasised that anyone remotely critical or informed about the vaccine lobby and its products, is placed under the general pejorative label “anti-vaxxer”: it is the vaccine/pharmaceutical lobby that polarises the debate – anyone who is not in favour of their entire open-ended agenda is subject to opprobrium and ad hominem attack. Complex health issues are being reduced in the mainstream arena to “Four legs good, two legs bad” type arguments."  Gavi's partners include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, the WHO, the World Bank and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (notably Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co., Novartis, Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis and Pfizer), a network which surely leads back to the Global Health Security Agenda launched in the White House by Barack Obama in September 2014 in the wake of the William Thompson affair.  We have to ask whether it was ever the welfare of humanity which was at stake, or just the welfare of a certain class?    John Stone is UK Editor for Age of Autism.


aljazeera--2019-01-04--Canada charity used donations to fund Israeli army projects CBC

Canada charity used donations to fund Israeli army projects: CBC

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has published an expose on a Jewish charity in Canada, which has been under investigation for using its donations to build infrastructure for the Israeli forces in violation of the country's tax rules.  The Jewish National Fund (JNF) of Canada, one of the country's long-established charities, has been the subject of a Canada Revenue Agency audit after a complaint was filed in October 2017.  The JNF funds numerous projects in Israel, such as reforestation efforts in areas hit by wildfires but it has also funded infrastructure projects on Israeli army, air and naval bases, the CBC, the country's public broadcaster, reported on Friday.  Their activities are in violation of Canadian law which prohibits charitable funds from supporting a foreign army.  CBC's article details many troubling aspects of the charity's projects which, along with funding infrastructure on Israeli military bases, it has also contributed directly to the construction of at least one hilltop settler outpost - illegal under international law, and considered illegal by Israel itself.  The organisation, which disclosed to donors last year that it has been under audit by the Canada Revenue Agency, said it stopped funding those projects in 2016, according to the CBC.  A complaint was submitted in October 2017 with the support of Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV), which presented detailed evidence that JNF Canada works in violation of the Income Tax Act and contravenes Canadian foreign policy in numerous ways.  According to CRA guidelines, funding for projects intended to increase the "effectiveness and efficiency" of a foreign military cannot be considered charitable and therefore should not be tax-deductible.  "It is unconscionable that Canadians are subsidising an organisation that has used tax-deductible donations to support the Israeli military, especially when that army has killed nearly 200 unarmed protesters in Gaza this past year, including medical personnel, members of the media and children," said Canadian Rabbi David Mivasair, one of four complainants.  According to IJV, JNF Canada has funded well over a dozen projects to support the Israeli forces in the last few years alone, and has officially partnered with the Israeli forces and the Israeli Ministry of Defense.  Its military projects include "the new planned [Irsaeli military] Training Base City in the Negev" desert and "helping the development of the Bat Galim (naval) training base complex area", according to the CBC.  In 2014, JNF Edmonton held a Negev Gala dinner, where proceeds were to "develop three areas of the Negev's Tse'elim army base, the largest military training facility in Israel. The project will upgrade and landscape the family visiting area, intake and release facility and the barracks' main plaza. The base is the national centre for ground forces training," its Facebook page read.  JNF Canada has also funded security roads along Israel's hostile borders with Lebanon and Gaza, which in the words of JNF Canada, are designed to "enhance military activity" in these border regions, IJV wrote.  JNF Canada missions in Israel also have contributed directly to the construction of at least one illegal hilltop settler outpost, CBC reported. Givat Oz VeGaon received and ignored at least 18 demolition orders from the Israeli Ministry of Defense.  A JNF Canadian Young Leadership Solidarity Mission visited the site in August-September 2014 and worked with picks and shovels "to prepare the ground for building a residential unit to be used by the security guard".  Fifteen million dollars of tax-deductible Canadian funds have also contributed towards building JNF Canada's flagship project, Canada Park, along with a new adjacent Israeli settlement.  The park was built on militarily occupied territory, over the ruins of three Palestinian villages which Israeli forces depopulated and demolished in 1967 as well as the lands of a fourth, according to IJV.  The organisation gets a mark of zero for financial transparency, according to Kate Bahen, head of Charity Intelligence, a Toronto-based NGO that produces a report rating Canadian charities on their transparency and efficiency in spending donors' money.  Bahen said the charity has done the right thing by disclosing to donors that it's being audited, but it is "an utter black box" when it comes to providing a breakdown of how its money is spent.  "Any Canadian donor who knows of JNF automatically thinks of planting trees. And there is a lot more to JNF than planting trees," Bahen told CBC.  "We have absolutely no information on how much it's spent planting trees, how much goes for irrigation, or education, or how much is diverted to military bases. And that information, I think, is critical, and it's not provided to Canadian donors."


aljazeera--2019-01-28--Canadian Jewish groups charity status revoked Report

Canadian Jewish group's charity status revoked: Report

A Canadian Jewish organisation has been stripped of its charity status following a government audit which found it provided support to the Israeli armed forces, Canadian Global News has reported.  The Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) found that Beth Oloth Charitable Organisation had been funding activities that aren't charitable under Canadian law, including "increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Israeli armed forces", the Global News website reported.  The Beth Oloth Charitable Organisation based in Toronto had been a registered charity since 1980 and was one of Canada's richest, with more than 60 million Canadian dollars ($45m) in revenues in 2017.  According to documents obtained by Global News, federal regulators found many problems, including funding projects totaling 1.2 million Canadian dollars ($905,000) in the occupied Palestinian territories, which it said violated Canada's official policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  However, the portion listing the projects was blacked out by the CRA.  According to the CRA Charities Directorate, the organisation hadn't issued tax receipts properly, lacked "direction and control" over the use of its funds.  The programmes provide weapons training, physical and martial arts training, mentoring by Israeli forces officers and visits to army bases and sites of historical battles, the CRA wrote.  The CRA released 94 pages of documents regarding the case on Friday following the announcement of the group's charity status revocation on January 12.  Global News reported that Beth Oloth has received vast donations - 61 million Canadian dollars ($46,000,000) in 2017, 45 million Canadian dollars ($34m) in 2016 and 42 million Canadian dollars ($32m) in 2015, of which almost all its money went abroad.  The CRA said that Beth Oloth was acting as a "conduit" that issued tax receipts to donours in Canada in order to fund programmes of others.  Beth Oloth said it only funded teachers to provide religious training at mechinot schools and claimed they provided "stipends to the poor for the observance of religious life" which doesn't interfere with Canada's policy in the region, according to documents seen by Global News.  But the CRA rejected their explanation, the Canadian broadcaster reported.  "Providing assistance to Israeli settlements in the occupied territories serves to encourage and enhance the permanency of the infrastructure and settlements and therefore is contrary to Canada's public policy and international law on this issue," the agency wrote.  Toronto charity lawyer Mark Blumberg told Global News that reading the details of the case was "shocking" and the government should be embarrassed the charity was allowed to operate for so long.  "This is an example of the type of 'efficient' charity we don't need in Canada. It is efficient at giving out tax receipts but not effective in making sure that the 200 million Canadian dollars ($151m) of tax-subsidised dollars was spent appropriately," Blumberg said on Sunday.  The lawyer called it an example of "very poor governance and compliance" and a wake-up call to donors. He said it highlighted the importance of rules governing charitable work abroad.  Earlier in January, Canadian broadcaster CBC reported that the charity Jewish National Fund (JNF) of Canada has likewise been under audit by the CRA for supporting the Israel's armed forces and its illegal settlements.  The JNF said it had stopped doing so since 2016 but it still remains a government registered charity.  According to Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) Canada, JNF Canada has been the subject of CRA-directed complaints for over four decades and has been violating Canadian tax law for over 50 years.  IJV has been campaigning for the JNF to have its charitable status revoked as it supports the Israeli military and settlements, denies access to land for Palestinians and contributes to their displacement.  Corey Balsam, IJV's national coordinator, said on Monday that the group is hopeful the "era of impunity for Canadian organisations that support the Israeli occupation is finally coming to an end".  "It's about time the CRA cleaned house and applied its own rules to these organisations," Balsam said in a statement released on Monday.  "Given the wealth of evidence against it and that it is already under audit, we expect JNF Canada to be next."


aljazeera--2019-09-23--Protesters demand Justice for Jamal outside MBS charity event

Protesters demand 'Justice for Jamal' outside MBS charity event

New York City - Protesters rallied outside an event hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's (MBS) charity in New York on Monday, calling for justice for Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi who was killed inside a Saudi consulate almost a year ago.  Demonstrators waved placards that read, "Justice for Jamal" outside a luxury venue in downtown Manhattan where MBS's Misk Foundation was holding a workshop for entrepreneurs, called the Misk Youth Forum.  Activists blasted the event as an effort to rehabilitate the image of MBS following the October 2, 2018, murder of Khashoggi.  "It's not even been a year since a US resident, Saudi dissident and journalist was lured out of the United States and in a premeditated and brazen way, murdered," Rob Berschinski, a policy chief for the campaign group Human Rights First, told Al Jazeera outside the venue.  Khashoggi was killed and his body dismembered after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, to collect documents related to his planned wedding.  After initially offering contradictory statements, Saudi Arabia confirmed its agents killed Khashoggi, but denied its senior leaders were involved.  US intelligence agencies have reportedly concluded, however, that MBS ordered the murder, and a UN right expert found "credible evidence" linking the crown prince to the killing, allegations the kingdom denies.  "Those who, according to US and UN investigators were behind that murder, should not be allowed to rehabilitate their reputations in the way that this event and others organised by the Misk Foundation are clearly geared towards," Berschinski said.  The Misk Foundation declined to comment and did not grant Al Jazeera access to the event.  Controversy dogged Monday's event from the outset. More than 7,000 people signed an online petition, calling for the event to be cancelled.  "Step by step, we are going to shut down the Saudi dictatorship's propaganda machine in the US," said Sunjeev Bery, director of the anti-autocrat campaign group Freedom Forward, who organised the petition.  "No public institution or private business should be helping the Saudi dictatorship in any way with its efforts to wash away its crimes in Yemen, its imprisonment of activists, and its murder of Jamal Khashoggi," he told Al Jazeera.  Event planners had to switch venues after the New York Public Library cancelled the foundation's reservation, citing "concerns about possible disruption to Library operations as well as the safety of our patrons".  This week, the co-host, United Nations youth envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake, pulled out.  "The youth envoy has decided to withdraw because, under the current environment, her participation to the forum would not bring the outcomes we had originally wished for: to bring together young leaders, influencers, creators and innovators to take on the challenge of change and contribute to" UN goals, a UN spokesman told Al Jazeera.  Joyce Bukuru, an advocacy officer for the campaign group Human Rights Watch, said that the UN should never have gotten involved with a foundation that is run by MBS.  "The UN has made the right call by pulling out of a joint event with the Saudi crown prince's private organization on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Khashoggi's gruesome murder," Bukuru told Al Jazeera. "Next time, it should think twice before agreeing to lend its credibility to the Saudi government's attempts at whitewashing its dismal human rights record."  Two speakers originally set to attend - Ann Rosenberg, a technology executive, and Bart Houlahan, a business consultant - also decided they would not take part in the forum, amid concerns over the Misk Foundation.  The five-hour workshop for young adults took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and promoted green themes, corporate responsibility and other aspects of the UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda.  It remains unclear whether the 300 participants who were originally set to attend made it to the new venue. At the start time, only a small number of guests appeared to be entering the premises.  Mohammad Alshatwi, a mechanical engineering student at Bridgeport University, spoke with Al Jazeera briefly outside the venue, saying he had travelled from Connecticut to New York to attend.  "I didn't come here to talk about politics," said Alshatwi.  "I came here because Misk does valuable work for your people," he told Al Jazeera.  "These protesters are not here because of human rights, they are here because somebody paid them to be here," he added, without offering evidence.


aljazeera--2019-11-07--Judge orders Trump to pay $2m for charity foundation misuse

A New York judge has ordered US President Donald Trump to pay two million dollars to several charities to resolve a lawsuit alleging he misused his own charitable foundation to further his political and business interests.  Judge Saliann Scarpulla said Trump "breached his fiduciary duty" to the Trump Foundation, the relationship with the organisation's trustees, by allowing his campaign staff to plan a fundraiser for veterans' charities in the run-up to the Iowa caucuses before the 2016 presidential election. • New York sues Trump for 'illegal conduct' at family charity  That event, which passed money through Trump's non-profit, was designed "to further Mr Trump's political campaign", Scarpulla said.  The judge also signed off on agreements reached last month between Trump's lawyers and the New York attorney general's office to close the Trump Foundation and distribute about $1.7m in remaining funds to other nonprofits.  In the agreements, Trump admitted to personally misusing Trump Foundation funds and agreed to pay back $11,525 in the organisation's funds he spent on sports memorabilia and champagne at a charity gala. He also agreed to restrictions on his involvement in other charitable organisations.  New York Attorney General Letitia James heralded the resolution of the case as a "major victory in our efforts to protect charitable assets and hold accountable those who would abuse charities for personal gain".  "No one is above the law - not a businessman, not a candidate for office, and not even the president of the United States," said James, a Democrat.


aljazeera--2019-12-04--US charity building Gaza hospital offers volunteers Israel tour

A US charity building a tent hospital in the Gaza Strip is making Palestinians uneasy by offering foreign medical volunteers the opportunity of weekend tourism in Israel, just across the fence east of Gaza.  The facility, to be operated by the US evangelical Christian group FriendShips, had won rare joint support from Gaza's rulers Hamas and Israel, which maintains a blockade along its frontier with the enclave. • New details on covert Israeli operation in Gaza revealed  However, a Holy Land pilgrimage pitch on the Louisiana-based organisation's website is raising eyebrows in Gaza.  The organisation, which is working to improve health services strained by years of conflict, is setting up a 50-bed encampment hospital in northern Gaza, across from Israel's Erez checkpoint crossing, also known as Beit Hanoon.  Volunteers will have "a wonderful opportunity to work in an important and productive project and, at the same time, to see and enjoy the Biblical sites of Israel," the website said.  The volunteers at the facility would be expected to work and live onsite Monday through Thursday, but they "will be free to go to Israel and tour" on their days off, it said.  Asked about the NGO's tourism perk to volunteers, Hamas official Basim Naeem said: "We are certainly against using our people's suffering to market Israel or attracting employees at our people's expense."  There was no suggestion from Hamas that it was about to scrap the project as a result of the sightseeing offer.  A de facto truce brokered between Israel and Hamas by Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations after deadly cross-border fighting in May included the mediators' support for the field hospital.  Gaza's 13 hospitals often lack equipment for specialised treatments, while its two million residents need hard-to-obtain permits from Israeli authorities to get medical care in Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.  The FriendShips encampment will provide "telemedicine for worldwide consultation with specialists" and eventually offer cancer treatment and PTSD therapy, among other services, the NGO's website says.  "It will either be an uplifting humanitarian tool for our people, or it will be asked to leave immediately," senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said.  FriendShips, which previously operated a tent hospital along Israel's border with Syria, did not respond to multiple requests for comment and it was not clear when the facility would open.  Israel declined to comment on the project.  It keeps Gaza under a blockade, citing security concerns posed by Hamas, with which it has fought three wars and waged dozens of other deadly skirmishes over the past decade.  The hospital's construction with private US funding drew criticism from Hamas's rivals in the Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank.  "It will be an American-Israeli military base put forward on the land of the Gaza Strip," said Mai Alkaila, the PA's health minister.