11 Weird Garden Facts

1. Slug Life

There are over 27,000,000 gardens in the UK, which are home to an estimated 389 billion slugs!

2. Your Garden Matters

The area of all Britain’s gardens combined is more than the total area of our national nature reserves. This means our gardens have the potential to play a huge part in helping our wildlife.

3. Ye Olde Garden

Gardens as a place to relax rather than agriculture were first recorded in ancient Egypt.

4. Grass Is Greener

Lawns first became part of British noblemen’s gardens around the Middle-Ages. By the 17^th century lawns were considered a status symbol.

5. Roses Of Success

The classic English rose topped a BBC poll to find the nation’s most popular flower. It won 37% of the vote. In second place was the sweet pea (29%), then the iris (14%), lily (12%) and tulip (8%). Despite being a weed, dandelions also figured in the list.

6. Cha-ching!

Trees can improve house prices. According to studies, having mature trees in your garden or lining your street can increase the price of your house.

7. Sunny Side Up

A sunflower isn’t a single flower, it’s actually a collection of 1,000 – 2,000 individual flowers all on a single head.

8. Phwoarrr!

The world’s biggest flower is the Rafflesia Arnoldii. Measuring an impressive 3 feet across, it’s found in the rain forests of Sumatra and Borneo. It’s also known as ‘the stinking corpse lily’, as it emits a scent of… well you guessed it.

9. Yes Sir, I Can Boogie…

Some plants respond to sound. Vibrations like those caused by music and voices can positively impact plant growth. Now, where did we put those Savage Garden albums?

10. Bug Life

Estimates suggest there are more microorganisms in a single teaspoon of soil, than humans on the entire planet. Those microbes do the important job of filling your soil with nutrients, allowing plants to grow.

11. Gnome Place Like Home

In 1913 the Royal Chelsea Flower Show banned gnomes. They were introduced to England by Sir Charles Isham in 1847 after seeing them in Germany. Over the years light-hearted gnome protests have taken place, then in 2013 the the ban was briefly lifted for the 2013 centenary show.