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World Rose Show committee chairman Lesley Finlay said: “World Rose Show 2009, as part of the World Rose Festival, was our most successful rose show ever, with in excess of 1,000 entries from various parts of the world.”

The top award for Best in Show, which was a Tekone, was won by a Japanese exhibitor, Teizo Yoshiike. Second and third Best in Show roses were awarded to American exhibitors John and Caroline Fredette from Seattle, US.

The World Rose Show judges included rosarians Peter Beales of England, Gerald Meylan of Switzerland, who is president of the Federation of World Rose Society, and Steve Jones from the US, who is president of the American Rose Society.

For more information, see www.worldrosefestival.com.

But while LI president Neil Williamson has refuted claims of a cover-up of the body’s mammoth financial problems, he has admitted that accountability has been opaque.

“There is an element of legitimate criticism,” he acknowledged. “There has been relatively little reporting on management and financial matters to members. Given the events of the past nine months, this state of affairs may seem archaic and inadequate, but there has never been any attempt to hide anything from anyone.”

Williamson was responding to allegations of “reckless spending” from Spanish LI member Gabino Carballo, who has set out a review of the LI’s accounts over the past five years.

Carballo said the body set “unrealistic” budgets, in which expenditure exceeded income, and he criticised the LI for “reckless spending and mismanagement”.

“I, other trustees and senior staff have not been abusing our positions by improperly profiting from charitable funds and the allegation we have attempted to systematically mislead or conceal the true state of affairs is completely groundless,” added Williamson.

One of the major bugbears for critics of the LI has been the rent cost of the organisation’s base in central London - £90,000 a year before a proposed doubling from the landlord earlier this year.

Landscape Institute North West member Penny Beckett said: “The LI should never have gone to Great Portland Street in the first place. The rent was always far too high for a small institute such as ours.”

Writtle College landscape architecture lecturer Tim Waterman said he represented a silent majority that believed the issues had been blurred.

“I am hoping the latest EGM will see an end to the rift and that what is needed most is for the membership to pull together.”

-The EGM will take place on 15 July at 6.30pm. It will be held in the Council Chamber, Congress House, 28 Great Russell Street, London.

The two pyramid-shaped towers, each taller than a double decker bus, are positioned at the entrance to the garden. They feature 1,198 SunPatiens Dynamo plants, which will come into full colour by the beginning of July. The compact Dynamo plants are planted into plant pouches and secured into the towers, supplied by Thompson & Morgan.

The plants will be on sale at Wisley’s Plant Centre. They were grown by Barnsfold Nurseries, which is also supplying the centre with SunPatiens. Thompson & Morgan will be selling ‘The Wisley Selection’ in its spring 2010 catalogue.

Rising temperatures and increased turf stress increase the risk of the disease, according to Syngenta technical manager Dr Simon Watson. He has advised turf managers to alleviate stress to prevent anthracnose build up.

Anthracnose foliar blight typically breaks out when weather conditions consistently reach above 18°C, especially if turf comes under any drought stress. If conditions turn cool and wet the foliar infection can then develop into basal rot.

Close inspection of diseased turf will reveal black fungal growth where the stem base breaks away from the soil, which can lead to significant loss of turf cover.

GreenCast advice for an integrated turf management (ITM) approach includes alleviating compaction and maintaining airflow through the turf.

It also highlights the need to ensure turf has sufficient nitrogen fertility during the rapid growing period to avoid any nutrient-deficiency-induced stress.

Landscape architect Kim Wilkie has spent the past two years working on the 50m inverted pyramid - known as Orpheus - at the Grade I-registered landscape of Boughton. Orpheus is part of a major restoration of the gardens begun five years ago by Boughton’s owner, the Duke of Buccleuch.

The inverted pyramid sits almost undetected next to a huge earthwork called the Mount, which was created in the early 18th century by Ralph Montagu.

Wilkie said: “It has taken two years to create Orpheus - I’ve been inspired by a number of aspects of this extraordinary landscape.”

The structure descends 7m down to a square, still pool, which is designed to reflect the sky.

When the new gardens open to the public on 1 August, the space will be used for music performances as well as “quiet contemplation”, added Wilkie.

“The gardens balance land and water, rhythm and reflection, myth and geometry,” he said.

“Orpheus continues the story, working with the formal structure to create a sculptural space for contemplation. Visitors will be able to sit on the banks of Orpheus, listen to music and watch the reflection of the sky in the pool at the bottom. It will be a place of stillness, sound, light and shadow.”