Highlights from Cities
Read more information about the show
Leeds City Centre
Horticulturalist Professor Nigel Dunnett designed this modern city centre meadow. Sheffield University & Nigel Dunnet have worked for years to develop new ways of mixing planting schemes to attract visitors – both human & insect.
Birmingham City Centre
At the moment Birmingham City Council spends a whopping £19 million per year making sure that its City parks & green spaces are all maintained & kept looking in top condition for residents & visitors alike. But exactly how useful are these green areas to the City’s pollinating insects? Sarah works with Darren Share, Acting Head of Parks at Birmingham City Council, encouraging him to incorporate more pollinator friendly flowers into his more formal planting schemes. Areas which currently present barren hunting grounds for the City’s insect population.
2012 Olympic Park, London
The largest City Park to be built in over a century, the brand new 2012 Olympic Park will eventually be viewed by over 4 billion people around the globe. Sarah talked to John Hopkins, Parklands Project Sponsor at the Olympic Delivery Authority about whether this project could provide the blue print for how we plant our cities in the future.
Sheffield City Centre
Developed by Professor Nigel Dunnett these City Centre meadows are now a decade old & provide a fantastic picture of what Darren Share could achieve in Birmingham City Centre in the future.
Perch Hill modern meadow trials
Sarah trials a few of Nigel Dunnett’s meadow mixes – 2 annual mixes & two perennial mixes – to see what sort of difference she gets from each in flower show & seasons.
Civic Close Modern Meadow project
Darren Share identifies a perfect planting space for a modern meadow at Civic Close in Birmingham’s City centre & works closely with the Residents Association gauging interest in the scheme & seeing what benefits the residents feel they will gain from the project. Includes a visit to the Northwood City Meadow in Liverpool.
University of Sussex
At the University of Sussex a new research project aims to compare the attractiveness of a range of popular flowering plants to our pollinators. Sarah talks to Professor Frances Ratnieks about the findings.
Music used in the show
Making Waves – Tom Howe/Mike Reed/Matthew J Robinson (West One Music)
Lights – Ellie Goulding (Polydor)
Reign – UNKLE & Ian Brown (Global Underground)
Awake My Soul (instrumental) – Mumford & Sons (Universal)
Beautiful World – Take That (Polydor)
A&E – Goldfrapp (Mute)
Thistle & Weeds – Mumford & Sons (Universal)
Cosmic Love – Florence and the Machine (Island)
Get Outta My Way – Kylie Minogue (Parlaphone)
Don’t Talk To Me About Love – Altered Images (Sony Music UK)
Play Dead – Bjork (One Little Indian)
New Life – Depeche Mode (Mute)
Any Minute Now – The Sunshine Underground (City Rockers)
My Boy Builds Coffins – Florence and the Machine (Island)
Natalie’s Song – Sia (Go! Beat)
Monster Love – Goldfrapp (Mute)
Equinox – Ben Vella/Barney Freeman (In-spired Music)
Falling Down – Turin Brakes (Source UK)
The Moment I Said It – Imogen Heap (Sony BMG)
Blue Skies – Noah and the Whale (Mercury)
Lillian, Egypt – Josh Ritter (Virgin)
Patience – Take That (Polydor)
Lost & Found – Johnny Flynn (Transgressive)
Good Man – Josh Ritter (V2)
Little Brother – Turin Brakes (Source UK)
The Bully – Sia (Universal)
Little Bird (Instrumental) – Goldfrapp (Mute Records)
The Church Of Happening Now – Sia (Universal)
Best For The Best – Josh Ritter (V2)
Dog Days Are Over – Florence and the Machine (Island)
Fallen Angels – Olivier Foubert (West One Music)
The First Days Of Spring – Noah and the Whale (Mercury)
Evening Light – Ben Vella/Barney Freeman (In-spired Music)
Subconcious – Olivier Foubert (West One Music)
Dream Isle – Peter Lawrence (Lo Editions)
Looking Beyond – Casper Kedros/Scott Doran (West One Music)
New Life – Depeche Mode (Mute)
