Cast your clout!

The phrase "n'er cast a clout till May be out" is usually interpreted as "don't cast off your winter clothes (clout) till the month of May is over".  (I always thought that a bit extreme, even if the weather was colder in olden times).
However a wise woman of my acquaintance tells me that, in this context, 'may' means the may-thorn, a variant on the hawthorn.  Ah. 
Well, the hot weather of recent days has coincided with the blossoming of the may-thorn in the fields.

So - now it makes sense.

Living wall

This is a 'green wall' - at Staffordshire University.  There are a number of these around the site.

They are part of a project to see if the plants in them, which are irrigated through small pipes in the trellis, can help reduce pollution in the urban environment.  The research is also looking at which plants can do the job best.

I guess the idea is, once that research has been completed, that they will encourage us all to put them up on our houses (etc).
Sounds good to me.