Newsletter            March 2007
 
 

 

 

 

 


Cookham and Cookham Dean Horticultural Society

 

Next Meeting: Wednesday 28th March

 

Cookham Dean Village Hall

 

SPRING SHOW

Staging 7.30-8.30pm
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Letter from the Chairman

 

 

Another great turn out for the a talk by Tim Miles, not quite what I was expecting but an insight into large kitchen gardens that he has worked in.  Personally I felt more tips on growing vegetables would not have come amiss but hopefully everyone enjoyed it and the tips can come from another speaker at a later date.

 

Our next event is the Spring Show and a schedule of classes is enclosed so do please try and enter something - even if it is a houseplant, should the daffodils be past their best by then  - we have tried once again to simplify the classes so do have a go.  I will be on hand to help in any way I can, vases will be provided for the flowers.

 

The Society bulb class is giving some of you a bit of a worry as they are developing so quickly.  Keep them as cold as possible if they look too far ahead, and conversely if they are looking as if they have no buds bring them into the warmth.  Make sure the leaves don’t go pale if you put them in the cold, ie. A north wall or even a larder type fridge, (but for no more than 4 or 5 days) and check them each day.

 

The other matter of concern is that the newly introduced  discount seed buying done on our behalf by Chris Sibbald is taking up an enormous amount of time and input on her behalf, and the continual dribs and drabs arriving from Marshalls is not good enough for members who have ordered.   It will be sorted out and  will be reviewed at the next committee meeting to try and get Marshalls to streamline it more effectively.

 

Finally, the Autumn sown sweet pea plants will be on sale at the Spring Show, all proceeds to the Society, see you then.

 

By the way, the Fee for each entry for the Spring Show is 30p.

 

Brian

 

 

 

 

DO YOU NEED INSPIRATION FOR YOUR GARDEN? A visit to the Museum of Garden History in London may be just the thing!

It isn't that I don't like sweet disorder,
but it has to be judiciously arranged.
-   Vita Sackville West

Well, spring is finally here and all keen gardeners will be busy preparing their gardens for the summer.  Soon the garden centres across the country will be putting on extra staff to deal with the annual influx of eager customers. 

 

A lot of time, effort and money are spent on our gardens and as we dust off our gardening gloves and awaken those lawn mowers, I would like to take some time to think about how we began our quest for the beautiful garden.

 

Whether we just throw down some seeds, mow the lawn or plant bulbs, we are subconsciously designing a garden.  We know about many great garden designers such as William Kent, Capability Brown, Vita Sackville-West, and Gertrude Jekyll, but I found myself wondering what lead these people and their predecessors to design gardens in the first place.

 

Wanting to know more about the development of garden design, I went on the internet and discovered the Museum of Garden History in London.  Inspired by their web site, I went to visit the museum in May last year.

 

Nestled in the leafy midst of an old church near Lambeth Palace, the museum is home to a large collection of gardening tools, displays and equipment reflecting the history of gardens in Britain from the early Roman influence through to present day.  It opened in 1977 and became the first museum of its type in the world.  By locating the museum in the old church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, the founders saved it from demolition.

 

The various galleries inside were very interesting and were arranged by timeline taking the visitor through the periods of garden design.  I was absolutely thrilled to look at the designs of tools and mowers through the ages and despite the fact that gardening still involves a great deal of hard, manual labour, I am rather glad we do have more tools to help us now.

 

I found the gallery about plant hunters the most interesting.  Most of us know about the plant hunters and botanists of later centuries, but I was amazed to learn that plant hunting took place as early as 1495 BC.  The gallery also showed how seeds and seedlings were transported from their exotic origins to their new homes. 

 

Outside in a small courtyard, there is a wonderfully reconstructed 17th century knot garden.  Designed to look like a knot garden of that period, it was constructed in the 1980s and planted with historically authentic flowers, trees and shrubs.

 

The design of the garden is a traditional and geometric courtyard style, enclosed in a square.  The geometric pattern of the box-hedging was off set by the abundant shrubs annuals and bulbs planted in between.  As I visited in late May, I was able to see the remains of ragged, two-coloured tulips of orange and red as they fought for space with lavender and rosemary.

 

In one of the corners, a banana tree nestled against the wall - a sign of the British exploration that was taking place during the 17th century.  Trees included two forms of Strawberry Tree as well as a Mulberry tree. 

 

The museum was a great place to visit, not just to help put garden design in context, but to get some inspiration for what can be done at home.  It took just a couple of hours to go round the museum and after a quick lunch I completed my day out by visiting the Chelsea Physic Garden across the river.  Details of both locations are located in the box below.

 

Vanessa Woolley

 The garden must first be prepared in the soul first
or else it will not flourish.
-  Proverb from England

The Museum of Garden History

 

Opening Times: Mon-Sun 10.30 – 5 pm

 

£3.00 adults

£2.50 concession  * these charges are voluntary

 

Shop and Café on site

 

Lambeth Palace Road, Lambeth or Waterloo Underground Stations

Tel: 0207 4018865

www.museumgardenhistory.org

 

Chelsea Physic Garden

 

Opening Times: From 1/4/07 – 31/10/07

 

Wednesday – dawn to dusk

Thursday/Friday – Noon to 5 pm

Saturday/Sunday – Noon to 6 pm

 

£7 adults and senior citizens

£4 concessions

 

Shop and Café on site

 

Visitor entrance – Swan Walk, The Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea

Underground station: Sloane Square

 

Tel: 0207 3525646

www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk

 

 

 

Copy deadline for the next Newsletter is 6th April to Gill Townend (gilltownend@aol.com) or 483092 or to The Farm Bigfrith, Church Road, Cookham Dean SL6 9PR

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens

 

Without continued conservation, the range of plants commercially available to the gardener could be drastically reduced. However, the NCCPG is a registered charity  which is dedicated to conserving and protecting many endangered plants. The nationwide group  run programmes of events including talks, visits and plant exchanges, while the National Collection Holders hold “living libraries” of plants. The scheme was set up in 1978 and there are now over 660 National Plant Collections held in private gardens, allotments, local parks, botanic gardens and historic estates. Volunteers provide assistance in many ways including propagation, fundraising and ‘on the ground’ support to Collection Holders.

 

For example, in 1985, farmer Alan Shipp began growing hyacinths with a stock of five varieties. In 1989 he started a National Collection of Hyacinthus orientalis and with the addition of newly discovered previously ‘lost’ plants from Lithuania, he currently has 170 plus different varieties. The collection is open to the public every spring.

Individual annual membership of the NCCPG is £20. further details can be found on the website at www.nccpg.com

 

The NCCPG also publish a list of small and specialist nurseries for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and I have a few copies for any interested members.

 

 

NCCPG local events for your diary

 

Saturday March 17th               Tours of Ian Butterfield’s prizewinning Natioanl Pleione collection. Two tours, 11.30-12.30pm and 2.30-3.30pm. Tours limited to 15members/guests at Yaffles, Bourne End, Bucks. Phone 01628 535455 to book. £3.00 for non members.

 

Sunday April 1st          Saxifrage National collection Open Day at Waterperry Gardens, Nr Wheatley ,Oxford. Contact Adrian Young at Adrian@saxifraga100.freeserve.co.uk

 

 

May 10th-13th  Malvern Spring Show           Car sharing a possibility. Contact  Jim Rodda on 01494 728527 or jrodda@ukf.net

 

The Savill Garden is home to eight National  Plant Collections and on Saturday October 20th the Keeper of the garden, Mark Flanagan will be giving a guided tour to NCCPG members at 11.30am and 2.30pm. Book with Jim Rodda above.

 

 

FROGMORE HOUSE AND GARDEN, Windsor Great Park.

will be open to the public on 16th May 2007 in aid of the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust. Booking form available on www.airambulancetvac.org

 

 

A Visit to Kew

 

I visited Kew last week after an unpardonable gap of more than thirty years.  I just hadn’t got round to it although the journey down the M4 took only forty minutes.  The recent television series and the visit of a friend finally spurred me on.  I wanted to see the new Davies alpine house, the tree that had been endangering one of the restaurants and the current display of tropical plants in the Princess of Wales Conservatory.

 The entrance fee had grown somewhat  (3 old pence had increased to £9.50!)  But as soon as we walked through the gates, I knew it was going to be worth it.

 We set off to find the seasonal highlights recommended in the leaflet we were given: carpets of naturalised daffodils and narcissi, (February Gold and Jetfire were particularly attractive) and drifts of snowdrops and crocuses.

Further on there were Witch Hazels in bright reds, yellows and oranges and Camellias, some already in full bloom.

The new alpine house (opened March 2006 to display Kew’s mountain plants and bulbs) proved to be most interesting architecturally. Its elegant shape incorporates special ventilation features to keep Summer temperatures down, protect the plants from wet and replicate a natural mountain habitat.  The Iris reticulata and miniature Narcissi arranged among cushions of Saxifrage were perfect.

Although it was a bright sunny day, we were glad to feel the warmth as we entered the Princess of Wales Conservatory.  “A stunning display of over 30,000 vivid and vibrant tropical plants” said the leaflet.  We were not disappointed.  Every pillar was clothed in lush tropical climbers, each one studded with orchids in rich purples and pinks, delicate yellows and greens, pure whites, spotted, striped and exotically patterned.

 

 “Epiphytes are plants that live on other plants, but not off them, they are not parasites” the leaflet informed us.  Some orchids were planted in pots but most were just wrapped around mossy posts or branches.  A curtain of colour had been created by epiphytic orchids and bromeliads, hanging from a fallen tree.

The atmosphere of a rainforest was completed by Maranta foliage and hundreds of green, white, red and pink Anthuriums, together with a Kew gardener at that very moment misting the whole area with a hosepipe.

We completed our visit in the shop where I found the plant prices quite reasonable.  There was also a selection of beautiful potted orchids.  I settled for some special orchid food and have since been rewarded by buds opening on last year’s year’s specimen.

On leaving we were given vouchers promising a special rate on a return visit.  I shan’t need any persuading to use them.

 

Mary Downes

 

 

COOKHAM AND COOKHAM DEAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

 

SPRING SHOW

To be held at Cookham Dean Village Hall

On Wednesday 28th March 2007 at 7.30p.m.

 

(STAGING 7.30p.m -8.30p.m)

__________________________________________________________________

 

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES

All plant material must be grown by the competitor

 

 

Class 1           AN ARRANGEMENT of Spring Flower and any foliage - finished result to be no

                                                         More than 18”diameter in a bowl/container of your choice

 

DAFFODILS

 

Class 2           SOCIETY CLASS        3 Bulbs in 5” max. pot (bulbs as purchased last Autumn)

 

Class 3           1 Vase  3 Blooms, Large Cup

Class 4           1 Vase 3 Blooms,  Doubles

Class 5           1 Vase 3 Blooms , Bi Colours, Large or Small Cup

Class 6           1 Vase 5 Blooms,  Large or Small Cup.

Class 7           1 Vase 5 Blooms,   miniature, ie.“tete a tete”

Class 8           1 Vase Multihead - 3 Stems

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

Class 9           Any pot or bowl of growing Spring Bulbs.

Class 10         1 Pot of Primula (single plant in a pot)e.g. primrose, polyanthus

Class 11         Any decorative indoor Pot Plant

 

Class 12         1 Vase 3 Stems Hellebores

Class 13         1 Vase Cut Flowers (not to include flowering shrubs or Blossom

Class 14         1  Stem Camellia.

Class 15         1 Vase Spring Flowering Shrubs - 5 stems

 

PRIZES             Class 1 - 15               1st £1     2nd 60p    3rd 40p     Judge: Les Waldren