HORTICULTURAL HOME PAGE

Letter from the Chairman

Welcome back to our 2008/2009 season of lectures, competitions and hopefully a demonstration or two.

I am sure most of you feel as I do that the last four weeks has been particularly disappointing, Just as one would like to have enjoyed the labours of one's work and be able to sit back and relax a little, the dreadful weather has produced an over abundance of lush green so as I look at my garden, all I can see is never ending weed!!  Still, I suppose that is what gardening is all about, and at least the flowers which have survived the monsoon like rain seem to be even more floriforous than usual.

The two summer visits which members of the society made were very well supported.  The first one in June to the Copas Pick Your Own Farm I found very interesting and I hope others did as well.  To round off the evening Mr and Mrs Copas kindly invited us back to their home for wine, food and some wonderful strawberries and cream - a lovely way to spend an evening.

The August outing which was a return visit to The Mill at Medmenam was again, very unfortunately, an extremely wet visit.  As on the first visit it rained, but this time not just drizzle but stair rods.  However, despite that we were very fortunate to have a conducted tour by the owner Mrs Phillips and I can only say that yet again she did not disappoint.  Her garden must be one of the best in the area, particularly for herbaceous borders in August which some of us find so difficult.

The Society has recently purchased some new equipment which we feel will help us present some of our lectures in a more modern format - a laptop computer together with a digital projector.  We have had some good technical imput to research the market and find the best at a reasonable price. The September lecture will be in the new power point format so let’s see if it delivers. 

Please don't forget to bring along your fuschias to the September meeting (they are a dwarf variety) where they will be judged by you, the members.

Look forward to seeing you all on the 24th September

Brian

484821

 BOOK REVIEW

Gardeners’ Question Time Plant Chooser (BBC Books)

The idea for this book stemmed from the “plant of the week” spot on the radio programme so it’s not a surprise to find that the contributors to this book are the 4 GQT stalwarts Matthew Biggs, John Cushnie, Bob Flowerdew and Bunny Guinness. I like this book a lot, but it took a bit of detective work to understand the layout.

It has a small introductory section with plants recommended for specific areas such as sunny sites or dark damp corners. I felt this section was too brief and that Bob Flowerdew didn’t really want to contribute to this section as his answers appear to be flippant (or perhaps I don’t share his sense of humour!).

The main body of the book is a beautifully illustrated alphabetical directory of the presenters favourite plants spread over 400 pages. Each plant has specific details under the headings - type, soil and situation, hardiness zone, height, spread and reasons for growing the plant, followed by a couple of paragraphs by the presenter choosing the plant to explain its special virtues.

Confusingly interspersed amongst the alphabetical directory are complete pages where a month of the year heads the page. The page is then dedicated to a plant that is good for that particular month and when it would have been “plant of the week” on the radio BUT the plant is out of alphabetical sequence. I felt that this would have been better as a separate section to flick through or to use as a reference section when searching for a plant that would do well at a certain time of the year.

All in all this book is good value for the money (£16.99), well illustrated with lots of detail about each individual plants requirements. I do think it’s aimed at the experienced gardener who perhaps wants to be a bit more adventurous with their planting. The indexing of plants by height in ascending order takes a bit of getting used to!

Chris SIBBALD

THE FLOWER GARDEN  by Helen Dillon

(RHS Collection,published by Conran Octopus)

Whilst browsing in the Oxfam bookshop in Swanage recently I discovered ‘The Flower Garden’ by Helen Dillon and at £3.99 I couldn’t resist it. Unlike the BBC book above, it is easy to navigate and includes sections on Planning the Flower Garden, Propagation and Through the Seasons. Helen maintains that there are eight seasons in a gardening year and with our variable weather patterns recently I am inclined to agree. The ‘not to miss’ section of this book is Key Plants, an alphabetical list of fifty plants, mostly herbaceous perennials, which are good garden plants and which should be used in your flower garden, soil type permitting. Helen Dillon writes with an easy, down to earth style and a great sense of humour. As a true hands on gardener she is practical and recognizes that you must work with what you have. I would recommend this book to anyone who is thinking of extending their flower garden or who is starting from scratch. It is inspirational and at the same time so sensible; ‘Managing the garden, like running a business, is a matter of distinguishing between the essential jobs that must be done immediately, and those that can be put in the file marked ‘pending’   Unfortunately my pending file is getting higher and higher!

GT

VISIT TO DORNEYWOOD

Report of a visit by the Chilterns Gardening Group

We were greeted by Dick Strange, who is employed by the Dorneywood Thomson Endowment Trust Fund.  On Lord Thomson’s death in 1954, his estate was arranged to create the Dorneywood Trust, which pays for the upkeep of the property, at no cost to the National Trust or to the public purse. Dick gave a fascinating talk on the history of the building and explained what a great philanthropist Lord Thomson was.  He was educated at Eton College, where he was not the most gifted pupil and then went on to Magdalene College Oxford, where he studied law. He fought in the First World War, as a British Red Cross Commissioner.  His sister Elspeth married Kenneth Grahame, author of the Wind in the Willows and the Secretary of the Bank of England. When Lord Courtauld-Thomson gave Dorneywood to the National Trust he instructed that it was to be used as an official residence by the Prime Minister of the day, or a senior cabinet minister.

Dick Strange then handed over to the head gardener, who is employed by the National Trust and has worked at Dorneywood for over twenty years. We were shown round the 1930s style gardens firstly to the barn which had stained glass windows with the Courtauld-Thomson crest. Opposite the barn was a much older property, which had been a plain cottage, but had been ‘improved’ by Lord Thomson with dormer windows and timbers.

Passing behind the building there is a cottage garden full of such plants as dahlias, gladioli and hardy geraniums and profuse with colour and a lovely white solanum cascading over the old wall. The path then led through to the conservatory which had espaliers of both nectarines and peaches, which were ripening nicely. Outside there were two lemon trees in pots which had some very reasonably sized lemons. The conservatory looked out on a lily pond. This had been added in 2001, as a water source for the conservatory. There were no fish in the pond as it had newts and was popular with dragonfly. It seemed that the number of newts was dwindling. This was blamed on the grass snakes. On passing through the herbaceous border which was suffering from wind and rain damage we reached the Dell which was a rounded dip in the ground and was surrounded by flower beds. We then made our way through the orchard, with trees laden with apples, down to the vegetable garden, although vegetables were no longer grown due to the time required. Vegetables were discontinued when the number of gardeners was reduced from three to two.

Back through the orchard, along winding paths, to the rose garden full of different coloured roses in full bloom. Apparently these are soon to be replaced, as they are no longer at their best. Walking through the rose garden we found ourselves back at the front of the house with the beautifully mowed lawn and herbaceous border, not to mention a small swimming pool. It was then time for tea, which took place in the squash court. Some people took their tea and yummy cakes outside while others sat inside and talked about the interesting visit. Everyone was free to spend a few minutes wandering round before making their way to Stafferton Lodge for dinner and the AGM.

Many thanks to Liz Kwantes for the above. Dorney Wood is open under the NGS  in May. Check the yellow book.

Pruning Hydrangeas

Many gardeners are confused about the pruning of hydrangeas so here is a shortened version of the recent RHS advice on the subject. Flowers of mophead and lacecap hydrangeas are borne on shoots from the previous season’s growth. Dead blooms on mophead hydrangeas can be removed straight after flowering but it is best to leave them on the plant over winter as they will provide some frost protection for the tender growth buds below. Instead, remove dead flower heads in early spring, cutting back to the first strong, healthy pair of buds lower down the stem. Lacecaps are hardier; their faded flowers can be cut back after flowering to the second pair of leaves below the head.

Pruning other species

·         Hydrangea serrata can be pruned in the same way as mophead and lacecap hydrangeas

·         H. paniculata and H. arborescens are treated differently, as they flower on the current  season’s wood. Both species flower more prolifically when hard pruned in spring to the lowest pair of healthy buds, creating a low framework of branches between 30 and 60cm tall.

·         Most other hydrangea species ,including H. aspera and quercifolia need only minimal pruning to remove damaged and overlong stems.

·         H. petiolaris, the climbing hydrangea can have overlong shoots cut back immediately after flowering. Stagger drastic pruning over three or four years.

Saving your seeds, having fun and saving money….

Some of you may remember the seed swap the Society held earlier this year? Many of you came and swapped either commercial seed or seed you had saved yourselves. Well now is a good time of year to start saving seed from your flowers or vegetables ready for next year’s swap, and for your own use!

Here are a few tips from Ryton Organic Garden, and from the Real Seed Catalogue.

• Seed saved from F1 hybrids will not produce plants which are identical to their parents ( called breeding ‘true’)

• Never save seed from diseased plants

• Pick pods and seed heads when brown and dry

If at all possible in this damp weather we are having, save seed when it is dry. If not then dry them out. Damp seeds still ‘breathe’ and will soon use up their food store. By drying the seed they go into hibernation and can then be stored in an airtight jar for a very long time.

• Spread the seed on a plate somewhere with a good airflow and cool temperature.

• Bake a little rice in the oven until it is completely dry and put it in to a jam jar.

• Then make a ‘sack’ from the toe of an old pair of tights, put in your saved seed and add this to the jar of rice. The rice will ‘soak up’ all the water out of the seeds in 7 days.

• The seed can then be transferred to another dry jar. Don’t leave the seed in with the rice any longer or it will get too dry and go into ‘deep hibernation’

•  Keep the dried seed in cool dry, even, conditions, like the door of the fridge. Temperatures of 5deg C/ 40 deg F are ideal.

• Remember to label the seeds  with as much information as you have about the plant-colour, name, size etc. and the date.

The worst place for seeds is the garden shed!

Looking forward to seeing the ‘fruits of your labour’ next  Spring at the Seed Swap!

Becky Pinniger

                                                              Seed ordering

The Society receives a discount if we submit bulk orders to some seed companies.

This year we will be using 2 catalogues.

Suttons - veg and flower seeds, plug plants, onion sets, seed potatoes and garden sundries.

Kings of Essex - veg and flower seeds, fruit bushes and sundries.

The new seed catalogues should be available at the September meeting. 

If you will not be at the meeting but would like a catalogue please telephone Chris Sibbald 01628 522304. 

Reminder

NCCPG (National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens)

Sunday 23  November  3.30 Annual General Meeting at the Savill Garden in the Waterloo room.  Preceded at 2.00 by an autumn tour with the Keeper of the Gardens, Mark Flanagan. The tour will be free to NCCPG members but normal Savill Garden entrance fees apply. For tour bookings contact savillgarden@thecrownestate.co.uk  or 01753 847519

Copy deadline for the next newsletter is 6^th October. Email gill townend on gilltownend@aol.com or phone 01628 483092. Thanks to all this month’s contributors.