RECOMMENDED TRADESMAN (From Hilda).

This man is a very good heating engineer / plumber. He repaired the overflow in my cylinder for me, although most of his work is to do with gas & central heating. He is trustworthy, tidy & reliable and does not over-charge, he came well recommended, so it is good to pass the recommendation on.

His company is F J Cable, based in Romford. His contact number is:  079 7320 4562. He is known as Fred the gasman.

 

Cute gas flame.

Matthews' visit to Garden Club. May 2014.

Our club friends, Matthews' Nurseries, attended Heathlands for this meeting, instead of us going to them. Whenever we went before,  the coach was so packed with plants, it was difficult to get them all in.  This worked well, the weather was breezy but not cold, so the plants could go outside where we could all browse. It was all hands on deck when the van arrived and the plants were soon laid out for all to see.

Plants for sale

Ken & his assistant did a sterling job, taking the money & bagging up the plants. Their mental arithmetic got good exercise!

The plants were gorgeous, as usual, with fuchsias, pelargoniums, Petunias, and trailing basket plants of all sorts, with many others.

Plants & money change hands.

Here are some of the plants for sale:

Pretty Pelargoniums.

Some more.

Decisions as to which ones to buy!

When most of the buying was done, everybody retired to the hall, where the tables & chairs had been laid out so the members could sit around and chat, also listening to the announcements from Peter while they drunk their tea & nibbled on a biscuit. His announcement about the new newsletter being available resulted in a flurry of sales, I am glad to say.

This was a very different meeting and I think it met with everybodies' approval, giving us all a chance to chat for a change. 

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As a fan of Great Comp, I'm glad you've discovered it. Do make a note in your diary about their Summer Show on Saturday & Sunday 9th and 10th August 2014. There will be specialist nurseries, ornamental gardenware suppliers and a select group of local artists and craftspeople. Music is supplied by jazz ensemble ‘Strings & Things’ and ‘Pimm’s’ is available on the lawn. Teas, lunches and delicious homemade cakes are available from the Old Dairy Tearoom. We love the gentle festive holiday atmosphere generated by the Show (enhanced be theJazz Band and the Pimms). The quality and variety of the plants is excellent. on May 2014 outing, Millbrook Garden Centre & Great Comp garden

May 2014 outing, Millbrook Garden Centre & Great Comp garden.

The weather forecast was really bad for the day, so everybody came prepared for the worst. Thankfully, it was not too bad, although very windy and chilly.

Our first stop was at Millbrook Garden Centre, in Gravesend, Kent. It was very large, with a good variety of bedding, basket & container plants, vegetable plants and herbs. There were statues, pots, hanging baskets and a lot more. A lot of the members took advantage of the cafe for refreshments.

THE ENTRANCE.


THIS LITTLE FELLOW WAS EVERYWHERE:

AT THE ENTRANCE, AMONG THE VEG. & THE BEDDING.

Everybody took advantage of the goodies available. I especially liked the solar lights that were for sale, to replace some of my "old faithfuls" that are rather coming apart after several years being out in all weathers, although still shining bravely on  when the weather is bright. I also purchased a gorgeous Bougainvillea  plant to replace an old one. One of the members, Sylviane, found a rather large plant she had been searching for, but hadn't been able to find until then. She purchased that, but managed to resist the lovely little donkey statues that would have set her back a few hundred pounds. Here she is, taking it to the coach:

The coach was well loaded when everybody had finished putting their bags in, this is only one part of it.

When everybody had re-boarded we carried on to Great Comp Gardens, near Sevenoaks. The journey was down tiny, windy roads and the trees were touching the coach on both sides, as well as overhead at times. Needless to say, it was a sedate ride there most of the way.

Great Comp Garden, near Sevenoaks, has built up an enviable reputation over the years as being one of Kent’s finest gardens to visit.
It is a wonderfully quirky garden showcasing 7 acres of beautiful and rare plants surrounding a 17th century manor house.  This hidden gem of a garden is home to an Italian Garden, romantic ruins, enchanting woodland walks and the Old Dairy Tearooms, where a lot of us went for our lunches.
In Spring this tranquil garden had erupted into bloom with numerous Magnolias, Azaleas and Rhododendrons, underplanted with large drifts of Helebores and bulbs. The colours of the plants were amazing, there were pinks, white, yellow & vibrant oranges. Beautiful! Here are examples:

There were many statues as well, both metal & stone:

The thing which fascinated everybody most, I think, were the follies. They looked like they had always been there, but in fact, were put there only from 1976 by Roderick & Joyce Cameron , the then owners. They dug the ironstone out of the garden, mostly by themselves, made the foundations, and put them up. Here are a few:

They even had a coat of arms and gargoyles!  See below:

Later in the year, the summer brings warmth and extravagance from one of the most comprehensive and exciting collections of Salvias in Europe, the National Collection is housed there.  Ornamental grasses in great variety punctuate the colourful borders and combine beautifully with the  myriad colours of late autumn.
The garden is the delightful creation of Roderick and Joy Cameron who moved to Great Comp in 1957.  They opened the garden to the public for charity in the early 1960s.  The gardens are now run by the Curator William Dyson, assisted by two full time gardeners, 1 part time gardener and a small team of volunteers.  It is an amazing place, throughout the year they hold events, both garden and music related.
 There was a spectacular rainbow to the right hand side of the coach to see us on our way home and the rain didn't reach us until we got to Dagenham, we were so lucky.

April 2014 meeting.

Before the meeting proper started, Peter gave out some notices, the main one being that next months meeting will be earlier than usual, as the last Monday in the month is a bank holiday. Therefore, the date is May 19th. He is hoping the weather is fine so we can have it outside, as Matthews' nursery is coming to bring plants for sale to us, instead of us having to travel there. There are contingency plans in place in case of it being wet.  It will also be an opportunity for all of us to have a chat to each other, and to get to know the new members, of which there are several.  He also reminded us that some members hadn't paid for the next outing, and the date was fast approaching.  We do get a little lie in on that day, as we do not meet until 9.30 am, later than usual.  It is the "Garden Centre" trip, starting off at Great Compton, the date is 10th May.

The competition fuchsias were available for sale, the variety this year is "Garden News", a hardy upright  plant with double salmon-pink and magenta flowers.

He then introduced  Dave and John , who are members of several Fuchsia societies and show their plants regularly. They have talked at Greenfingers' meetings several times before, and their talks are always entertaining. This was no exception, a lot of useful tips were given and it was as entertaining as ever. They bought several display fuchsias to illustrate the various ways of using the plants, bushes, standards and in hanging baskets, also a lot of small plants for sale. Dave has bred a hardy fuchsia called "My Grandchildren" which should be going into the garden centres soon. He has also won a prize for the largest flower head with this  one:

Fuchsia" Windhopper"

They bought a selection of flower heads to show some of the different ones that are available, varying from this huge one to the tiny single triphylla.

A selection of different flower heads.

Propagators were demonstrated, with different ways to make them, recycling where possible. The simplest one was made of a cutting in a small 2 inch pot, placed inside a clear plastic bag, and then another 2 inch pot on top.

A selection of recycled propagators.

They advised rooting several cuttings & growing them on together to make a good, large plant in one season. Typically, I had just rooted cuttings of "Autumnal" and "Tom West"together, which I don't usually do, but decided to try this time, and spent some considerable time separating them & potting them up individually, only a few days before the meeting!  I may put them back together when they need re-potting.  Composts, feeding and watering were discussed, also the use of moss added to the base of the pot when potting on, was advised. This maintains moisture, although they stressed that more fuchsias were lost to over-watering than under-watering, so not to overdo it. When they took cuttings, they only gave a short spray of water to each one. They feed with half strength feed at each watering, rather than feeding every week or so. Fuchsias are heavy feeders but are not fussy as to the type of feed they have, Tomorite or Miracle Grow were favoured by them.

While Dave was demonstrating how they took cuttings, I asked them about cutting off the netting of commercial plugs, this is an on-going debate in the club (see August blog or November newsletter).  They said they always cut theirs off, as they are sure it does inhibit the growth of the plants, but it needs to be done carefully so it does not cause any damage.

Dave selling the plants in the tea break.

Another tip they gave us, was how to get a trailing fuchsia that is not trailing, to do so. Quite simply, they advised adding a clothes peg to the lower leaves. Within a week, they should trail better.  I have tried this a few days ago on my hanging basket of hardy fuchsias, I'm sure you will recognise the varieties. Much to my surprise, nobody has commented on it yet, perhaps they think it should be like that!

Hilda's "Peg Fuchsias"?

I will report on its' progress in the next blog and newsletter.

Unfortunately, John was not feeling too well and needed to sit down for some of the time, although he and Dave still made a good team. We wish him better.

All too soon the meeting was over, although I am sure that Dave & John could have carried on, were it not for the time constraints of the hall. We all thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

March 2014 meeting.

This month's speaker was Jim Buttress, a great friend of Green-fingers Garden Club. 

Before he started speaking, Peter gave out a few notices and welcomed the new members to the club. The fuchsia plants for the competition were supposed to be distributed at this meeting, but unfortunately, were not ready. They will be there next month when, appropriately, Dave and John will be doing an evening workshop, called "It's Fuchsia Time".

The next outing, to Great Compton Gardens and a garden centre in Kent, will be on May 10th. We get an hours lie-in, as the pick-up is not until 9.30am.

Jim Buttress & Peter deep in conversation.

Jim started his talk by telling us about the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society which celebrated it's 100th  anniversary last year.  Jim assisted in doing a garden at Chelsea to help celebrate the occasion.  They also run a debt counselling service which totalled 2 million pounds of debts last year, employing 4 full time ladies to staff it.

The charity is part funded by two gardens which were bequeathed by their  previous owners, one of whom is now deceased. York Gate is one, the garden is owned by Perennial - originally known as the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society - a charity that helps those in need from the horticultural profession, by providing advice and financial support to arborists, gardeners, plantsmen and others associated with gardening, who have fallen on hard times. York Gate was bequeathed to them in 1994 by  Sybil Spencer, who had lived and gardened there for more than forty years with her husband and son, who both died prematurely. Today the garden is a visitor flagship for the work that Perennial does helping horticulturalists. 

The other garden is Fullers Mill, near West Stow. Bernard Tickner moved to Fullers Mill in 1958 and created the garden you see today from rough scrub and woodland.  In 2004, he and his late wife Bess formed the The Fullers Mill Trust, a registered Charity, which was established to manage the garden and to ensure its future. At the beginning of 2013 Fullers Mill Garden was gifted to Perennial (The Gardeners Royal Benevolent Society) but remains fully funded by its creator Bernard Tickner.

Although Jim retired from judging a few years ago, he has been persuaded out of retirement by the BBC. His newest venture is judging in a new TV series based on the "Bake Off" series. We've had baking, we've had sewing and, surprise, surprise, now we have gardening. Never ones to under use a good format, the BBC are launching a new contest to find the nation's best horticulturalists.
Presented by Fern Britton, six-part competition Grow, Make, Eat: The Great Allotment Challenge will see nine pairs of enthusiastic gardeners pulling on their trusty gloves and sewing the seeds of success (or not, as the case made be).
Each duo will be filmed as they toil in their allotments every week, demonstrating their skills in growing vegetables and making jams and chutneys. But whose preserves will claim first prize at the village fair and which couple will dig themselves a deep hole?
Instead of labouring under the watchful eyes of Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, the green-fingered hopefuls will be trying to impress three experts – horticulturalist Jim Buttress, floral arrangement expert Jonathan Moseley and preserves specialist Thane Price – who will weed out the weak and select one pair for elimination at the end of each episode. The action starts on April 15th this year on BBC 2. They have all ready been signed up for a second series.

Jim has assisted in building three gardens for display at Chelsea, on behalf of Homebase, the only large conglomerate to set up apprenticeships for horticultural staff.

Than it was time for tea and the raffle to be called. These were some of the beautiful prizes:

Some of the raffle prizes.

After the break Jim bought us up to date with Tom Hart-Dyke's news from Lullingstone Castle. Prince Charles recently visited, arriving by helicopter. He met all the volunteer staff and thoroughly enjoyed his visit, staying much longer than he was supposed to and saying he was going to return again.

On 28th & 29th of June there is going to be a display of 35 vintage fire engines, one of which was the first fire engine ever made, by one of his relatives. It is being returned to them from where it has been stored for decades, and presented by Miranda Hart, the actress, who is Tom's cousin.

Before Jim closed, he told us about the Britain In Bloom competition, it is having it's 50th anniversary. There is to be a garden at Chelsea to celebrate.

He will also be at Hyde Hall Gardens on  July 30th to the 31st, for the flower show.

It was a most enjoyable evening, and we reluctantly wended our respective ways home at the end,  looking forward to next months meeting.

February 2014 meeting.

This months meeting was a huge success, the speaker was  Steve Bradly, a Broadcaster on Radio Kent and Radio Essex. He also is a journalist for The Sun newspaper. Steve is a mine of garden information, his subject this evening was   Spring in the Garden –you can  hear Steve on Radio Kent on Sunday Mornings at 8am-11am. He illustrated his talk with photos. 

Steve with Peter.

He gave us numerous tips, the most memorable being, before doing the first cut of the lawn after the really soggy winter we have had, go over the lawn with a heavy garden broom, this makes the job easier. He discussed moss treatments, too, and said it is really important not to rake the dead moss up until it is straw coloured, otherwise the spores will just be spread, making the problem worse.  Still on the subject of lawns, there is help for dog owners whose dogs urinate on the grass, causing dead patches due to the acidity of the urine. There is a product from Australia, called Australian Rock, which is put into the dogs drinking water and causes it to be more alkaline, thereby stopping the burn. If the owners have no control over where the dog drinks, for example if it drinks from a pond or puddles, adding tomato puree to his food can have the same effect.

If re-seeding any patches are necessary, that needs to be done when the soil warms up, not now. The soil needs to be raked over before adding the seed. The re-seeded  patches can also be covered by fleece or hessian, but must be removed AS SOON AS THE SEEDS GERMINATE. A good tip he gave us was to Seed Prime, this is where the seeds are germinated in a bucket of compost in a warm place & then sprinkled over the lawn. This speeds up the process considerably.

He advised us on cutting back hard of various plants, especially Mahonia and fuchsias, ensuring the secateurs are sharp to prevent bruising, which can lead to infection entering a cut.

A point which was especially pertinent to me was how to control the growth of a tree which is becoming too big. This is done by a process called Barkering. A piece of bark is removed from the tree, but a small "bridge" is left. A "bandage" is applied to stop any infection entering it, this can be just a piece of electricians tape wound around the tree. This is repeated every two years, in a different part of the bark each time. This is effective in slowing the growth, rather than just cutting it back, as this will encourage it to grow larger. I shall be trying this on the large Pyrocanther in my front garden. When I last tried to climb a ladder to cut the top , I missed my footing on the last step and cracked my ribs on a planter, which rather put me off! The next time I got a "professional tree surgeon" to do it, but he nearly massacred it with a chain saw.

Numerous helpful tips were given, especially the use of empty plastic water bottles, these can be used to protect vulnerable plants from weed killer when spraying nearby, also, a hole can be cut in it about half way down so the spray doesn't have to be tipped up so much, making  more use of the fluid inside. It can also protect small plants from frost. The leaves should not touch the plastic though.

Container plants do not necessarily have to be moved into larger pots each year, if the top 3 or 4 inches of compost is scraped off and replaced with new. This will also remove any Vine Weavel grubs.  If a layer of grit is put over the top, it will discourage the adult Vine Weavel from laying its' eggs. Water well after renewing the compost.

Bulbs should be fed after flowering, not before. They should be dead-headed and if in pots, a tomato fertiliser added. If in the borders, Sulphate of Potash used.

If squirrels are a problem and they keep digging up the bulbs, a good idea is to grate some perfumed soap over them, that should deter them.

If planting peonies, DON'T plant  too deeply, the sun needs to be on the top of the corm in order for flowers to be formed.

Mint can be contained by planting in a drainage pipe, or similar deep container, to stop it taking over the area it is planted in.

Lastly, he advised not to put potted herbs from the supermarket near to indoor plants. Apparently, biological controls are used to control spidermite in them. Due to temperature changes they can become active again, going on to infect the house plants. I have moved my pot of parsley well away from the orchid I had for my birthday!

During the interval the raffle was called as usual. Steve had donated a lot of colourful spring flowers to add to it.

It was a most informative and enjoyable evening. I hope we can see more of Steve in future.