Catch up after technical problems.

The Blog has been on hold since we had the technical problems, so, fingers crossed it works well now. I am afraid that Gemma's contribution re Wisley & Daphne Foulsham's garden has had to be deleted. However, not to despair, they will be in the newsletter.

On 22nd June a lot of the club went to visit Harry Brickwood's garden at Raleigh, it was open under the National garden Scheme. We made our own ways there instead of going by coach. Harry was one of our speakers last year, his garden has been featured on Gardener's World, also in the Garden News. 

Harry greets Peter.

The driveway was very impressive, sweeping up to the entrance of the cottage with a large central bed. Either side were large borders with a colourful collection of  Aquilegias . The back of the cottage had wide borders around the side of a well tended lawn. In the centre was a pond with a stream and waterfall. Unfortunately, none of the lilies, for which Harry is famous, were in bloom.

Beautiful Aquilegias.

 We all had a good browse around, there were several little sheltered places to sit and admire the garden.

Part of the garden.

Harry and his wife served refreshments, including some tasty cream & Jam scones and other delicious cakes. As we finished consuming them the clouds gathered and it looked like the heavens were going to open, so we all made a speedy exit to our cars.

The June Meeting.

The speaker at the club meeting in June was Geoff Hodge, speaking about bugs. He covered a wide spectrum of bugs and infections and showed us the various sprays and chemicals to treat them. As usual, his talk was very entertaining. He added several prizes to the raffle.

Geoff with his slug trap.

After the tea break he answered questions, covering many subjects.

A lot of bug solutions.

Although there were a lot of chemical solutions available, a lot have been withdrawn from sale. This is due to the cost of testing them and then re-registering, which can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Jeanettees' Hand Made Market this Saturday.

Jeannette is holding a Hand Made Market at Fanshawe Community Hall , Barnmead Road, Dagenham, RM9 5DX. (Behind Fanshawe Clinic) 

on Saturday 8th June (This Saturday), at 10am to 2pm.

There will be a good assortment of crafts including cards, jewellery, knitting & crochet, jams & chutneys,  etc. 

Refreshments will be available. 

Entrance is FREE.

May 2013 meeting.

This months speaker was Debbie Hart, from Writtle College. Her subject this time was "summer hanging baskets". As well as being a teacher at the college she is a trained florist and this came through in her talk and the photos she showed us. First of all she showed photographic examples of good and bad hanging baskets, also  suitable and unsuitable sites to put them. They need to be in proportion to their surroundings to be properly appreciated. For example, a large arch would need a really full and flowing basket with lots of trailing plants, foliage as well as flowers to give it the required length as well as the width to follow the lines of the archway. Some unusual types of baskets were also shown, notably, one with succulents all around it. This had been achieved by inverting one basket over another, so forming a complete circle. Mind you, I bet watering was difficult, it is a good job they do not require much. She showed us ideas for winter baskets as well, which was good.

When the photos were finished she started the main demonstration of the evening, actually making a hanging basket. She showed us various types of basket and liners, also different soil types, and passed samples round so we could feel the difference in the weight and texture, discussing the pros and cons of each.

After deciding on a wire basket and moss to line it, she supported the basket on a large plant pot and  mixed the compost with water retaining granules, also known as "Swellgel". The moss needs to be thick so that a finger cannot be pushed through, also come to over the top of the basket to hide the wire and provide support to any plants that are trailing over. I learned this the hard way, when several of my fuchsias snapped when I had not padded it enough.  Next came a circle of plastic to provide a reservoir to stop all the  water from draining away. A small amount of compost was added, followed by the trailing plants. These were wrapped in plastic prior to being pushed through from the inside out, so the rootball is not damaged. Any leaf damage can be mended, not so the roots. Fuchsias should be pinched out above the third lot of leaves to make a bushier plant with more flowers.  More compost was added then the top plants were put in and extra compost was put between the plants. A colour scheme needs to be decided on at the start. Debbie had red, yellow and purple at the bottom, and repeated by the top plants. An upright fuchsia in the middle and trailing plants all around made a nicely balanced basket, although it did look a bit sad by the time it had finished, but it will quickly recover.

Debbie planting up her basket.

 When it was finished she added fertiliser tablets to the compost to feed all the plants. This generated a discussion on the different types and merits of fertilisers amongst her and the members.

A rather sorry looking basket.

When it was finished Debbie donated it to the raffle and it was won by Jeanette, who takes the subs at the back of the hall. She also said that any plants she had over could be purchased for 50p per plant, a good bargain for those who got to the front quickly in the interval.

Debbie answering questions at the end of the meeting.

It was a most interesting and informative evening, enjoyed by us all.

Update on Ginna's wildlife allotment.

You may remember, just over a  year ago I visited Ginna's wildlife garden (see older posts to view. Click on the button at the bottom right of the posts) and promised to re-visit to see how it has progressed. This I did last week. Things have certainly matured . In the centre there is now an official orchard, meaning there are more than 6 fruit trees. These were all in bloom and looked terrific. Last year the trees they did have had hardly any blossom on them at all. Gina is just hoping the bees do their job to pollinate them, but there is a serious lack of them around. Two notable blossom  trees are the crab apple "Everest" and a red blossomed apple whose apples are completely red all the way through, called "Red Love"

The orchard in bloom.

 

Blossom of crab apple "Everest".

The red leaves and blossom of "Red Love"

The various habitats to attract the insects and birds are still there, together with the rain water pool for them all to drink from, a small pond for the foxes to enjoy is there too. Gina is rather disappointed that no frogs have decided to take up residence yet, but hopes they will come in time. They found their first hedgehog buried under a compost heap in the allotment next door and moved him or her into their custom made hedgehog home. Apparently, nobody told it about this des. res. when hibernation time came.

I was really interested to see how the slow worms were doing, their habitat has been well used and there are quite a few different coloured ones.

One of the slow worm habitats.

Here are several of the inhabitants:

Trying to escape the light.

A stripey one.

 

A smaller one.

The birds were singing and flying around, the nesting boxes were much in evidence. They love this gorse bush, it's colour shone through the grasses.

Beautiful gorse bush.

Gina, her friends Marion and Peter, spend hours tending this allotment. I hope the wildlife appreciate it.  It is a lovely calm oasis in the middle of Dagenham.

Gina and Marion doing the weeding.

Here is an over-view of the allotments:

The front of the allotments. Gina's is at the right, far end.

At this time of year there is a lot of weeding to be done, here is Gina, on her knees, doing just that:

Gina, next to the rain water pool.

There was a lovely clump of rhubarb which needed thinning out, so I came away with some juicy sticks to stew with my cooking apples, it was very tasty.

April 2013 meeting.

This months speaker was Kevin Tooher, talking about Sustainability. He is a tutor at Hadlow College, Kent and had the t-shirt on to prove it.  I'm afraid I can't illustrate this to you,  as his talk was so interesting, I forgot to take a photo! I do apologise. He judges for several gardening organisations as well as lecturing and giving talks to clubs such as ours. Before that he was a policeman.

He gave us several ideas on recycling and lots of practical tips. For example, stored water absorbs heat during the day and gives it out during the night, therefore, if you could acquire a container and leave it in a greenhouse, it could actually stop everything getting frosted. He advised us to feed the garden about now, to replace the nutrients lost because of the excessive rain last year. The use of water buts, composting, wormeries, using Tiger worms for preference, was also discussed. He told us not to add citrus peels or anything acidic to them, as the worms  don't like it. When using the compost bins, save the vegetation to go into the bin in an old compost bag hidden away somewhere and add it to the bin in one go, instead of in dribs and drabs. That way the composting action is much increased, it heats up quicker, destroying weeds and sterilising everything  faster and more efficiently. He showed us examples of Green roofs and walls, which are becoming more common. When planting a meadow he advised using a plant called Yellow Rattle to reduce the fertility of the grass to allow the flowers to flourish. He had hoped that we had wi-fi, but we don't, in order to see a video clip called "The Urban Gorilla" on U-Tube, so if you have Internet access, check it out, it is supposed to be good. 

While on the subject of the Internet and recycling, there is a site called FREECYCLE (Google it), where you can register and either ask for things, or offer things for free. No money changes hands, it is just to stop things going to landfill. You remember the saying, that one man's trash is another man's treasure?  This is the perfect example. I have used it several times.

It was a busy evening, as the fuchsias for the competition were being sold. This year the variety is "Ballerina Dreams". Peter had printed a sheet with hints and tips for everyone, with the usual prompt to bring it back "dead or alive, but preferably alive", in August for the judging.

Gwen & David Bendall selling me my fuchsia plant.

The raffle was picked as usual during the interval, where we all enjoyed our tea or coffee and a biscuit. Here are two of the lucky winners discussing their prizes.

Yvonne Heavey and Irene Frost, two of the lucky winners.

During the interval, Betty, one of the members, gave us the recommendation of a reliable trader, this time it is for a female painter and decorator. Her name is Julie. She did some decorating for Betty, who was very impressed. She charges by the day and works very hard. Her contact details are:  

J.R. Plastering. Telephone: 0788 626 4435

After the interval, Kevin did a question and answer session, covering a lot of queries from the members. It was a thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining and informative evening. We all enjoyed it.

Spectacular blossom. By Hilda.

I have been meaning to photograph these trees for several years, but never had my camera with me when they were in bloom. However, on my way back from photographing Ginna's wildlife allotment for the blog (to follow soon), with my camera still around my neck, I took the opportunity, parked the car and walked back to do the deed.  They are just at the top of my road in the grounds of Manor Junior School, Sandringham Road, Barking. If you want to see them "in the flesh", hurry down, because they don't last long before they get blown away.

Beautiful cherry blossom.

In the grounds of Manor Junior School.

Sandringham Road, Barking.

A close up of the blossom.

And two more.

April 2013 visit to Beth Chatto gardens & Matthew's nursery.

The weather for the trip was typically April showers, with wind, showers & occasionally a glimpse of the sun, it was also quite chilly. However, it didn't dampen our spirits, everybody enjoyed themselves. Our first port of call was the Beth Chatto gardens, Colchester, where most of us headed for the cafe to refresh ourselves before exploring the garden, of which there is 5 acres. Around the cafe is the gravel garden which emulates a winding dried-up river bed. There were grasses with colourful flowers peeping out from amongst the gravel.  The nursery had a good variety of plants for sale, mainly perennials. Several purchases were made by club members.

The sign at the entrance.

A gentle descent took us into the dramatic water gardens. Four large ponds have been created, complete with quacking ducks and moorhens. It is very tranquil with the bees humming and birds singing. Several cheeky robins were flitting around and singing us a song, their breasts very bright red. There were numerous benches amongst the edges of the lakes where we could sit and enjoy the scenery and the sounds of running water, birds and bees. One of the ponds had a rowing boat moored on it and the reflection of that and the overhanging planting around the pond made it very atmospheric.

Rowing boat reflection.

 One of the other ponds had several "Skunk Cabbage" plants around the edge.

"Skunk Cabbage" plants around the edge of the pond.

The woods echo a medieval tapestry,  embroidered with drifts of species daffodils, scillas, fritillaries, primroses and Helibores, there is also a very beautiful silver birch tree amongst the other trees. Here are some of the club members enjoying the scenery:

Club members enjoying the scenery.

Just as we were getting onto the coach to leave, the heavens opened and large hailstones landed on those of us who hadn't made it inside. However, it was short lived and we headed to Matthews nursery in Roydon Hamlet to browse and do some serious spending. It was a hive of industry there, plants were being potted up and hanging baskets were being made. There was a conveyor belt system used to put the potted up plants into their trays ready for sale. 

Assembly line.

The massive greenhouse floor was covered in trays of plants and over-head, 14 inch baskets were being hung from the steel girders ready for sale, many were to fulfil existing orders. One staff member was making up the baskets and another was hanging them up and watering them with the drip watering system, each basket had its own dripper. I would love the job of assembling the baskets!

Hanging baskets being assembled.

We could have done with a lot longer there, time passed very quickly. The staff had kindly made refreshments for us, including delicious cakes. 

Peter, Susie, Kathy, Tracey and David.

 David is the driver, Tracie is his partner, they are engaged and getting married soon.

Everybody had made a lot of purchases, Peter had warned us before that everything had to fit into the boot, nothing was to go inside the coach, so David had to re-organise his boot space to accommodate all the plants.

Any more to go?

This was supposed to be the compartment where the oil and water for the coach is stored, but had to be requisitioned for the plants, the other ones were full up.

The ride home was uneventful, apart from the slow traffic during the rush hour, as is usually the case. 

When we arrived back to Dagenham everything was disgorged from the coach and we all wended our ways home, having collected our purchases from the pavement.