Newslettersummer2007

Something for every gardener!! We are gathering the names of volunteer members in order to create a “Membership Skills Directory” that can be consulted by members who either are experiencing problems with particular aspects of gardening or members who need general advice to help them start gardening. So if you have a question or if you feel that there is knowledge or experience you can share, then please come forward. Your name and a contact number will be compiled securely in a directory which will be kept behind the till in the hut. If a question arises that is in your field of knowledge or expertise then we will either ask you to contact the member, or with your permission give your contact details to them. I am also new to gardening and will need all the advice I can get to help me on my way so please help. Feel free to contact me direct, 01942 731699. Becky

JULY 21ST (SATURDAY) HADDON HALL .

Haddon Hall is a fortified manor house dating from the 12th century and was the setting for last years BBC production of “Jayne Eyre”. It is surrounded by terraced Elizabethan gardens and has a gift shop and licensed restaurant/café. Tickets may still be available at the hut at £15.00 each (which includes coach fare and entrance to house and gardens). The time for pick up is 9.00am opposite the Kirkfield Hotel on Newton High Street the coach leaves Haddon Hall at 4.00pm approx.

AUGUST 16TH (THURSDAY) SOUTHPORT FLOWER SHOW.

There are still seats left on the coach, the price is £16.00 each. Pick up at 08.30am opposite the Kirkfield Hotel on Newton High Street, the coach leaves Southport at 4.00pm.

SEPTEMBER 8TH (SATURDAY)

FLOWER, FRUIT & VEGETABLE SHOW AT ST AELREDS’ SCHOOL - BIRLEY STREET, NEWTON.

Lots of categories besides the fruit & vegetables for you all to enter, or just to come and enjoy – including baking, photography, painting and flower arranging it’s not just for experts, anyone can have a go!

We encourage all age groups to enter so grandparents and grandchildren can go head to head for a little family fun.

Show schedules available on request at the hut.

All entries must be in by Friday 7th before 8.00pm. For children and over 60’s entry is free.

The show is open to the public at 2.00pm on Saturday and prize money is distributed at 3.30pm

We also auction off any produce still on the tables at the end of the show.

OCTOBER 25TH (Thursday)

A talk by Peter Foley, winter colour in the garden. 7.30pm at the Kirkfield Hotel.

Should you require further details on any of the above events, contact Silvana, our general secretary on

01942 717030.

FROM US TO YOU! (A NEW FEATURE)

THE COMMITTEE’S FAVOURITE FLOWERS

My favourite flowers are: - The Peony and the Lily of the valley or Convallaria.

Convallaria –Lily of the Valley

This plant likes a shady spot in the garden, with well drained soil. I find it grows better under the conifer trees because for some reason it likes the pine needles when they fall in the autumn (perhaps it keeps them warm during the winter months), when we all need an extra layer of clothing to keep us warm.

They have beautiful bell shaped, white flowers with hanging racemes and smell absolutely gorgeous. They flower from May to June. The time to divide them is September to November.

The Peony

I think this is my most favourite plant, The Chinese call it “sho yu” which means ‘most beautiful’ and I think a very apt name for it. The blooms are about 3 inches in diameter with a heavenly perfume and colours range from pure white through to baby pink, and on to dark maroon colour. There is also a yellow one but these are not common. I have lots of pink plants which flower about the second week in June and continue for about three weeks. When cut for indoors they will last for over a week. There are lots of different species – about 30 herbaceous, and 10 woody species. Ants love the nectar which forms on the buds, but they do not harm the plant in any way. After flowering, and when the foliage has gone brown in autumn, cut back the plant to ground level and it will reward you with loads of lovely blooms again next year!

Margaret

My favourite plants I suppose, are vegetables.

I have little interest in growing flowers, though I don’t mind enjoying and admiring the sight of the labours of others. But vegetables are a personal choice, governed by tastebuds and stomach, with no place for the aesthetics of gardening. I know some people grow ornamental cabbages, tall alliums and allow beans to flower in prominent positions, but they are few.

My one enthusiasm in the ornamental garden is the acer palmatum group. My interest was first aroused over thirty years ago by the sight of what I then described as ‘that big red bush’. Enquiries brought replies to the effect that the big red bush was, in fact, “a wotchyamacallit, one of them there Japanese maples.” More sophisticated sources eventually identified it as acer palmatum atropurpureum. I still see that bush; it has doubled in size and is now some ten to twelve feet tall.

Garden centres then being in their infancy, I kept my eyes open for a specimen of my own at local nurseries and discovered the dissectum variety. They were expensive. I was not exactly flush. I found a scrawny, misshapen, half dead plant pushed at the back of a nursery greenhouse and haggled until I got it for half the normal price. I thought I had a bargain, the nursery owner no doubt thought he’d got a mug, so turn the wheels of high finance.

The plant not only survived, it thrived, surviving transplanting to another part of the garden on one occasion. It did well in is first home despite being in full sun and planted in clay. Only much later did I learn they prefer shade for at least part of the day, and a well drained position. It turned out to be a perfect plant for me. It needed no pruning, no feeding, no attention; all I had to do was look at it! It turned out I had got a slow growing dwarf variety, but the beauty of the finely divided leaves, the richness of their changing colour through the seasons, and the overall shape of the plant are superb.

There are many varieties of acer palmatum, with different leaf shapes, habits of growth and size. Colours include vivid greens, oranges and reds. There are a number with the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM). Acers are popular with Bonsai enthusiasts. How they grow them in so little soil beats me. To see some acers in a magnificent setting, visit the Dorothy Clive Garden. The garden is in north Staffordshire, on the A51 road, midway between Nantwich and stone. The garden is a former quarry with many mature trees providing the perfect habitat for these small trees.

If buying acers, check on speed of growth, they are not all small nor slow growing. Many are grafted so check the soundness of the graft. There should be almost no spur from the parent root stock, and like a wig, you should not be able to see the join. If there are gaps, water will get in and it is frustrating to see a plant, perhaps of some year’s growth, suddenly fail. Finally, if your acer does need pruning for whatever reason, try to do so in spring, just as the leaves have opened. Make sure your secateurs are scrupulously clean and sharp. I am told they are prone to disease otherwise, though I have had no problems, even when parts have been roughly broken off by stray footballs. One tip I have been given for small twiggy specimens, is not to use secateurs at all, instead, if you have a sharp pair of modern kitchen scissors, use them. They are washed regularly so clean and carry no plant diseases.

Tony

WHAT NATURE CAN DO FOR YOU!

Please note that all the information given may be verified on the internet – but here is a serious

HEALTH WARNING – If you are on any prescribed medication please consult your doctor before attempting to use any herbal medicine.

Do you suffer from toothache?

SPILANTHES OLERACEA – (toothache plant or paracress) – plant family asteraceae (daisy family)

Native to South America, often used as salad leaves, has a very strong peppermint flavour.

I have grown this plant in my herb garden for some time and have always been amazed by its ability to relieve oral pain by anaesthetising the area of application, create extreme saliva flow from a dry mouth and aid the bodies’ fight against bacterial, fungal and viral conditions and urinary tract infections.

The flower heads are picked (for oral use – one at a time) –

For toothache, they are placed on the painful tooth and crushed then held in situ until the pain is relieved, for a dry mouth, slowly chew the flower and be prepared for a flood of saliva.

The leaves may be used in cooking producing a very peppery flavour – marvellous in chilli dishes or use them raw to give salads extra zing.

N.B. at first sign of frost the plant becomes a total mushy mess, not even the seeds survive a frost.

Fred

SLOW GROWING

Genus – Dianthus Common name – Sweet William

Species – Dianthus barbalus

Family – Caryophllaceae

This is a slow growing, upright bushy biennial flower with lance – shaped leaves. In early summer it produces flat heads of zonal and eyed flowers in shades of pink, white and wine. It grows to a height of 8 to 12 inches and is a half hardy plant that should be cultivated in an open sunny position in well drained soil.

They can be propagated by seed in spring or by cuttings of non-flowering stems in summer. For the flower arrangers no special conditioning is required as they last quite well. It should however be remembered that the cuttings should not be cut on a node. Petals of the flowers can be pressed. As the stems are short they can be used in small early summer arrangements or in a vase of water on their own.

Sandra