Using Stone & Aggregates in the Garden...

Mr. Peter Ebbatson, owner of Dalston Aggregates & Landscape Supplies Ltd. Peter gave us a knowledgeable, amusing talk in which he gave a brief geological overview and revealed many innovative design ideas. Dalston Aggregates supplies carefully assessed and only ethically sourced stock The materials come from within the global market, from countries as far afield as China and India: offering gardeners an amazing range of materials from which to choose.

www.dalston-aggregates.co.uk

Peter brought with him many different samples of stone for us to see and touch. Moreover, he illustrated how he himself used stone features and aggregates to create his own garden lake and wild flower meadow. He also showed us how to make a DIY water feature, explaining why, here in Cumbria, water pumps are still best powered by electricity rather than solar storage batteries.

Peter and his wife, Emma kindly asked that a donation to Hospice at Home be given in lieu of a fee.

(Edited from Chairman Jude Jansen's Press Reports)

The making of Inwood Garden, East Lothian - 13th October 2016...

Tonight we so enjoyed a humorous, knowledgeable account of how this RHS partner garden has evolved from its' origin as a donkey's paddock away back in 1983.
Lindsay Morrison, ably assisted by her husband, Irvine, has created Inwood into the beauty it is today using trial & error, plantmanship, humour and plentiful, canny Scot's nous.

www.inwoodgarden.com

Lindsay & Irvine also run a B & B business from Inwood, which receives 5* Star Ratings)


Inwood sits in an historical landscape at Carberry, close to the spot where Mary Queen of Scots surrendered in 1567, thereby beginning her long spell of captivity. It is perhaps with some significance therefore that the garden is approached through an avenue of towering Scots Pines and English Oaks which leads into a garden full of island beds with seasonal flowering set within a landscape of mature trees.

Lyndsay's Top Tips:
1. As a gardener you hover between disappointment & optimism.
2. Beware that once planted Golden Hops hop everywhere!
3. Beware of sycamores!
4. Varieties of Vitcella Clematis are reliable & tough. A special favourite is 'Etoile Violette'.
5. Maianthemum racemosum ( treacleberry) is a fabulous N. American, woodland relative of Soloman's Seal which has a delicious scent.

So we look forward to our visit in 2018...

Autumn Cookery Fayre, 8th September 2016...

We had a first-rate evening's entertainment at our club meeting on the 8^th September. Our speaker and demonstrator was Mr. John Crouch, a well known celebrity chef here in Cumbria.

In just over an hour, using only basic camping equipment, John produced five delicious autumn food dishes whilst keeping us entertained with lively anecdotes about his culinary experiences & knowledge. Who says multi-tasking is the preserve of the fairer sex? And of course the bonus was that our olfactory & gustatory senses were truly fulfilled!

Here are John's Recipes:  

LAVENDER CHICKEN

1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon of olive oil

4 boned chicken breasts (halved) 2 tablespoons flour

8 shallots salt

200ml ( 8floz) red wine 4 sprigs of thyme

200ml (8floz) chicken stock 2 teaspoons lavender flowers

grated zest & juice of one orange

Garnish – 1 orange / 12 lavender sprigs / 4 teaspoons of lavender flowers

Heat the butter & oil in a heavy pan & add the chicken pieces. Brown all over. Transfer to a large Casserole. Cook the shallots in the frying pan foe 2 mins, then add to casserole. Add the flour to the frying pan, stir & cook for 2 mins. Pour in enough wine & stock to make a thin sauce, bring to the boil, stirring all the time & season to taste. Stir in the thyme sprigs, lavender flowers, orange zest & juice. Pour the sauce over the chicken, cover the casserole & cook for 30 -40 mins until tender. Remove the thyme sprigs before serving. Garnish with orange & lavender flowers.

COURGETTE RISOTTO

1 large onion spray oil

1 dessert spoon fresh herbs, chopped plus extra for garnish

2 courgettes diced 2 tomatoes chopped

75g (3oz) risotto rice 300ml (½ pint) vegetable stock

14g (½ oz) parmesan cheese

In a large, heavy based pan, sauté the onion in a spray of oil, but do not colour. Add the fresh herbs, courgettes, tomatoes & rice. While stirring add the vegetable stock, a little at a time, until the rice is al dente. Sprinkle with parmesan & add garnish with chopped herbs.

 

 







RUNNER BEAN SOUP

2 tablespoons of butter 500g (1lb) runner beans

1 large onion 1 large carrot

700ml (1 ½ pints) vegetable stock seasoning

Slice the runner beans into thin slices, chop onion & carrot.

Heat butter in a large saucepan & gently fry the beans, onion & carrot until the vegetables are beginning to soften & the carrot is translucent but not browned. Add the stock, bring to the boil & then simmer covered for about 30 mins, until vegetables are soft.

Purée in a blender. Season to taste & serve with a hunk of crusty bread.

 

SPICED RUNNER BEANS

1 tablespoon oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed ½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground cumin ½ fresh chilli, finely chopped or ¼ teaspoon chilli powder

pinch turmeric 1 red or yellow pepper, sliced

300g(12oz) runner beans 1 tablespoon tomato purée

100ml (4floz) water Seasoning (S & P)

Heat the oil in a pan & add the onion & garlic, cover & sautée, gently for 5 mins. Add the spices & sliced pepper stirring well & continue to cook gently for 1 min. Now add the sliced beans, tomato purée and water. Bring to the boil & simmer for 4-5 mins or until the beans are as soft as you like them. Season with salt & pepper if needed & serve with rice or as a side dish with Indian curry.

 HOT BAKED APPLE, PLUM & GINGER TRIFLE

225g (8oz) plums

450g (1lb) cooking apples, peeled, cored & sliced

1 tablespoon chopped, crystallised or stem ginger

2 tablespoons water 50g (2oz) sugar

trifle sponges 4 egg yolks

50g (2oz) caster sugar 600ml (1pint) milk

vanilla essence 2 level tablespoons cornflower

Meringue: 4 egg whites 200g (8oz) caster sugar

Wash the plums, remove stones & place them in saucepan with the apples & chopped ginger. Add the sugar & water. Bring to the boil, simmering until the fruit is soft. Break the trifle sponge cakes into the base of a 1.7l (3 pint) ovenproof serving dish and spoon over the fruit & sufficient juice to soak the sponges. Set aside while preparing the custard.

CUSTARD: Measure the cornflower into a small basin. Add about 125ml (¼ pint) of the milk & stir to blend well. Pour the remaining milk into a sauce pan & heat until almost boiling. Stir a little hot milk into the cornflower blend, mix well & return all to the milk saucepan. Stir until thick & boiling, then draw off the heat. Crack the egg yolks into a large basin, add the sugar & stir well to mix. Stir in the hot milk mixture & blend thoroughly. Rinse out the milk saucepan & strain the custard back into the pan. Stir constantly over a low heat until the custard has thickened, but do not allow to boil. Stir in the vanilla essence.

Pour the custard over the fruit & sponge base. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then beat in the sugar. Spoon the meringue over the trifle. Bake in a preheated oven at 180c ( 350 oF / Gas Mark 4) for 20 mins, until lightly browned & crisp. Serve hot.

7th July Day Trip - Gardens of Yorkshire

Well what a great day we had yesterday visiting three gorgeous gardens in the old West Riding of the white rose county. Even those of the red rose persuasion could not fail to have succumbed to the  charm of these gardens. Allan's careful driver negotiations of hills & dales were much appreciated!


Our first stop was at Pat & Tony Huchinson's garden at Yorke House, Dacre Banks, Nidderdale

http://www.ngs.org.uk/gardens/find-a-garden/garden.aspx?id=15349

The Armillary, Yorke House

Here are some video records of our visit. I hope they will add another dimension and allow those unable to be with us to share our day.  Now please forgive the amateurish crash panning - I'm more used to recording event horses on cross country courses! 

 

Our second stop was in Leeds. We walked a short distance through a church yard to visit the stunning one acre garden at York Gate. 

 www.yorkgate.org.uk

This garden, developed by the Spencer family between 1951 and 1994, is now under the care of the charity Perennial. Perennial is a benevolent charity which helps the many different professionals within horticulture who are in need.

http://perennial.org.uk/

York Gate's Garden Lay Out

Here are just a few images:

Looking towars the Pinetum from the Canal Garden

"Now that's a..." discussion in the Pinetum & Pond Garden.

The Silver & White Garden - ooh lovely

Isabel & Ada reflecting ...

An explosion of white

Our final stop was at

This is the home of Tim Gittens & Malcolm Simm. They started with extensive hard landscaping in 1986; the land being on a significant slope. The advantage here has been a tiered effect with many hidden suprises. http://www.ngs.org.uk/gardens/find-a-garden/garden.aspx?id=11277  

Full Attention

The Duck Houses - occupied with this summer's breeding programme

A Terrace

Plumbago & Datura

Social Evening - Tithe Barn, Laversdale

What a lovely evening we had last night, enjoying our annual social get together at Christine's beautiful home in Laversdale. Despite a 'scotch mist' descending, I'm sure that we were all enthralled with Christine's truly gorgeous, cottage garden. Thank you Christine & Gordon.

Again, here is a copy of Lesley's yummy pate recipe.

Mushroom Pate 

(originally from Geoff & Isabel)

Ingredients:

I onion finely chopped

250g/280g Closed Cap/Button Mushrooms finely sliced or grated

3 Garlic Cloves (but I only used 1…..) crushed or finely chopped

250g Cream Cheese

Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Curry Powder and Garam Masala in my mix (this is added to the onions about half way through cooking)

Method:

Heat butter & oil in a frying pan and gently sweat the onions and garlic (taking care not to brown them)

Meanwhile, do the same with your mushrooms, making sure you cook off all the liquid that comes out of the mushrooms (I actually partially drained mine!) Again, try not to ‘brown’ the mushrooms as it affects the overall look of the pate!

Mix the mushrooms and onions together, season to taste and leave to cool. This is important!

Add the cooled mixture to a blender/food processor and give a good blitz, then add your cream cheese and process until smooth.

Keeps for a week in the fridge in a sealed container, but I always remove it from the fridge to allow it to come to room temperature before serving.

Serve with crostini (I got mine from Tesco – top shelf near the savoury biscuits) or home made melba toast.

Enjoy!

Can't quite believe that it's almost the end of June. The solstice is past...

What a wonderful month it has been weather wise for our gardens, here in Cumbria. The roses have again surpassed themselves this year. The solstice is past and a tumultuous change has occurred in our political landscape too.

Tomorrow evening we will all gather for our social evening at Christine Davidson's cottage garden in Laversdale, but meantime here are some of our June photos ( courtesy of Jude) ...

 

2^nd June Visit : Bryan & Barbara Lloyd's Garden at Brisco

 

5th - 9th June: Gardeners' Holiday - East Sussex 

12th May 2016 - "The Twa Jackdaws" - Staurt Kay & Geoff Coe

At short notice , we enjoyed a presentation by “The Twa Jackdaws” (Stuart and Geoff )
Over the years, these two skilled photographers have gathered a collection of garden landscape photos through to individual flowers and their visiting insects. By combining these photos with music, commentaries, amusing anecdotes and quotations we savoured delightful audio-visual journeys through various UK gardens. We 'travelled' to Arley Hall, Rydal Hall, The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Hanbury Hall, Croome Court, Wollerton Old Hall, Cook Hall, Helmsley, Castle Howard and Blue Bell Nuseries.

In this tricentennial year of Lancelot (Capability) Brown's birth we were amused to hear that a satirist of his generation once commented that he hoped to die before Brown so that he could see heaven before Brown had improved it!

And I am sure we were equally amused or perhaps enraged by this quote by the US horticulturist T.H. Everett (1903 – 1986),
“A man should never plant a garden larger than his wife can take care of ".

Contact Details : Stuart Kay Tel. 01228-575030    or     stuart@hannaheileen.plus.com 

14th April 2016 - "Creating a Cut Flower Garden" - Top Tips from Karen Phillips

Here are some notes I took from the latest talk by Karen Phillips

https://www.widehaughhouse.co.uk/

 

 

1. Silicone cup case holders along with test tubes & small vases give diversity in displaying cut flowers
2. Hellebores will not droop if cut once the seed pod has set
3. Floral place settings look good
4. Twisted hazel provides a great scaffold for floral displays
5. Rosa Souvenir de Mal Maison – grows best in own root stock – so take a long term view & make cuttings this autumn
6. Don't sow seed directly into soil in these northern climates: sow in trays & prick out – tiresome but worth it for healthy plants. However sow calendula directly into prepared seed bed.
7. Make sure you can walk between your cut flower beds – carefully think about paths / stepping stones etc.
8. Ensure the cutting bed is in direct sun light
9. Feed your cutting beds as years go on
10. To encourage flowering – keep picking your annual flowers
11. Consider the need for 'crop rotation' of annual flowers. E.g. wallflowers (erysimum) are in the brassica genus (Family – cruciferae) so are likely to develop 'club root' if sown annually in the same spot!
12. Yellow & white flowers look good in a grey vase
13. Get off to a great start each year by using a 3' x 1' heated propagator. You can reduce germination time by 5 days or so.
14. Species plants come true from seed e.g. Orlaya
15. Poppies provide a great mid-season splash of colour
16. Consider foliage combinations with flowers
17. Take care with euphorbias – can develop allergies due to latex content
18. Always support your cut flowers with 12” to 6' stakes & pea netting
19. Experiment & have Fun
    from Trish Rodgers' Notes

RHS - NW & Cumbria News - March 2016

Larch Cottages Nurseries  www.larchcottage.co.uk  is hosting an RHS talk on Wed, 2nd March 2016, 10am - noon entitled "Ornamental Trees & Fruit for Northern England" . Price is £ 12 members & £15 for non-members

www.hutton-in-the-forest.co.uk  is a new RHS Partner Garden for 2016. The garden in all it's spring glory is open for the RHS members from 20th March, daily - free till end of the month.


Lowther Castle & Garden                                           www.lowthercastle.org  is also open to members on Mondays (excl Bank Hols) this month - so do check out the Patte d'Oie's daffodils - you may have helped plant this area a few years ago!

Chairman's Report for AGM - Thursday 11th February 2016

My first year, as Chair of the Viaduct Gardening Club, has really been an inspirational one for me. The dedicated and supportive committee members, have yet again, fulfilled their brief and pulled out all the stops to provide another year of wonderful memories for us all to enjoy.

Exciting and informative summer day trips were to Lancashire and Co Durham, (where, in one garden I understand members were busy photographing far more than the horticulture!) As usual, these trips were very well supported by you all.

The annual holiday last year was to the beautiful County of Herefordshire and although I am biased, everyone agreed that it is a gorgeous place to visit.
The hotel was very comfortable and the food superb. All of the amazing gardens on the busy itinerary were delightful and varied in their attractions.

Visiting Sir Roy Strong's Garden

Congratulations, once again to Joyce (Johnston) for her hard work and diligence in finding out about, and organising the trips and the holiday.

A wide and fascinating group of monthly speakers have entertained us all throughout the winter months. Topics have been both diverse and interesting: with talks as varied as how best to grow bulbs to learning all about our local wildlife and conservation management schemes. Indeed, everyone who came to speak to us was very well received. Thank you Christine (Davidson) & Ann (Oswin) for all you work in arranging our speakers.

The Gardening Club's two founding villages of Wetheral and Great Corby both hosted very successful Garden Trails during the Summer of 2014. The highlight of Great Corby's being the accessibility of Corby Castle grounds and gardens. The Wetheral Trail saw well over 600 visitors descend on that cool June afternoon and overall the event raised about £3,000 for various Charities.
I would also like to take the opportunity to thank those who kindly opened their own gardens for the enjoyment of the VGC members. Everyone loves to take ideas and inspiration from visiting other people's gardens and your generosity is much appreciated.

The Annual Plant Sale at Rickerby's was a huge success and so too was the Autumn Plant Sale and Coffee Morning we held in Down-a-Gate. Thank you to all of the donor's of plants and the bakers of cakes. As you know we have members who have now kindly volunteered to organise both these plant sales in future – thank you Pauline, Joan and Ruth.

Our Financial situation is, as you have already heard, is in a very sound position, and despite the tragedy of the recent floods, which has temporarily destroyed our venue, I can honestly say that the Viaduct Gardening Club remains a viable, entertaining and creative organisation. Thank you Helen (White) for your expertise in all things financial.

Thank you to Denise & Alice for organising the raffle & to everyone who has provided prises. As you know the raffle raises over £400 each year for club funds.

Our new tea rota is working pretty well – more on that later, but meantime thanks to all who have helped so far. Thanks also to our members who quietly & practically help at evening meetings – usually seen wrestling with tables and chairs in Down-a-Gate's cupboards!

Trish (Rodgers), our helpful Vice-Chair, has stepped in on so many occasions to support me and everyone on the committee. Thank you Trish for standing in today.

Finally many thanks go to our amazing Secretary, Lesley (Norman), who keeps us all on an even keel and has such a happy smile for everyone.

Therefore, in 2016, things are set to continue in the manner to which we have all grown accustomed over recent years. There will be lots of interesting monthly speakers, enjoyable day-trips to surrounding areas, local garden visits and a greatly anticipated and fabulous Gardening Club Holiday to East Sussex.

However, may I take this opportunity to highlight a very important issue?
Joyce (Johnston) will, at the end of this summer, be stepping down from her role as Trip Organiser and also Ann (Oswin) and Christine (Davidson) wish to hand over their role as Speaker Organisers to other members of the Club at the 2017 AGM.
Personal support and the opportunity to " shadow" the vacating roles will be forthcoming to those of you who have undoubted, if hidden, talents.

The future success of this Club really does depend on those of you

who feel able to contribute to its successful continuance.

And fear not, help is always on hand and any future roles can be joint efforts.
Lesley (Norman), has been extremely grateful to those of you who have willingly offered to take on some of her workload during the past year and into the future.

Therefore, in conclusion, may I wish you all an enjoyable and prosperous Gardening Year. I hope your seeds germinate, your plants flourish and your blooms be many.......

Judith Jansen
Chair of the Viaduct Gardening Club.