"Bulbs, Glorious Bulbs" - Karen Phillips - 11th November 2021

Members had already had the opportunity to pre-order a variety of bulbs from the  catalogue, which Karen bought with her….all beautifully packaged up and individually labelled. She also came with a huge array of bulbs for sale, including daffodils, tulips, alliums, fritillaries, camassias, muscari, crocuses, dogtooth violets, iris, and many more. Lots of the tulips and daffodils came attractively packaged as pre-selected, colour co-ordinated stunning collections. Amongst other items for sale were a selection of bulb planting tools, soil thermometers and gardening gloves.

Karen described how she and her husband had purchased Linnels Farm eleven years ago as a very run down property, but which they have since gradually repaired, restored and converted. It is now their home with farm buildings used as a venue for a variety of courses, and cottages to let. They have also developed the surrounding land into beautiful gardens, including an orchard and apiary.

Karen illustrated her talk with slides showing examples of the many bulbs which she sells. Due to the recent weather, pandemic upheavals and Brexit, the ordering of bulb stock from the Netherlands, has been fraught with difficulties. Some of the 90,000 bulbs Karen orders each year were below standard, due to poor spring weather conditions, and this led to late deliveries and then a frantic rush to dispatch bulbs to her many U.K. customers.

The theme of the presentation was divided into what types of bulbs will naturalise easily, what bulbs are good for tubs and container displays, and which bulbs are best for picking and favoured by florists. She also gave tips on propagation, care and the best ways to plant bulbs.

Report by Jude Jansen

Other Top Tips from Karen:

1. Cut scented narcissi bunched & held together around their heads by raffia make for a stunning table decoration. Their turgid stems & tied raffia keep the arrangement upright within a saucer of water. The arrangement looks & smells great for at least 2-3 days

2. Remember bulbs can not ‘polar navigate’ so do plant them in their correct growth orientation; viz. roots down.

3. Fritillaries – their bulbs don’t have a ‘nose’ and instead the stem head is inverted. 

This is fine for their climate of origin (Asia & Middle East) but not for the soggy UK. Instead plant the bulb on it’s side to prevent rotting. For a startling late spring show why not try Fritillaria persica (the Persian Lily) at 90cm and which naturalises readily.

4. So what’s a good bulb size?

“As you can imagine, the quality standard you should apply to various flower bulbs depends on species, but it also depends on the variety you choose. Here are a few basic guidelines that you can apply:

Tulips
‘Landscape’ grade, or smaller bulbs should be at least 10cm in circumference. They produce relatively small blooms that are a bit bigger than a golf ball. If you choose smaller bulbs, be sure to mass plant them. For really good flowers, your tulip bulbs should be 12cm or more.

[Karen is clear that the tulip needs to have a minimal

circumferential diameter of 9.5cm to flower]

The larger bulb circumference produces an astounding difference. The blooms are at least as big as tennis balls and usually even larger (depending on the variety). The species type tulips are an exception to the rule and have naturally smaller bulbs and smaller blooms.

Daffodils and Narcissus 
There’s a lot of variation in this group of plants. As a rule, the dwarf varieties have smaller bulbs and the big trumpet varieties are larger. Bigger is always better regardless of variety, and in general, top-grade bulbs will be 14-16cm.

Amaryllis
Amaryllis are magnificent in bloom – but only when the bulbs are big enough! You’ll get a fabulous show, bigger flowers and more blooms with bulbs 34cm or more in diameter.

Hyacinths
These scented beauties should be at least 16m, but for pot forcing 17-19cm is better.”

https://www.dutchgrown.com/blogs/planting-tips/how-flower-bulbs-are-measured

Complied by Trish Rodgers

November - a time of and for Remembrance...

Onward progresses the season of Autumn; through days of mists, fruitful harvests, Hallowe'en & Bonfire Night. Leaves continue in their glorious colour transformations before their final descend: reminding us of that special time of remembrance at 11am on the 11th of  Novemeber...

Countrylife's article by Jack Watkins is well worth a read. It was the field surgeon John McCrae who penned those famous lines, whilst attending the wounded soldiers in the aftermath of the 2nd Battle of Ypres;

"In Flanders fields the poppies blow                             Between the crosses row on row..."

Though not native to Britain the common poppy is thought to have first arrived as seeds within the corn-crop imports of Iron Age farmers 5,000 years ago.

Poppy seeds germinate on disturbed soil, typically after ploughing or tilling, which is why it thrived on the battlefields of the Western Front during WWI.

"Poppies produce 15,000 - 20,000 seeds each, which can survive for almost a century".

Assyrians called poppies "the daughters of the field"

and the Roman godess of food plants, Ceres, wore a wreath of them.

This is an interesting book about memories and

mindfulness through the gardening calendar 

- a great stocking filler perhaps?

Gardening for the Future - Doug Stewart - 14th October 2021

https://dougstewart.co.uk

Doug Stewart travelled from Hull to talk to us. He summarised his career as a professional horticulturalist, culminating as a lecturer at degree level. He is currently a consultant for Garden centres in the North of England and also works in conjunction with the RHS.

His presentation was interjected with amusing anecdotes and jokes which kept his audience entertained.

“Some people look for beautiful places, other people create beautiful places

…..these people are called gardeners.”

The spelling of ‘gardening’ could also be spelled ‘guardening’ because the creation of a garden means that we are ‘guarding’ the earth around us.

During the lockdown period, it is estimated that 30 million British people gardened extensively, fed wild birds, built ponds and watched nature in a way they may not have done previously.

Gardens become…. Guardians of the Environment.

It is acknowledged that this gardening activity supported and improved the mental health and well- being within the population during this stressful time. By closely watching the seasons come and go, and connecting to their own spaces, many people drew strength from their gardens.

Gardens become….. Guardians of Wellness.

There is a growing movement towards the ‘greening’ of our urban environments. Parks are being improved, green spaces utilised for local people, and community enterprises are springing up across our Nation. One example is in Stockton-on-Tees, where much of the urban centre has been demolished and reconfigured to make it a river facing park for the community enjoy.

Parks and gardens become….Guardians of the Community.

Doug Stewart then discussed how the way we garden in the future will have to incorporate changes. Although these changes may be challenging, overall they will improve the environment in which we live.

Plastic use is something we are all aware of: using less and recycling more is already in our minds. However, the inclusion of slow release fertiliser used frequently by commercial plant nurseries and in our own gardens is actually stored inside plastic capsules. These break down slowly within the soil and research has discovered that these minute particles, ingested by worms, subsequently damage them.

Commercial compost of the future will now become peat free. Several alternative options were discussed; bracken based composts (e.g. our local company Dalefoot ) and those of forestry residue. Timber companies are developing the by-product of ‘brash’ as a compost. (Jenkinson’s Timber in Cumbria). Worm composts are also being trialled for commercial use. Finally councils are investing in the reuse and processing of household waste.

There has been a substantial growth in the use of chemicals and pesticides in recent years. These products are now going through rigorous testing and as a consequence it is likely that in future there will be far fewer ‘over-the-counter’ options on the market.

Written by Jude Janzen

Chelsea Flower Show in Autumn 2021

Did you get a chance to visit to this extraordinary show? Well Jude Jansen did. It's impossible to choose which of Jude's photos to include, but here goes...

Glorious Late Summer & Harvest Time

Arit & Nick - in action for Gardeners' World - BBC

Pastel Delights

Fame at last!

Hartside Nursery

That famous hospital

Breaking News via secretary Cate from the RHS...

 

Dear Mrs Bowman,

I would like to ask for your help please - at the RHS we want to mobilise the biggest gardening army across the nation since ‘Dig for Victory’ over 80 years ago and as a valued member I hope we can count on your support. As we discussed at our new RHS Sustainability Strategy Launch in the Houses of Parliament last night, the RHS believes that the actions of each and every one of our nation’s 30 million gardeners with their 700,000 hectares of gardens can help mitigate the climate and biodiversity crisis, and help solve some of the mental and physical health issues we are suffering, especially as a result of the pandemic. 

We want you to be the first to hear about our new ambitious Sustainability Strategy, which includes an exciting nationwide RHS Planet-Friendly Gardening Campaign, details of which you can see below. Within the decade the RHS aims to become net positive for nature and people and to enable and support the gardening public to do the same. This means we will improve biodiversity, as well as remove and store more carbon from the atmosphere than we produce, and that we will actively and consciously improve the health and wellbeing of as many people as possible through gardening.

We are committed to leading by example by setting sustainability targets for our own operations that provide benefits for both nature and people. These targets include eliminating all single-use plastic, being peat free by 2025 and being water neutral. We want all our activities to be truly inclusive, and to be available to all communities across the UK.

Your membership support is appreciated more than ever and will directly help us mobilise this campaign. Thank you so much, and we hope you enjoy the first ever September Chelsea, coming to you soon in person, online and on the BBC!

All the best,

Sue Biggs

 CBE, Director General

Our Planet-Friendly Gardening Campaign

This campaign includes ten easy gardening tasks which will make a real difference to the environment and biodiversity. We'd love you and all our members to share these tips with your communities, friends and family. Tasks include growing fruit, vegetables and flowers, switching to rainwater and pulling up a paving slab or two to make room for some bee-loving perennials! We need your help to spread the word about planet-friendly gardening.

My Favourite Alpines by Neil Huntley of Hartside Nursery - 9th September 2021

Mrs Carol Ridley, (Speaker Organiser for the Club), welcomed Mr Neil Huntley from Hartside Nursery Garden near Alston.

Almost 50 members enjoyed an interesting presentation by Neil, who was supported by his Sue. Neil explained that his parents had purchased the Nursery in 1972 and opened to the public three years later. Neil and Sue took over the business in 1997 and in the intervening years they have developed Hartside Nursery Garden and established it as a National leading specialist for Alpine plants.

They have frequently won accolades and medals from major British RHS Shows and the slides which he used during his talk, showed stunning and often rare pictures of beautiful Alpines which are available from their Nursery.

Situated over 1000 feet above sea level, the garden is subject to hot sunshine during summer and very cold periods during winter… therefore the plants they sell are very hardy!

During the slide show Neil impressed us with his Latin nomenclature, knowledge of plant characteristics and anecdotes. We were also shown how to make and use troughs, containers and raised beds, in which to effectively display the delicate beauty of tiny alpines.

Neil promotes the use of local company ‘Dalefoot Compost’, from Askham () , and shared how to make various compost mixes in order to promote good alpine growth. 

Over 100 slides were shown and some depicted the many and varied primula group, oxalis, tiny iris, gentiana, erythroniums, trillium, saxifage and lots of the roscoea species, to name but a few! In essence it was beauty in miniature.

We were so lucky to be able to make purchases afterwards.

Extract from article by Jude Jansen

Zoom Presentation - 17th August 2021...

Melmerby and District Gardening Club

Are hosting a virtual Zoom presentation with celebrity gardener

Martin Fish

Tuesday 17 August 2021 7.15 for 7.30 pm

There is a small charge of £5 to attend the presentation.

If you would like to book a place please email or telephone Jennifer Baker (Treasurer) by 10^th August 2021

tonybakerdevelopments@gmail.com 079234 30932

Martin is a RHS judge, he organised Harrogate Flower shows for 5 years

He has been Involved in garden writing and broadcasting on radio and television for over 20 years.

Martin writes for Gardening News, Which?Gardening and Kitchen Garden magazine.

He has recently written a book in conjunction with his wife Jill.

Gardening on the Menu available to purchase online from www.martinfish.com

VGC's Annual Plant Sale - Early June 2021

Towards 'normality' after this ghastly pandemic year of Covid... 

The club was able to have it's annual plant sale at Wetheral Village Community Centre. There was a great turn out and members provided an array of  plants for purchase.

                    🎕

And of course there were refreshments and yummy tray bakes too. 

Debbie & Jason had a stall of garden ornaments for sale; locally made at their home, Westgarth, Hayton.

                 🎕

So many of us will relate to this...

Hutton-in-the-Forest Plant & Food Fair - 23rd May ...

Artichokes, Sunflowers & Lilies - to name but a few
(ochres & russets complementing the spring deciduous greens & deeper olive conifers)

Today the midday outside temperature was shy of double figures. Rain, at times, was either unforgiving or threatening! So it was great to see so many people visiting Hutton's Spring Plant & Food Fair (last held in 2019).

I trundled round with my RHS flower truck & easily finding plants to fill it with!

 

Debbie & Jason from Westgarth Cottage in Hayton were there with some fabulous new designs in their garden structures range.

Lucky for us they will be at the VGC Plant Sale on Saturday, 5th June  - see "Diary Dates".

                               PMR

   

Secretary's Update

Dear Member,

I hope you are all keeping well and looking forward to a sunny summer. This letter is bringing good news.

Plant Sale The Spring Plant Sale is going ahead on 5th June at Wetheral Village Hall from 10am - 12noon. I hope you’ve all been lifting and splitting so that we have plenty of plants for sale on the day. We also need donations of tray bakes, cakes etc for the coffee morning - so put your oven gloves on and get baking. All donations welcome. We have access to the hall the night before after 8 pm so you can drop off your plants and cakes and if you are feeling strong you may want to help put out the tables for the event itself. I can’t wait to buy some interesting plants, eat tasty cake and meet up with you all again - it’s been a very long year!

Club Events As we were not able to have a full AGM this year, we haven’t had the opportunity to re elect the committee but the committee decided to go ahead with the due changes to the chair and vice chair.

We say goodbye and much thanks to Caroline Ritchie as outgoing chair and hello and welcome to Anne Sutherland as incoming chair and the new vice-chair, Rosie Thomas.

The committee are planning for the re-start of club meetings from the 2nd Thursday in September. That is dependent on Covid restrictions at the time and speaker availability. I will let you know more about this nearer the time.

Our outings co ordinator, Val, is setting up a provisional trip the an RHS garden on Thursday 1st July it will be either to Harlow Carr or the new Bridgewater. We are keeping it simple for now and just visiting the one big garden. Details to follow.

Val is also looking at availability for a club holiday later in the year. We are also hoping to have a members social evening - details to follow. So you can see that we are trying to get things almost back to normal - and it feels good.

NGS Open Gardens In the meantime, the NGS gardens are beginning to open up. Some of the early openers will be taking on line bookings only ngs.org.uk and may not be selling teas. As restrictions ease there will be more opportunity to make the usual spontaneous visits. Look out for the local leaflets at garden centres and tourist information offices.

See you at the Plant Sale!                                                                                                                             
Best wishes,

Cate

VGC Secretary 

Interesting... What do you think?

 

Our first Winter Outing in February 2019...

 

"Kiss the Ground" - 2020 Film Trailer

🌱 This is an inspiring film about what is possible to achieve to save our plant from excessive carbon emissions 🌱

https://youtube.be/K3-V1j-zMZw

A friend of mine from Aberdeen University says is one of the World Bank's soul experts who worked on the regeneration project in China. Please do watch this film 🎥 and share it.

A Tinge of Sadness...

Sadly one of our last club founder members, John Simpson of Great Corby died peacefully at home on 10th January. John and his beloved wife, Iris were enthusiastic supporters of the club. When Iris died, John continued to attend meetings, outings and enjoyed club holidays.

John was a quiet man with an air of strength, but there lurked a sense of fun. He was a retired Latin teacher. I'm sure he commanded much respect and awe from his pupils. John & Tony Hesketh were often seen, deep in conversation.

John was a knowledgeable gardener and an excellent sweet pea grower. His top tip was to always ensure that seeds were propagated in good, clean compost. And of course he could help with all our botanical Latin enquiries.

John has two daughters, one of whom lives locally, we send them and their families our best wishes at this sad time.

                                                                                     Written by PMR

Season's Greeting from the Secretary

I hope you are all keeping well in these strange times. Given that we are still in tiers (in more ways than one)  the Garden Club Committee has taken the decision to postpone our New Year Party and also to push back the AGM until April 2021. We
didn’t feel that we had any option really. If anything changes then please be assured that I will let you know.

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to you and your families.

Cate Bowman

Secretary