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

A Summer Solstice Quiz for you...

Can you name this David Austin rose?

Rain is forecast this week so how about a break from gardening duties.

Make a cuppa & see how you do with this quiz - no googling now!

The Quiz

1. What is the popular name for the flowering houseplant Impatiens Walleriana?

2. What would a gardener do with a dibber or dibble?

3. Charles Darwin described this carnivorous plant as the most wonderful plant in the world. What is the name of this plant?

4. The love apple is the original name for what?

5. The Death Cap is the most poisonous variety of what?

6. What is the name given to the female reproductive organ of a flower?

7. A Kumquat is a small Japanese variety of what sort of fruit?

8. Why is Reindeer Moss (Cladonia rangiferina) so called?

9. Harry Wheatcroft was a renowned breeder of what?

10. What is the name of the 3 leafed clover associated with St Patrick’s day?

11. Which part of a tree can be used to make cork?

12. What is the largest and tallest tree in the world?

13. What general term is given to those trees whose leaves fall in autumn ?

14. Which tissue beneath the bark of trees forms wood?

15. Where in the flowering plant does the male gamete form?

16. Which cereal must be grown in water?

17. Which grain is used to make semolina?

18. Which part of a flower becomes the fruit?

19. Which part of a flowering plant is often used to make oil?

20. What is the name given to the technique of clipping trees and hedges into ornamental shapes?

21. What is another name for the Rowan Tree?

22. What flower is named after the Botanist Dr Leonard Fuchs?

23. What do Yew; Laburnum Seeds & Mistletoe berries have in common?

24. What is the popular name for the Antirrhinum?

25. What is the sacred flower of the Buddhist religion?

26. Which plant takes it's name from the Italian phrase for Beautiful women?

27. Which liquid does a flower produce to attract insects?

28. How can you tell the age of a tree?

29. Plants that regrow each year are called?

30. When or who invented the lawn mower?

(Answers - will be posted next Sunday, 28th June )

Do sent us some pictures & thoughts about 

what you are up to in your garden right now. 

STAY ALERT - KEEP SAFE

A Cumbrian favourite...

Meconopis is a genus of nearly 80 species of often short-lived or monocarpic perennials: i.e. they flower just once and then die. They are best known as ‘blue poppies’ with large saucer-shaped flowers but many have attractive leaf rosettes.

Here are some from Jude’s garden this May (Station Master’s House, Wetheral).

Cultivation - Thrives in areas with cool, damp summers. The soil needs to be neutral to slightly acidic, moist but well-drained and enriched with leaf mould or humus. The site should be partially shaded with shelter from cold, dry winds

Propagation - Propagate by seed or by division after flowering but can be short-lived

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=946

Also see Blog Entry – 2018 – November

Lingholm Meconopsis – Fertile Group

Tulips from Great Corby via Amsterdam...

" The white one is "White Valley", the pink one is "Angelique" and the dark red one with frilly edges is "Labrador". Every year the WI nationally has a Bulb Scheme and members have the opportunity to buy bulbs from Taylors. In 2019 I bought the Tulip Collection."

Helen Hinvest

Tulips (Tulipa) form a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm colours). They often have a different coloured blotch at the base of the tepals (petals and sepals, collectively), internally. Because of a degree of variability within the populations, and a long history of cultivation, classification has been complex and controversial.

The tulip is a member of the lily family, Liliaceae, along with 14 other genera, where it is most closely related to Amana, Erythronium and Gagea, in the tribe Lilieae. There are about 75 species, and these are divided among four subgenera. The name "tulip" is thought to be derived from a Persian word for turban, which it may have been thought to resemble.

Tulips spread rapidly across Europe and more opulent varieties such as double tulips were already known in Europe by the early 17th century. These curiosities fitted well in an age when natural oddities were cherished and especially in the Netherlands, France, Germany and England, where the spice trade with the East Indies had made many people wealthy. Nouveaux riches seeking wealthy displays embraced the exotic plant market, especially in the Low Countries where gardens had become fashionable.

The Black Tulip by Alexander Dumas – It’s 1672, the city of Haarlem, Netherlands, has set a prize of ƒ100,000 to the person who can grow a black tulip, sparking competition between the country's best gardeners to win the money, honour and fame. Only the city's oldest citizens remember the tulip mania 30 years earlier, and the citizens throw themselves into the competition.

Our Spring Gardens...

What amazing weather we've being having. When last do you remember long sunny days for almost the whole of April?

The blossom as been exceptional with our gardens exploding with vernal foliage. Should be another "good year for the roses".

However,

" Sweet April showers, do spring May flowers"

In 1557 Thomas Tusser had published a similar proverb in, A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry

Also in 1557 / 1560 this was anonymously published,

     "When Aprell sylver showers so sweet, 
       Can make May flowers sprynge"

commentshttps://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.arts.poetry/V5LkIT_Uhbo

Cate's Spring Garden Flowers in Crosby - on - Eden

Jude's Auricula Theatre in Wetheral

Auriculas  originated from a natural cross between 

Primula auricula  and Primula hirsuta  

where they grow together in the Alps. 

The resulting hybrid, Primula pubescens,has been bred for 

over 400 years to produce the types and quality that we recognise today.

Show Auriculas have 3 or 4 balanced concentric circles. The inner one is the tube, which should be yellow or golden and like all Florists (originally meaning a grower of plants to set standards, rather than the modern meaning) have no pin (the stigma) visible. Next comes a circle of farina, where tiny hairs are set on the petals so dense that it is like a white paste.

https://www.auriculas.org.uk/plants.html

How are you?...

Who could have predicted that Spring 2020 would pan out like this? Let's hope that all our VGC members are keeping as well and as safe as possible. 

As gardeners we know a little about viruses, but not this beast...

NS - New Scientist - March 2020

"For about 100 years, the scientific community has repeatedly changed its collective mind over what viruses are. First seen as poisons, then as life-forms, then biological chemicals, viruses today are thought of as being in a grey area between living and nonliving: they cannot replicate on their own but can do so in truly living cells and can also affect the behaviour of their hosts profoundly."

Scientific American

With these beautiful sunny day hopefully many of us are getting some exercise and finding feelings of delight and solace in our gardens: as each day they reveal their springtime surprises.

Trish's Camellia x williamsii 'Donation' Hedge in Broadwath

Here is a 16 question Gardening Quiz for you to do while having a

1. Which of these plants is not a perennial?

Morning Glory / Dusty Miller / Clematis / Pachysandra

2. Which of these is a recommended soil amendment?

Chicken manure / Sand / Worm castings / All of these

3. Which of these is not related to a tomato?

Eggplant / Potato / Cucumber / Pepper

4. What is a biennial?

A plant blooming twice a year / in its second year / every other year

5. Which one of these plants is not like the others?

Hosta / Begonia Rex / Coleus / Petunia

6. What is the benefit of pinching a plant?

Encourages plant to branch out / Promotes blooming / Preparation for winter.

7. If a tomato grows only up to 5 feet tall, it is:

Dominant / Recessive / Determinate / Indeterminate

8. What makes a plant a shrub?

It t develops a woody stem / It grows more than 3 feet tall / It depends on who discovered it.

9. The genus of a coleus plant is:

Plectranthus / Solenostemon / Strobilanthes / Coleus

10. Which if these can be composted?

Weeds / Coffee grounds / Newspaper / All of these

11. What is variegation?

White markings on leaves / Red markings on leaves / Any markings on leaves

12. Which is not a cultivar of hosta?

Patriot / Kate’s Pride / Great Expectations / Gaucamole

13. Which hydrangea is best pruned in spring?

Bigleaf hydrangea / Oakleaf hydrangea / Panicle hydrangea / All of the these

14. Which plant is native to North America?

Phlox paniculata / Betula nigra / Echinacea purpurea / All of these

15. What is the common name for hosta?

Bigleaf shade plant / Deer food / Plantain lily / Shepherd’s crook

16. Foxgloves are:

Native / Poisonous / Biennial / All of these

(Answers - will be posted next Friday, 24th April - below)

Do sent us some pictures & thoughts about 

what you are up to in your garden right now. 

STAY HOME - KEEP SAFE

ANSWERS

1. Morning Glory / 2. All of these / 3. Cucumber / 4. in its second year

5. Hosta / 6. Encourages plant to branch out / 7. Determinate

8. It t develops a woody stem / 9. Solenostemon / 10. All of these

11. Any markings on leaves / 12. Kate’s Pride / 13. All of the these

14. All of these / 15. Plantain lily / 16. All of these