“There is always something else to do. A gardener should have nine times as many lives as a cat.” Vita Sackville-West

 Presentation

We didn’t know what to expect from the delightful and dapper Peter Mathers’ talk entitled Poetry, Prose and Peonies. It turned out to be a hugely entertaining and informative tour of the gardens of famous people with literary connections. Peter talked us through the history of the gardens accompanied by great photographs and personal anecdotes ranging from William Wordsworth’s garden in the Lake District to Winston Churchill’s garden at Chartwell. There were plenty of ideas to adopt for our own gardens as well as places for our to-visit lists.

Display Table

Lots of flowers of every colour on the display table

Maggie brought Tulips, Ballerina, the white Trumpeter and vini chic “Pink Green”, Epimedium grandiflorum Frohnterlen, Pulmonaria Opal and Omphalodes Verna

Kate brought the attractively coloured leaves of Actinidia Kolomikta which turn pink in hot weather

Kate also brought Heuchera ‘Harry Hay’ whose flowers can reach 1m, Tellima grandiflora, Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’, Vinca minor with a purple flower and Wulfenia carinthiaca

 
    

Judith brought Honesty, Hebe hulkeana, Euphorbia polychroma, Smyrnium, Erysium, Tulip saxatilis

John’s Dodecatheon

John’s batch of germinated Begonia seeds sown in a clear plastic container

Derek brought this plant grown from a seed and now 7 years old and a tray of seedlings for members to try

Carol brought Malus moerlandsii Profustion with its striking blossom, Viburnum ‘Mohawk’ and Azalea ‘Conny’

Peter’s fragrant Daphne cneorum

Ann’s Malus Profusion, Rhododendrons Blue Tit and Curlew, Haberlea rhodopensis, Tulipa saxatilis, Little Beauty and Dasystemon

Sandra brought Honesty, white and pink Bluebells, Cornflower centaurea, Arum italicum, Brunera Jack Frost, Omphalodes Cherry Ingram, Persicaria Domino, Sorbaria-sorbifolia-sem, Pulmonaria, Camillia, Bergenia, Euphorbia, Geranium tuberosum, Lamium, Primula and Golden Chimes

Can anyone identify this plant with a bud forming?

Next Meeting

3^rd May Friday Forum Flower Festival – create a garden scene based on a song or book title. Details emailed to members.

FRIDAY FORUM SPRING SHOW

 

John Freer

John Freer aka the Daffodil King, assisted by Friday Forum member Eric Wells,  judged our Spring Show and explained how they selected the winners in each category and how we could tweak future entries to improve our chances.

There were 40 entries in all:

The winners were as follows:

CLASS 1 One vase containing one Daffodil goes to Olwen, who also came first in another two categories; CLASS 3 One vase containing three Tulips and CLASS 6 One vase containing flowering branches

Christine won CLASS 2 One vase containing three Daffodils

CLASS 4 Container of Spring flowering bulbs goes to Caroline

Sue came first in CLASS 5 One pot plant, indoor or outdoor

 

Gill gained a first in CLASS 7 Dish of floating flower heads

John brought some plants for his talk

John, who got into exhibiting flowers after entering his knitting at flower shows, answered our questions on daffodil growing and shared his wisdom on various other plants he brought with him.  We were able to pick up many tips.

DisplayTable

Christine brought some Woolcool, a sustainable, natural and biodegradable packaging solution made from 100% pure wool. which may also be used to keep slugs and snails at bay

Ann brought three types of Alliums: the invasive Allium paradoxum, Allium paradoxum var. normale, Allium triquerum and Allium neopolitanum

Judith brought Allium normale, Lunaria (the white flowered Honesty with variegated foliage) and Lunaria ‘Chedlow'

 

Kate’s orange tulip

Kate’s container with the yellow Erythronium ‘Pagoda’, Pulmonaria ‘Moonshine’, Sanguinaria canadensis f. multiplex 'Plena' , Anemone blanda, Anemone lipsiensis ‘Pallida’, Anemone nemorosa ‘Robinsoniana’, Brunnera ‘Jack Frotst’ and the white Muscari ‘Valerie Finnis’

 

Ann also  brought Trillium kurabayaskii with its lovely foliage, Erythronium 

Pagoda, the pink Erythronium revolutum, Erytrhonium White Beauty, Erythronium tuolumnese and Leucojum aestivum

Next Meeting

19th  April:  Presentation - Poetry, Prose and Peonies. Peter Mathers 

What memoir of childhood doesn't at some point turn on the scent of a sweet pea or a freshly cut lawn or a boxwood hedge, to leap the fence of years? — Michael Pollan

Presentation

David Matthewman gave us an interesting and detailed talk on Growing Sweet Peas. David, who started out working in Parks, and, after many years is retiring from his successful business  growing sweet peas at the end of this year. He has won many top awards at prestigious flower shows during this time. We learnt that the UK sweet peas came from Sicily in 1699 and were blue/maroon in colour until  Henry Eckford in the town of Wem in Shropshire bred new colours. Nobody has managed to grow a yellow sweet pea!  In 1900, Silas Cole, the gardener at Althorp, the estate of Earl and Countess Spencer, discovered a larger flowered sweet pea, Countess Spencer, and by 1910, the sweet pea was the most popular annual flower in cultivation.

David took us through the sowing, planting and growing of sweet peas. We saw photographs of his nursery and of the growing process through to collecting the seeds.

Some of the plants David brought from his nursery

Display Table

Norma’s large flowered Hellebores and Skimmia which attract the bees with their scent.

Kate’s container: Smimmia, Pachyphragma macrophyllum, Euphorbia characias ‘Black Pearl’,Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’ and Veronica umbrosa ‘Georgia Blue’

Suzanne brought Helleborus Argutifolius and double Ellen White, Ribes sanguineum, Brunnera macrophylla and macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’,Euphorbia amygaloides var. robbiae, Narcissus tete boucle, Osmanthus burkwoodii and Pulmonaria affinis

Thank you:

Our thanks go to Norma for arranging our speakers for many years

and also to Liz for the refreshments which this week featured scrumptious chocolate cake and fruit loaf.

Next Meeting:  5^th April is Friday Forum Spring Show. Below is a list of the categories so you can plan ahead. John Freer will judge the show assisted by Eric . John will give us a talk after the judging and he usually makes a collection for charity if you wish to bring some change.

FRIDAY FORUM SPRING SHOW

5th APRIL 2024

CLASS 1 One vase containing one Daffodil

CLASS 2 One vase containing three Daffodils

CLASS 3 One vase containing three Tulips

CLASS 4 Container of Spring flowering bulbs

CLASS 5 One pot plant, indoor or outdoor

CLASS 6 One vase containing flowering branches

CLASS 7 Dish of floating flower heads

Daffodils, that come before the swallow dares, and take the winds of March with beauty. -William Shakespeare

Friday Forum held its AGM. Chairman and Treasurer’s reports are available for members.  Committee members were thanked and appreciation was shown to Liz for donating her delicious cakes  to our meetings.

Display Table

Judith’s Corydalis cheilanthifolia, the fern-leaved corydalis

Judith’s Corydalis Chocolate Stars with bronze leaves

(photo not available)

Kate brought Camelias Simple rouge and Silver Wedding, Prunus incisa Kojo-no-mai, Narcissus Jetfire and Chaenomeles Crimson and Gold

Sue G’s vase contains Corydalys solida grown from corms Beth Evans and the red George Baker, Winter Honeysuckle, Muscari, Daffodils pseudonarcissus and Tête à Tête, Daphne 'Jacqueline Postill' , Erythronium 'Purple King', Pulmonaria ‘Trevi Fountain’, Iberis ‘Candytuft’ and Crocus tommasinianus 'Ruby Giant'

Ann brought a variety of Arum leaves which differ in shape and markings: Arum maculatum, Arum italicum 'Marmoratum,Pictum and Creticum

Amanda sent us seeds and sowing instructions for Achimenes (Hot Water Plant)

Caroline brought a magazine article on Charles Dowding’s no-dig method

Forthcoming Events

Paxton Spring Show will take place on Saturday 13^th April.

Next Meeting

15^th March - Presentation on Growing Sweet Peas by David Matthewman

Snowdrops: Theirs is a fragile but hardy celebration…in the very teeth of winter. Louise Beebe Wilder (1878-1938) – American Gardening Writer

Presentation: Snowdrops and Snowflakes by Michael D Myers

It is becoming increasingly popular to collect Snowdrops and visit displays of Snowdrops in gardens. Originating in Europe, they have been in the UK for 300 – 400 years. A genus of 20 species, we learnt that Snowdrops are distinguished by scent, flower shapes and colours, leaves and markings, size, time of flowering and cost - some being sold at well over £1000 per bulb for a rare plant!

Michael’s illustrated talk showed us the various species and explained how to grow with other bulbs to create a long season. For Snowdrops in pots, Michael recommended a mix of 25% SylvaGrow peat free compost, 25% John Innes No.3, 25% horticultural grit and 25% perlite and suggested this as a feed.

Friday Forum members were able to purchase Snowdrops and other spring flowering plants.

Display Table

Kate brought this attractive low growing Amaryllis with three stems

and a dish of Hellebore heads

Maggie brought Narcissus “Bridle Crown” purchased at the Ilkley florists, Erica Berry. A scented plant for in or outdoors

Maggie also brought Narcissus Minnow, Snow Baby and Tête-à-tête and a sprig of vinca

Dorothy brought a container of Hellebores

From her garden, Gill J brought Snowdrops including the early Mrs Mcnamara, named after the mother-in-law of Dylan Thomas, which bloomed before Christmas, Viburnum Dawn, Cornus Mid-Winter Flame, Jasmine nudiflorum, Hellebores, Crocuses, Anemone blanda, Camellia, Pulmonarias blue and white and Garrya elliptica

Ann brought Hamamelis Aphrodite, dark white and yellow Helleborus, Iris unguicularis, Narcissus Tête-à-tête, Crocus tommasinianus, Hepatica ballardii, Galanthus nivalis S. Arnott, Puschkinia, Clematis Freckles and Eranthis hyemalis

Next Meeting: 1^st March - AGM and forum on ‘no dig’ gardening method by Charles Dowding