Moore and Moore Plants for Shade, Lynne. April's meeting

At last I know what to plant in that shady part of my garden, thanks to Lynne from Moore and Moore Plant Nursery. It was clear that Lynne has an abundance of knowledge on plants, especially shade lovers. One of Lynne’s key-points was that there is no right or wrong way to plant up a bed of shade loving plants, its all about what works for you. Lynne’s talk included a huge selection of slides featuring plants of every shade of green.

Lynne reminded us of the importance of giving new plants a good start, planting them in a good compost, Lynne recommends peat free Melcourt Sylvagrow with John Innes, and water regularly until the plant is established. One of the plants which I particularly liked was the Athyrium Ghost Ferm with its purple stems with whitish colour changing to silver green in the midribs. Ghost will thrive in shade but does need soil that retains moisture, this plant grows 90cm tall.

Moore and Moore nursery is based in Billericay although you can place an order online at; mooreandmooreplants.co.uk  Lynne has provided us with a very useful leaflet with cultivation advice and four lists of plants showing which conditions they thrive in best, copies are available electrically and in paper copy. Our thanks go out to Lynne for a most enjoyable evening.  

 

 

The Birds and The Bees, Andy Sands, May's meeting

 Our thanks go out to Andy Sands for his spectacular presentation on British Birds and Bees last month. Everyone one of Andy’s photographs captured an amazing shot, full of detail and colour, he certainly pays attention to detail. Andy  told us how he has been interested in natural history since a child and now travels across the UK photographing wildlife. Andy’s knowledge of his subjects was also very impressive, telling us about their habitats, migration patterns and their nest building skills.

It was interesting to hear that photographers often place their own natural perch, this could be tree branch or fence post, in the area they expect the birds to be. This helps to obtain a better shot and at a distance close to the photographer.

Andy’s photographs of bees were equally as impressive as the birds, I never knew there were so many species. The close up pictures reveal the wonderful detail of the bees’ markings and their delicate wings. Andy told us how many bee species do not live in colonies but live solitary lives nesting in a variety  of places including trees and even the underground. Andy did mention that all bees have stings!