A tour of gardens by Pauline Martindale, October's meeting

 

The bad news was that our booked speaker went down with Flu. This was disappointing as it was the fourth time this year that a booked speaker had to cancel at short notice. The good news was that a friend of the club kindly offered to take over at the last minute. Pauline Martindale gave us a wonderful talk titled ‘A tour of Gardens’. The talk and accompanying slide show were all about gardens we can or may have visited. Some we have been to on our previous outings, others are just too far to reach on a day trip and one or two are no longer open to visitors. The photos were fantastic photography and all taken by Pauline herself.

The gardens featured included the RHS gardens at Hyde Hall, Essex which is where we went on our September club outing this year. The RHS Harlow Carr garden in Yorkshire which has a wonderful stream running through it. Pashley Manor Gardens on the Kent/Sussex borders. Our club has visited them twice before for the Tulip festival they hold each year. Apparently Ann Boleyn had connections here. Pauline told us that their wisteria is a site to behold if you are there at the right time. Kew gardens was also featured. Many of you have probably visited at some time. It is famous for its glass houses replicating the conditions of tropical areas of the world so plants that would only grow in those conditions can be seen here.

Some gardens nearer to us that were featured are Copped Hall at Epping. It opens on selected Sunday’s for various events and has a great walled garden. You can also visit the house that they are rebuilding which Henry the eighth owned at one time before it was burnt down in a devastating fire. There is also Wanstead Park to see the bluebells.

Pauline also told us about gardens in prisons. Pauline was formerly a prison officer. Lord Windlesham worked with the RHS to develop a trophy for the best kept prison garden which encouraged prisoners to do more than sit in their cells. And Pauline told us about the history of the Giggly Pig sausage company based in Romford. The woman who founded this company was serving a 10 year prison sentence but became interested in the gardening and Pig farming at the prison. When she left prison she set up the Giggly Pig company.

Our sincere thanks to Pauline for a wonderful talk.

 

 

Paolo from Franchi Seed Company, June's meeting

In June we had a guest speaker Paolo from Franchi Seed Company (Pronounced Frankey).  It is the family business of Paolo from Italy.  The company specializes in heritage seeds, particularly vegetable seeds but some ornamentals too.

Paolo gave us some history of seed production.  It was the Romans who first brought seeds to the UK and gave us a greater variety of plants.  Apparently the word ‘allotment’ is a Roman measurement.  In 1917 the government encouraged vegetable growing and when the Spanish Flu outbreak happened many people survived because they have fresh veg.  In the second world war our government had the ‘Did for Victory’ campaign once again to give the people fresh vegetables.  And during the recent Covid outbreak, allotments were one of the few places that people were still allowed to visit.

Paolo explained that people think that Italy is hot, but where his family are from is in North Italy where there are mountains and the climate is much like the UK.  He told us that Italy is the largest producer or rice which surprises many people.

Paolo also told us about the difficulties of importing seeds.  Covid had first interrupted the production and then the UK’s exit from the EU means it is very difficult for the seed companies to import seeds as there are a lot of restrictions and regulations and if they get one thing wrong the whole lot are incinerated.  He told us that all the companies you may have bought seeds from Thompson & Morgan, Mr Fothergills etc. all import their seeds. There are no companies in the UK producing their own seeds.

He finished with a few tips.  Now is the time you can plant basil direct into the soil.  It likes a warm humid condition.  Lambs lettuce wants cold, sew it when you take your tomatoes out.  Seeds have varying shelf life e.g. Tomatoes will last 10 years while parsnips deteriorate quickly.  Store your seeds in a cool, dry and dark place.

And finally a saying ‘before you look down, look up’ meaning before you look what is growing, look up and see what the weather is doing.

 

 

AGM November's meeting

 

Our November meeting was our annual AGM. The committee presented the approved accounts and a report from the chair on the past year’s ups and downs for the club. We were please to see many of our members attend the meeting. The full minutes of the meeting with be produced in due course.

The main issue facing the club was the reduction in membership and the reduced numbers of people who attend the meetings. This means that the club does not raise the funds that it needs to keep the club going but also that it means running outings or having the Christmas socials are not viable because there is not enough participation.

We had a very good discussion and the members attending the meeting were very keen to keep the club going. We discussed whether the time or day of the meetings should be changed. The committee is now tasked with conducting further research to see what viable options are and what the implications of those might be. We had lots of ideas put forward for trying to advertise the club to attract new members. If anyone has ideas or any contacts who they think could help to promote the club then please send them to the clubs. Email address: whittinghamgardeningclub@gmail.com

As the members had decided we should try and keep the club going the committee were re-elected. There were no new members who wanted to join the committee this year and all the existing members accepted to continue in their roles. You will find details at the end of this newsletter

 

 

Trees of Kew, Alan Clark, September's meeting

 Alan Clark, an extreme allotment gardener (he has 9 allotments), kindly filled in at the last
moment replacing Andy Sands who fell ill. He has over 50 years’ experience of gardening.
His subject was ‘Trees of Kew’ talking about some of his favourite trees that he had known at
Kew Gardens over many years. Taking us on a walk around the gardens his amusing
comparisons and anecdotes were a helpful way to ensure his audience might remember
some of the facts. ‘Defining a tree by size is similar to horses and ponies’ – how many
hands are involved? All plants are selfish. The definition of a tree: it has to have a woody
stem and achieve a height of 5 metres. He described how ancient trees are using the
example of the Wollemi Pine, a 270 million years old fossil – the mineralised leaf of this pine.
One of the interesting points he explained was the various fungi and bugs that drink the sap
or use the trees as hosts and may eventually kill them and that Kew’s policy is to let nature
take its course and only occasionally remove a branch or part of a tree that is suffering.
Thinking about this it is obvious that Kew would have very few mature trees if they were all
chopped down once infected! Nature will always try and rebalance the environment,
starlings and blue tits both have their part to play in removing insects and caterpillars. He
talked about trees complicated reproduction cycles and that clouds of pollen are expensive
for a tree, it takes a lot of their energy.
He specifically mentioned the Japanese garden and Minka House. Meaning ‘houses of the
people’, ‘minka’ describes the simple homes of country-dwellers common in Japan until the
mid-20th century. A treasured feature of Japanese heritage, many of these farmhouses
have been preserved as historic landmarks. Kew’s minka belonged to the Yonezu family,
who lived in it after their main house was bombed in 1945. Bushes of the sacred bamboo
(Nandina domestica ‘firepower’) are planted around the entrance, believed to dispel bad
dreams.
After the last of the family died, the house was donated to Kew by the Japan Minka Reuse
and Recycle Association as part of the Japan 2001 Festival. It was rebuilt by a team of
Japanese carpenters and British builders, some of whom had worked on the Globe Theatre
– creating an unsung architectural gem in the heart of London.
One last fascinating fact was the stone pine, which had been in the Gardens since 1846 and
fell over in 2022, and there are now new seedlings being grown from a cone of the tree.

 

 

Asters by Jacqueline Aviolet, August's meeting

 Our speaker in August was Jacqueline Aviolet on her specialist topic of Asters. Jacqueline
was a return speaker; she has been to us before and always gives a very lively, enjoyable
and fun presentation. She also brought many varieties for us to purchase for the bargain
price of £2.
Jacqueline told us that in the fashion to rename plants these are now officially called
Symphyotrichum but we will probably stick to calling them Asters. Who is going to
remember all these new complicated names? The common name is Michaelmas daisy and
this is because they will be in flower on Michaelmas day, 29th September. If anyone is ever
visiting the Malvern area in late summer there is a specialist nursery and gardens called the
Picton Gardens that is worth a visit.
An interesting little fact is that you can tell if the bees have visited the flower because the
centre is yellow until the bee has been in for its pollen and then turns mauve. This way the
bees know whether the pollen has already been taken by another bee. They can all be
used to make dye, which will be a shade of yellow.
Jacqueline said she doesn’t follow Monty’s advice on giving them the Chelsea chop (where
you cut the growing stems down by half in May) largely because she wants the cuttings. I
do give mine the Chelsea chop it makes them slightly stronger, thicker and shorter which I
like, but it’s up to you. Her other growing tips are to keep them well watered and put mulch
or fallen leaves in the Autumn as they prefer a bit of moisture. They like a neutral to acid
soil. The biggest problem with them is mildew, but this is apparently to stop the animals
eating them. They can also get a mite, which disfigures them and will spread to
strawberries, and Aster wilt in which case you need to destroy, preferably by burning and
not putting on the compost heap. With the larger headed versions, you may need to give
them some staking or they may fall over.
Jacqueline showed us all how to take cuttings and gave everyone a cutting to take home to
test our green fingers! We will have to see how successful members were in due course.

 

 

Copped Hall Trust by Philip McKinder, July's meeting

 

Our speaker at our July Meeting was Philip McKinder from Copped Hall Trust in Epping. Copped Hall is an old mansion house which is being rebuilt by the trust and has extensive gardens including a very beautiful walled garden. The restoration started in 1995. You can visit Copped Hall on various Sundays. See their website for details https://www.coppedhalltrust.org.uk/

Philip gave us a talk about the history of the site. Henry II had wanted a hunting lodge which was accessible to London. The abbots at Waltham Abbey had bought Copped Hall to allow them to entertain royalty. Henry VIII persuaded the abbots to gift him the property on his promise that he would protect Waltham Abbey. Having obtained the property, Henry went back on his promise and demolished most of the Abbey. Henry never lived at Copped Hall but visited and eventually gave it to his daughter Mary. Mary passed on the Hall to her lover who sold it to the Conyer family.

The Conyers son inherited the property from his father and built a new house on the site in the ‘palladian’ style (famous for its stately symmetry, classical elements, and grand appearance). He dismantled the Victorian house and used the bricks etc. to build the new house to save on costs. The Conyers lived there for 3 generations. The property was sold on and continuously improved and developed.

Then in 1917 tragedy struck. Many of the men had gone to war when an electrical fire broke out in the property. There was no fire engine that could get to the property and so the servants just tried to save whatever contents they could. The house was severely damaged and was never rebuilt. The gardens were maintained but the property was ransacked. The territorial army used the grounds for exercise and blew up most of what remained of the property for practice.

When the M25 was built Copped Hall was spotted as it sits on the ridge of a hill and many people wanted to purchase it to build on. But the community wanted it saved and this is how the Copped Hall Trust came to be. They raised the money with donations to purchase the site and so the restoration began.