Bexrose Bulletin
July 2005
Published by the Bexleyheath & District Rose Society.
Patron:- Dr. David G. Hessayon
President:- Mr. F.H. Boardman
Vice President:- Mr. W. Skinner
Chairman:- Mr. S. Burch
Vice Chairman:- Mr. B. Rainsbury
Hon. Secretary:- Mrs. J.Newton
Hon Treasurer:- Mrs. Z.Neale
Show Secretary:- Mr. A. Neale
Membership Secretary:- Mrs. M. Cornell
Miss V. Rochester
Other Committee members:- Mr. R. Jones, Mr. R. Pulling, Mrs. D. Carr, Mrs. D. Lemon, Mrs. J. Dyer.
Web Site:- http://home.btconnect.com/cadoss/bexrose
Email:- cadoss@btconnect.com
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Next Meeting Tuesday 26th July
We meet once again at St. John Fisher Hall, Thanet Road, Bexley where the hall will be open at 7-15pm for setting up. The meeting will start at 8pm until 10 pm with a break for refreshments and the raffle at 9 pm and of course a chance to chat to old friends. Our speaker this month is Mr. Harry Townsend who will speak to us on "How to grow House Plants and Win" Harry was Assistant Curator at Kew Gardens for 14 years and then wrote for the Gardening News for many years. He will be bringing Sweet Pea Seeds with him named after his wife Myfanwy Townsend who sadly died of Malignant Melanoma in 1999. If anyone is interested in buying the seeds they will keep until next year. The seeds are also sold at Wisely where they planted a 40 yard hedge of them 3 years ago. Harry has recently walked the length of New Zealand with a wheelbarrow to collect money for his charity and succeeded in setting up a charity there for the disease with the $25,000 he collected.
Do try and enter the Rose Table Show, it was a bit of a washout last month , probably due to the fact that you had cut all your best blooms for the show and the very hot dry weather. Experienced and Novice classes each had sections for 1 HT Rose in a vase, 1 stem of a cluster Rose in a Vase, 3 miniature Roses in a vase. You may enter 1, 2, or all 3 classes in your section with 1 entry of roses from your own garden.
The Floral Art Table Show was very disappointing last month as there were no entries. Don't forget we do this section for charity and to try and help members have confidence to put exhibits into the Summer Show. The subject this month will be " A lazy Summer Day".
Summer Show
The Committee would like to thank everyone who put in entries, helped set up and put away and also helped in various ways on the day, and made those delicious cakes. We think it was a successful show, there certainly seemed to be more people through the doors than last year. We won't know for sure until all the receipts are in and bills paid. Entries were thinner on the ground than last year, probably due to the very hot dry weather but it was still a good sight to see and we are one of the last few Societies (certainly in the south) who hold an open show.
Garden Open Day
Mick and Brenda Andrews have once again agreed to open their garden to members and friends on Sunday August 14th from 1pm to 5pm. Entry £1 to include tea, coffee or a glass of wine. All proceeds to go to Prickles Hedgehog Haven. Mick has introduced some more very unusual plants into his garden this year so it is well worth paying another visit. The Address 200 Upton Rd South , Bexley. If wet please telephone first on 01322 524385.
The Rose Growers Calendar By kind permission of Don Charlton - July
1. Keep the rose beds tidy by weeding and disbudding. Watch out for insect and Fungal diseases.
2. Dead heading will be one of the main activities this month. Cut the spent bloom off down to an appropriate leaf node. Cut the stem at
about the second set of leaves down from the bloom, this will do for quick repeat flowering, or cut a bit lower down the stem if later better
quality blooms are required.
3. The third and last feed of the season ought to be applied this month. This should be well watered in if the weather is dry.
4. Continue to bud rootstocks, but ensure that the sap is flowing well beforehand. Bud wood of different and interesting varieties can
usually be obtained from Rose shows, but always ask for the exhibitors permission before taking any stems at the end of the show.
Dates for your diary
20th -24th July Tatton Park Flower Show Tatton Park Cheshire.
30th & 31st July Summer Gardening & Enfield & District Fuchsia Show, Capel Manor, Enfield, Mddx
13th & 14th September RHS Great Autumn Show, Lawrence & Lindley Halls, Vincent Square.
16th - 18th September Great Autumn Show, Yorkshire Show ground, Harrogate.
16th - 18th September RNRS Great Autumn Rose Show Yorkshire Show Ground, Harrogate.
17th & 18th September National Orchid Show, Vincent Square.
24th & 25th September Malvern Autumn Show, 3 Counties Showground, Malvern.
4th & 5th October Autumn Fruit & Veg Show, Vincent Square.
15th & 16th November Late Apple and Pear and Ornamental Plants show, Vincent Square.
Gardening jobs for July
If you grow Strawberries in your garden or on the allotment now is a good time to increase your stock. Select runners from the healthiest plants, taking not more than 6 from each plant. Press the plantlet nearest to the plant on each runner into a 31/2 inch pot of potting compost using a hairpin shaped piece of wire to hold the runner in place. Cut off the extension runners but still leaving your chosen new plant attached to the mother. Sink the pots into the soil around the main plant and keep well watered, and you will soon have lots more strawberry plants for next year.
Pruning should continue on shrubs as they finish flowering. cutting out some of the older branches to encourage new growth for flowering next year. Train in the growths of climbing plants as they develop to avoid one big tangled mess. If Clematis Montana has finished flowering it can be cut back as required to fill its allotted space. Having a J and a Y in the month , July is the summer month that you can prune your Wisteria. Cyclamen corms can be repotted and you can also take half -ripe cuttings from your shrubs.
"A Cottage in a Wood"
Ron Roffey has asked me to mention his new book on the history of the Hospice and how it has evolved over the years. The price is £6-99 and can be obtained from Hospice shops. If you wish to have a signed copy you need to obtain a green form and return it to the Hospice. Your copy will be sent to you postage and packing £1-75p or you can pick it up yourself free of charge, the hospice will contact you when it is ready. It is 10 years ago this month that Ron and Bill Bossom attended the launch of the Tender Loving Care Rose at the Hampton Court Flower Show.
Rose Table show for June
Experienced Miniatures 1st B. Rainsbury 2nd Eve Purnell
HT Rose 1st M. Downs 2nd L Beadle 3rd Eve Purnell
Points awarded B. Rainsbury 4 M. Downs 4 Eve Purnell 3 L. Beadle 2
Novice HT Rose 1st V Pulling
Points awarded V. Pulling 4
Ellenor Hospice Garden Scheme
Sunday 14th August St, Margaret, Manor Drive, Hartley. Parking advised in Berrylands.
Gardens open from 2pm to 5pm admission charge £2.
Greenwich and Bexley Hospice Open Garden Scheme
Sunday 14th August 6, Knoll Road, Sidcup.
Sunday 4th September 3, Selborne Road, Sidcup.
Gardens open from 2pm to 5pm.
Sunday 14th August entry £1
Sunday 4th September entry £2. Children 50p.
Sunday 18th September 2pm to 4pm. within the Hospice grounds Teddy Bears Picnic. An afternoon down in the woods with lots of fun and games for the little ones. A children's entertainer and a picnic box for each child. Entry by ticket only. Enquire at the Hospice or Hospice shops.
Secretary's Report on the June Meeting
Our speaker this month was Mrs. Elizabeth Farrar from Berkshire, and she spoke to us on the subject of Pansies, Violas and Violets. She told us that the original pansy was what we now call Hearts Ease. It was first noticed and collected by Mary Bennet of Chillingham Castle in Northumberland in the late 18th Century although it had been around for many centuries before that. She began to collect seed and cultivate plants which gradually developed the pansy face we know today, although a much smaller flower. Many more people became interested in the growing and hybridisation of the plants and this reached a peak in the 1870s. Competitions were held in the upstairs rooms of pubs which often became rowdy affairs due to the presence of the demon drink and also that one pansy was considered better than another.
Violas and Violets also developed towards the end of the 19th Century. They were very popular as a nosegay for a lady as they smelled so sweet, Eliza Doolittle sold Violets outside Drury Lane Theatre. Many American bred varieties of Violets don't have a perfume. They have been grown commercially in the Toulouse area of France for over a hundred years where they also crystallise the flowers for cake decorations and sweets. King George 6th grew 4,000 frames of Palma Violets at Windsor Castle but they don't grow any today. Elizabeth told us that if you receive violets through the post and they are a bit wilted pop them face down in a dish of water for about an hour and they will revive much more quickly. Violets have medicinal properties especially for throat ailments. They are also used in the treatment of Aids.
If you bring Pansies or Violas into the conservatory in pots, pop each pot into a slightly larger pot with a layer of Vermiculite in-between, keep this moist and your plants should do very well. Elizabeth brought a large selection of slides showing us how the plants had evolved through the ages from botanical drawings to photographs of the plants we know today which made for a very enjoyable evening.
Payment for holidays
Those who have not yet made their final payment for The Cotswolds Trip should do so immediately.
We also require the final payment for the trip to Hampshire no later than Tuesday July 26th, the next club meeting. Anyone cancelling at this late stage will have to pay the full amount to the Society and claim a refund from their own travel insurance as we have paid the Hotel and sent the rooming list.
All cheques should be made payable to Bexleyheath & District Rose Society and either sent to Janet or Vanessa (addresses at the top of the Bulletin) or paid in person on Club night.