Bexrose Bulletin

November 2004

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.D.Taylor,

Other Committee members:- Mr. R. Jones, Mr. R. Pulling, Mrs. D. Carr, Miss V. Rochester, Mrs. D. Lemon, Mrs. M. Cornell, Mrs. J. Dyer.

Web Site:-       http://home.btconnect.com/cadoss/bexrose

Email:- cadoss@btconnect.com

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Next meeting Tuesday 23rd November 2004 at St John Fisher Hall, Thanet Rd. Bexley.

This will be our last meeting of this year and  we have Peter Christian-Lau to speak to us about Bonsai, he will also bring trees to demonstrate. If you have been given a tree as a present and don't know what to do next, come along and find out. The hall will be open from 7-15pm and the meeting will start at 8pm until 10pm. We will have our usual break for tea and a chat and the raffle at 9pm. We still have items of trading at reduced prices and back magazines are sold in aid of Prickles Hedgehog haven. If any member has excess produce from their garden or allotment and wish to donate it we can also sell this in aid of Prickles. No Rose table show this month but there will still be Floral Art to brighten up the back of the hall. There have only been one or two entries in recent months so lets make a big effort as it is our last meeting before Christmas and make a "Christmas Table Decoration", proceeds for this section go to Prickles so lets give the little chaps a happy Christmas.

Obituary

We have heard recently of the death of Marjorie Simmons who attended meetings regularly when we were at Bexleyheath. She had travelled to Germany to attend the funeral of her son when she suffered a stroke and later died. Our condolences to her family.

Rose Growers Calendar for November by kind permission of Don Charlton.  

1. Continue tidying, light pruning and firming ground around roses.

2.          2. Your new rose bushes should arrive this month, If the ground is not waterlogged or frosted and you have the time, your new bushes can be planted directly into the prepared beds. The plants should be well watered in. If weather or time does not allow you to plant the bushes immediately then they can be temporarily "heeled in".

3.          3. Any roses in pots should have their roots protected from frost for the winter period. Some miniature roses in the garden are sensitive to frosts, particularly if they have a shallow root system. Covering miniature roses, likely to be affected by frost, with straw or cloches or similar insulation until the end of February will pay dividends.

Winter Bedding Plants

Winter bedding plants will once again be on sale at the trading table. If there are any Pansies left from last month they will be 25p each (they went like hot cakes) The Polyanthus are now ready, also potted up and growing on 30p each.

Rose Table Show for October

Experienced

Miniatures                  1st    Mrs. D. Lemon

Points awarded          Mrs. D. Lemon   4

Final Points                1st   Mr. B. Rainsbury 26                   2nd    Mrs. D. Lemon   14

Novice

HT                                1st    Mrs. J. Bovis                  2nd   Mrs. E. Purnell               3rd   Mrs. V. Pulling

Floribunda                  1st    Mrs. E. Purnell

Miniatures                  1st    Mrs. E. Purnell

Points awarded          Mrs. Purnell   10                      Mrs. Bovis   4                          Mrs. V. Pulling    1

Final Points                1^st     Mrs. V. Pulling    19        2nd   Mrs. Purnell      15         3rd   J. Miller  6          

                                      R. Dowdall 5                            T. Cox  4                                    D. Cox  4

Results of Floral Art for October

1st      Mrs D. Lemon   75 coins    2nd    Mrs. E. Purnell   60 coins   3rd   Mrs. J. Newton  36 coins

Total collected for Prickles Hedgehog Haven £4-29p. Money collected from sale of magazines and produce  £5-40p Total collected this month £9-69p

Gardening tips for November

Its still not too late to get the winter feed onto your lawn. Rake up all fallen leaves as these will damage the grass if they lay in a sodden heap. Put them on your compost heap or bag them up with a few handfuls of Garrotta, make a few small holes in the bottom of the bag and you will be surprised how quickly worms will get in and start the composting process. Some Clematis need to be cut back this month but do check which varieties you have. Vitcellas can be pruned back to 12ins from November onwards. Put some pea netting over your pond and stake it down, this will stop most of the leaves getting into the water and you will have clear water next year. If you have frogs make sure you leave their entry and exit path clear of the net and check it often as they tend not to see the netting and make a dive into the middle of it and then flounder around. Now is the time to prune fruit trees and bushes, dig over the vegetable patch and plant your Lilies. Also carry on planting trees and shrubs.

Secretary's Report on the October Meeting

Our old friend Dr. John Hughes came to speak to us on Delphiniums and kept us amused with his humour and some good slides of  some wonderful plants, many of which are grown at Swanley by Duncan Maglashan. 
The Greeks grew Delphiniums 2000 years ago, the name being latinised for "Little Dolphin", the florets having the appearance of a dolphin.  They are found growing in the wild from the Balkans to China, Siberia, East Africa, and America. We have only one native plant in Britain, a deep purple, which  resembles Larkspur, a family member, but we probably have the best climate to grow the plants well.

In the 18th century French nurserymen started collecting the seed from a bright blue plant that grew in the Pyrennies. Kelways of Langport started to hybridise for blue, mauve, purple and indigo. Later Charles Langdon of Bath met a Mr. Blackmore and they teemed up to grow Delphiniums from seed

( they were collecting up to 4 million seeds a year) and their nursery is now the countries leading Delphinium nursery.

If you are trying to grow plants from your own seed, keep them in the fridge, this  keeps them fresh, then start them off in February or March. As soon as the plants are big and hardy enough you may plant out. Plant in a well drained area, they don't like to be waterlogged. Delphiniums are ferocious feeders so they will do well with Sulphate of Ammonia or Fish,  Blood and Bone. Protect in spring with slug pellets.

To grow from cuttings you must cut the shoots right down into the crown where the stems will be solid and not hollow as further up the plant. The thinner the cutting the better the plant will take. This should be done in August. These can be planted in 3" pots in Perlite. When they are growing well,. pinch out the tops to help them bush out. Any plants that are not robust can be discarded as they will never improve. Purple plants are susceptible to mildew, some plants have crown rot in the centre and can be split, taking the infected part out.  Sometimes Cucumber Mosaic Virus can attack your plants, they will appear yellow with stunted growth, it is best to dig these up and burn them. From Blues, Purples and pinks the nurserymen are now experimenting with creams which emphasises the black eye that all florets have.

Delphiniums are usually grown at the back of borders because they are between 4 and 6 feet tall but there are dwarf varieties coming on line now which look good throughout the border. John gave us a very entertaining and interesting evening, lets brave the slugs and snails and have a go at growing some seeds next year.

Norfolk Lavender

The first stop on our trip to Norfolk was at Caley Mill, Heacham, the home of Norfolk Lavender. We were too late to see the fields but our guide told us all about the process and took us into the drying sheds and distillation sheds. It seems that Lavender was brought to Britain by the Romans and was used by them for its healing properties, mixed with honey it is very good for burns.  They also discovered that it was a good insect repellent,  keeping aphids away from other crops and could soothe a troubled brow. They also burned Lavender as a sacrifice to their Gods.

Norfolk Lavender is a family business started by Henry Head and his sister Lyn Childers in 1919.  They bought the old flour mill and the surrounding fields because the soil was sandy and free draining, just the situation that Lavender loves. They started off with 33,000 cuttings from France which took 5 years to mature and be ready for processing. Queen Mary soon became a regular customer, often having dried lavender sent over to Sandringham.  Horace Avery a Cambridge Chemist became involved in the business when it was decided to go into the distillation side and after much experimentation advised on the best plants to use. 7 varieties are now grown commercially, 5 for distillation and 2 for drying.  In 1934  Queen Mary was invited to watch the first distillation. A quarter of a ton of Lavender makes 1 pint of oil and 1 gallon of oil is worth £5,000. The crop is cut at the end of August or the beginning of September, 3 or 4 acres being cut by hand each day and 10 acres cut by the harvest machine which was on display. Nothing is wasted from any of the processes, the left over chaff and stalks are composted back onto the fields. From small beginnings the farm now covers 130 acres 50 of which are  leased from the Sandringham estate.  They hold the national collection, keeping 120 varieties, many of which you can buy in their nursery.  The farm also grows cricket bat willow and there was an attractive rose garden, patio garden, Mediterranean garden, pond and a fragrant meadow to wander round together with a herb garden next to the tea lawn.  

The shop was full of all manner of things made with Lavender and the restaurant boasted Lavender Scones and ice cream. Sadly the weather was pretty awful when we arrived but cleared up at lunchtime so we were eventually able to have a mooch around the grounds. A most enjoyable visit for everyone but I came away with a head ache as I am allergic to Lavender. Oh well, there always has to be one awkward one!!

More Bexrose History       From Jack Elliott

With reference to the letter from Frank Boardman published in our  September Bulletin.

I also joined the Society in the early days after my wife saw a notice advertising the meetings.  I was already starting to grow roses, encouraged by an Uncle who was a member of the National Society. It wasn't long before I was able to give the late George Turley a lift to the meetings and all the other rose shows that we used to go to.  He was a wonderful old gardener, full of knowledge about flowers and vegetables which he passed on to me. When he died his wife gave me one of his roses, which he had grown and produced called Bob Collard. It was named after the gardener and Broadcaster on Radio Kent who used to come to the Society and give some excellent talks. The rose, a bright red, is still going strong and every time we pass by we think of a great gardener.

(NB  The Society used to enter exhibits in the Society section of many of the big shows. Jack and George would be joined by Walley Skinner, Jack Steele, Sid Burch and others to put on a magnificent show which had stripped  virtually every bloom from the gardens and allotments of many Society members. The award cards won at these shows can be seen on Summer Show day in the Archives. ) (Secretary.)

If any other members have reminiscences of times past please let us know and we will be glad to print them. 

Pamper yourself

Call Circaroma on 0207-359-1135 for your nearest salon and pamper yourself. You can have a rose petal body wrap costing from £65. This consists of a body scrub to make your skin receptive to the treatment, then your therapist will apply a rose serum to your body and a rose and lemon mask to your face. She will then cover you with rose petals and then wrap you in a warm blanket. Sound asleep already? No! Well you will be after the body massage. What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon and a great Christmas present for the girl who has everything.

The Ladykillers

One of our best friends in the garden is the Ladybird, beloved by adults and children alike, but it seems  they are under threat from a bossy cousin from the continent ( well that's nothing new ).  The Harlequin Ladybird has lots of spots and comes in colours ranging from black spots on orange wing covers to big orange or red spots on black wing covers. Most also have a distinctive M or W shape  between their head and wing covers.There are about 40 species of native British Ladybird, the orange with 2 or 7 spots are most common but some are yellow with black spots or even black with yellow spots.

The Harlequin originated in Asia and was introduced to North America in the 1970s as an environmentally friendly alternative to pesticides. They proved a little too hungry, eating up all the pests in site and starving out the indigenous species. When there was no food available they started on Hoverflies, Lacewings and Butterfly eggs, all insects that are good for the garden. Their numbers are also growing in France, Belgium and Holland and one has recently been discovered in Essex. In America they have become a problem to humans too as they swarm into houses seeking warmth for the winter. If stressed, they release oily foul smelling yellow blood from their legs which stains carpets and fabrics and can trigger allergic reactions, they can also bite humans.

If you come across any of these foreign hooligans, pop them in a clean container such as a match box or camera film case and send them to Dr Michael Majerus, Department of Genetics,

Cambridge University, CB2 3EH.

Hedges for  wildlife

In Yorkshire 10 forward thinking farmers are taking part in the SAFE project. (Safeguard the Arable Farmed Landscape.) For hundreds of years and certainly during the Roman occupation Britain's farms had been divided into small fields with hedge and stonewall boundaries and plenty of trees. Then came the era of big is beautiful and thousands of miles of hedgerows were dug up to make large fields suitable for large farm machinery. With their habitat shrinking at an alarming rate, wildlife, and birds in particular began to suffer when their breeding areas and food supply disappeared.

On these Yorkshire farms each farmer receives £7 a ton premium from the Asda Supermarket chain, who will sell produce with the RSPB assured logo. The premium covers conservation guidelines set up by the charity.  They must grow 15 hectares of spring crops instead of winter ones, allow ground nesting birds to raise families in peace and cut hedges only once every 3 years. This will increase the populations of  farmland birds, animals and beetles and may help to reverse the free falling farm incomes.

Regionally,  hedges vary in shape, size and content. In Yorkshire you will find a mix of hawthorn, blackthorn, dog rose, dogwood and holly which provides good cover for nesting birds. On Exmoor beech is popular and in Cornwall, wall faced banks are covered in bramble. Hedges were not originally intended as homes for wildlife but as boundary markers.

The farmers in the scheme don't think they will profit greatly as it is costly and time consuming and will make it harder for their cereal crops to compete against the prairie style farming of Australia and America. But they are willing to see the 3 year trial through. If the consumers are willing to support crops from bird friendly farming through schemes such as this one then the farmers are willing to give it to them. Our countryside will be improved with more hedgerows and our wildlife will hopefully be restored.   

Autumn at Exbury

When we think of Exbury it is always of springtime and the glorious displays of Azalea's and Rhododendrons. On visiting again last week on a free ticket from our spring visit we were amazed to find the gardens still a riot of colour, but of a different kind. Acers and Maples together with Silver Birches and Limes have been planted at strategic spots that you wouldn't notice all year but come into their own just now.  Turn a corner and you are hit by a mass of red and orange foliage, look down into a dip and you are captivated by yellows, browns and reds taking your eye forward to a water feature. Look through the greenery of the Rhododendrons and there are more beautiful autumn colours. This year seems to be another good autumn for colour, a rarity in England so perhaps we appreciate it more when it happens, but at Exbury they have planted the correct species trees in the best places to achieve the maximum effect. The day was just as breathtaking and enjoyable as in springtime.