NOTTINGHAM AND NOTTS
FUCHSIA SOCIETY
October 2017 NEWSLETTER
Cursed winds!!! I’m getting a little fed up with picking up fuchsias; throwing away broken plastic terracotta pots and dispensing with broken off branches. Storm Brian is the latest to hit the area, and although I know we could experience worse weather, high winds for me at the moment seem to do the most damage.
Anyway, I have been busy cutting back my fuchsias ready for when I finally put them undercover for the winter. I have been spraying them with Rose Clear and drenching them with a vine weevil killer, hopefully giving them the best chance of survival. As I am pottering around, I am also planning ahead and considering what I want to do in 2018.
Last meeting Jeff Bates talked to us about Colour in Winter and I don’t know about you, but I found it very interesting. I must admit, I am one who puts the garden to bed in winter, but Jeff’s talk really made me think, how I could make the most of my garden, even during those bleak winter months. Here’s some of the ideas Jeff came up with last month: -
POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN THINKING ABOUT WINTER DESIGN:
- Low Light
- Weather
- Less Light Intensity
- Location of flowers – where will you be viewing the plants from, kitchen window; from standing position?
POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN PLANTING:
- Specimen Plant
- Group Planting
- Background Plants
An example Jeff used was the following:
- Paper-Barked Maple (Specimen Plant)
- Cornus – Dogwood (Group Planting)
- Ivy/Bergenia – Evergreen plants (Background Plants)
Jeff continued by showing slides of plants from different well-known gardens and highlighting their winter qualities:
**Please note – I was writing very quickly and some of the plant names may be spelt incorrectly!
DOROTHY CLIVE GARDEN
Liguidamb(?) styraciflora
Mahonia ‘Charity’ (berries – good for wildlife)
Skimmia ‘Helen Goodall’
Callicarpa ‘Profusion’ (green berries turn to purple)
Carex
RHS ROSEMOOR GARDEN - CAMBRIDGE BG WINTER GARDEN
In Jeff’s opinion, this is the best winter garden around. There is winter colour from November through to March
ANGLESEY ABBEY
Winter Aconites (grown best under trees)
PAINSWICK ROCO GARDEN (Cotswolds)
There are 5 million snowdrops planted!
Carvings
DUNHAM MASSEY
National Trust property, outside Manchester
Winter Cyclamen (best effect when mass planted, in groups of 3 or 5)
Narcissus Rynveld ‘Early Sensation
TRENTHAM GARDENS
Hamamelis x Intermedia Palida – over 400 recently been planted, only 2 varieties planted there, looks very effective
LIST OF DIFFERENT SHRUBS/PLANTS WHICH WORK WELL IN A WINTER GARDEN:
TREES/SHRUBS:
Chimonanthus Praecox Grandiflora (winter sweet – highly scented, flowers from Christmas till end of February)
Viburnum x bodnantense Dawn (has longest flowering season; from November till June)
Salix contorta (twisted willow, has an orange/cinnamon coloured bark)
Pulmonaria Rubra (flowers January till May)
Viburnum Tinus (lovely shrub, although is plagued with the viburnum beetle)
Daphne Bholua Jacquelin Postil (scented)
Daphne Bholua Limpsfield (at its best in January)
Acer Griseum (paper-barked maple)
Prunus serrula (copper-bark cherry, very tactile)
Betula jacquemontil ‘Silver Chest’ (looks lovely underplanted a fragrant honeysuckle)
Acer Pennsylvanicum
Sorbus Acuparia Beissnen (cinnamon coloured bark)
Sarcocca ‘humilis’ (Christmas box, has strong fragrance, blessed with flowers and berries, ideal plant grown under deciduous trees)
Chaenomeles ‘Brilliant’ (flowers January – March, prune hard August/September)
Corylus ‘Colima’ (grown for its catkins)
Garrya ‘Eliptica’ (also grown for its catkins)
Prunus Incisa Praecox (flowers January, compact shrub, ideal for the garden)
PLANTS:
Cardiocrinum Giganteum (grown especially for their seedheads)
Galanthus Acantii
Galanthus Merlin
Galanthus nivalis lutescens (yellow stems)
Galanthus Plicatus (flowers twice)
Eranthis (best to plant ‘in the green’, plants give off heat in the winter which melts the snow)
Cyclamen coum (flowers January)
Hepatica trioba (flowers in February, low perennial, ideal for shade)
Crocus ‘whitewell Purple’
Iris ‘danfordiae’ (smells of honey)
Crocus ‘hommasinianus’
Iris ‘Kathryn Hodgkin’ (flowers in abundance)
Clematis cirrhosa ‘Freckles’ (flowers September through to April)
Clematis ‘Bill Mackenzie’ (fluffy seedheads)
Hellebores ‘Shades of Night’ (looks good in front of evergreen shrubs as a backdrop)
Hellebores ‘Orientalis’
Hellebores ‘Faetidis’ (best grown in complete shade)
Erica Darleyensis ‘Furzey’ (winter flowering Heathers, encourages the bees)
Erica Darleyensis ‘White Perfection’
Saxifraga ‘Maria Luisa’ (has been known to be in flower on Christmas Day, very small flower)
WINTER HANGING BASKETS – ideal plants to use:
Bacopa
Primrose
Polyanthus
Crocus
Snowdrops
Debrief from Derek Shaw following the Special Interest Group’ meeting on Sunday 15th:
The meeting started with a general discussion on the spread of Fuchsia Gall Mite and its treatment, cut down to ground level and the regrowth seems to be OK, in most cases. There are no products available to treat it even for commercial businesses. A 10% solution of mouthwash was suggested as a possible cure. Is the advisory leaflet issued by BFS sufficient to try and identify FGM or does an update need to be made about recognizing the problem at an earlier stage to help with control.
Christopher Harper spoke briefly about James Lye cultivars which led on to Naming of Species and how problems arose of labels being lost and the same plants being re- named as a NEW species. Some things never change as this still happens 150 years later.
The afternoon session was a talk/slide show by John Nicholass about his experience of growing under LED lights at different wavelengths of the light spectrum. Discussion followed from other members who had tried different light systems. John tries to get Fuchsias into flower for the Spring Malvern Show on the BFS stand.
An update on Hydroponics was given by other members and how plants get setback when transferring from water to soil. Experience of stopping dates for showing species, using rainwater for species and other interesting little snippets came up in the general talks amongst members for which plenty of time is given.
A good little group for anyone with an interest in the history of Fuchsias
URGENT APPEAL TO ANYONE WITH A ‘THELMA’ PLANT/CULTIVAR
Sid Garcia is reluctant to propagate from the new plant as there is a problem with Fuchsia Gall Mite (FGM) in Surrey/ Berks. area and in Essex/Suffolk. However, Jacksons have offered to propagate, if we can supply plants, so if anyone has a plant that they can donate, please let Derek or Lyndon know. Thanks
SOCIETY NEWS! - A.G.M & Christmas Buffet – 28th November 2017
Please remember that next month’s meeting is our AGM and remember to bring along some tasty treats for our buffet.
NEWSLETTER
If anyone wants any item included in the Newsletter, please let me know, either at a meeting, or phone me on Tel: 0115 8758928, or email: jayne.daykin@ntlworld.com I will gladly include any article or event in the Newsletter.
Also, if anyone would rather I send them an electronic copy, please let me know.
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FUNDRAISING
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