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                                         NOTTINGHAM AND NOTTS

FUCHSIA SOCIETY 

FEBRUARY 2019 NEWSLETTER 

 

MY MONTHLY GARDEN DIARY – FEBRUARY

FUCHSIAS

  • I continued to check my fuchsias and began watering them sparingly with tepid rainwater which had been collected from the top of my growhouses (see below).
  • I am pleased that some of my 1st year cuttings are still surviving.

 

GENERAL GARDENING

22 Jan

  • I finally dug up the main root of my yucca and busied myself getting out as much of the small roots as possible.
  • I trimmed back my ivy which is growing prolifically everywhere in the garden – you wouldn’t believe it was actually an indoor plant!
  • I rejuvenated my Heucheras.  I had one growing in a big 20” diameter plant pot.  It had lifted itself out of the soil, so I have divided the plant and repotted. Inow have approximately 12 plants.
  • Bob filled up more empty pop bottles with rainwater which has settled on the top of my grow houses. I am storing them in my greenhouses so that the water warms up – ideal to water my fuchsias with. I read an article in Garden News which advised that it is better to paint the bottles black as it attracts heats. As a compromise, we are leaving the labels on.

23 Jan

  • I prepared 3 seed trays (which I had won last month on the raffle) with a mix of compost & vermiculite and put in the front cold frame to warm up.
  • I cut back more dead foliage.
  • I checked on the sowing times of the seeds Bob bought me for my birthday – too early to sow.
  • I potted up some loose tulip bulbs which I had found laying around in the garage.

26 Jan

  • I participated in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. I got the checklist ready which RSPB had sent out and equipped with a pen and a hot mug of coffee, I eagerly awaiting the first sign of bird activity.  No sooner, had I settled down, than I saw a bird fly over, ‘that looked like a Bird of Prey’ I thought to myself, ‘I won’t say anything to Bob, he won’t believe me’.  Then, shortly afterwards, a bird landed on the fencepost at the bottom of the garden.  It was indeed a sparrowhawk.  I called Bob who was overjoyed (he likes Birds of Prey), me, on the other hand, was not so, realising I wasn’t going to see another bird in the garden! I was not wrong!  I tried again on the Sunday, but the strong winds meant that no birds flew into the garden.  Not Happy!

9 Feb

  • Following the high winds, I had to repair a couple of greenhouses, reinforcing the poles.
  • I decided to sow some hardy annual seeds in the prepared seed trays: sweet peas; aster; onion seed.
  • I dug up more of the invasive white bells in both the front and back garden.
  • I sowed some cat grass, which very quickly germinated – just need to encourage ‘Dippy’ our resident cat to nibble away – it is meant to help with their digestion.

23 Feb

  • I have begun to mulch my borders, front and back with farmyard manure.  I am sure the plants will appreciate this, especially the roses.
  • What lovely weather we’re having in February! It was time to go round to my mum’s and together we made a start on her garden.  I weeded her drive and potted up a climbing winter jasmine whilst my mum checked on her plants in the greenhouse and potted up some primroses and some violas which she had bought at one of our many visits to a garden centre (can’t remember which one!)

24 Feb

  • Mum and I had a trip to Repton as there was a garden open under the National Garden Scheme (commonly referred to as the ‘Yellow Book’). Tea and cake was provided, much appreciated after marvelling at the many snowdrops, hellebores and crocus there was on show. It was a very big garden, including a vegetable plot, a wildlife garden, woodland area. Plenty to see on a lovely sunny afternoon!

 

FLORA AND FAUNA SOUTH AFRICA – PART 2 – PETER COOKE

Peter started visiting South Africa through work and soon fell in love with the flora and fauna. He advised the best way to see some fantastic views was to travel via cable car. Generally the summers are wet and the winters are dry and there are circa 20000 indigenous plants.  Some are very well known over here in the British Isles:

 

Agapanthus

Erica

Eucomis

Gladiolus

Kniphofia

Nerine

 

There are 10 Botanical Gardens in South Africa. Peter shared slides and talked about 3 gardens: -

 

Durban Botanical Garden

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Karoo Desert Botanical Garden

 

 

 

  • Check out new cultivars for 2019
  • Check fuchsias in greenhouses – water sparingly. 

 

Top Ten Most Popular Show Plants - 2017 & 2018(kindly put together by Carol Gubler – see Fuchsia News – winter 2018 for full report)

 

        2017                                                                                                    2018

1    Lynne Patricia                                                                                              Anne Reid

2.   Lyndon                                                                                                          Lynne Patricia

3.   Anne Reid                                                                                                    Shatzey B

4.   Shatzey B                                                                                                      Walz Jubelteen

5.   Toby S                                                                                                            Lyndon

6.   Alison Patricia                                                                                             Angela King

7    Angela King                                                                                                  Toby S

8    Lillian Annetts                                                                                             I’m in Charge

9.   London 2000                                                                                                June Marie Shaw

10. Boogie Woogie                                                                                          Lillian Annetts

 

 

JUDGES WORKSHOP/SEMINAR – 7th APRIL 2019 – 10.30a.m – 3.30p.m

1st workshop is to be held in the West Midlands – Fairfield Village Hall, Fairfield, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, B61 7LZ. It is open to Accredited Judges, National Stewards, Trainee Judges and anyone interested in becoming a Judge. 

 

If you are interested please can you let Arthur Phillips know by 30th March 2019 

 

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. 

Remember: It is YOUR newsletter.

 

FUNDRAISING

 

The easiest way for all internet users to help raise funds for our Society is simply by every time you search the Web you use easysearch.

 

Easysearch combines results from Yahoo!, Windows MSN Live Search and Ask.com in one simple search, the address is http://nottsfuchsia.easysearch.org.uk  Please try it and encourage others too. Don’t forget if you make any purchases on the internet, to go through our webshop to make sure we receive commission from the retailers (currently over 2000 well known retailers), the address is http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/nottsfuchsia .

 

Derek purchased a new freezer through easyfundraising and earned the society £5.00                                                 

 

26 Mch

Monthly Meeting: Heather Taylor talking on ‘Roses’

 

30 Mch

Long Eaton & District Horticultural Society SPRING Show (100th YEAR) - held at the United Reformed Church, Midland Street, Long Eaton.  10.00a.m to 3.30p.m.  Staging – 7.15a.m – 8.45a.m                                ADMISSION FREE

7 Apr

Judges Workshop/Seminar – Fairfield Village Hall, Fairfield, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, B61 7LZ – 10.30a.m – 3.30p.m

23 Apr

Monthly Meeting: Trevor Strickland talking on ‘Fuchsias My Way’

 

28 May

Monthly Meeting: Geoff Smith talking on ‘Fuchsia Standards’

 

25 June

Monthly Meeting: Dave Staines talking on ‘Begonias for Showing’

 

  

 

Remember our next meeting

Will be

Tuesday 26th MARCH 2019

 

HEATHER TAYLOR

ON

ROSES

WANTED

 

If anyone has been searching for a long lost fuchsia, then why not ask your friends at the society!  The Noticeboard will now be on show at our monthly meetings.  Complete form and attach to the noticeboard. Simple!  

 

Please use forms already provided in previous newsletters or there will be some near the noticeboard.

 

 

During our November 2018 Committee meeting, we asked ourselves: -

 

  • what can we do to encourage more members?

  • what do our members actually want from their society?

     

    We then realised that we needed your help and your input so would really like you to think hard about the following questions and come up with some really great ideas.

     

Should we consider changing the society’s name to make it more general and if so what can we change it to?

e.g. Nottingham & Notts Fuchsia & Horticultural Society (ideas below please)

 

How else can we promote our society?

A.

 

 

 

 

 

What topics would you like to hear more about at our monthly meetings?

A.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If we changed our meetings from evening to afternoon, would that encourage more members?

A.

 

 

 

 

 

Would you participate in any future trips, if these were to replace a monthly meeting for example?

A.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We plan to discuss further at this month’s meeting.