Heyford Gardening Club – April 2020

Our March meeting featured a talk by Andrew and Anita Thorp who have a nursery specialising in snowdrops. They have a thousand varieties of this popular bulb, some varieties of which command eye watering prices! Andrew gave us an explanation of the “chipping” method of propagating snowdrops and narcissi. Anita also showed us some of the plants that flower at the same time as snowdrops and can complement them. We also held our annual daffodil and narcissus show which this year attracted a good display of blossoms.

The large flowered section was won by Pauline Litchfield, Anne Haynes came second and Pauline Guglielmi third.

Chris West won the small flowered section, John Dunkley and Val Jackson tied for joint second place, but there was no award for third place.

The bi colour section was won by Pauline Guglielmi, John Tapsell came second , and Rosemary Dunkley and Chris West tied for third place.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak we are suspending meetings for the time being. Hopefully we shall be able to resume our programme before too long.

At the present moment we have a lovely display of bulbs and other spring flowering plants in flower in pots about the garden. It is often a temptation to try and continue this display through the summer, but the memory of last year when I seemed to spend most mornings heaving watering cans around has put me off. I shall try to stick to the minimum number of potted items this year; some succulent plants that don’t mind drought, a few lilies that I find are amazingly tolerant and don’t do well in the garden due to the lily beetle (growing in pots and repotting each spring gets rid of any over wintering pupae). Pelargoniums are also less demanding of water so I may keep a few of those. Last year I bought a blue convolvulus from Coton Manor which produced a wonderful show without much attention, and that has made it through this last mild winter so I shall keep that going as long as possible. If I can resist temptation, I may save myself a great deal of work this summer, but then I say that every year.

Things to do in April
1. Sow hardy flowers, vegetables and herbs
2. Feed roses and shrubs
3. Keep an eye out for late frosts

Mark Newstead

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www.heyfordgardenclub.com

For more information visit the Heyford Gardening Club & Allotments page

Heyford Bowls Club – March 2020

NetherHeyfordBowlsClub

Indoor

A good turnout of 21 players contested the ‘THE DAVID JULAND PRESIDENTS CUP’ on Saturday 8th February. The eventual winners after a hard fought final were Jean Cullin, John Dunkley and Peter McClean over Gill Guglielmi, Barry Cole and Roger Schofield by a score of 9 to 3.

An excellent result in our ‘WARDINGTON LEAGUE’ match was a win on both mats over Boddington with a combined winning score of 57 to 10.

The ‘LADIES PAIRS’ Competition will be played on Saturday 14th March at 1pm for 1.30pm. Entrants as usual via the notice boards.

Members’ support has been good in maintaining attendances at our Wednesday bowling sessions.

Den Taylor

For more bowls club information please visit our website:

www.heyfordbowlsclub.co.uk

Heyford Gardening Club – November 2019

At our October meeting we had a talk from Malcolm Dickson of Hookgreen Herbs who gave us an insight into the exigencies of running a herb nursery, no doubt disillusioning anyone with dreams of having their own little nursery. There was also a wide range of herb plants and seeds for sale.

The evening also featured a competition for the best Autumn Arrangement. The winner was Rosemary Dunkley with a colourful display which was even displayed in a pumpkin shell! Mary Newstead came second with Anne Haynes and Gil Guglielmi in joint third place.

Our next meeting will be on the 11th November when we will have a return visit from Caroline Tait who will tell us about her work at Longwood in Philadelphia.

Breaking the rules
In gardening many jobs have to be done at the right time, but sometimes I find that we have more freedom than you might expect. This year in June I had some gaps that needed filling and I had some annual seeds left over. The instructions on the packet said sow in April, but I went ahead anyway, and the result was a good display of flower in late summer and autumn.

In the past I had always struggled to grow leeks, finding them difficult to establish from sowings in the early spring as advised. One year having seed left over in May I sowed it in the vegetable patch, and found to my surprise that the seedlings grew lustily despite dry and hot conditions and made decent plants for the winter. I have done this again each year since with the same result. I wouldn’t win any prizes with the plants but they are fine for the kitchen. Leeks are obviously tougher than you might expect. Sometimes a bit of experimentation can pay off.

Cyclamen
I have been growing hardy cyclamen for some years now, and have been keeping the special varieties in pots in an unheated greenhouse. Last year owing to shortage of space I released some plants into the garden. These have prospered beyond my expectations, no doubt helped by the hot, dry summer this year which would have been like the conditions they would experience in the Mediterranean area where they originate. Recently I have noticed drifts of seedlings appearing next to the mature plants. They may look delicate and dainty but they are bruisers and can tough it out with the biggest weeds when they are somewhere they like.

Some Things to do in November
1. Clear up leaves from paths and ponds (but don’t be too tidy!)
2. Plant tulips in pots or beds
3. Put grease bands on fruit trees to stop winter moth
4. Plant winter bedding.

Mark Newstead

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www.heyfordgardenclub.com

For more information visit the Heyford Gardening Club & Allotments page

Heyford Gardening Club – July 2019

Our June meeting featured a fascinating talk by Steve Brown on bonsai; a form of gardening which verges on an art form. I always think of it as extreme topiary.

Rose Show

Despite the tempestuous weather there was a good showing for the rose show with 57 entries.

Pauline Guglielmi won the single flowered class, Brian Jackson came second with John Dunkley and Tony Clewett in joint third place.

In the cluster flowered class Jill Langrish came first, Pauline Guglielmi was second
and Val Jackson, Rosemary Dunkley and Anne Haynes all tied for third place.

The perils of perlite

Following advice in the RHS magazine I have over the last few years added vermiculite to multi purpose compost for sowing seeds and taking cuttings. This proved extremely successful producing plants with vigorous root systems which established very quickly. Last year however instead of vermiculite I used perlite which, I assumed, would do the same thing. However I experienced a lot of difficulty; seedlings germinated quickly enough but then failed to develop properly and cuttings just didn’t root.

I can’t be sure that this was entirely due to the perlite, but having gone back to using vermiculite again, the results have improved significantly. This illustrates the principle that in gardening apparently small variations in conditions can make the difference between success and failure.

Weird Weather-again!

Following a baking Easter, a freezing May, and no rain for months suddenly the
heavens have opened and given us the whole summers rain in a few days. It’s a
wonder that we can grow anything!

Some Things to do in July

1. Dead head roses, bedding plants and perennials to get more flowers.
2. Pick courgette’s before they turn into marrows (unless you like marrows)
3. Water and feed plants in containers

Mark Newstead

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www.heyfordgardenclub.com

For more information visit the Heyford Gardening Club & Allotments page

Heyford Gardening Club – May 2019

At our April meeting we expected to welcome the return of Patsy Rayner, but unfortunately due to a family illness she was unable to attend so Mike Langrish and Tom Dodd put together a presentation on the Community Orchard and the improvements that have been made (and are still being made) to Heyford’s allotments.

The evening also featured our annual tulip bench show. For once the weather has been good for us and there were plenty of entries with some impressive blooms on show.

The large flowered section was won by Pauline Guglielmi, John Dunkley came second and John Wilson came third.

The Small flowered section was won jointly by John Dunkley and Val Jackson, and Jill Langrish got third place.

Our next meeting will be on 13th May when someone from Branch Out MK will talk to us about “Helping People to Grow Through Gardening”.

April is the cruellest month…
At time of writing we’ve just experienced an odd week of weather. After the unseasonable warmth in February the last few days have featured nightly frosts and sunny periods with cold air. These sort of conditions can be very challenging for gardeners damaging fruit blossom and early flowers; it has even pinched shoots of ivy and box. If you like me are growing plants in an unheated greenhouse it is important to keep one eye on the weather all the time as failing to close the house up at night can risk losing tender plants to cold while not opening them during sunny spells can cause the temperature inside to soar to damaging levels despite the chilliness outside. Apparently next week will be much warmer; perhaps I will be able to start sowing the tender crops for the summer after all.

Some Things to do in May
1 Repot cacti, succulents and house plants.
2 Divide and replant spring flowering bulbs
3 Keep a watch for lily beetles and viburnum beetles

Mark Newstead

www.heyfordgardenclub.com

For more information visit the Heyford Gardening Club & Allotments page

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