Indoor Meeting: Talk by Peter Skeggs-Gooch "Different Ways With Clematis"

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Written by: Cherry Williams

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Clematis "Liberty"

Clematis "Pixie"

Peter Skeggs-Gooch

A talk by Peter Skeggs-Gooch. HPS 12 January 2019

Clematis are such a diverse genus – a collection of climbers, scramblers, herbaceous and evergreen plants flowering all through the seasons that they lend themselves to be used in ways other than the climbers we know.

Companion Planting with another shrub or climber gives them the natural support they need and extends the season of interest. Roses, Conifers, Wisteria, Honeysuckle and Trachelospermum are good examples. Choose colour combinations carefully.

Manmade Supports can screens areas, add height to the border, disguise buildings and fences. Obelisks, walls, porches, tennis courts you can train Clematis up anything.

Cut Flowers, Table Arrangements and Bridal Bouquets. To use the flowers seal the stems with an open flame and put in cold water, they will last for 14 days or so, the large flowered varieties don't last so not advisable to use.

Clematis in Pots. Not all varieties are suitable, some are bred specifically for this culture. Soil in a 2ft diameter pot should be 50/50 John Innes and Multi Purpose, the smaller the pot use more JI to MultiP. Remember to feed. Peter's favourites: Crystal Fountain, Pixie, Liberty and Taiga.

Ground Cover and Herbaceous. These Clematis are non clinging. They make good ground cover or let them scramble naturally over plants and shrubs. Peter's favourites: Arabella, Durandii, Cassandra, Integrifolia vars, Aromatica.

Late Season Flowerers. These Clematis extend the season up to October. Peter's favourites : Gravetye Beauty, Duchess of Albany, Princess Kate, Margot Koster, Venosa Violacea , Redheriana.

Visit www.thorncroftclematis.co.uk for their full catalogue

Norfolk and Suffolk Group HPS Summer Social 2018

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Written by: Chris Davies

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28th July 2018

Sue Bulbrook had been persuaded to host the Summer Social after having held her daughter’s wedding reception in their beautiful garden, last Summer.

Since this year started with a long period of snow, excessively low temperatures, then a great deal of rain, Sue was already struggling before the 50+ days of drought immediately preceding the event.

The first rain, several hours of it, occurred on the day before, and it was slightly showery while we were setting up on the morning. However, the sun shone, the caterer  arrived and members were welcomed with a glass of wine or home-made elderflower ( from Sue’s own shrubs), or other cordial before roaming round the garden and meeting other members.

We had provided members with name-badges, requested by a fairly new member, and useful to many of us who remember faces, but not names, unless, of course, they are plant names.

Sue had been complaining bitterly that her garden was not as colourful as she would have liked, - and it certainly wasn’t as orange as it was two years ago when we were last there,-  due to the vagaries of the weather. Without that background knowledge, the garden was still interesting in its layout and design, the plant associations and colour-schemes, as well as the textural relationships between foliage, stonework, and  containers.

The stepped terrace, directly outside the back of the house, with groups of tables and chairs, provided vantage points for members to admire the immediate groups of colourful and varied plants in pots, and the collection of Japanese Acers and others on a tiered stand in a shady corner. From there, we could glimpse inviting pathways between the shrubs and flower beds to hidden glades beyond.

There were a number of large trees in the garden, providing shade, and green lawns - an unusual sight for many of us just now. A degree of excitement was caused by a sudden cracking sound when a large branch of an old Acacia tree broke and swung, hinged by an edge, fortunately not close to anyone, but giving Judy Wilson a near heart-attack.

The lunch, of delicate canapés was enjoyed by all, but perhaps mostly by those who got there first!

We had a plant stall, for which some members brought fresh plants. Other than that, they were the ones being nurtured ( or otherwise) by Linda and me, and we were very grateful to members who bought them, helping us to fund-raise for the Group.

A newish member brought some pots of seedling Lapeirousia, also known as Anomotheca, and apparently correctly known as Freesia laxa, ( but don’t quote me there!). Several members examined them in perplexed interest. I was rash enough to buy some. ( See separate note).

After lunch, Linda called the raffle, for which we had plenty of donated prizes, all of which, I trust, went to good homes.

There was then time for a final scan of Sue’s interesting plants, a brief wander, and, for several members, an excursion into Sue’s husband, Lee’s,  mystical Workshop, where he, with the mind of engineering scientist, worthy of the title of  ‘inventor,’ showed some of his projects and equipment.

Starving members, and their passengers, came round to my garden for a cuppa and a cheese roll before facing the drive home.

The general feeling was that Sue’s garden was better than anybody had a right to hope for and a good day was had by all.

Since numbers of members attending were half what they have been in recent years, the committee would be interested in changing the format to suit more members.

Did you consider it too expensive?

Was it too soon to visit the same garden again?

There was a suggestion that an evening meeting, perhaps later in the Summer, would attract more members. An earlier one would suit, if John and Brenda were organising the holiday in another month, than June, 

if a lot more members were prepared to contribute food, it would be feasible to return to our old ways, but for just the committee to do it is too much work, we don’t get to take part in the event, and we can’t produce enough food, given reasonable expenditure of our voluntary time. 

Tell us what you think.

Chris Davies.

 

               

                                  

 

Garden Visit: Batteleys Cottage, Wortham, Suffolk

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Written by: Chris Davies

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11th August 2018

 Members were welcomed to the garden by the owners, Linda and Andy Simpson, on a bright, warm day, just after the ‘changeable’ weather had set in, following the weeks of drought.

Linda said that she had a special announcement to make, and proceeded to explain that, after having moved there in 2010, and spent the subsequent years clearing and developing the garden, they had begun to open, and raise funds for the NGS. She had waited to see how many of us would turn up and pay the entry fee, and was delighted to tell us that our contribution had taken their fund-raising to over £10,000.

About 30 members joined the visit. From the first, there were beautiful little groups of plants, adjacent to the front door, and every little corner and nook. As we rounded the house, a charming typical Suffolk cottage, but with the individual character that develops over time, the view expanded across a lawn, with a central bed, notably stocked with pink and white cleome, and a metal sculpture.

   

From the lawn, surrounded by interesting plantings of shrubs and perennials, a number of pathways disappeared into the surroundings, although the eye was taken round the periphery by regular splashes of Orange flowers, in pots, set on the edge of the borders.

Everywhere, as we wandered between the plants, there were places to sit and look at a peaceful  view, or the pond, or noisy bird-feeders. Linda and Andy had placed a large pot of Zantedeschia aetheopica in the pond. This was actually floating, although the pot was submerged, and caused a few of us to doubt the evidence of our own eyes, as we saw it gently drifting across the pond, presumably prompted by goldfish nibbling around the roots.

  

Those of us who like variegated plants were attracted by a clump of Lysimachia clethroides ‘Geisha’, with its pretty, crooked spikes of white flowers and pale cream variegated leaves, and also a bright crimson Phlox, with variegated leaves, P. paniculata ‘ Mary Christine’, with much stronger colour in the flowers than the better-known P.’Norah Leigh’. Both the Lysimachia and the Phlox were growing next to plain green versions of the same plant. Linda owned up that the plain ones were reversion from the variegated, but she had separated the clumps, and they made an interesting contrast with each other. There was also a smart clump of a very pale-leaved variegated persicaria, providing lovely contrast to the green growth nearby.

     

    

The little pathways led to varied parts of the garden, several in shaded areas, perhaps with an atmospheric, mauve clematis, draped through the trunk of a tree, or a Lutyens-style seat, with clumps of early-flowering cyclamen, in pink or white, blooming against the shiny, black leaves of Liriope nigrescens. There were hostas and ferns in the shade, and heliopsis and echinacea in the sun. A glint of sun on the water picked out a stream, with the sound of a cascade, behind another well-placed seat, chosen by a couple of discerning members to enjoy their refreshments.

        

In many places there were surprising little artefacts, all adding to the sense, as one member put it, that this was very much a personal garden.

Linda and Andy had individual vegetable gardens, and the piles of logs, both old and overgrown, providing homes for small creatures and insects, and the smart, fresh ones, no doubt storing fuel for the Winter, added to the individuality of the garden.

      

To complete our visit, there was a large table and chairs, shaded by an umbrella, on the lawn, and another large table near the house, where members could enjoy their tea and choice of delicious cakes and reflect on the lovely day and well-planned garden stocked with interesting plants, of which, Linda knew nearly all the names.

        

Chris Davies