Journal. From Bake Off to Tulips.

August 25th Bake Off.

Three generations of my family have entered various classes of the village show over the years.

From the website “The Village Show has been running since  August 1862, when the first Hanley Castle Horticultural and Flower Show was organised by the gentry of Hanley Castle Parish.  The aim was  “to encourage horticulture among the cottagers, and to stimulate them to neatness and order not only in their gardens but their households.”

It still takes place each year in August, but it is now organised by local volunteers.   Entry is open to all amateurs living in or around the Parish.

This year there was a cake class for Bara Brith, a Welsh fruit tea cake. I made two of these for our open gardens this year so inspired I decided to enter one into the show. I was delighted to win third prize. ( There was more than three entries!)

https://www.hanleyparish.org/village-show.

September 3rd. Out Boxed.

Box blight is a fungal disease, Cylindrocladium buxicola, which affects boxwood plants. There are now some treatments available which I have used in the past with mixed results. Having lost the four lovely box cones last year, when I saw the early signs, as in the picture below I decided to remove the hedge. It will be interesting to see if the roses on the other side do any better now, I have been disappointed in the development of these David Austin roses William and Catherine, I even considered replacing them.

September 14th Full of Promise.

I grow plants from seed each year, often trying new ones. These are some of this years that will overwinter in here to either go into the garden or be potted on for sale on open days. New this year are Agastache rugosa, Achillea rubra and Delphinium requienii. I discovered this Delphinium on a video of a garden in Tuscany designed by Arne Maynard. With the Italian weather we have experienced this summer I am hopeful it will enjoy life here!

October 6th Welcome.

This was the last National Garden Scheme open day for the garden this year. It was a glorious sunny day which encouraged a good number of visitors. We had a record number of visitors this year with over £4000 raised during the four days for the charity. This could not be achieved without the support of family and friends. The charity is donating a record £3.8 million pounds to nursing charities this year.

October 13th Feeling Fruity.

Inspired by my success at the village show I have continued cake making. With so many apples this year there has been a common theme. Dorset apple and Chunky apple with ginger cake featuring, ideal with an afternoon cup of tea. With such a huge crop of Crab apples, I made some crab apple jelly. While it is very nice, a lot of work for one and a half jars.

October 19th New Love.

Many of you will know from reading my blog that irises are a growing love of mine in the garden, not least because I have some heritage varieties from my grandparents’ garden.

I am a member of the West Midlands Iris Group , they held a Talk & Lunch on this day. The speaker this year was Claire Austin, who is an Honorary member of the group. Her talk was entitled ‘My favourite irises and how I grow them’. Claire has been growing and exhibiting iris for a good number of years.

A club member brought some Iris ‘Susan Bliss’ roots, free to a good home. I love the colour and without this variety I brought three home. These are now potted up to grow on before planting in the garden.

November 1st Winter Warm.

The insulation in the greenhouses had deteriorated to be of little help in protecting the plants from the on coming winter weather. This meant emptying them to install some new bubble insulation. The succulents are housed in one with the pelargoniums in the other. With both being sensitive to the cold there are thermostatic electric heaters in them so the insulation helps to reduce the electric required to keep them frost free. If we have a very cold spell I also have some fleece to put over the plants.

November 16th Succulent.

I recently watched a Instagram video from Old Court Nurseries.on how they prepare their succulents for the winter. This was new information to me so I have lifted some of mine to clean them and remove any soil, dead or rotten leaves, sometimes using tweezers, then cut off the roots, storing them in seed trays in the dry. There are more I could do when I have some time.

November 28th Floored.

The floor in my open-sided potting shed had gone rotten, even though it was made from treated timber. One day I sat on my stool to do some potting and the leg went through the floor almost tipping me out onto the path. I took this as a sign it needed repairing! Fortunately, a carpenter lives near me and he did an excellent job of fixing new treated boards along the front, then I treated them all with a wood preservative just to be sure.

As always one job leads to another, the top of my homemade potting bench was going the same way. This was within my capabilities so I replaced the top and stained it in the ‘Estate’ colours of Wild Thyme. All ready for the new season.

December. A Rose By Any Other Name.

In the blue border, there is a rope swag planted with clematis, climbing roses and one rambling rose, May Queen. Planting this rose was a mistake it is too vigorous for its position. In my defence, it was in the discount area of a garden centre, and I purchased it with my heart not my head. After debating whether to remove it over the last couple of years I decided to grab it by the thorns and remove it this autumn.

Several years ago I saw the climbing rose ‘Creme De La Creme’ flowering in a friend’s garden and was instantly smitten adding it to my wish list. As a replacement, I ordered a bare-root one from Tevor White Roses, a small family nursery I have used many times. This will not be planted in exactly the same position due to the risk of rose replant disease. Picture from Trevor White Roses website.

Tulip Mania.

From Wikipedia:

“Tulip mania in 1636 was a period during the Dutch Golden Age when the prices of tulip bulbs skyrocketed due to speculation, reaching levels comparable to luxury goods. This economic bubble dramatically collapsed in February 1637, marking it as one of the first recorded financial bubbles in history.”

The collapse was caused by the unusual flower markings that everyone was chasing, these turned out to be caused by a virus so it was not a characteristic that could be fixed.

Today we have a different virus with tulips to contend with, tulip fire, Botrytis tulipae. If your tulips become infected they wither, look distorted, usually failing to flower. If the virus infects your soil you cannot grow tulips there for at least three years. This is why many gardens choose to buy new bulbs each year. I have seen it in second year bulbs fortunately they were in pots so the bulbs and compost could be thrown away. Planting tulip bulbs late when the temperature is low helps to prevent tulip fire.

Last year I grew mainly Dutch Hybrid varieties, said to be perennial. I am using these bulbs again in pots to see how they preform.

Dutch Hybrid tulips last year.

Two new ones this year are Prinses Irene, which I have grown many times. Completely new is Lasting Love, which a friend was writing about how beautiful it is and how it had a special meaning for her.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Gardening Year.