Cropwell Bishop Village Parish Plan

Harrogate (30-4-13)

What a fabulous day out our trip to the Harrogate Spring Flower Show was. There was something for everyone: a range of stunning show gardens, cookery demonstrations in the plot to pan arena – even a master class in dry-stone-walling.

As well as the specialist nurseries and plant society stands there were exhibitors displaying mouth-watering gourmet delights. The flower arrangers had been busy working their magic in the Floral Hall – the main attraction here were displays dedicated to Beatles' tracks and albums. So we had a yellow submarine, a Norwegian wood and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band to name a few. Other displays showed off the British Isles: Aran, Guernsey and the Scillies amongst them. And all around the most amazing display of daffodils and narcissi.

Even though the wind huffed and puffed and the drizzle descended, the band played on, ice cream was slurped and pies with exotic contents were downed with relish. In other words, a right good British day out was had by all.

Margaret Paul

Photos by Mel Stanley

Club AGM plus Birds in the Garden (15-4-13)

Since the formation of the Gardening Club in 2008, its membership has steadily grown and the range of activities it enjoys has also increased.

At this evening's AGM, chairman Judy Thomas gave a presentation illustrating the talks and trips that have been undertaken over the last 12 months. Over 35 members were there to enjoy the memories.

Treasurer, David Purcell, was happy to report that the Club was carefully managing its money and, as a result, there was money in the Bank to maintain the activity levels of the Club.

After a tea break, we were able to sit back and listen to a presentation by Angela Rimmel of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).

Members of the BTO conduct a continual watch on the birds visiting their back gardens. Because there are over 40 thousand of them around the country, their sightings provide scientists with valuable data to enable an analysis of bird populations throughout the UK during the whole year.

As a result, we now know that the most common bird in Nottinghamshire gardens is the Woodpigeon (no surprise there!) and that Goldfinches are more common here than the average British garden.

Tony Jarrow

Tips for 'Show Time' (19-3-13)

Did you win an award at the Horticultural Show last year?

If not, was it because your carrots had holes in them, your flowers were wilting or your cake was gooey?

Or was it because your beans were wiggly, your apples upside down or the eyes on your potatoes were not smiling—or did a creepy crawly slither out of your lettuce just as it was about to win first prize?

Mike Davey was the main judge at our Horticultural Show last year and last night he gave members of the Gardening Club an insight into how he goes about picking the best of the produce on show.

Clearly it is not an easy task and even after you have applied the 'Rules and Guidelines' to narrow the field down, the eventual winners might well be the result of unpolished grapes, runner beans facing the same way or a bed of parsley for the display of vegetables.

However, there were also words of warning: don't expect to get away with sticking a foreign stalk on the end of a blackberry, or whatever, to improve it's appearance: the judge knows all the tricks!

It turned out to be both a very informative and entertaining evening.

I am sure that we will all be more appreciative of the judge's efforts at the next Show and, if we win, be thankful that any insects lurking in the leaves, stayed there until the very end of judging!

Tony Jarrow

Photographing Your Garden (25-2-13)

When I asked Andrew Pennill to come along and talk to our Gardening Club I thought his presentation would be all things technical – f-stops, back lighting and depth of field – all the terms and procedures that have put me off buying an SLR camera for years. How wrong could I be! The evening turned out to be one filled with stunning images and hints, tips and snippets of good advice.

For example, when taking landscapes think about the position of the sun – usually broken cloud is preferable to blue skies because the shadows caused are not so harsh. Frame your image either with something physical (an archway or branch) or by using clever lenses for soft focussing extremities or creating a vignette. If you're trying to shoot wildlife you'll need plenty of patience – and it doesn't harm to have a handy stash of bait!

Andrew also spoke of the 'golden hour' – sunrise and sunset give almost perfect light levels. Consider the composition of the final photo using leading lines to journey through the image. The professionals sometimes divide the image into thirds with the main subject of the photo placed in the intersections (e.g. top third of sky, bottom third of foreground and middle third where the action is).

Add drama with the suggestion of movement such as glass reflections or swirling leaves. Add textures to subjects with frost or water droplets.

Try taking your picture from an unusual angle so that the viewer is challenged by the image. Be confident with the macro setting on your compact camera: when taking close ups try to avoid bright sunshine, hold the camera very steady (using a tripod or bracing against a wall) and use the focus lock to allow yourself a bit more flexibility.

Avoid the moody blues when photographing snow scenes – set the white balance (or scene mode) and this should get rid of the blue tint.

And, if all else fails, get yourself some photo-editing software – once you've seen the dramatic results that can be achieved, you'll never believe a photo again!

Margaret Paul

Bees and Christmas Social Meeting (26-12-12)

Ever wondered why the days immediately after a marriage are called 'honeymoon'?

Well, if you were at the Gardening Club meeting on 17th December, you would have found out as, once again, Sandra Hart entertained us royally with her fascinating gems of information about the folk lore surrounding bees.

Bees have been around since the dawn of time – even when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. They are mentioned in the Bible in the story of Samson surviving the wilderness on berries and honey from combs suspended on the ribs of a lion's skeleton. Honey has been found in the tombs of the Pharaohs as a symbol of the food they would need to sustain them on their journey to heaven. There are even drawings depicting men gathering honey using bundles of smoking grass to subdue the bees.

When somewhere is absolutely perfect it is called the land of milk and honey and when a person is deemed industrious they are called as busy as a bee. There exists a very close link between us and bees – we depend on them to pollinate the crops and grow our food. The closest relationship is the one between bee keeper and bees and the way hives are managed hasn't changed for the past 100 years. So, if you live next door to a bee keeper, don't be alarmed if you see them go down to their hives and knock three times before whispering a message – they're only wishing the bees 'Happy New Year'!

Once again, a jolly time was had by all, feasting on the goodies so kindly brought along by members for a Christmas Social.

This year the title of the quiz was 'Merry Berry' and Judy had assembled sixteen specimens for us to peruse during the evening. I must admit, they all looked red to me with the exception of the odd white and purple ones! The results were very close with the winning team guessing thirteen of the sixteen which was an amazing score. The prize was the Gardening Club Cup and a beautiful wreath covered in – you guessed it – berries!

Margaret Paul

Gardeners' Question Time (19-11-12)

It was a wild night for Colin and Karen Ward to make their second visit from their home at Swineshead Meadow Farm nursery near Peterborough and we were anxious that there may be a low turnout of members attending the Gardeners' Question Time session of Gardening Club – but we needn't have worried.

The banner on the side of their lorry states that Swineshead is a nursery run for plant lovers by plant fanatics. Just as well because the questions came thick and fast and our guests met all our angst with calm, considered responses.

The questions were many and varied, covering such topics as maintenance of containerised climbers, extermination of creeping ivy and, most topical, ash die-back disease.

Once again, Colin had brought along a lorry full of choice plants for sale – and many were tempted! He also brought some RHS accredited products which, whilst not hailed as miracles, would certainly help maintain our gardens in tip-top condition.

All in all, it was a very informative evening full of wit and wisdom giving us plenty of ideas to mull over while we wait for spring to return.

Margaret Paul

EXTRA: Tendrils on Niger?
John Greenwood is trying to identify a mystery plant in his garden: can you help?