Butterflies (19-1-15)
We all enjoy the sight of a butterfly in our garden—as long as its babies are not planning to eat our cabbages and other greens. But how much do you know about them and their life?
Where are they in the winter? Well some are probably in your garden. But what I didn't realise was that some will be eggs, some will be caterpillars, some chrysalises and some will even be fully formed butterflies! These different varieties will flutter into your garden when the weather gets warmer in order of maturity—starting with those fully formed butterflies hiding in your shed or garage.
And when they do appear, can you name more than four? Well the forty-odd people at tonight's Garden Club meeting will certainly be a lot more knowledgeable about butterflies than before the presentation by Bill Bacon.
Bill, a long-time local expert on butterflies, used superb photos to introduced us to the many varieties of butterfly that we can expect to see visiting our flowers, plants and local fields and woods this year—if we make the effort to look.
He told interesting facts about each of them and explained how the changing environment can have even dramatic effects on their population. Some have even returned to our locality after a century away—the variety, not individual butterflies!
As you look through the pictures of butterflies below, be aware that, in general, the lower down the picture, the rarer the butterfly. If you spot one of the rare ones, try and capture it on your camera; it may be returning to Cropwell Bishop for the first in decades!
Better still, find out more about butterflies and join in the "Big Butterfly Count" which will take place at the end of July this year. Go to: www.bigbutterflycount.org to find out all about it.
Tony Jarrow
Gardens in Japan (17-11-14)
We have been on a trip to Japan this evening: that is what it felt like at the Old School after Patsy Rayner gave her talk which had the full title: "The Role of Gardens and Nature in Japanese Life".
Patsy should know what she is talking about because after her son married a Japanese girl and went to live in Japan some 15 years ago, Patsy and her husband have visited the country many times to see the growing branch of their family—including three grandchildren, and at the same time, learn about the customs and history of the country. She has even learnt to speak a bit of Japanese.
Her talk to the Club was about gardens but members of the Gardening Club are now well aware that when the Japanese look at their garden, they see far, far more than we see. Where we see rocks and bamboo, they see mountains and waterfalls; where we see raked gravel and a pine tree, they see clouds and a reminder of the longevity of life.
It became clear that if we wanted to appreciate the joy that the Japanese gained from their own and public gardens, we had to understand more about the history, religions and values of Japan and, by the end of the talk, we did.
Tony Jarrow
Enjoying Water in Small Garden Spaces (20-10-14)
Mention the use of water in the garden and I immediately think of the watering can or the murky pool in the corner. Not much excitement in that, and anyway, how could you make a pool look good in a small garden? Surely the plants would get big and hide the water for a start.
Linda Smith of Waterside Nursery in Leicestershire, was the speaker at this evening's meeting of the Cropwell Bishop Gardening Club. There were 45 people at the meeting in the Old School, including several who were attending a meeting for the first time.
Even before the start, it was clear from the display of containers and plants that the technology of water in gardens has changed a lot over the last 10 years.
Linda used slides to show what could be achieved in even the smallest area of floor space—or even wall space.
She and her husband clearly have a lot of experience of advising and designing water into people's gardens and they also have had a lot of success: this year they won their 4th Gold Medal at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Applied Science has changed what is now possible when it comes to creating the sound, reflection, colour and size of plants of a water feature.
Nowadays the container can be made of fibre glass and be of any colour you like; the fountain can be solar powered; the plants can be miniature varieties of the their big pond relatives; water can be kept clear through the use of the right plants (or a few drops of a special liquid) and frogs, toads and newts can all be made welcome.
Look at the photos here, then visit the website (Waterside Nursery)—see if you are inspired to add water to your garden in 2015: I was.
Tony Jarrow
Kelmarsh Hall (16-9-14)
Sunday 14th September
Photos Mel Stanley
All you need to know about Bulbs—and much more (15-9-14)
If you are going to a talk by someone from a local garden centre, you might think you will pick up a few tips, but at this evening's Garden Club Meeting, members were probably wishing that they had videoed the Talk—there was so much interesting and valuable information coming their way.
Trudy Orme is Managing Director of Hollybeck Nurseries near Southwell. Dispel any thoughts of a desk-bound administrator; imagine someone who was probably born in a garden of plants and bulbs and never left it.
She has a great deal of knowledge of plants and growing but is an expert when it comes to bulbs. A regular exhibitor at the Chelsea Flower Show and a regular winner of gold medals is some reward for the effort she and her team at Hollybeck have put in over the years.
Hollybeck Garden Centre is highly rated but Trudy surprised us by saying that it is almost a hobby in comparison to the core business of Hollybeck Nursery and that is the growing and selling of hundreds of thousands of bulbs. It supplies other garden centres around the country and even exports Daffodil bulbs to Holland!
Through a colourful and lively presentation, Trudy conveyed her enthusiasm for bulbs and growing. As Club members left the Old School clutching their free sample of bulbs and a list of Hollybeck's Top Bulbs for 2014, I am sure many were already planning their trip to Hollybeck Nursery.
Tony Jarrow