Cropwell Bishop Village Parish Plan

Nature's Firework Display (3-11-10)

Sunday 31st October at Westonbirt Arboretum and Nature's Fireworks in all their Autumn glory were enjoyed by 57 members of the Cropwell Bishop Gardening Club and friends from Radcliffe.

Driving through the picturesque Cotswold countryside we did wonder if the colours of Autumn could get any better at Westonbirt—yes they could!

Dating back to the 1850's, the Old Arboretum with it's carefully designed landscaping, offered beautiful vistas, stately avenues and a host of rare and exotic trees from across the globe.

Silk Wood was an altogether different experience. At it's heart, a traditional working woodland dating back to the 13th century. Quiet paths offered the opportunity to escape for hours.

Spindles, chestnuts and, of course the stars of the show, Japanese maples, set the Arboretum ablaze with reds, oranges and yellows.

The child in us couldn't stop having a good shuffle through the deep leaves...... I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Judy Thomas

Note: The pictures below were provided by Judy Thomas and Jim Robinson.

Roses all the way……Tesco to Toronto (18-10-10)

Members of Cropwell Bishop Gardening Club could be excused from feeling jet-lagged by the end of the meeting held on 18th October.

Ann Bird, former President of the Royal National Rose Society and currently a director of the Society as well as European Vice President of the World Rose Society, delivered a presentation highlighting her passion for old fashioned roses. Her meteoric career as a rose aficionado began simply with the purchase of four pre-packed rose bushes bought at her local Tesco supermarket.

Ann freely admitted that she knew nothing about gardening let alone specimen rose growing but, by dint of trial and error and a whole lot of effort she has reached the pinnacle of achievement in the world of the rose – a very male-dominated world at that. She explained how she had devoted her whole garden to roses growing over 200 species in total. Her success she puts down to listening avidly to the old-timers and absorbing wisdom wherever she can – and also to a whole load of cow dung (7 tons a year to be precise!).

In her capacity as international judge she has visited every continent. On a whirlwind tour we saw pictures of garden centres atop Japanese department stores, a replica of the Crystal Palace containing a rosearium in Gothenburg, stunning displays in Baden-Baden and 30,000 orange roses in the public gardens of Buenos Ares (and all of them supplied from the UK). We even saw a 'bed of roses' specially designed for Hampton Court Flower Show.

Ann also told us about the Society's fascinating archives of photographs and artefacts dating back to its foundation in 1876 but admitted concern for the future funding of such work. However, with such an enthusiastic ambassador on their side, the Society surely can't fail to thrive.

Margaret Paul

Wildlife love wild parts of Cropwell Bishop (20-9-10)

Got any ideas on what you can do to attract wildlife to your garden? Members of the Gardening Club now have lots thanks to Janice Bradley's talk at the Old School this evening.

Janice is in charge of the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and gave us lots of tips for attracting all kinds of creatures into our own back gardens—no matter how small. Many of the ideas she has tested in her own garden here in Crowell Bishop and she is no stranger to hedgehogs under leaves, seven pairs of sparrows in a bush and a grass snake slithering out of her pond.

The countryside is becoming more hostile to wild animals and the actions of householders can have a significant effect on the survival rates of a great many native species. You can help by sowing a few wild-flower seeds, leaving some corners of your garden 'wild' and feeding birds when natural food supplies are scarce.

Tony Jarrow

Harlow Carr - hurrah! (24-8-10)

Sunshine all the way!

On Sunday morning, 22nd August, we could not believe our luck with the weather as we boarded our coach, laden with coats, waterproofs and umbrellas—that were never used.

Cropwell Bishop Gardening Club were joined by members from Radcliffe on Trent for another great day at RHS Harlow Carr, Harrogate. In this RHS garden there was just so much to see in the four hours.

The main borders with their contemporary planting were truly inspirational( even if one bed would be the size of our entire garden in Cropwell!) with wonderful planting of textures, form and colours.

Strolling through the woodland and wildflower meadows was so tranquil and peaceful.

2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity and much in the garden reflected this with trees, shrubs, ponds, hedges and a great range of plants providing the perfect home for pollinating insects and wildlife.

I am sure that Cropwel Bishop School Gardening Club would just love to visit the Teaching Garden.

A BIG THANK YOU to Sue Ward and Deb Brookes for organising both the visit and the weather - and here's looking forward to Westonbirt in October.

Judy Thomas