horticultural february 2015dwcvhortsoc.org/news/hortsocnews_feb15.pdf · john negus, has recently...

the newsletter of the DW&CVHS

February 2015

DOGMERSFIELD

WINCHFIELD

& CROOKHAM VILLAGE

HORTICULTURAL

Reminder…!!! This year’s Flower Show & Fete

Geoff Hawkins’ delightful garden - winter talk 15th Jan

Contents

The DW&CVHS Newsletter

President: Mrs Pat Silvester

Chairman: Brian Leversha tel 01252-615534

Please contact the Membership Secretary with any queries relating

to membership of the Society:

Steve Thirkettle

tel 01252-684067

e-mail [email protected]

Please send all contributions for the newsletter to the editor:

Paul Gray

tel 01252-617175

e-mail [email protected])

From our Chairman…..…………………………………..……….…………………

Forthcoming Events at the WI Hall.….……...…….….……………..

Future Garden Visits 2015…………………………………………………….

Non-Member Entry Fees - Why the Increase? .…………

Reports on Winter Talks………………………………………………………..

Membership Application/Renewal..……………………………………….

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DW&CVHS February 2015

From our Chairman

The Society has been through a

successful year, especially with a

good turn-out for the Flower Show

and Fete. This was helped

significantly by the sunny weather

on the day.

The talks ‘season’ started in

September and meetings were held

each month thereafter including the

very popular Christmas Quiz run by

Angus and Barbara Cairns.

One of our regular speakers,

John Negus, has recently had a

heart operation and we wish him a

speedy recovery. Another popular

speaker, who gave a talk in January,

is Geoff Hawkins and I would like to

point out that Geoff has clocked up

ten talks with us over the last ten

years on numerous subjects.

I must make a plea for

members, or friends, to please

consider joining the committee as

we have lost five members due to

illness and several moving away. This

leaves the option of other

committee members trying to cover

these duties but there is only so

much we can ask of them. My worry

is that this problem could lead to

the end of the Society which I am

sure we would all want to avoid. The

tasks are not too daunting and the

meetings are constructive and fun;

if you are interested, please ring me

on 01252-615534.

We are working on getting

the Flower Show set up for the 18th

July this year. This date is prior to

the schools breaking up so we are

hoping to get a lot more entries in

the children's classes; sadly, they

have been pretty low in recent

years.

For the Show we have

managed to book a sheep dog (and

ducks) demonstration for the main

arena event. We will also have the

fun games again run by the

irrepressible Mike Shearer.

Urgent - Your Society Needs You! We are in urgent need of some help to compile the Show Schedule for this

year’s Show. The job entails compiling the entry requirements for the Show,

together with advertisements, such that the document can be passed to our

printers. This document is essential for the success of the Show and is dis-

tributed to several thousand households prior to the Show. If you think that

2


Forthcoming Events at the WI Hall

Evening talks take place in the WI Hall in Crookham Village, starting at

7.30pm For those who need directions, the WI Hall is located at the rear of

the Crookham Street Social Club - post code GU51 5SJ for satnav users.

Please park on the gravel area by WI Hall, not on the Social Club’s tarmac

area. These social evenings are very popular, helped along with a glass of wine

(or soft drink) & food provided free of charge!

The current cost for the evening is £2 for members (no charge for the

AGM). Non-members are welcome and are asked to contribute £3.

Forthcoming winter talks (& AGM) are as follows:-

12th Feb 2015 Alan Grace ‘ENSA’ (Every Night Something Awful) - the

story of the start of the Forces broadcasting system.

12th Mar 2015 AGM (Agenda inside back cover)

9th Apr 2015 Brian Fisher ‘Potage Gardens’

Hampshire dog trainer Terena Plow-

right has been working sheepdogs

for the last 30 years and is known

and recognised across Hampshire

and the South East. Over the years

Terena has worked sheepdogs on

farms with up to 2,000 sheep and

has also given many demonstrations

at country shows with her dogs.

Sweep works with ducks,

turkeys and sometimes sheep, to

demonstrate the ski l l and

intell igence of the working

sheepdog. Using a variety of

New Arena Event for this year’s Show

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Future Garden Visits 2015

telephone: 01252 622684 or email:

[email protected]

Our Visits Organisor, Angus Cairns, is currently planning further garden

visits for this summer. When we have more details, members will be informed

by e-mail. We will attempt to contact other members, who are not on our

e-mail list, by alternative methods.

Please note that it is in the interests of both the Society & members that

they can be contacted by e-mail. If appropriate, please contact our

Membership Secretary by e-mail ([email protected]) to

Angus has made the following

bookings for visits:

Tuesday 12th May 2015

The Manor House, Upton Grey

(Gertrude Jekyll Garden)

Entry fee £7pp (+£1 for a cuppa)

A few words from the owners: “Just

over 30 years ago this historic

garden at Upton Grey, was nothing

more than an unkempt jungle. What

we didn't realise when we bought

the property was that underneath

the jungle were the foundations of a

very special garden, indeed one that

Gertrude Jekyll had designed in

1908 for a house belonging to

Charles Holme, a leading figure in

the Arts and Crafts movement. The

work on this garden’s restoration

has been an exciting and rewarding

adventure of discovery.”

Thursday 4th June 2015 (2 pm)

Tilford Cottage Garden. A creative

and artistic owner - featured in a

recent television programme on

gardening.

Entry fee £6pp (+£1 for a cuppa)

A few words from the owners:

“This is an invitation for you to

The Manor House, Upton Grey

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come, visit, photograph or just

simply enjoy the gardens, where

with all year round interest there is

always something to be discovered.

There are surprises around every

corner at Tilford Cottage Garden.

Winding pathways lead in and out of

beautiful displays of unusual plants

and flowers. There are hedges that

have been sculpted to add some fun

and interest and various works of

garden sculpture created by Rod

Burn. Rod has a studio here where

you can see an eclectic collection of

paintings, photography and glass

fusion.

Whatever you do we hope you get as

much pleasure from our gardens as

we have in creating them.”

Monday 6th July 2015 (2pm)

Gilbert White’s Museum, Selbourne

Entry fee £7.50pp. This includes

museum entrance (garden only visits

not allowed). David Standing would

be prepared to escort us around

the garden for an additional group

charge of £30.

From the website:

“Enjoy a lovely day out in Selbourne

at Gilbert White's House and

Tilford Cottage Garden

Gilbert White’s Garden

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Garden & The Oates Museum. You

can come and go as you please once

you've paid to get in.

The museum itself has been

brilliantly restored to how it would

have looked in White's day, and it

serves to celebrate important

individuals in the exploration of the

natural world. You're invited to

observe White's original handwrit-

ten manuscript, the Natural History

of Selbourne, which is now one of

the most printed books in the

English language.

The Oates Museum commem-

orates Victorian explorers, Frank

Your committee would welcome further suggestions for visits, for 2015 or

future years. Please contact any committee member, or our Visits Organisor

Angus Cairns, with any suggestions you have. Angus can be contacted by

Non-member entry fees - why the increase?

As most of you will have realised,

for 2014 we increased the non-

member cost of entry to our annual

Flower Show & Fete from £3 to £5

for adults (with free entry to un-

der-16s as before).

The previous entry fee (£3)

has been in place since 2009;

however, the costs of putting on

the Show continue to increase and

we have therefore, reluctantly, had

to reflect this in our entry fees.

During and after last year’s

Show we received a certain amount

of feedback which made it apparent

that many people were unaware of

the costs of running the event.

Since we have not previously

published the details we thought it

would be worthwhile to provide a

précis of the balance-sheet so that

our reasons for increasing the entry

fees can be more readily under-

stood.

Firstly, it should be noted

that there has been a downward

6


trend in adult non-member

attendance at the Show. Levels of

sponsorship have also declined in

recent years - perhaps not surpris-

ing in the present economic climate.

Our major cost is for hire of

marquees, tables and PA system at

£3,400. Public Liability Insurance

costs another £900. The total

expenditure, including items like

children’s events, amusements and

other attractions, is circa £6,650.

Gate entry income for 2014

was £2,450 out of a total income

(from the Show & Sponsors) of

£5,360.

The bottom line is that the

Society has to provide in excess

of £1,000, from an annual income

of circa £1,500 from membership

fees, to subsidise the Show. This

makes it more difficult to fund

other membership benefits during

the year; for example, our talks and

RHS affiliation and discounted entry to RHS Gardens

All bona fide gardening clubs and horticultural societies with an annual

membership subscription are eligible for affiliation to the RHS. Such clubs

and societies should have a remit to promote horticulture at a local level,

should hold regular meetings and/or hold an annual show.

The DW&CVHS meets all these criteria and is affiliated to the RHS.

One of the benefits of affiliation is the opportunity to purchase Garden

Reduced Price Entry (GPRE) cards.

GPRE cards can be used an unlimited number of times during the year and

grant up to two people a 30% discount on the normal adult entry rate at any

of the four RHS Gardens (except Wisley on Sundays).

Members of the DW&CVHS might like to know that the Society holds two

GPRE cards for use by our members.

The cards are held by our Membership Secretary, Steve Thirkettle, and can

7


Reports on Winter Talks

History of Magic

by Robin Maddy (11th Sept 14)

Catering kindly provided by Sue Smith Our first talk of the season and

what a brilliant start and good

attendance.

Robin Maddy gave us an

education in the history of magic

and enthralled us with his magic

tricks.

Sincere thanks to Angus for

researching this talker and giving us

all such a fun and entertaining

evening. We were still talking

about it a week later and I for one

cannot get my head round the rope

trick. I saw him cut it and drop the

Gilbert White’s House

Gilbert White’s Garden, Selborne

by David Standing

(9th Oct 2014)

Catering kindly provided by Donna

Gray

Gilbert White (1720 – 1793) was

born in Selborne and attended

school in Basingstoke before, at the

age of 19, attending Oriel College at

Oxford where he became a Fellow

in 1743. He was a great naturalist

and his book “The Natural History

of Selborne”, first published in

1789, has never been out of print

since – quite a record! He was also

the Curate of Selborne for most of

his life. Sadly there are no

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portraits of Gilbert White other

than an eccentric pencil caricature.

Our speaker, David

Standing (Head Gardener), first

became interested in Gilbert White

when he took an odd job in June

1979 whilst he decided what to do

after university. He is still there

now and considers it to be a very

special place. In fact Selborne has

changed little over the years; it is in

a conservation area, where the West

Downs join the North and South

Downs.

Apart from foliage and tree

growth the view seen by Gilbert

White is still apparent today.

David over the years has

become an expert on Gilbert White,

looking into every detail of the

journals. David told us that Gilbert

White had been very interested in

horticulture and he kept a ‘Garden

Calendar’ from 1751 to 1771 and

then later his ‘Naturalists Journal’.

These writings were extremely

detailed and included quantities and

types of plants grown, their location,

The Church Crookham Gardening Club

sales hut in the Memorial Hall car park

off Sandy Lane (opposite the Wyvern

pub) will be open on Saturday mornings

between 10–12.

In addition to their own members, sales

are available to DWCVHS members on

production of a current DWCVHS

Canna Durban

9


the date and time of planting, the

weather, barometric pressure and

many other observations.

Gilbert White had two

great friends - Thomas Pennant and

Danes Barrington both of whom

were distinguished naturalists; they

encouraged his interest and

observations and letters were

frequently exchanged between

them.

Gilbert White loved

Selborne and was keen on garden

acquisition. He regularly bought land

when he could from surrounding

properties paying five guineas for a

quarter of an acre in 1760. He also

borrowed the surrounding landscape.

The person who owned the bulk of

the land nearby was an absentee

landlord hence no one objected to

Gilbert White invoking his ideas. He

made the famous Zig Zag walk, on a

nearby hill, with a seat. He also

installed several hermitages to

break up the landscape and give

focal points all on land he did not

own. He also got ten men to push his

forty foot barn up a hill to improve

the view! During GWs tenure of the

property he made an Orchard Walk,

and at least two Ha Ha’s. He did not

have any of the current problem

they suffer with deer entering the

Volunteers Needed

Show Schedule compiler - required to collate

Show entry requirements and produce Schedule

ready for printing.

Showground Manager - required to plan and co-

ordinate the arena display and showground layout.

Head Gardener David Standing

10


For info, the web site of Crookham Village Parish Council (CVPC) contains a

link to information about the Horticultural Society, kindly updated by David

Jackson. From the CVPC Home Page, click on ‘other contacts’, followed by

‘local societies’:- http://www.crookhamvillage-pc.org.uk/index.htm#CVPC.

Members please note that current copies of the newsletter are only

distributed to paid-up members of the Society. Up-to-date newsletters are

therefore not available for non-members to read via the website. However,

garden and eating the plants as

there were a lot of poachers in

those days.

A great friend of Gilbert

White was William Kent (a landscape

garden designer before Capability

Brown but in the same style).

William suggested to Gilbert places

where they could put urns, obelisks

and statues to improve views across

the garden. Although Gilbert was

quite poor he wanted to instigate

these ideas and to this end placed

terracotta urns on wooden plinths.

Gilbert asked an artist, John

Carpenter, to paint a twelve foot

high picture of Hercules on a board,

which they cut out and put on a

plinth as an economical statue to be

viewed through six field gates!

Gilbert also had a mound made on

which he had erected a swivel seat

made from a Port barrel to enable

him to view all around the garden.

There is also a Cedar of Lebanon

planted by Gilbert from seed all

those years ago. Gilbert also inherit-

ed a tortoise called Timothy from

his Aunt and he enjoyed watching

this animal and did experiments to

better understand it’s habits.

Since David has been

working in the garden he has

tirelessly tried to re-create Gilbert

White’s garden using old journals

Trachycarpus Fortunei

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It is in the interests of both the Society & Members that they can be

contacted by e-mail. If appropriate, please contact me by e-mail to confirm

or add your e-mail address so that the membership database can be

and paintings. Fortunately there is

much information including early

Ordnance Survey Maps which show

the precise position of trees.

Flowerbeds have been designed and

include daisies, calendula and small

trees.

Gilbert White did not have

a greenhouse but managed to grow

melons and cucumbers in a sixty foot

long heap of fresh manure which was

borrowed from neighbours and then

given back to them when it had lost

its heat.

The household was fully self-

sufficient with fruit and vegetables

growing, cardoons, apples, pears,

medlars, quince, purslane, cabbages

etc. As for flowers, David has had

the benefit of ‘The Gardeners Dic-

tionary’ of 1731 and this has enabled

him to trace plants that would have

been around at the time of Gilbert

White. Flowers are now common-

place in the garden and include

French and African Marigolds, Cam-

panula, Convolvulus, Curled Mallow,

Sweet Pea (Painted Lady small and

heavily scented), Hollyhocks,

Roses, Gold Laced early Polyan-

thus, Chimney Bell Flower, French

Honeysuckle, White Wild Fox-

gloves, Sweet Rocket, Crown Impe-

rial Lillie’s, Viburnum Tinnus, Tulip

Tree and Giant Reeds from Gibral-

tar.

At the end of David’s talk he

answered questions and kindly

agreed to give us a personal guided

tour around the garden next sum-

mer when we will be able to pur-

chase seeds and plants. We will

also be able to view the house

which includes The Oats Muse-

um.

Donna Gray

Exotics in Surrey

by Jack Salway (13th November 2014)

Catering kindly provided by Sue

Smith

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We were entertained by Jack who

came to talk to us about his garden

with many superb photographs.

Jack is a retired eminent medical

biochemist with a keen interest in

exotic plants. He is also a member of

Hart Male Voice Choir. Jack has

lived in his current home for thirty

seven years and has developed his

garden over this period. Originally

he was looking for a garden with a

house that was easy to manage. This

he found in Chiddingfold. The ground

is very wet clay soil with sandy

material on top and consists of a

steep-sided wooded valley fairly

frost free with a micro climate

where he can grow all sorts of

amazing plants. He does have a little

help in the garden and believes in

mulching, using some slug pellets and

protecting fragile plants which are

put to bed in the winter.

Jack’s interest in exotics

started when he bought his first

Gunnera and he then moved on to

Cannas. He now has a garden wor-

thy of the Gardeners’ World team

who have visited him recently to

make a programme, which may be

shown next spring.

Jack explained that Brug-

mansia’s are easy to grow taking

cuttings in September at any level

up to 5 or 6 feet high, placing them

in water for a couple of weeks when

roots will start to develop. Doctura

or Thorn Apple also grows well,

these seeds can be dormant for 60

or 70 years and were thought to be

the work of the devil as there was

such sporadic growth, and the

white flowers are quite insignificant.

Tree Ferns are another type

of plant that does well in damp hu-

mid conditions, each winter they are

covered up either with their fronds

or a large flower pot if very wet and

the fronds appear in May growing

some three inches each year. Palms

are extremely hardy down to -

20oC especially Trachycarpus For-

Buckingham Palace Gardens

(Aug 2014)

Donna & I spent a very pleasant

afternoon exploring parts of the

Palace itself before moving on to a

guided tour of the gardens. The

garden tours are very well organised

and the groups are fairly small giving

everyone a good chance to hear

their knowledgeable guide’s

commentary.

13


There are two Union flags on the

roof of the palace and during gar-

den parties there are two identical

orchestras playing. The two flags

are used to indicate to each orches-

tra when it is their turn to play,

thereby providing a seamless conti-

nuity of play.

An interesting fact is that

the gardens are only staffed by a

full-time crew of eight.

Two plain trees, called

Victoria and Albert, were planted in

1850, the branches appearing to

embrace each other in a way

demonstrating the couple’s love for

each other.

The herbaceous border is

over 140 metres long and 5 metres

wide and is south-facing and hence

good for tender plants. There are

also some wild exotics such as

banana trees with big, waxy leaves

and ginger plants. The banana tree is

apparently chopped right back every

winter to protect it.

The border area of the

gardens was used as a vegetable plot

during both WW1 and WW2 as part

of the ‘dig for victory’ campaign.

Having paid a visit in August

last year I thought it might be

worth ‘putting pen to paper’ to

encourage others to visit this most

wonderful garden. At the time, we

hadn’t anticipated Alan Titchmarsh

recording a documentary covering a

year in the life of the gardens, and

recently shown on terrestrial TV.

However, the following notes may

still be of interest:-

The gardens cover an area

of 39 acres. 37 Indian Chestnut

Trees were planted in 1967 to form

an avenue that is used to good

effect during the many Royal

Garden Parties held in the Gardens.

A number of similar trees have also

been planted, at strategic

positions, to provide an extra

degree of privacy for the Royal

Family from the windows of

adjacent high-rise hotels.

Garden parties have been

held in the Palace Gardens since

the 1887 Royal Jubilee; some of

the parties held post-war have

entertained up to 12,000 guests.

The Queen holds 3 garden parties

each year on a 5-acre part of the

gardens. Recent parties have

settled to around 8,000 guests.

14


for George 3rd in the 1760s. The

style was intended to emphasis the

flowing lines of nature.

There is a 100 years old

Chestnut that was being destroyed

by a bug that eats away at the

internals. Rather than give up, the

gardeners saved it by digging a

trench around the base and filling it

with organic pesticides. They also

supported the larger branches by a

series of ropes. Gradually, the

branches became stronger and the

ropes were slackened, the leaves

improved and conkers began to

appear again.

Bergemot – aroma of Earl

Grey tea. There is one remaining of

the four original tea houses in the

gardens. The remaining tea house

was built in 1938 in a shaded area

where afternoon tea could be

enjoyed. As we passed close by it

was just possible to see a wicker

Corgi inside the building.

Apparently, there is a bore-

hole in the gardens which enables

the gardeners to be self-sufficient

in keeping everything well-watered.

We enjoyed wonderful views

of the 3.5-acre lake during our walk.

Some of the secluded surroundings

were designed by Capability Brown

15


The Rose Garden was

originally laid out by Harry

Wheatcroft in the 1960s such that

there was only one variety in each

bed. As part of the maintenance

programme, the plants are sprayed

with liquid garlic to deter snails.

Spreading course wool under the

plants also helps. Some roses have

been gifted to the Royal Family with

names such as ‘Mountbatten’ for a

pink rose, ‘Royal William’ etc. There’s

even a new one (2014) named ‘Mama

Mia’!

Whilst in this part of the

gardens we were shown the

‘Waterloo Vase’, originally commis-

sioned by Napoleon Bonaparte to

celebrate his victory in the 1812

Russian campaign. However, having

lost at Waterloo in 1815, the

unfinished vase became the

property of George 4th who had a

sculptor finish it (depicting George

4th as victorious instead of

Napoleon). The finished article

weighed 19 tons and was originally

positioned in the National Gallery

before being moved in 1906 to the

palace gardens and gifted to the

Royal Family.

We came across a Cypruss

tree that had been struck by light-

ning some time ago. After a while,

the gardeners saw some green

shoots so left it to grow

successfully.

Agapanthas – the Queen Mother’s

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Account Name: Dogmersfield, Winchfield & Crookham Village Horticultural Society

Bank & Branch: Lloyds TSB Fleet Branch

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

of the

Dogmersfield, Winchfield and Crookham Village

Horticultural Society

Thursday 12th March 2015 7.30 p.m.

At the W.I. Hall, The Street, Crookham Village

AGENDA

1 President’s Welcome.

2 Minutes of the Annual General Meeting, 2014.

3 Approve the Chairman’s Report on the work of the Society

during the preceding year.

4 Approve the Annual Accounts signed by the Accounts Examiner

and Chairman, following a brief presentation by the Treasurer.

5. Election of Officers – Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and

Committee Members.

6. Alteration to the Show Rules to include grand-children of the

residents of the three villages, members and associate

members.

7 Consider any motion that has been notified to the Secretary of

the Society in the last 28 days prior to the date of the AGM.


the newsletter of the DW&CVHS

This newsletter is sponsored by

D C White Consulting Engineers

Pilcot Hill, Dogmersfield

website: www.dcwhite.co.uk email: [email protected]

Tel 01252-811641

A Reminder of Summer

Fleet Pond on a sunny day!

horticultural february 2015dwcvhortsoc.org/news/hortsocnews_feb15.pdf · john negus, has recently...

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