Grayshott Gardeners Newsletter
July 2022
From the Chair
Dear Members
Wonderful Sun!
But oh for some rain!
We gardeners are like farmers too little or too much we are never satisfied. However, This weather has encouraged our gardens to produce it’s fruits all ready to enter our Summer Show. If you have not entered before visit our website, go to “Photo Gallery” scroll down to “Summer Show 2019” and look at the pictures which may give you ideas.
You will even see our President proud of his “failure”. Please try to enter at least one class, you might win the silver egg cup like our President!
Looking forward to seeing you on the 9th July at our summer Show.
JOHN.
Our chairman, John Price ready for action on the Grayshott Gardeners stall at the PIG day celebrations in June
Stop Press
The Plant Sale at the Summer Show has a new home.
It will be in the Studio at the Village Hall. This is the building to the left of the main hall – used to be the library .
This means there will be more space for you to enjoy a cuppa and a slice of cake in the small hall as usual.
Visits
The last chance to grab a ticket for this rather special trip
Friday 5th August 2022
- Door to door service on our private coach
- Exclusive welcome presentation on arrival.
- New for 2022- The Silk Route garden (plants from the ancient trade route designed by Fergus Garret from Great Dixter)
Cost £25 per head. £10 deposit required
Info from Vanessa Thompson at a club night or email events@grayshottgardeners.net to reserve your place(s)
June Meeting
Our June speaker was Professor Dave Goulson, who gave us an insight into the lives of some of the tiny creatures that live in our gardens, and gave us tips on how to garden so that we can encourage as many of them as possible to flourish.
Life on earth needs insects to continue – without them our ecosystems would rapidly collapse. And insects are in trouble, with well documented declines in many species, particularly those that are habitat specialists.
Chairman, John Price with Programme secretary Sue Wheeler and Dave Goulson
Gardeners may think of themselves as “green”, but when you consider that the average trip to the Garden Centre results in the purchase of a plant that has been grown in peat, in a heated greenhouse, treated with insecticide, in a disposable plastic pot it is obvious that changes need to be made.
Dave gave us some steps to maximise the insect life in our gardens. Use plants with open flowers. Reimagine weeds as wild flowers. Mow less. Build bug hotels to provide homes for insects. Plant flowering trees – which can provide continuity of food supply for insects from March through to June. AND STOP USING PESTICIDES. Simple!
Dave has some very useful and entertaining videos on YouTube if you want to find out more.
July Meeting
After the talk last month on making our gardens more insect friendly it seems very appropriate that this month we have a Buddleja expert, Peter Moore, coming to Grayshott to prsent a talk entitled ‘Beautiful Buddlejas’.
Peter Moore has been propagating plants for many years and now holds the National Collection of Buddlejas at Longstock Gardens. In Spring 2016 there were 164 different Buddleja in the collection and now maybe there are more.
The meeting will be held in
Grayshott Village Hall
Wednesday July13th 2022
Light refreshments will be served and there will be plants on sale as well as secondhand books.
Doors open at 7.30pm ready for the lecture to begin at 8pm.
Summer Show
Looking forward to the Summer Show!
Saturday 9th July 2pm – 4pm
Grayshott Village Hall
Time flies, it’s been three months since the Spring Show, and we’ve had plenty of sunshine and rain to help our gardens grow in that time. Bugs and slugs have grown too, though hopefully there are still some beautiful things in your garden you would like to show. As well as the plants, flowers and vegetables, please do share your culinary skills and enter the home produce classes.
Entry forms are in your handbook and also on the website – please give your completed forms to Tanchoux by 5pm on Thursday 7th, or send as an attachment to shows@grayshottgardeners.net.
As a reminder, there is a change of arrangements on Show Day – please can entrants come along to the hall with their exhibits from 8.40 until 10am (rather than from 9 until 10.20am). If you are intending to enter a lot of classes, we can accommodate you coming along to the hall earlier than 8.40am, which we hope will make things a bit less frenetic for you!
As well as some super exhibits to view, there will be a plant sale and some mouth-watering cakes to sample with your tea or coffee. A lovely way to spend an afternoon!
Please do contact Pamela at shows@grayshottgardeners.net if you have any questions.
Items of Interest
Update on our Data Privacy Statement
You may remember that back in 2018, we issued a Data Privacy Statement to all of our members. Time and legislation moves on, and we have updated our privacy statement accordingly.
We have now included our privacy statement on the website – it can be found on the Membership page.
Should you have any questions, please contact our Data Controller, Alan Wright at admin@grayshottgardeners.net
The Green Hub Project for Teens
We are on the hunt for some more garden volunteers – might this be something that you’d be interested in? Or maybe someone you know?
We have 3 adult volunteers at each of our two Saturday sessions (they last about 2 hours), guiding teens on garden and craft projects. We would be delighted to receive some more applications from people keen to join our Saturday team.
More information of this very worthy cause can be found on their website www.greenhub.org.uk
Plant of the Month
Hoheria Sexstylosa ‘Stardust’
Although bought as a ‘compact shrub’ our Hoheria is now a good 20 feet tall and best described as an upright tree.
Hoheria or Ribbonwood or Lacebark is a member of the Mallow family and is a native of both islands of New Zealand.
It has several outstanding garden features, two being the evergreen, toothed, glossy, dark green leaves held throughout the year and the clusters of pure white, fragrant flowers with their prominent anthers and stamens.
Hoherias will grow in a wide range of soils, including our more acid, sandy soil in Grayshott and will tolerate full sun and partial shade. Although we do not do it, a winter mulch to protect the roots is often recommended.
Hoherias are generally free from both pests and diseases and require a little pruning. If pruning is required, it is best done in Spring or after flowering, when the semi ripe cuttings can be used for propagation.
Butterflies and other insects are attracted to Hoheria.
Our Hoheria is beginning to outgrow its allotted space, but our garden would be the poorer without its elegant shape, evergreen habit and the reliable profusion of white blossom every summer
Jobs for this month
1. Deadhead bedding plants and repeat-flowering perennials, to ensure continuous flowering.
Keep plants looking attractive and encourage more blooms, whether in beds and border, containers or hanging baskets.
2. Care for houseplant while on holiday.
Most houseplants will tolerate a few days’ absence without suffering, but absences of more than a week call for some creative measures to provide valuable moisture in the right quantity.
3. Water tubs and new plants if dry, but be water-wise.
Watering is one of the most important jobs when growing plants in containers. Roots need a balance of air and water to grow well which is easy to provide if you have a good quality compost or soil.
4. Check clematis for signs of clematis wilt
5. Pick courgettes before they become marrows
6. Treat apple scab
7.Clear algae, blanket weeds and debris from ponds, and keep them topped up
8. Order catalogues for next year’s spring-flowering bulbs
9. Give the lawn a quick-acting summer feed, especially if not given a spring feed
10. Harvest apricots, peaches and nectarines
And the most important job of all – select and prepare all your exhibits for the Summer Show.
More details on all of these jobs can be found on the RHS website
Looks like quite a busy month in the garden!
More details on all of these jobs can be found on the RHS website.