Wildlife in our gardens in Winter

 

Wildlife in our gardens in Winter

Kate opened up the Forum with a recent article by Bunny Guinness who advises that flat, table type feeders and houses are a death trap to birds as they spread disease.

Members contributed advice such as food placed under shrubs with a barrier of twigs will allow blackbirds access rather than wood pigeons, an old table with logs and water is good for large birds, cage type feeders let little birds feed and keep out other wildlife. Other tips included hanging feeders with fishing twine or from washing lines, greasing poles or installing a baffle over feeders to deter squirrels and thinking about where to place feeders, perhaps from a tree with nearby shrubs for birds to feel safe. Maggie brought the ultimate in bird feeders, a hanging Flutter Butter (other brands available).

We discussed how our plants can feed the birds with their berries and seed heads and provide nesting materials.

Display Table

Dorothy’s Iris reticulata ‘Joyce’ 

 Dorothy’s vase has various Hellebores, Crocus, Solanum Capsicastrum, Primula, Cyclamen coum, Pulmonaria and Snowdrops

 Maggie brought Tinue ‘Eve Price’, Viburnum bodnantense, Vinca, the purple stemmed Sarcococca hookeriana and a Snowdrop from Sue G.

 

                                                         Sandra’s Snowdrops

 

 Judith brought Crocus, 2 x Hellebores plus variegated Hellebore foliage, Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’ and Cardamine

Kate’s brought scented plants: Sarcococca, Viburnum bodnantense, Hamamelis mollis ‘Arnold’s Promise’. Snowdrop ‘Savannah’ and Skimmia. 

 Norma’s seedlings of cactus ‘Golden Barrel’ which came from Derek

 A few of our late blooming Hyacinths which were expected to flower at Christmas:

Linda and Dorothy’s blue ones, Maggie M’s white, Norma’s yellow and Marjorie’s still to flower.

Gardening Matters

There will be a seed swap with refreshments on Saturday morning 1^st March between 10 and 12 at OPAL, 55 Bedford Drive, Cookridge LS16 6DJ. All welcome.

Next Meeting: 7^th March - Friday Forum AGM followed by talk from Lineham Farm about fundraising.

*This will be at our new venue St Chad's Parish Centre, Otley Road, Leeds LS16 5JT*

Snowdrops. Little bells of hope. Whispering “Spring is on its way” ...Unknown 🌱

 Presentation:  Heligan and the Eden Project 

John Freer is modelling his own knitted top and collects donations for his talks for Martin House 

John, who is chairman of Paxton, spoke about the lost gardens of Heligan and the Eden Project in Cornwall. 

Nobody was initially interested in Heligan and the land had been allowed to grow wild for 70 years.  The National Trust turned it down, estimating a 10-year renovation project at a cost of a million pounds.  As a result of two men, Smit and Nelson, going on local radio, 200 volunteers turned up to make a start on clearing the gardens.  

The history is really interesting and John, a regular visitor to Cornwall, was able to show us slides of his visits in the early days of the renovations. 

We saw the gardeners’ sheds and the tools they used.  The gardeners enlisted in WW1 and never returned.  In the vegetable garden, lead plant labels were discovered under the soil and, from these, they were able to recreate the vegetable garden.   

John went on to tell us about the making of the Eden Project.  This began in 1988 on the site of an old clay mine.  Housed mainly in biomes, giant greenhouses, this project was turned down by the lottery.  Students from a university climbing club helped to erect these enormous structures. Again, John showed us slides of how the project developed and the many problems they had to overcome. 

Display Table 

Some members brought in the Hyacinths which members started off as forced bulbs at the beginning of September and were supposed to flower at Christmas.  Some did, but others are still to flower 

Gill brought Snowdrops  'Mrs Macnamara' 

Derek brought in his tiny cacti ‘Golden Barrel’ produced from seed and grows very slowly 

Judith’s Amaryllis

  Trevor’s early flowering Hellebore ‘Christmas Carol’ 

Ann has plenty of colour in her garden:  Skimmia ‘Kew Green’. Hamamelis mollis, Hellebores: Molly’s White and a yellow one from the garden of the late Elizabeth Bidgood, Cyclamen coum and Iris unguicularis 

Next Meeting:  7th February: Forum - Looking after garden wildlife in Winter. 

 

 

Friday Forum Christmas Party

Appropriately dressed, we all participated in a Christmas Quiz with topics including reindeer, Christmas songs and Turkeys.

The winning team with their prizes

Delicious mince pies, gingerbread trees and fruit cake with cheese kindly provided by Liz and Judith

Members grew forced Hyacinths to flower at Christmas but they haven’t met their targets. It will still be interesting to see which colour flower we chose.

 Maggie M's bulb

 Christine's bulb 

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Looking forward to seeing you on 17^th January 2025 when John Freer is giving a presentation on Heligan and the Eden Project

 

“Deck the halls with boughs of holly” Thomas Oliphant

Members created fabulous, festive decorations with a variety of materials, helping each other and having fun.

Display Table

Ann brought a pot of 'Tête-à-tête' daffodils flowering early and some Hesperantha flowering late

Next meeting: 20^th December is the Friday Forum Christmas Party with Quiz and refreshments. Festive dress please.

The first meeting of the new year will be on 17^th January 2025 when John Freer will give a presentation on Heligan and the Eden Project

Presentation: A Hardy Planter’s Survival Kit by Don Witton

 Presentation: A Hardy Planter’s Survival Kit by Don Witton

As the days get shorter and colder, Don suggested strategies to help gardeners and plants survive the darkest four months of the year.

From plants to enhance our gardens throughout the winter to projects to undertake, Don showed us how to face the coming months with positivity.

The talk included inspiring illustrations of his own garden as well as others during this season. Don’s wife, Dot, accompanied him and manned the sales stall which included plants mentioned by Don in his presentation.

I think the talk encouraged all of us to view the approaching months with more enthusiasm.

Display Table

 

Ann brought the climbing Rose “Golden Showers”, the scented Viburnum bodnantense “Dawn”, Hesperanthas in red and pink, Agapanthus, Campanula portenschlagiana, Eryssyum “Bowles mauve” and Aster ageratoides “Ezo Murasaki”

Judith brought Geranium “Rozanne”, Matricaria (Feverfew), Rose and a pink Chrysanthemum

 Sandra’s Saxifraga fortunii

 

Dorothy’s vase of Fuchsias including Fuchsia tryphilla

Chosiya

 Callicarpa

Trailing Pelargonium

Kate brought Callicarpa, Chosiya and a trailing Pelargonium

Next Meeting

6^th December - Creating festive decorations. Please bring greenery and other materials to make your masterpiece. A short Paxton AGM will be held at the beginning of this meeting.