“Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile." [Indian Summer] ― John Howard Bryant

Presentation:  Thomas Fairchild by Celia Latham Brown

Longstanding Friday Forum member Celia Latham Brown kept the audience enthralled with a most interesting and informative talk on the gardener and plant breeder Thomas Fairchild (1667 – 1729).  

A farmer’s son from Wiltshire, Fairchild became an apprentice cloth worker and after being introduced to gardening, realised he preferred the outdoors.  We worked in Hoxton at a nursery and presently became its owner.

By transferring the pollen of a Carnation to stigma of Sweet William, Fairchild created a new plant – the first hybrid and known as Fairchild’s mule.  As a keen Christian, he did fear God’s wrath.  He corresponded with   Carl Linnaeus and by experiments, established the existence of sex in plants.

At that time, there was strong competition amongst grand estate holders to have new and different plants, so his work was very much in demand.

When Fairchild’s friend Blair presented his paper to the Royal Society in 1716, there were outcries of blasphemy and that it was morally dangerous, meddling with nature.  Later, another friend, Sir Hans Sloane of Sloane Square fame, presented another of Fairchild’s papers on the Circulation of Sap  

A member of the Society of Gardeners, Fairchild’s aim was to produce a catalogue of new species of plants.  In 1722 he published a small book The City Gardener, detailing which plants would thrive best in London.  This publication also advised that large plants would benefit from being taken into the countryside and also that there should be open spaces in towns and cities to provide fresh air for their residents.

Thomas Fairchild died at the age of 62.  In his will he left a sum of £25.00  an annual sermon be given  in celebration of Horticulture.   This  still happens to this day on Whit Tuesday at St Giles Church, Cricklegate, and has become known as the Vegetable Sermon.

Celia’s talk was all the more remarkable as all the research was from books (as opposed to the internet) including The Ingenious Mr Fairchild: The Forgotten Father of the Flower Garden (Faber Find) by Michael Leapman and a chapter in The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession (2009) by Andrea Wulf  

 We look forward to Celia’s next talk

Display Table

Gerry explained that the original reason for a Display Table at gardening groups was that it was the only way for gardeners to continue their education in horticulture.  Traditionally, this took place on a Saturday night and some gardeners would bring plants and demonstrate their skills to others.

Carol ‘s Echiveria Painted Lady

Carol’s Erodium Spanish Eyes which has flowered all year

 

Margaret M’s colourful posy of Dahlias

 

 From her garden Gill brought yellow and orange Begonias, Japanese Anemone, Phlox, Liriope, Chelone, Michaelmas Daisy, the yellow Kirengeshoma, Crocosmia and  the toad lily Tricyrtis.  Make a note if you want to extend the season

 Ann’s Justicia Carnea  comes from the Acanthus family and comes from the North of South America.  It has been out all summer but will be overwintered in a frost free spot.

Ann has dug up (hopefully all) the coral roots of the invasive, wild woodland plant of Cardamine bulbifera which spreads by the small black bulbils it produces.

 

Judith has had a good crop of tomatoes on her allotment.  Also pictured: Judith’s Argyranthemum Banana Split which is red in bud and has yellow flowers, a perennial Wallflower, Dahlias including Bishops Children, David Howard and Salvia amistad

Gardening Matters

Do you know about this mysterious female gardener who got no public recognition during her lifetime?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45552079 

Notice Board

Thanks to those who helped organise and sponsored the recent and improvements to Paxton Hall; repairs to the roof, broken window and outside light and the decoration of the exterior and the main hall.

Upcoming meetings:

Next meeting is 5^th October (see details below) but we wanted to give you early notice of the two meetings which follow.  

19^th October:  This is our Harvest Forum and Bring & Buy sale.  This year we are going for a Brexit Bash and will be asking members to sign up to bring a typical food or drink from an EU country. 

Friday 2^nd November: A celebratation for the 50^th anniversary of the Society moving into our current premises.  More details TBA.

Next Meeting

5^th October:  Presentation by Ken Matthewman – Kew through the seasons