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.

Friday Forum Gardeners’ Question Time

This was our first question time using this format and all agreed it was a resounding success. It was such an informative and entertaining session where the panel helpfully answered the sixteen questions posed by the audience. We were lucky enough to be able to draw a knowledgeable panel of four from our members with award winning and horticultural qualifications, experience of being a head gardener and growing in different soils. Our thanks go to Ann Fritchley, Wendy Platt, Sue Gray and Peter Blackwell who gave in-depth, well researched answers including live demonstrations and examples to enhance their answers. We learnt tips on a wide range of subjects from how to prune fruit trees to plants for semi-shade.

Display Table

 Marjorie brought this lovely sweater and told us the amazing story behind it. It was made by her sister who collected the wool from a Jacob sheep in Robin Hood’s Bay, spun, dyed and knitted into this wonderful garment. She also had labels made with her name Heather Barratt.

 Kate brought Rosa ‘The Fairy’, Penstemon ‘Plum Jerkum’, Heuchera ‘Autumn Bride’, Persicaria campanulata and Bishop’s Children Dahlia grown from seed this year

 

Dorothy brought golden leaves of a Ginkgo tree from Rowntree Park, York. which was created in memory of Rowntree employees who died in WW1

 Dorothy also brought mixed Dahlias, Rose ‘Elizabeth of Glamis’, Linaria, Rudbeckia, Salvia ‘Hot Lips’, Tagetes, Clematis ‘Arabella’ and Orange tree showing white buds

Judith brought Salvia Amistad, Matricaria, Alstromeria, Hardy Chrysanthemum, Geranium Rozanne 

Gill brought Geranium macrorrhizum, Weigela, Osteospermum, Aster frikartii Monch,  Leycesteria, Verbena bonariensis, Penstemon, Hebe, Rose, Erigeron, Erysimum, Hesperantha coccinea, Pelargonium, Cosmos and Jasmine nudiflorum

 Ann brought Canna, the attractive foliage of Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Little Honey’, a tall form of Aster ageratoides ezo murasaki , Amicia zygomeris and Fuchsia genii

 Ann also brought prunings from her Salix babylonica crispa

Peter brought a brochure from Seawards in which there is a 3 day trip to Chelsea and other gardens. 

Next Meetings

15^th November: Presentation - A Hardy Planter’s Winter Survival Kit by Don Witton

6^th December: Christmas displays. Please bring greenery, flowers and accessories to create your own decorations. A short AGM will precede this meeting

20^th December: Friday Forum Christmas Party with Quiz and festive fare. You are requested to dress accordingly

"Autumn ... the year's last, loveliest smile" William Cullen Bryant

 Seedheads

 Presentation:  Sarah Hopps on Evergreens, Stems and Seedheads

 Evergreens that blend with pink and purple

 Sarah Hopps 

Sarah, a frequent guest speaker to Friday Forum, entertained us with her ideas and tips for using evergreens, ornamental stems and bark and seed heads to enhance our gardens. Sarah also showed us slides of a range of gardens where they have been planted to great affect. We were also able to purchase some of the mentioned plants and take cuttings of the examples displayed.  

Display Table

 

Ann brought Campanula Bowles Mauve, Corydalis ochroleuca, Magnolia liliiflora nigra, Borage laxiflora, Aconitum spatlese, Alstromeria Indian Summer and Ceratostigma Desert Skies

Kate brought Helenium ‘Sahin’s Ear;y Flowerer’ which is still in flower since July, Helianthemum ‘Lemon Queen’, Salvia ‘Mystic Flowers’ and ‘Amistad’, Hesperantha ‘Pink Princess’ (Wilfred H Bryant), Anemone ‘Dreaming Swan’, Digitalis ‘Falcon Fire’ and a Hudrangea flower head

 John brought this plant which he grew from spores of a plant given to him in 1990s by the caretaker of one of the oldest houses in Northumberland

 Dorothy’s Sunflower is an offshoot from a 9ft multiheaded Sunset one grown from seed an had a very wide stem

Judith brought Corokia, the wire netting bush

 

She also brought this enormous leaf from Comfrey Knitbone, so called as it is supposed to heal broken bones naturally

Judith also brought Cosmos and Senecio Vera Vera 

 Suzanne brought Anemone Honorine Jobert and Anemone September Charm, Geranium sanguineum, Salvia Pink Lips, Verbena bonariensis, Liriope muscari, Hydrangea macrophylla, Fuchsia magellanica, the evergreen ferns Polystichum makinoi and Polystychum tsussinense which grows best in shade, has dark red fronds with purple tinged ones in spring

Next Meeting

1st November: Forum - Gardeners’ Question Time