"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

Dull November brings the blast, then the leaves are falling fast (Sara Coleridge)

Talk:  Gardening to delight the senses by Sarah Hopps

Sarah became interested gardening as a child and now involves her grandchildren.  She certainly delighted all our senses with her entertaining presentation.  We were all nodding in agreement as she reminded us how the garden stimulates all our senses.  We see different shapes and colours, we hear the sound of the wind, water and birdsong, smells evoke other times and places and we can feel the different textures.  Sarah brought along an array of plants to demonstrate this and showed us illustrations of gardens both here in the UK and further afield.

Display Table

Carol’s Flower Carpet Pink roses are still flowering, shown here with white chrysanthemums

In Kate’s jug:  the delicate Fuchsia Hawkshead, Persicaria amplexicaulis Alba, Callicarpa (bodinieri var. giraldii Profusion living up to its name, Cosmos Purity, Saxifraga Wada and the flower of Heuchera villosa Autumn Bride

Ann brought Autumn Lady's-tresses orchid, Spiranthes spiralis which comes from America

Gill brought Michaelmas Daisies, saxifrage fortunii and Callicarpa

Judith’s blue vase contains isoplexis canariensis, the Canary Islands foxglove. Growing out of the pot is what Judith hopes is a seedling.  

This is a cutting of Trevor’s kalanchoe which has grown very large but produced no flowers, yet.  We look forward to an update …

Katherine brought a Datura which came from a cutting from fellow member Amanda. On looking it up, I read that the plant is poisonous but tea made from it has hallucinogenic properties!

Next meeting:  19th November: Forum plus Profile of a Plantsperson – our own Kate van Heel

The end of the summer is not the end of the world. Here's to October... A.A. Milne

Presentation - The All Seasons Garden by Sarah Hopps

On a cold and rainy afternoon, who better to motivate us than the enthusiastic and knowledgeable Sarah Hopps.  With plants and slides, Sarah showed us how we should look forward to the all the seasons in the garden starting with a framework for winter, spring bulbs and how to avoid the “August gap”.  We were also treated to slides of some fabulous gardens which Sarah has visited in various seasons as her role as tour guide.

Display Table

 Judith’s Dahlia Totally Tangerine and Rudbeckia Prairie Glow

From her garden, Gill’s bouquet includes: Hydrangeas, clematis Mary Rose, Phlox, Geraniums Margaret Wilson, Kirengeshoma, Crocosmia Severn Sunrise, Abelia, Michaelmas Daisies, Eupatorium Rugosum, Garrya elliptica, Salvia Amistad and Argyranthemum Jamaica Primrose

 Ann brought an arrangement of Clematis cyrhesa Landsowne Gem, Euonymus planipes seeds and Adiamtum fern  

Notice Board

Hearty congratulation to Kate on the birth of grandson Harry.

Next Meeting

18^th October:  Harvest Forum and Bring & Buy Sale – The theme for this year’s Harvest Forum is British Fruit, which you can interpret as you wish (cooked, raw, arrangement, anecdote etc).  Please bring something fitting plus suitable items for the Bring & Buy.