Pests and Diseases

Talk by John Steedman on Pests and Diseases

John described his presentation as light-hearted and it was indeed both fascinating and witty.  He took us through the history of man’s search for preventative methods from the time crops were grown en masse to what works for farmers and gardeners today.  Some early methods were harmful to wildlife, some were flukes and some found by chance. 

Display Table

Mary’s aeonium which she lays down in its pot as it is so heavy but gives a good view of the rosettes

 Another Mary brought an unusual coleus which looked more like a succulent, all green with a minty fragrance

 

Caroline brought an interesting and amusing article from the Yorkshire Post on picking blackberries or bladding, as they say in Yorkshire. It is said that blackberries picked after Michaelmas Day, September 29^th, are as tasteless as if the devil spat on them.  The dilemma is that this year’s colder spring and summer has delayed the blackberries by about three weeks so are you superstitious or will you pick them late?  Apparently it was usual to plant blackberry bushes on graves to keep the devil away!  Read the article at : http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/rural/farming/country-coast-daring-decision-to-make-on-whether-to-pick-blackberries-1-7487181#ixzz3nXFIZWY9

It is good to see that our members still have colour and interest this late in the season.

Gill’s collection includes white eupatorium rugosum, salvia thalictrum, the plume of actea cimicifuga, alstroemeria celine , azara which had yellow flowers and now shows white berries, michaelmas daisy Sapphire which grows to 18”, Himalayan honeysuckle Lydia with bright, green leaves and Actea pachyooda doll’s eye

 

Kate’s bouquet comprises Rudbeckia, Helenium, Verbena, Aster divaricatus, willow gentian, Japanese Anemones Pamina and Honorine Jobert and Cosmos

 

 

Ann’s jug contains Actea cimicifuga with its white plume, yellow  Bomarea caldasii which is not quite hardy, kirengeshoma palmata , Tricyrtis, Hesperantha, paeonia obovata alba, colchiums: agrippum, waterlily and alba and the tall annual tithonia rotundifolia

Notice Board

Your help is requested on Tuesday 13^th October for a Paxton Clean Up which will take place between 10 am and 2pm. 

Margaret D reported that the Paxton Show was a profitable event and thanked Friday Forum members for their help and support.

If anyone is interested in becoming a judge for Yorkshire in Bloom, please email admin@yorkshireinbloom.co.uk for more information.

Next Meeting

16th October - Harvest Festival:  As well as our usual Bring and Buy sale, this year we are asking members to make a food dish of your choice for others to taste and guess the ingredients.

Talk on Wacks Wicked Plants

Peter and Helleentje Walker of Wack's Wicked Plants gave us a fascinating, illustrated talk on the habits and range of carnivorous plants in which they specialise and for which they have been awarded many medals.  Apart from their preference for rainwater, the plants are easy to grow and don't require much feeding!

 

http://wackswickedplants.co.uk/

Display Table

Derek brought some of his plants sown from seeds with a story which featured in our blog in mid-July:

A bitter/sweet tale
Graham invited us to help ourselves to envelopes of seeds to sow and told us the story behind them.  An old gentleman had passed away and his home was being cleared when the clearance people came across a large number of envelopes of seeds.  These seeds, many of which were quite exotic, had been purchased from various countries around the world.  Sadly, he never got the chance to sow them but hopefully some of our members will manage to do so.  This would be a fitting legacy and we will report back on our successes.
Derek reported:  All the Cannas germinated, marvel of Peru Mirabilis jalapa .a seed labelled “free gift”was unimpressive, The Gac fruit won't flower for 18 months but it will grow for to 20 m and fruit will depend on another plant of the opposite sex being available. However, he will be pleased to know that there are plenty of recipes for the fruit on the internet.  There was also a false banana (Enset).  
I think this would please the late owner of the seeds and we look forward to hearing about any more successes. 
Such a wide variety of flowers are still around in our gardens:

Gill’s eucomis

Gill’s white yellow and white Japanese Anemone, Eucryphia, phlox, dahlia, Rose Little White Pet  and lychnis coronaria

 You could be forgiven for believing that Elizabeth’s pink dahlias which grow to 4 ft were artifical

 Elizabeth also brought Galtonia desert candle (summer hyacinth), scented herbaceous clematis (perhaps Cassandra), hydrangea quercifolia,hydrangea Annabelle which has enormous heads, the miniature climbing rose Laura Ford, fuchsia and some more dahlias.

 Ann’s pineapple lily eucomis with willow gentian

Jenny’s brought a lily which arrived with a belated Christmas card from a friend as seed on paper towel!  The bulbils it had produced were distributed to members.

Judith proudly presented her first flower which has been produced by this plant she cannot identify.

 Next Meeting

September 18th:  In this forum we are discussing a plant swap and would welcome your input on the logistics of this  Bring your plant wish list with you.  Incidentally, I'm seeking geranium Red Admiral and Maritime Thrift.