Well here we are in February – what a fabulous month. The days are lengthening and there is the promise of everything to come. This month the long awaited snowdrops are the stars. The Victorians associated them with death which was why they were often planted in churchyards – St James’ has a magnificent display. But today we associate them with joy and hopefulness. In the words of Mary Robinson in her Ode to the Snowdrop written in the eighteenth century “A beauteous gem appears” Of course the winters Mary Robinson experienced were likely to be much colder than those we have now and her poem reflects, not only the struggles of the snowdrop against the elements, but also her own rather chequered life …
This Month in the Garden – February 2024
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RHS Wisley Closure alert !
Just in case you were planning to visit RHS Wisley in February…
Dear Mr Duchenne,
On Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 February 2024 RHS Garden Wisley and the Garden Centre will be closed to all visitors due to the A3 weekend closure, as part of the ongoing M25 junction 10/A3 Wisley interchange roadworks …
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My Garden – 2024
At the first meeting at the beginning of the year, it is usual that the talk is given by a member of the Association about their garden and on this occasion we were fortunate in having two speakers, Gilly Cowan and Caroline Hay Davison, talking about and describing their own, quite different, gardens in Biddenham.
Posted in My Garden, Talks, Winter
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BGA Christmas Party
On Tuesday 19th December we held our annual Christmas Party in the Village Hall. Members provided delicious food and a good time was had by all.
The Committee really appreciated the assistance from the many willing volunteers who helped to set up and clear up. Special thanks were given to Peter Carter who devised the quizzes and competitions and acted as Master of Ceremonies throughout the evening.
Linda Truscott
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This Month in the Garden – December 2023
As I write this article the Autumn foliage has reached its peak. When the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, trees prepare for winter by withdrawing nutrients from their leaves, leaving us with a spectacular display of autumn colour. However, by the time this article is published the trees will be bare and we will have been kept busy clearing leaves from our lawns and paths. Walking around Biddenham has been a great joy and has been especially enhanced by the wonderful holly berries which seem to be better than ever this year …
The Twelve Plants of Christmas by Timothy Walker
Timothy started his excellent talk by discussing plant blindness – caused by the fact that we are so used to seeing plants, they are so ubiquitous that we do not not them. For instance, he referred to notices outside National Trust property saying “ Don’t damage Trees or Plants” which ignores the fact that trees are plants. Constable’s picture of the Haywain includes numbers of elm trees, which are plants. The picture of lions in a tree is generally thought of as a picture of lions, and the tree is overlooked.
Plants are fascinating. The Catharanthus roseus, or Madagascar periwinkle, is a source of the drugs vincristine and vinblastine, used to treat various types of cancers.
Christmas cards, he said, have one plant, 23 birds and 66 mammals, but Christmas should be about plants. Neither the apple tree nor the pear tree is mentioned in the bible, but there are many references to Almonds which is the main constituent of marzipan, so much used in Christmas cakes. Wild Almonds are toxic and the edible sweet ones came from a genetic mutation thousands of years ago. The Mediterranean climate encourages mixed orchards of figs (which existed over 13,000 years ago) and almonds.
Figs have their flowers in the fleshy part and are pollinated by different wasps for the various type of fig. The female wasp penetrates through a hole in the fig pollinates the fig and then dies. A male wasp then mates with another female wasp and the male then dies; the female wasp then emerges from the fig and the cycle continues. Nowadays, enormous numbers of figs and almonds are grown in California (unsustainably because of the amount of water required). Continue reading
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This Month in the Garden – November 2023
Well yesterday (I am starting to write this in October) the garden and allotment came to St James’ Church. Thank you to everyone who provided fabulous flowers and foliage – you know who you are – it made decorating the church for the Harvest Festival so easy and such a pleasure. There were some lovely arrangements – they were all splendid – but sadly to accompany this article, I only have room for one photo. I have chosen the one which I think will show up best in the print version of The Loop. As we worked away in the church I was remembering Joy and Maudie and Nancy and Sheila and Janet to name just a few of those who have given their time so willingly in the past to enhance the beauty of our lovely church and long may these traditions continue …
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The History of Suburban Gardens – Dr Twigs Way
We were so pleased to welcome Dr Twigs Way to our meeting on 17th October. Twigs is well known to many of us and it is always a pleasure to see her in Biddenham. Twigs is a researcher, writer, speaker and consultant in garden history and designed landscapes and really knows her stuff so we were looking forward to her talk on the history of suburban gardens and we were not disappointed. Twigs illustrated her talk with the musings and writings of authors and the paintings of artists from various times and eras and from the words of the Pet Shop Boys to the words of John Betjeman. The suburbs are continuously evolving and expanding as rural areas are built over and everything starts again …
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This Month in the Garden – October 2023
Well here we are in October and into the “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” as described by Keats in his Ode to Autumn. It is time to gather in fruits from our gardens and hedgerows and store and preserve them for the winter. Perhaps not now so vital as in years gone by but still a satisfying activity. In his poem Keats describes the beauty and bounty of the autumn season. How lovely to see the berries developing and the spider webs in the dewey grass early in the morning – a sure sign that Autumn is upon us …
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“Flowers through my viewfinder” by Hemant Jariwala
After 43 years in the Defence Industry, Hemant decided in his retirement to take an entirely different line of work and to become a photographic expert taking beautiful images of flowers, landscapes and gardens. His photographs are used in Calendars and greeting cards and he has obtained numerous honours for his photography, and is an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society. He is passionate about photography and walking … Continue reading
