Gerald lives quite locally and is an accomplished speaker and excellent photographer. His talk was accompanied by pictures of some of the 133 species of wild flowers taken in the area over a two year period. Many of the plants had been mentioned and illustrated in John Gerard’s Herbal of 1657 and we were shown […]
In 1983 there was great concern about overdevelopment in the county and as a result in 1984 the Hampshire Gardens Trust was created with Hampshire being the first county to create such a group. The work of the groups is to conserve and protect historic gardens and although based at Jermyn’s House they liaise closely […]
GROUND PREPARATION My soil is alkaline with a Ph of 6.5 to 7.0, approx. 400mm deep on top of chalk. It is hungry soil and requires a lot of additives to: Retain moisture Give roots food to grow Allow roots to spread with ease Before I start to put the spade into the ground like […]
Our speaker this month is the owner of Crawley Court which has a two acre garden. Patricia moved there at the age of 12 which was 70 years ago. The garden first opened to the public 40 years ago as part of the National Gardens Scheme and still opens on a regular basis. After the […]
A lot of work is involved in growing roses successfully but they are grown over most of the world. There are 320 true rose species most of which are deciduous and they have been designated various groupings. Hybrid Tea which can be susceptible to disease, Floribunda little scent but hardy, Grandiflora taller than Hybrid Tea, […]
Bramdean House is a mainly Georgian house nestled on chalk down in a valley near Petersfield. There is a 1-acre kitchen garden divided into sub plots, an arboretum including some North American trees, ornamental and walled gardens and some wild areas. Now owned by the Wakefield family the property also has very big hedges, a […]
Our speaker for September was Pip Bensley who is a three times Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Gold medal winner . Pip’s background in horticulture caused the RHS to select her to be a judge at the 2019 EXPO in China where 110 countries participated The talk was about her travels to Beijing and meeting her […]
Dahlias have never been as popular as they are today. They have come back into fashion and are filling the gardens with a wealth of colour which extends into the autumn. No matter what the weather, dahlias can be relied upon to produce an eye-catching feature in any garden. They are easy to grow once […]
As pelargoniums are often referred to as geraniums Roger started his talk by telling us the difference, which is that geraniums (Cranesbills) are hardy perennials and pelargoniums are non-hardy. There are several different types of pelargonium. Miniature – kept in pots no bigger than 3.5”. Dwarf – kept in pots no bigger than 4.5”. Zonal […]
Over the years farming has changed and the use of herbicides means that fields no longer contain the flowers and weeds essential for insect life. This has made the garden much more important to maintain the insects. It doesn’t matter how big or small the garden is there are ways of ensuring support for wildlife. […]
