Visitors are always welcome on the first Monday of the month at Colwall Village Hall WR13 6EQ. We arrive from 7pm and a talk is given by a person well versed in their speciality at about 7.30. Arrive early, meet the members and enjoy a free cup of tea or coffee. There are several “Meeting Points” where people with particular interests can exchange experiences on subjects such as Pests and diseases, What is It? Vegetables and garden Visits are but four.
On Monday 1st June we welcomed Nick Wray. Nick is the Curator of Bristol University Botanic Garden. His topic was Microclimates in Your Garden. No one went to sleep, not even the most hardened practitioners. With fine pictures to illustrate how plants adapt to an unlikely situation he explained what made those places so welcoming for the plant/tree/shrub/bulb etc.
No where in a UK garden is it cold and wet”; it is damp and cool. The north and north-east shadows of our houses may seem daunting but there are plants which thrive and add quality to gardens in these conditions; it’s all a matter of learning. Soil conditions vary; the variety of plants adding value to gardens is enormous but several will not cohabit because of the state of the bed.
One, of several, lessons learned by your writer and is plainly obvious when explained concerned Japanese maples; come from a monsoon climate, where they thrive magnificently.
Sun and shade; walls and hedges (preferred) all create their own microclimate and to keep and get the best from our expensive special specimens, it is worth wrapping them up snugly in the winter, against the wet and cold!
Next month, on July 6th, we are visited by Bob Hares with a return visit of inspiration, My Garden in July. On August 8th, Saturday, it is our 72nd Annual Show. Details are obtainable from www.wychecolwallhorticulturalsoc.wordpress.com
Come early on the 6th; make/meet friends and discuss your gardening interests (and challenges). There are many experienced and knowledgeable gardeners who are happy to answer questions. Subscriptions, payable in January, are £12.00; visitors are charged £4.00.
Tim Beaumont (Joint Speaker Finder)