Sue McG has organised the talks for us so far this winter and we had one in September, another in December, and one in February.
Garden Development
On Wednesday, September 18th Susan Harris of Weardale Flower Club came to talk to us about how she developed her garden. Susan had 100+ photos in the cloud to support her talk but unfortunately that was the day we discovered that the Methodist Church Internet was down and there was no way they could be displayed.
Susan recovered very well and gave us a very good talk using some of the flowers she had brought with her. She grows a variety of British flowers in rural Weardale, and has been a member of Flowers from the Farm for some years. She is retired and has no interest in running a commercial venture, but enjoys supplying flowers and foliage to support local and national charities and worthwhile organisations such as cancer related charities, British Heart Foundation, Air Ambulance, local Churches, shows and events.
Susan brought a number of hand-tied flower bunches and dried displays to give to members and we ran a raffle to decide who got them. We had a few surprised but delighted members.
A Garden for All Seasons
By popular demand Tuesday, December 3rd saw a return of Sarah Hopps delivering her talk ‘A Garden for all Seasons’. As before she was excellent and our group was very attentive.
Susan brought enough plants to fill a couple of tables and talked about each in turn to demonstrate the points that she was making. Later the plants were for sale.
We have been technology challenged so far this winter but this time it was Sarah’s own projector that chose not to work so we did not get to see the cassettes of slides that she had prepared for us.
Sarah is a plants woman who enjoys sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for plants and planting and it shows. The projector outage didn’t faze her and she described plants and where to plant and care for them without missing a beat. A true professional.
Members are already asking when we’ll invite her to talk again so watch this space.
The Winter Garden
On Tuesday, 4th February we had Richard Barnes BA, DipLA talking to us about The Winter Garden. Richard trained in horticulture and has over 30 years experience as a Chartered Landscape Architect. Working in all aspects of urban, landscape and garden design he regularly lectures on a range of related topics and, as a published writer and photographer, he also sells photographic images and works to commission for writing and photography.
Some of you might remember Richard as he was our Town Hall speaker some years ago when we were holding our meetings at Spennymoor Town Hall while Bishop Auckland Town Hall was undergoing renovation.
Richard began his talk by saying that many gardeners concentrate on spring and summer but real or aspiring to be real gardeners work in all seasons and understand the need for a touch of frost to bring out the best in some plants. This is particularly true of apples as well as soft fruits such as currants and blueberries. Richard showed us some beautifully photographed plants that demonstrated how frost and snow make them look attractive at this time of year and encouraged us to go into the garden for 5 minutes on a frosty day to appreciate the beauty of frost-tinged leaves or flowers.
Richard emphasised the importance of structure in a garden. Once the summer colour has gone and so many plants are leafless you can see the bare bones of a garden and having pleasing shapes adds interest. These can be trees, shrubs, or topiary but also plants such as Cornus for their bright winter stems. Richard discussed use of texture in a garden such as leaf types and stems but also the bark of trees such as silver or pink/copper birch. Colour plays a role in winter gardens too, although many people don't consider colour in winter. Sorbus, rose hips, crab apples, Forest Daisy, and Cornus can all add a splash of colour at this time of year.
Richard told a story about counting how many plants were flowering on Christmas Day and how one year he thought he'd done well with 17 plants in bloom including sunny yellow Mahonia and Mistletoe but others had around 70 plants in bloom that day, though mainly in places like Devon that are much warmer than the northeast. This season sees Winter Jasmine blooming, brightening up a wall, but Phormium in a pot can be attractive with bluish tinges, and a Salix starts to show a hint of spring.
Richard encouraged us all to consider dedicating a small patch of our garden to winter and suggested we look at where the sun hits the garden on a sunny day and plant there so that there is a bright patch to look at in the depths of winter. Plants such as Viburnum, Daphne, Hellebores, Snowdrops, Crocus, Daffodils, and more can add a bright area that really catches the eye when the sun shines.
Richard named so many plants that can be used in winter gardens and that offer year-round value and he showed most of them in-situ in various gardens that he had photographed. Many of those plants we already knew of but perhaps had not considered their value for winter. Overall this was an informative talk which we all enjoyed.