COLINTON GARDEN CLUB
NEWSLETTER NO 80 November 2007

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Coming soon...

Monday 26th. November, 8 p.m.
“A Culinary and Medicinal Kitchen Garden”
Dee Harkinson from Napier’s Healthcare will cover this topical subject.

Wednesday 19th. December, 8 p.m.
Our annual Christmas extravaganza - get into the festive mood with an evening of fun, entertainment and refreshments!

Membership
If you haven’t renewed your membership please do so as soon as possible – by sending your subscription to Colin Whitehead

Treasurer's Report on the financial situation as at the year end 31 August 2007

Our Treasurer writes:

The draft accounts for Colinton Garden Club at our year end show a cash balance around £4,800. Income for the year was £3,656 and expenditure £2,913, showing a net surplus of £743. This compares favourably with the position a year ago. The accounts are currently being audited and a full report will be given at the AGM next April as usual.

Jo McEwan    

Members’
“ Bring & Buy”

Wolf Scarifier UV 32EV - as new. Will sell for £75 - contact Pat Currie on 441 5191

A Taste of Colinton

Make summer last longer! Enjoy honey made by Colinton bees from your flowers. 500g jar £3.00 delivered to your door. Tel. Jean Haskell on 441 3242

Colinton Primary After School Garden Club

Johanna Carrie writes:

The Colinton Primary School garden club re-started on September 27. Our 12 members are drawn from classes, P 4, 5 and 6. A few stalwarts were with us last year but many are new.

Our first activity was making pot pouri. It was deemed good fun, although one boy did say the rose smell was ‘girly’. Thank you to the ‘big’ club members who donated hydrangea heads. Each child had a few florettes to give finishing decorative touches over the petals; the wide colour range of hydrangeas was a joy.

We have now planted hyacinths for Christmas and crocuses for the spring. And there will be new bulbs and wallflowers in the tubs outside. Being frugal, the bulbs will include some of the small narcissi that were grown last year in pots.

A photo of some of our young members appears in the newsletter.

CGC website

Don’t forget, the garden Club website is an excellent source of information - just log on to..

www.colintongardens.org.uk

…for the latest on what is happening

From the pen of our Chair…

Dear Friends

How much we enjoy the fresh air and the clear sunshine, even though it is noticeably cooler and paler now (no need to refer to last summer yet again!) But the luxuriant growth in our gardens bears witness to Nature’s gift of being able to extract the best, whatever the conditions – leaving us, the gardeners, to cope with the results.

Colinton Garden Club has had a bright start to the year. We have welcomed some 20 new members who have quickly become a valued part of our club.

At our first meeting in September, Clare Reaney gave us a confident and entertaining talk on “Longwood Garden” USA where the backers (an American business dynasty) fund an array of events designed to attract the public. We also learnt, in answer to a question from the floor, that Dundee Botanic Gardens are struggling to find adequate financial support. Let us hope that they find a solution to their problem.

Our Plant Sale on October 6th went well. The weather was so kind to us that we decided to set up the tables outside (that must be a first for October), though we served tea, coffee and biscuits indoors. The quality of the plants donated by members was exceptionally high, the prices were sympathetically pitched, so that those with an eye for good value found many a bargain. Having the event outside made us that much more visible with the result that

There is always an aura of magic about mushrooms, and in keeping with our aim to inform and entertain, Pentlands Ranger Susan Falconer spoke to us in October. Her richly illustrated talk opened our eyes to the rich resource of the world of fungi all around us.

Our annual Christmas Party will be held on Wednesday 19th December. This is a popular event which has developed a loyal following over the years. You are advised to book early as space in the Hall is limited.

Please phone or email one of the committee members for further information – see the separate
announcement in this newsletter.

The Pallet Garden competition at “Gardening Scotland” (30 May – 1 June 2008) gives us a chance to show our practical side, and perhaps get on TV again. So, please, if you are a hands-on gardener with creative ideas, let us know, so we can put our team together.

It seems rather soon to be talking about next year. But already we are thinking about Open Gardens, the Outing, a repeat of the Photography Workshop, and possible other events. Your suggestions from the
questionnaire circulated at the October meeting will help us here. Please let us have your ideas.

Now enjoy your gardens, and in this season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, as you clear away bag after bag of leaves, just be thankful for all those trees which make Colinton so special, and which provide us with good leaf-mould for the next growing season.

Happy gardening!

Christopher Davies
Chairperson

Dates for your diary…

Ho Ho Ho!!

Don’t forget our Christmas party is on Wednesday

DECEMBER at 8.0 p.m.

Tickets for this event (£6 each) are now available but will go fast. Telephone Christopher Davies on 441 2152, email chair@colintongardens.org.uk or contact any Garden Club Committee Member to reserve your place.