COLINTON GARDEN CLUB
NEWSLETTER NO 83 August 2008
COLINTON GARDEN CLUB |
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The 2008/09 Please complete and return to Membership Secretary Thanks! The first meeting of the new session is on Monday 22nd. September at 8.00 pm Details inside! Autumn fertiliser orderA blank order form is enclosed with this newsletter. Please pass your completed form to Dawn Ellis by Monday 22nd. September 2008. Garden Club LibraryGill Perry writes: The club benefits from an extremely well stocked library, and we’ll be adding some new items in time for the new session, so make sure to have a look at the first meeting. Don't forget to bring back to the September meeting the books you've had out over the summer – and thank you for your support! Newsletter deliveryThanks again to those members who hand-deliver the newsletters. We try to keep our members database up to date but if you ever fail to receive a newsletter, please contact the Secretary, Alasdair Ferguson, on 0131 477 0178 or e-mail secretary@colintongardens.org.uk Colin Whitehead, our Membership Secretary writes:Another topical and varied programme of events has been organised for the forthcoming winter session. We on the committee try to make sure that membership of the Colinton Garden Club really does offer excellent value for money, and we hope you agree! The cost of annual membership remains at £5 per household for 2008/09. To ensure that you are fully informed about all the events and activities of the Club, please complete the attached renewal form and return it to me as soon as possible. Can you also let me know of any changes in your contact details including your e-mail address, if you have one, in the space provided on the renewal form. My address is: We always welcome new members, so please tell your family, friends, neighbours and colleagues about our club. And finally, a quick reminder - our regular meetings are held at Fungal ForaySunday 5th October Susan Falconer, Senior Ranger at Pentland Hills Regional Park will lead an informal fungus foray in Bonaly Country Park on Sunday 5th. October. We will be meeting at 2pm at Bonaly upper car park, the one beyond the scout camp. Interested members are asked to bring a collecting basket/container and any identification books they may have. The maximum group number is 20. Please contact Pat Taylor, programme
convenor, if you wish to come along. Telephone number is 334 1410 or
email me at Plant Sale – a reminderOn Saturday 18th. October, Please give the sale your full support. Over the years the range of plants you have provided for our plant sales makes it a worthwhile event. So whether you are dividing up choice specimens from your herbaceous border, making cuttings or potting up self-seeders this autumn, keep the plant sale in mind. Don't leave it to the last minute. Start thinking about this now. By October we all should be able to produce some tempting contributions that others will wish to snap up and buy. Let's make the plant sale another resounding success! |
From the pen of our Chair…
This Autumn Newsletter brings you news about the Garden Club’s plans for the coming year, 2008 – 2009, while the memories of the current year are still fresh. But whatever the vagaries of the weather, our gardens have flourished this year, as our members who enjoyed the various outdoor events can confirm. If a theme has emerged over our summer meetings, it was that of nature and people living together in harmony, using joint resources and imagination to create an environment which in itself is a work of art. Nature can amaze, but gardens can appeal to the senses in a special way. Ann Duncan’s garden on 12th May was a real example of this. It had reached a peak with tulips, rhododendron and azaleas in glorious array. About 90 of us took advantage of a bright sunny evening to admire the displays. Thank you, Ann for making a truly memorable evening possible. Another treat was in store for those who visited Dr Evelyn Steven’s Meconopsis garden near Dunblane on 27th May. Again, the weather, though cool, was kind to us. Here we met an inspiring enthusiast and a world expert on Himalayan Poppies. We were overwhelmed by the sheer exuberance of bed upon bed in subtle shades of blue. By loving care and expertise Evelyn and her husband have created a microclimate where these plants prosper far from their native land. The Open Gardens on 7th June were a splendid success, blessed with a warm sunny morning. Members could meander round 6 gardens, conveniently close together, and be fascinated by the richness and variety Colinton and our gardeners have to offer. We could admire gardens on slopes where landscaping challenges have been imaginatively overcome, well stocked and creatively planted gardens, with some dramatic and exotic species. What a richness and source of wonder! We are most grateful to Jo and Murdo McEwan, Ann and Roger Dean, Hazel and Alan Stewart, Joan and Stephen Bennets, Chris and Pamela Barnes and Margaret and Graham McDougall for so generously showing us their gardens.
Our summer outing on 5th July to Inwood and Tyninghame was another of those special occasions. This was demonstrated in abundance when we visited Inwood and saw what Lindsay and Irvine Morrison have achieved in the corner of a forest in the space of 20 years. The overall impression is that of luxuriant growth, textures and colours, and cascades of roses down the gable of the house. Tyninghame’s Gardens have had longer to mature, and here the impressive mansion, with a Terrace Garden festooned with roses, a romantic Secret Garden and the crowning Walled Garden, Mrs Gwyn’s pride and joy, so amazingly stocked and tended, all combine to give a total experience. What about the weather, you may ask? The slightly threatening clouds, and the rain which visited Edinburgh that day at 1.30, held off until the moment we were leaving at 4.30. Once again the Garden Club’s reputation for a good day out with good weather was sustained. We were most pleased by the Club’s well-earned success in the Pallet Garden competition at the National exhibition, Gardening Scotland, from 30th May – 1st June. Our sincere thanks are due to the team for their real hard work and efforts which won Silver Gilt with their entry “Castillian Courtyard Garden”: Christine Ireland (Concept & Design), Andy Ireland (Construction) with Jeannie Laidlaw, Gill Perry and Elisabeth Davies (Plants, Layout). We also congratulate Colinton Primary School, under the guidance of Johanna Carrie and Isobel Lodge, for their magnificent effort and Silver Gilt award. It is so good to see the Club practising practical talents and displaying them in public and so to gain recognition from the gardening community at large.
So much for the summer. Nature does not allow gardeners to rest on our laurels and it’s time to look forward to the coming year. In this newsletter you will find an outline of the interesting programme of talks and events starting on Monday 22nd September. As usual they cover a range of topics related to the natural environment, some general, some more specialized. In addition, some of you may look forward to joining Susan Falconer’s “Fungal Foray” on 5th October (see the separate announcement, and don’t forget to register). A new introduction is the Members Night in February, when we invite members to make short presentations, illustrated if they wish, on a subject of their choice and in this way share their interests with us. The old favourites are there, too, the Christmas Party, Open Gardens and Outing – but more of those at a later date. A “List of Events” is only the framework for our meetings. It is the members who make the Club and provide that particular feeling of having a common interest and being willing to share it with others. The buzz of conversation, like the bees in the garden, tells us that your Club is working well. With your continuing support we look forward to another successful year in 2008 – 9. A subscription renewal form invites you to renew your membership for this coming year (£5 – unchanged from previous years). Please let Colin Whitehead have this as soon as possible. When you fill up the form, would you please add your current email address, so that we can update our register of members? We also welcome new members. If you have friends or neighbours who would like to join – or whom you feel should join, can you encourage them to do so, please? With the start of the new Club year, Johanna Carrie, Jonathan Davey and Alison Gilchrist retired from the Committee with our thanks for their excellent work over the past years. In their place we welcome Elspeth MacGregor, Christine Ireland and Jim Murray who are already bringing their ideas and making their presence felt. In your new membership booklet, you will find a full list of events, names of Committee Members and contact numbers. In addition we draw your attention to our website www.colintongardens.org.uk expertly managed by Sonia Duffy, where you can find the latest information, photographs of activities, subscription form etc. Happy gardening! Christopher Davies Dates for your diary…
Scotland’s Gardens Scheme: gardens open for charityYou may be aware of the “Scotland’s Gardens Scheme which encourages owners to open their Gardens on a planned basis to raise money for charity. 40% of the money raised at an opening goes to a registered charity of the garden owner’s choice, whilst 60%, net of the Scheme’s expenses, goes to nominated beneficiaries, e.g. Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres. Over the last 5 years £1.4 million has been raised. If you feel you can contribute in this way, please contact the Director of the scheme, Paddy Scott, 42a Castle Street, Edinburgh EH2 3BN, 0131 226 3714, www.gardensofscotland.org or email ps@sgsgardens.co.uk For further information. you can borrow
their directory, “Gardens of Scotland 2008”, from our library.
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Dear
Friends
