Month: March 2019

Spring News and Upcoming Events

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Cothi gardeners enjoyed another great evening and talk last week from Louise Austin, the project manager for the Twyi Gateway Trust, overseeing the restoration of the gardens and some of the buildings at the Bishop’s Palace at Abergwili, Carmarthen.

Using slides of old maps, photographs and the current detailed plans of the programme of works up to August 2021, Louise explained the several hundred years of history and multiple changes to the grounds and buildings, along with mention of several of the notable Bishops of St. Davids who lived at the Palace up until the 1970’s when the site was handed over to Carmathenshire County Council.

Click here for more about what’s going on over the year ahead, or if you’re interested in a trip to the site by Cothigardeners, do let Yvonne know.

Next month’s meeting, on Wednesday April 17th at 7.30 pm sees Gareth Davies from Talybont on Usk coming to talk to us about growing plants in containers – surely something we all do in some way, and Gareth will inspire us with lots of ideas for containers in 2019.

Other dates for your diaries:

  • Thursday 11 April, 2pm. Farmyard Nurseries, Llandysul for nursery tour with Richard Bramley followed by tea/coffee and cake. Richard has asked whether we would like a demonstration or talk when we visit. If you have any preference, then please let Yvonne know and also confirm if you would like to attend. Richard has a massive range of plants including the National Plant Collections of both Primula sieboldii, ( above, which will probably be at their peak in his polytunnels) and Sarracenia (Pitcher) carnivorous plants, so there will be lots to see.
  • Wednesday 22 May, 3pm. Mad Hatters Tea Party, Aberglasney. Afternoon tea £12 per person, plus reduced entry fee £7.25 per person (total £19.25) to be paid by April meeting, please. Form on the entrance table at meetings, or let Yvonne know if you would like to attend.
  •  Our annual Garden Safari, planned for early June. We’re looking for members to open their gardens, large or small, for members to visit.It is always interesting visiting other people’s gardens as there’s invariably something new to learn, even for the more experienced gardeners among us. Is there someone willing to host a shared picnic lunch please? (members to bring food). Exact date to be confirmed in due course.
  • Sunday 7 July, Ceredigion Growers Plant Fair, 10-3pm – forms for volunteers and cake/plant donations available at next month’s meeting.
  • Our August meeting’s  growing challenge – edible flowers/leaves in any form, eg cordial, flowers, leaves, cake – edible leaves. For some more ideas on what we can grow, try looking at www.maddocksfarmorganics.co.uk/edible-flowers-list have lists of edible flowers, how to grow them and how to crystallise them. And also  for some edible wild plants https://matteroftrust.org/14760/62-edible-wild-plants-that-you-didnt-know-you-can-eat; .
  • Finally advance notice of our May 15 th meeting when Steve Lloyd from Hergest Croft gardens is coming to Cothi, and is going to be holding a workshop type meeting on plant propagation of all types. For those who’ve never visited Hergest Croft it’s on the borders of England and Wales and has been in the same family for over 4 generations. Click here for more. The extensive gardens include a fantastic kitchen garden, herbaceous borders, perennials and a massive collection of over 5,000 different trees and shrubs. Steve went to work there from school in 1980, and is the head gardener. Over that time he’s propagated huge amounts of plants of all types, and will be bringing plants he’s grown for sale, as well as material to experiment with, and show us his favoured methods and tips. He’s also willing for Cothi members to bring along any plants which members have struggled to propagate and discuss best options. Steve not only has great experience, but is also a very enthusiastic speaker, so I’m sure we’ll all learn a lot from this evening. Book it in your diaries now!

Other events further afield which might interest CG members:

  • 6 April, Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens near Horsham, West Sussex reopens after being closed for 9 years. 240 acres with Loder Rhododendrons, azaleas, magnolias.
  • Wednesday 10 April, 7.30pm, Boncath. Richard Cave of Melcourt Industries, who produce peat free compost, are coming to Llechryd Gardening Club, Boncath. He will be describing the manufacturing process of their products and will bring samples for us to handle and learn their various uses. Some CG members use their compost, and also some local growers including The National Botanic Garden of Wales and Penlan Perennials. Entry is free for visitors. They usually have a raffle.
  • RHS Cardiff Flower Show. Friday April 12th to Sunday 14th. Click here for more details.                                                                                                                                                        __________________________________________________________________________________

Finally after a lovely spell of weather, keep your eyes peeled around the garden, you never know what you might see. Common lizards seem to enjoy basking on our outside watering standpipe, as the late afternoon sunshine warms this spot. They’re as regular as clockwork, around tea time, and don’t seem to mind me pausing to admire… 

See the separate page for the topical tips from last meeting, or click here.

Plants and Tips; Wildflower meadows; Which Compost to Use?

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A quick post to remind readers that anyone with any plants for sale to raise funds for the club can bring them along to the monthly meetings where we have a plant stall table at the rear of the hall.  Just pop a label in with what the plant is and a fair price. Each year this raises a significant amount towards the cost of our speakers, so we’re very grateful to everyone who brings and buys any plants in this way.

Yvonne is also always pleased to receive any members’ topical tips, either before the meeting, or written up on the white board on the night. Everyone will have their own little tips and routines about the how’s, what’s and when’s of their gardening years, so why not pass these gems on to others in the group?

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I know a number of Cothigardeners have an interest in wildflowers and wildflower meadows, so am including a brief mention of the spring meeting of the Carmarthenshire Meadows Group, (CMG) which is taking place on the morning of Saturday March 23rd at the Red Dragon Hall in Drefach Felindre. SA44 5UG

There will be 3 different brief presentations on how CMG members make hay from their small or large meadows ( often a key part of managing a wildflower meadow) as well as a talk by Dr. Lizzie Wilberforce of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales on managing grassland nature reserves. So plenty for anyone interested in creating a wildflower meadow area, large or small, to learn from. £3 per person for the morning’s meeting, beginning at 10.00 am. Refreshments included.

I’m convinced that all gardeners can learn a huge amount about how plants behave in natural communities from thinking about the spectacular effects that a traditional wildflower hay meadow can create.

Click here for more details on the CMG meeting.

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Choosing  which compost to use for growing any plants in containers is always a tricky decision. Members may be interested in a meeting at Llechryd gardening club in Boncath on Wednesday April 10th at 7.30 pm, when Richard Cave of Melcourt Industries, who make compost from wood material, will talk about the process and bring along some samples. Held in Boncath village hall. Click here for more on Melcourt. I know some Cothi members use Melcourt and are very happy with it.

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Next Cothi meeting Wednesday March 20th at 7.30 pm for the talk about the restoration of Abergwili Bishop’s Palace garden.

Snowdrops; Bishop’s Palace Restoration project; Tea Party; Summer Plant Fair; Lan Farm.

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The 2019 programme of speakers began last month with Cothi’s previous chairman Julian giving a talk/slide show on his passion for snowdrops. Not just covering the great variety of snowdrops in an attempt to persuade his audience that all snowdrops aren’t the same, it also dipped into when snowdrops might have arrived in the UK; how best to cultivate them; some of the amazing properties of snowdrops and a little bit about Julian’s project to assemble a database of Welsh snowdrops from pre 1850 sites. This has now probably passed the significant mark of over 150 forms from over 70 sites. It was great to see so many members at the meeting as well as several new faces, some of whom have donated snowdrops from their properties to Julian for his Snowdrop hunt.

After the talk, and following the interest in a similar auction last year, Julian auctioned off a number of his snowdrops, most named or linked with historic female galanthophiles, to put across the message that it isn’t just sad old blokes who fall under snowdrop’s spell! It raised a useful £54 for club funds, with top price going to one of the two  snowdrops on offer named after chaps – Cedric’s Prolific, selected by the great Beth Chatto from bulbs given to her by the artist Cedric Morris, whose garden it originally came from.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________Next month’s talk at 7.30 pm on Wednesday March  20th sees Louise Austin from Tywi gateway Trust coming to talk to us about the big project to restore the gardens at The Bishop’s Palace, Abergwili, Carmarthen. Click here for more information on the trust’s aims, but for those who’ve never visited the site, it was the private garden for the Bishops of St. Davids and has a history going back several hundred years. Louise will tell us much more about what’s been done already, and how anyone interested can get involved with volunteer work. By coincidence, Julian and Fiona visited the site 2 years ago after contacting the trust, and although there aren’t huge numbers of snowdrops on the site, were able to collect a small sample of a late flowering form to include in his snowdrop database. There is a lovely old walled garden, as well as wonderful woodland walks surrounding  the main Palace building which has been the site of the Carmarthenshire museum for many years. An aerial view of the site below, from the 1950’s…

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The Cothigardeners tea party at Aberglasney has been booked again for this summer after the success of last year, with a date of Wednesday May 22nd at 3 pm. The brilliant tea is £12 pp and a reduced garden entry of £7.25 pp for any members attending. Julian will need names and payments by the April meeting at the latest please, so we do hope many members will be able to make it, and once more we’ll be aiming to wear some sort of mad hats… ( though you don’t have to !) Whether we can manage weather as special as last year remains to be seen…

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Yvonne announced at last month’s meeting that there will be another plant fair this summer, on Sunday July 7th at Coronation hall Pumsaint. Although Ceredigion Grower’s Association will be hosting this year’s events, the gardening club will still have a plant stall, tombola and provide the refreshments, so make a note in your diaries, and look out for more information on how you can be involved and help out, before the big day, or with actual volunteer help on the Sunday. Again, it will be interesting to see what the weather is like this year!

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Last year, we were delighted that Karen Thomas from Talley joined Cothigardeners, and for those who don’t know, Karen is another member who has designed and made a beautiful garden which opens for charity under the National Garden Scheme, by arrangement. Having visited a couple of years ago, I can vouch for what a special place it is, and Karen joins the 4 other Cothi members who open their gardens some, or most, years in this way – a really impressive thing for such a small club, and all 5 gardens have been created by the current owners, which is even more special. So do think about getting up to see Karen’s really interesting and beautiful garden this year – you’ll get a very warm welcome, and the views are spectacular. Click here for more information on the garden and when it opens to the public in 2019.