Gardeners’ World – featuring Gelli Uchaf Garden

March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 / cothigardeners / Leave a comment

Gardeners’ World

Saturday March 5^th at 8pm (Friday March 4^th if you are in England!)

Gelli Uchaf Garden

We were rather pleased to get a call from a BBC2 Gardeners’ World researcher a few weeks ago asking about what Spring bulbs we grew and a bit of background to the garden and ourselves. We were told decisions would be made whether to come and see if we were suitable in the next few days…… a call duly came through and a visit from the recce team was scheduled for the following week. Two very nice chaps came and spent a couple of hours with us walking round the garden and chatting in cold, mizzly conditions while recording it all on a hand held video camera. Now we have been down this path before with the Beeb and it is at this point that we don’t hear anything further – for whatever reason we haven’t been quite what they were looking for. So we were more than a little surprised but delighted to get a call a couple of days after the recce to arrange dates for filming the following week.

Filming crocus in the snow!

Crocus opening in some sunshine

Another take – in the rain!

Filming Carol Klein as dusk falls

We would have to say it was the garden with its profusion of early spring flowers – Cyclamen, Snowdrops, Hellebores, Iris reticulata, Scilla mischtschenkoana et al all doing their best to impress, rather than the 2 gardeners that convinced the Beeb to come. The weather threw everything at us, mercifully with the exception of strong winds, which was brilliant as it demonstrated just what these wonderful Spring plants have to cope with and yet still manage to delight us with their early colour.

The three days of filming, one with the full team of five including the lovely Carol Klein, will be condensed down to about 6 minutes and will be broadcast in the first episode of the new series of BBC2 Gardeners’ World on Friday 4^th March if you live in England, and Saturday 5^th March at 8.30pm if you live in Wales.

You can read a write-up about it on the NGS website by following this link:

http://www.ngs.org.uk/what-we-do/news/bbc-gardeners-world-will-feature-colourful-welsh-ngs-garden-gelli-uchaf-in-carmarthenshire.aspx

or our own blog/website by following this link:

https://thegardenimpressionists.com/2016/02/15/tarka-on-stage-imogen-and-typhoon-tv-funny-valentine/

Fiona and Julian Wormald

New Programme Kicks off to a Great Start……..

February 19, 2016 / cothigardeners / Leave a comment

Now that one of the wettest winters on record is behind us, Cothi Gardeners have launched their 2016 programme.

At our February meeting we learned much about photography in the garden from Mary Pipkin; from how to use the various functions on our cameras to composing the scene or subject before actually taking the photograph. A really practical and informative evening which will hopefully improve our ability to take great pictures of our garden favourites. Below is one of Mary’s beautiful photographs many of which she brought to show us.

On March 16th at 7.30pm we are looking forward to our next speaker, Keith Treadaway, who will inspire us with his talk about the ever-popular Clematis. Join us to hear his advice on choosing the right species, where to plant them and how to look after them.

Keith has a wonderful collection of clematis at his garden near Tenby which is open to visitors under the NGS – definitely worth a visit. For details click here.

Photo by Keith Treadaway

Further speakers this year will include experts on perennials, growing vegetables and roses. We will also welcome representatives from some local gardens which are open to the public. For full details please contact Daisy on 01558 650829.

Cothi Gardeners meet at the Coronation Hall, Pumsaint on the third Wednesday of each month at 7.30pm. Annual membership costs £14, visitors and guests are most welcome too, £3 including refreshments.

Happy New Year to all; Colesbourne Park Snowdrops

January 8, 2016 / cothigardeners / Leave a comment

A very Happy New Year to you all.

Llinos sent the following photos of the snowdrops at Colesbourne Park to cheer us up amidst all the rain! Click here to see their website

Apologies for the lack of activity on the website/blog over the last few months but we have been without internet since the beginning of November. A new satellite system has now been installed so we will (hopefully) be back in action from now onwards.

The incessant rain over the last months and the unseasonable warmth we have experienced have combined to make gardening both miserable and surprising! Weeding and general maintenance have been challenging with the ground badly waterlogged and many bulbs (including a poor deluded Camassia) and other early flowering plants have been out weeks earlier than normal with us.

Hellebores and Cyclamen

Daphne Jaqueline Postl started flowering in early December this year

Looking forward to meeting up again at the AGM on Wednesday 20th January.

Saving Our Magnificent Meadows and Forthcoming Meetings

August 25, 2015August 25, 2015 / cothigardeners / Leave a comment

The Cothi Gardeners meeting in July was entitled Saving Our Magnificent Meadows. This Lottery funded 3 year project is aimed at targeting 9 areas of wild flower meadows and grassland across the UK, raising awareness of the plight of such rare and fast disappearing special places and giving the public access and information. The talk was given by two National Trust employees based at Llanerchaeron who are involved in the part of this UK wide scheme in Ceredigion. Several National Trust farms in the county are involved in the project and we were given information about how they are tackling the problems of bracken and over grazing in order to encourage greater diversity of flowers in the grassland.

More information can be found at http://www.magnificentmeadows.org.uk/

Anyone interested in meadows locally can find out more on the Carmarthenshire Meadows website by clicking here.

Cwmdu Meadow

Meadow at Cwmdu

The Cothi Gardening Club has much to look forward to in the coming months.

The August meeting on Wednesday 26th at 7.30pm is the Members Medley

The meeting will kick off with a review of the “Tomato Challenge”, so please bring a selection of fruit if you have them! Then there will be short presentations in 4 areas of the hall, followed by a buffet style refreshment. Can you please provide a plate of savoury or sweet items, drinks will be provided by the Club.
The intention is to have a casual, informative meeting sharing our knowledge/ skills and disasters!

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At our September meeting on the 16^th the talk is entitled South West China-Sourcing plants for our Climate and is given by the well known John Shipton.

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Looking to the following month of October we are very pleased to welcome Dr Noel Kingsbury the internationally known writer about plants, gardening and the environment. He is giving his popular and entertaining talk entitled, Women, Men and Gardening at 7.30pm on the 21^st. Entrance to this event is £5 (free for members) including refreshments.

Please see our events page for more details

Guests and prospective new members are always welcome, so do come along and join us.

Pest Control and our Inspirational Visit

July 16, 2015July 16, 2015 / cothigardeners / Leave a comment

June Meeting – Pests and how to get rid of them

George Sykes an entomologist gave us a fascinating and most informative talk using his wealth of experience advising governments at home and overseas to maximise crop productivity. He explained that the natural system is in equilibrium, but cultivating a garden upsets that, giving an opportunity for some species to multiply and become pests. He took us through the history of chemical controls to less invasive ways of dealing with common garden trials. He finished by saying that in many ways the human thumb is the best biological control! An informative and entertaining evening.

Ideas for controlling pests and weeds were also suggested by members during discussions after the talk such as milk for controlling mildew and ‘Grazers’ for controlling damage by rabbits, deer, pigeons and geese (http://www.grazers.co.uk/). See the gardening tips page for more information.

Inspirational Visit – Llanllyr Garden
On Sunday 28th June Cothi Gardeners had their inaugural ‘Inspirational Visit’ to Llanllyr garden at Talsarn (https://www.facebook.com/Llanllyr). We enjoyed the sunshine and were shown around the wonderful and indeed inspiring gardens by their creators Mr and Mrs Gee, the current owners of the property. Highlights were the rose garden which was in full bloom, the scents and colours quite amazing, the pool and the random flowering of white foxgloves throughout the garden giving a unity to the whole. The afternoon finished with a Welsh tea on the lawn – perfect!

Gathering in the car park

Chatting during the tour

Cothi Gardeners Meetings Update

April 13, 2015April 13, 2015 / cothigardeners / Leave a comment

At the March meeting of the Cothi Gardeners, Paul O’Neill gave an inspirational and fascinating illustrated talk,

‘The Last Cow – the Making of an NGS garden at Llwyngarreg’.

Paul and his wife Liz, both of whom are biologists moved to the 28 acres of Llwyngarreg in 1992 to follow their dream of self sufficiency. They worked hard at the dream but by 2000 small scale farming had left them exhausted and they realised that it was no longer sustainable. The last calf left the pastures that year and slowly a garden began to emerge from the farm. Paul was a Biology teacher and a group of his A level students gave him a Rhododendron as a leaving gift and so the love affair with particular plant groups was started.

Fifteen years later the 3 ½ acre garden is open to the public and is home to many specific habitats enabling rich collections of Meconopsis, Primula, Bamboo, Magnolia and surprisingly for wet West Wales, Agapanthus and Dierama (Angel’s Fishing rods). And it all started with a Rhododendron!

The next meeting of Cothi gardeners is on Wednesday 15^th April at 7.30pm when Jade from Wild Pickings will give us a talk on Foraging Products. In May Alison Sparshalt will talk about The Walled Garden at Treberfydd-A new Beginning. She will bring plants for sale too.

Future events to look forward to are on 21st October we will be welcoming Dr Noel Kingsbury the internationally known garden designer and writer on gardens and the environment. His naturalistic approach to planting seems to sit well here in Wales so we are very lucky to have this opportunity to have him talk at a Cothi Gardeners meeting.

Last year Jane, a member of Cothi Gardeners was diagnosed with lung cancer. She is a very positive person so true to form she started a fundraising campaign for the Roy Castle Lung Foundation. To help her raise as much money as possible for such an excellent cause Jane’s Garden Party will be held on Saturday evening 4^th July and from 1-6pm on Sunday 5^th July. More details will be available in May.

We are an open group who welcomes new faces, so do join us at 7.30 pm on the third Wednesday of the month, in the Coronation Hall, Pumsaint. Members are £12/year and visitors £2/ meeting.

Click the follow button on our home page to get regular posts and updates.

More details about the group can also be obtained from Elena 01558 685321 or Daisy 01558 650829

COTHI GARDENERS – AGM AND QUIZ

February 19, 2015March 17, 2015 / cothigardeners / Leave a comment

COTHI GARDENERS – AGM AND QUIZ

Cothi Gardeners reviewed 2014 and started our new gardening year with our AGM and New Year ‘bring a dish’ supper on January 21^st. Twenty five members of the club gathered at the Coronation Hall, Pumsaint for the evening to hear Chairperson Daisy expertly steer us through her report, the finances, and the election of the committee members for the coming year. We were given tantalising hints about the good things planned for 2015, for example a ‘Growing Challenge’, an inspirational garden visit and a website and blog.

After the formalities of the business part of the meeting we all relaxed over our ‘bring a dish’ feast and were entertained by Derek’s ‘slightly easier than last years’ quiz! It was an enjoyable evening marking the start of the new gardening year.

We are an enthusiastic and friendly bunch of gardeners who meet on the third Wednesday of every month in the Coronation Hall Pumsaint at 7.30. Members pay £12 for a year and visitors are most welcome for £2 per visit, which includes refreshments.

Why not join us for our next meeting on March 18^th at 7.30 when the speaker will be Paul O’Neill. He will give a talk intriguingly titled ‘The Last Cow-the making of a NGS garden at Llwyngarreg.

The April meeting is about ‘foraging products’ and will be given by Jade Mellor from Wild Pickings who was featured in a recent Country Living magazine article.

We look forward to welcoming both familiar and new faces in March. More information available from Daisy on 01558 650829 or Elena on 01558 685321.

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