- April 2025: Gardening the Globe - Commonwealth War Graves - Alan Gregory
- March 2025: "Mottisfont's Roses" - Michael Harvey
- February 2025: "Bees and Other Pollinators" - Alan Baxter
- November 2024: Club Annual General Meeting
- October 2024: "Soil Management and Formation" - Chris Bird
- September 2024: "Gardening for Climate Change" - Kelvin Mason
- August 2024: "Heavenly Hostas" - John Barker
- July 2024: Awayday to West Green House garden
- June 2024: “Unusual plants available to the British gardener” – Roger Hirons
- May 2024: annual Club sale
- April 2024: Wildflowers of Greece and the Vegetation of Table Mountain including Kirstenbosch
- March 2024: "Topical Tips and New Ideas"
- February 2024: "Creating a Winter Garden"
- Previous Years
The meeting opened with Club President Doug Glading presenting a book to the President of the Trustees of the Memorial Hall, Penny Melvillle-Brown OBE. The book is the culmination of years of work carried out by Doug researching and telling the story of the 19 people who are commemorated on the plaque in Catisfield Memorial Hall commemorating the local men and women who lost their lives during the Second World War. To celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE-Day he turned his research into a 'photobook' which in due course will be on display in the Hall.
The evening's talk
Alan the began his talk. During the First World War the government made a decision not to repatriate fallen soldiers due to the cost and resources this would require. Initially bodies were usually buried where they fell by their surviving comrades, but in 1916 the War Graves Commission was formed at the request of Fabian Ware, a Red Cross volunteer, who had already started trying to identify and mark the graves of British soldiers. Over time a decision was made to concentrate the bodies in larger cemeteries, and eventually the CWG Commission was set up to maintain these.
Photo above: Alan Gregory
Members' Competition
The Members' competition was entitled “It’s Easy Being Green”and consisted of a display of any flowers from members' gardens in a re-cycled or re-purposed container. Winners and other entries are shown below.
Other News
Glenn reminded members that tickets are on sale for the Club Awayday to West Dean Gardens on 17th July and the private tour of Titchfield Abbey on 7th August. He also mentioned that the visit to St Margaret's Nursery, originally scheduled for 26th June, has moved to 5th June.
Alan Baxter reminded members to report any sightings of Asian Hornets using the app, online form or email address (more information here: https://www.catisfieldgardeningclub.online/useful-information#AsianHornets). He brought in a model to show members what to look out for, pictured below; note in particular the large amount of black colouring, the yellow band close to the tail and the yellow legs.
Photo above: Michael Harvey
- Mulching is incredibly beneficial, use your own compost or other plant-based organic material
- Prune roses in the Winter / early Spring, ideally between January and March, no later than 1st April. Pruning varies depending on the type of rose, see the article in our February newsletter for links to detailed guidance. However, most roses don't need to be hard-pruned, consider the over all shape you want the plant to be.
- Plant deeply (set grafting point to 2 inches below soil level) to help prevent wind rot. New plants will benefit from the addition of mycorrhizal fungi.
- Start watering 1-2 weeks before hot weather is expected if possible, then water regularly until it cools down
- Roses do not like strong nutrients, mulching should give them all the food they need. Do NOT use manure.
The Members' competition was entitled “Spring has Sprung”and consisted of an arrangement, in your members' own containers, of either narcissi, crocus or snowdrops, a dozen stems maximum of the same variety. In practice only three entries were received, all featuring narcissi, and all three won prizes.
- Don't use chemical sprays
- Leave flowering weeds. Dandelions are particularly helpful for pollinators
- Have a diverse mix of flowers, native / local varieties are particularly useful
Photos above: Alan Baxter
The Members' competition was entitled “The Winter Garden” and consisted of a display winter flowering perennials in members' own vases. The prize winning and other entries are shown below.
Photos above: Glenn presents Lorraine with her Banksian Medal, members enjoying the quiz
Chris provided a lot of information but a few key points are:
- Soil should be moist and frost free for planting or mulching
- If the soil sticks to your boots stay off it to avoid compaction
- The appearance of worm casts is a good indicator that your soil is warm enough for sowing seeds
- Earthworm colour can be an indicator of soil health: light brown indicates healthy soil, black or blue indicates problems.
A more detailed summary of Chris's talk is available to Members only (you will need the current password to access it) under Useful Information / Fact Sheets.
Sadly there were no entries for this month's Members competition which was for a carved pumpkin or gourd.
- Compost all your organic waste;
- Add lots of organic matter to your beds - mulch with your compost or other organic matter to a depth of at least 2 inches / 5cm every year;
- Collect and reuse water. Rain water is ideal but most grey water can also be used (ie water from washing vegetables, washing up and bathing. Don't use the output from a dishwasher due to salt content);
- Reduce hard landscaping e.g. non-permeable paving (which causes water run off and flooding) and decking (which attracts rats). Replace it with vegetation e.g. a lawn, or if it's still needed use porous paving or gravel;
- Replace walls and fences with hedges;
- Plant in 4 layers: tree, shrub, herbaceous plants and short / ground cover plants. This increases year-round interest, slows down rain so that it is less likely to run off and provides habitats for many creatures.
After the tea break, Kelvin spoke about planting native British trees in our gardens. He recommended purchasing bare root trees directly from the grower, these can be ordered in advance online for delivery over the winter months. Once received they should be planted in a hole wide enough to accommodate all of the roots and deep enough to plant the tree to the same depth as it was previously planted (which can usually be identified by a change in colour or a flare at the base of the trunk). Insert your stake before you plant your tree to avoid root damage. If you cannot plant them immediately heel them in i.e. pop in a hole or trench and cover the roots with soil or compost; it is important not to let the roots dry out. Keep the tree well watered for its first two years.
Kelvin then went on to talk about how to identify plants which are likely to be drought-resistant. Signs include fleshy leaves which store water (e.g. succulents), thin or needle like leaves which reduce transpiration (e.g. rosemary, lavender, grasses), grey, hairy leaves which again reduce transpiration, deep root systems (e.g. acanthus, achillea), low growth (e.g. alpines).
Kelvin has written a book on the topic of adapting your gardening for Climate Change which can be purchased by clicking on the photograph below:
The Members' competition for September was "Autumn Glory” – a display of late summer blooms, max 5 stems. Winners and other entries are shown below.
- pellets (the modern, iron-based ones which are not harmful to wildlife)
- home-made solutions of Espom Salts (2 tablespoons / gallon of water, do not use table salt which is harmful to soil)
- ammonia (10% solution applied fortnightly)
- garlic spray (2 crushed bulbs boiled in 1 litre of water, then further diluted by adding 1 tablespoon of this to a litre of water and applying fortnightly)
- coffee grounds (re-brewed at a rate of 1 cup to 9 litres of water applied fortnightly, grounds are available free of charge from Garsons)
- beer traps.
After the tea break Glenn Duggan gave a short talk about the history of Blackbrook Park which was created as a recreational space for the Heathfield estate with flowers added in 2010.
The Members' competition was for a beautiful painting or photo of something in the garden. In view of the copyright nature of the entries to this competition they can only be viewed by current members, click on the button below and enter this year's password to see them (password available from the newsletter editor - newsletter@catisfieldgardeningclub.co.uk - if you need a reminder).
Club Chair Glenn informed members that next year's annual awayday will take place on Thursday 17th July, when we will visit West Dean gardens. The cost of £22.50 will include a tour, and tea and scones in the Grand Dining Room of the main house which is not normally open to the public!
Plant & Garden Item Sales - £624.75 up £41.64 from 2023
Raffle £139 up by £2 from 2023
Visitors Entrance £49.50 up £8.50.
Photo above: speaker Gerald Ponting
Members' Competition
The members' competition was entitled ““Spring Spray” – an arrangement of spring blossoms, max 5 sprigs.. Winners can be seen below.
- when re-seeding your lawn, put the seed in a closed bin bag with some compost for 4 days first. This causes the seed to swell which discourages birds from eating it.
- contrary to common recommendation, site your compost bin on a solid base e.g. paving stones. This discourages pests such as rats, and Ray advises that you don't really want worms in your compost, it's better to encourage them to stay in the garden soil.
Photo above: speaker Ray Broughton with Club Chair Glenn Duggan
Asian Hornets
At the beginning of the meeting, Alan Baxter reminded members of the dangers of Asian Hornets. There was an article on this topic in the May 2023 newsletter, and you can find information about how to identify it here: https://www.nonnativespecies.org/assets/Uploads/ID_Vespa_velutina_Asian_Hornet_5.0-1.pdf; the photos below may also help.
If you spot one in your garden report it using the free Asian Hornet Watch App, via the Non Native Species online notification form, by email to alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk or direct to Alan if you have his details. Where possible a photo, the location of the sighting and a description of the insect seen should be included.
Members' Competition
The members' competition was entitled “Happy Easter” and consisted of an Easter-inspired floral arrangement in a small basket. Winners and other entries can be seen below.
Photo above: speaker Mark Porter enjoys a joke with Club members
