185,000 Lego Bricks Later ...
We have An Instant Garden At Hampton Court Flower Show 2010

The first lego garden, complete with plants, birds, butterflies and even pirates (yep, a garden isn’t a garden is it without a pirate!!!) appeared at this year’s Hampton Court Flower Show.

I’m not sure if I like the idea of garden shows having ‘artificial’ flowers on show in their gardens. If it looked like a show garden, but made from lego, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, but the one at Hampton Court seems to have stretched the imagination rather than showing a parade of lego florals ...

We’ve had plasticine gardens at Chelsea, lego gardens at Hampton Court ... what’s next, sugar flowers at Southport???

I’m Feeding My Soul ...

“If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
and from thy slender store
Two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy Hyacinths to feed thy Soul.”

Sadi

Choosing A Healthy Hyacinth ...
Size Matters!

With bulbs you tend to get what you pay for – the lower the price the lower the quality of bulb, which is often reflected in the bulbs being fairly small. When buying your Hyacinth bulbs ideally you should be able to feel the bulbs before you buy – so get them from your local garden centre. Avoid any of the bulbs that are damaged, shriveled or feel soft – rather choose the bulbs that are plump, firm and dry and which feel almost flaky. Never buy bulbs that are cracked or broken in any way. The size of the bulb will affect the size of flowers they produce in their first year. If you buy small hyacinth bulbs they may not flower in the first year rather it could take two to three years before they bloom.

Which Type Of Hyacinth to Buy ...
Eeny, meeny, miny mo ...

The Let’s Grow School Campaign ...
I remember back in the days of ‘slate & chalk’ growing plants at school – I must have been about 9 and I can still remember after all these years the Sensitive Plant which I got to take home – and whenever I have a new Sensitive Plant it takes me back to those school .

Growing Schools ...
The government has now put a new initiative in place ‘Growing Schools’

“Every young person should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development. “

“I welcome the efforts businesses are making to support Learning Outside of the Classroom Manifest and Growing Schools initiative by encouraging young people to get actively involved in outdoor learning activities such as growing or gardening. I hope young people and their teachers use these resources to grow their own food at school and at home.”
Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners

Winning Show Gardener Banned ...
For Being A Winner???

I don’t know Barry Micklethwaite but what I do know is that we all like to win. If you win something for the first time it’s really exciting, once you’ve won something for the third or fourth time the pressure is on to keep winning ... but one shouldn’t be stopped from having a go!

It Can Be Hard Being A ‘Good’ Winner ...

There’s even etiquette helping you be a ‘good winner’ (basically not annoying the losers):

“Think about what you’re winning” – you should react differently depending on what sort of situation you’re in.
“Smile appropriately” – not a cheesy grin
“Look Confident” but don’t look arrogant ... it’s also a good idea not to laugh (unless you want the crowd to throw things – tomatoes maybe??)
“Don’t Brag About It” once you’ve won – people don’t like it if you keep saying you’re the best thing since sliced bread!

Back To The Story In Hand ...

A Case Of Split Personality?

This extremely rare chrysanthemum has been found by William Underwood, growing in his garden in Cavendish, Suffolk.

Noticed by the 73 year young pensioner on Monday 17th August, William said

“What makes it unusual is it is just one flower and not two different coloured flowers growing on one stem. The rest of my chrysanthemums are yellow so I think this one is trying to escape back to its original state.”

Incredibly Rare …
This type of bloom – where the colour of the flower is split straight down the middle – is extremely rare, occurring in Britain around five times a year.

Botanist James Armitage of the RHS explained

“Bi-coloured flowers are an abnormality and while we take tens of thousands of calls here every year we don’t hear of very many.
The phenomenon probably occurs at a very early stage of the flower’s development, probably when it consists of just two cells.

As the cells divide, half are of the new colour and half are the standard colour. This results in a very odd-looking flower with a definite demarcation line down the middle.”

Are They Heading This Way???

“da da da da da da da da” I’m humming the Dambusters theme as I write – although it’s not from Germany that we can be expecting an invasion but France!

Made In China ...

Apparently these Chinese Hornets – or Vespa Velutina as they liked to be called – booked an excursion to France in 2004 (researchers think they arrived in a boat carrying ceramic goods) and since then have set up camp, with recent studies recording 1,100 nests across France, with established colonies near Bordeaux and spreading as far north as parts of Brittany in north-western France.

Quentin Rome, a researcher at the National History Museum in France explained “They multiply quite quickly, and they settle in a new department (administrative division) every year.”

It’s Not Who You Are It’s Who You Know ...

Bee Afraid ...
Bee Very Afraid ...

(sorry – very poor insect humour!)

Peak Week For Wasps...
This is the week which you need to be especially carefully when buzzing around outdoors – as according to the Home Emergency Insurance Compact ‘Homeserve’ the last week in July is the peak of the stinging season. This is the most popular week for customers to call out pest controllers to deal with emergencies relating to stinging insects.

And it’s not only us that need to be wary ... although a wasp will sting us where it can find abit of bare flesh, so your dog the most likely place it will get stung is in its mouth – curiously stung the dog and all that as the poke the noses into places they shouldn’t!!

What to Do If You’re Stung ...

Alan Titchmarsh
(a ‘God’ in my eyes although I tend to fall asleep during his Radio 2 programmes …)
MBE (appointed in the 2000 honours list),
VMH (awarded in 2004 this is the Victoria Medal of Honour from the RHS for outstanding services to horticulture)
has been appointed as a new Vice President for the RHS. Not only is Alan one of the country’s best known gardeners, he is a keen supporter of the RHS Campaign for School Gardening (CSG).

Joining alongside Alan is
Lord Heseltine,
CH, former Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the Haymarket Media Group which includes the publications Garden Retail and Horticultural Week.
A keen gardener, Lord Heseltine’s arboretum in Oxfordshire contains one of the most important private collections of tree specimens in the UK with over 3000 different trees and shrubs.

The third new Vice President is
Dr Kiat Tan,
a former Director of Singapore’s National Parks Board and a leading authority on orchids – under his direction the National Orchid Garden in the Singapore Botanic Garden became a major tourist attraction.

These three new Vice Presidents join an array of existing Vice Presidents all of whom make a significant contribution to the achievement of the RHS ai8ms and objectives and exercise influence on behalf of the Society.