The Name of the Rose

Rosa Wedding Day - in closeup
Photo courtesy Wych Cross

Not a discussion of the mystery novel by Umberto Eco, which was popular a number of years ago, but a rambling on roses and their names!

I recently attended a very small wedding.  We were asked not to bring gifts, but I have never been particularly obedient, and therefore decided to buy something plant related for the happy couple, who were fortunately enthusiastic gardeners.  Naturally, my first thought was to buy a rose, and in particular the variety Wedding Day.  Off I trotted to the fabulous Wych Cross rose nursery in the Ashdown Forest, to purchase it (click on the link to visit their website).  Or not to buy it, as it turned out, as I had made a big mistake and hadn't fully researched the rose beforehand.

Rosa Wedding Day - 30 foot high!
Photo courtesy crocus.co.uk

Let's consider the demographic of the people for whom  you would normally be buying Wedding Day as a present (at the risk of sounding like a geography teacher, which would require a pair of corduroy trousers).  Most of the time, surely, this will be a younger couple, probably without much gardening experience.  They won't have had much time to move up the property ladder and so are probably living in a small house, with a tiny garden, or a flat with a shared garden, assuming that they are likely to ever be lucky enough to own their own property at today's hyper-inflated prices.  What horticultural genius, therefore, decided to give the name Wedding Day to a thirty foot rambling rose?  What on earth are your typical newlyweds going to do with it?  It will swamp a small garden, and definitely won't be welcome in a shared garden.  Surely, with a teeny bit of thought, someone must have realised that if you want a genuine commemoration of your wedding, plant-wise, it should be small and portable.  A patio rose is ideal - it can sit in a pot and be transported from property to property.  It won't annoy anyone in a shared garden, and can even sit on a balcony or doorstep if that is the only space available.  And if the rose should unfortunately snuff it, at least they will still have the pot it was given in to remind them of the gift!  The Bride and Groom in this particular wedding do have a garden, but it is never going to be the type of place that could cope with a thirty foot rambler.

Rosa Newly Wed
Photo courtesy Wych Cross

Fortunately, Wych Cross (a word of warning - this nursery does not open on a Sunday), has a whole section dedicated to suitably named roses for special occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, baby arrivals etc.  There is even a hybrid tea rose named Champagne Moments which covers a multiple of events - assuming, I suppose, that the recipient is not teetotal.  For matrimonial occasions they have some hybrid teas called Wedding Celebration and Special Occasion, and also some patio roses too.  Unfortunately, these turned out to have slightly naff names (in the words of Princess Anne, who coincidentally has a rose named after her), such as Newly Wed and Lovely Bride; the latter was not desperately appropriate as the Bride at this particular wedding was a pensioner.  Not, I hasten to add, that the Bride wasn't lovely, but there are some adjectives that are suitable for adults as we grow older, and some that are really a bit more suited to much younger pre-adolescents, "lovely" being one of them.  Frankly, at this point of my life, I'd be happy to receive a rose called Well Preserved, but this doesn't seem to be available even from a specialist nursery.

If I am in the same position again, I think that I would research it a little better.  The RHS plant finder has loads of plants listed under "wedding" and "bride", and I could have found a suitably named (and sized!) fuschia or clematis without too much trouble.  It's just that, for special occasions, I always turn to a rose.

Spring Show Photo - 1st Prize

Members may like to feast their eyes on the winning entry for the Photographic class in the Spring Competition.  It was an entry from Hurst Green (which is rather evident from St Agatha's Hall visible in the background!) but the anonymous nature of the competition means that I shouldn't really let anyone know who entered it.  Oh, all right - step forward David Firmin, and take your bow ...



         Captioned with:
 I Wandered lonely as a cloud
          That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
          When all at once I saw a crowd,
          A host, of golden daffodils;
          Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
          Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
(Wordsworth, 1807)

Fame at last!

Not to belabour a point, bur members might like to know that our Spring Challenge was given a very positive write-up, complete with photo, in the Surrey Mirror (Thursday April 17th issue, pages 38 - 39).  Thanks to Pat for letting us know where to look.  Click on the images, and hopefully they will expand and be readable...

Fame, fame at last - Mr DeMille, we're ready for our close-ups!

From little seeds do mighty oaks grow ...

Jane and Carol (and Jilly with the camera!)
assisting with seed planting
at Mighty Oaks YOuth Group

Members may remember that, in recent meetings, we discussed the possibility of working with local youth groups.  To start us off, three stalwarts of the Club visited the Mighty Oaks Youth Group, which meets every Friday night at the community centre.  We are hoping to collaborate with the group to improve the environs of Hurst Green, starting with a project at the station later in the year.  In the meantime, we sowed seeds - both literally and metaphorically - with the youth group with the aim to plant flowers in the vicinity of the Community Hall where the group meets.
As it was our first outing, we started small, and planted sunflowers, nasturtiums, and nigella.  All the children knew sunflowers, and we brought pictures of the nasturtiums and nigella so that they could see what they were planting.  There was a definite gender divide on the nigella; the boys liked the blue colour, while the girls liked the soft floating wispiness of its appearance!  Jeremy and I had visited the RHS London plant fair a few weeks ago, and we asked advice from the ever-helpful Joy of Sea Spring seeds (click to follow the link); she suggested that the children might like to grow pea shoots; although this strays from the brief a little, it has the dual advantage of providing a quick result - the children will be eating them within four weeks - and educated them in how easy and rewarding it can be to grow our own food.

This project is an important start in introducing the Club to the wider community, and to making a difference in it.  If it is something that you would like to be involved with, please speak to Jane, Carol or Jilly for more information, or email us on HGgardeningclub@gmail.com.

Hurst Green Triumphant!

Sylvia (Godstone) surrenders the Teddy
to Jane (Hurst Green)

I am pleased to report that Hurst Green won the Spring Challenge Competition 2014 against Godstone, and the Challenge Teddy has been returned to us following a brief stay with Godstone.  Triumphant, resurgent, call us what you will, but this was a wonderful result for us, particularly for what is a relatively small club against the larger one at Godstone.

As well as being pleased and proud that we won this Challenge, the Club should be even more pleased about the success of the show itself.   Despite concerns that there would be few entries in the daffodil classes, the attendance was remarkable, as were the number of exhibits, and there was no class left without a number of entries.  The arrangements of mixed spring flowers were glorious and without doubt put winter to bed for another year.  Anyone who attended must have been impressed by the quality of the show that we managed to produce, from the staging, to the exhibits, right through to the food.  As I have already mentioned, attendance by members was very good, the atmosphere was grand, and I believe that this was an excellent show for a small local club such as our own.  Congratulations to all are very much in order!

The Show just before judging commenced, focusing on Classes 1-8 (Narcissi).

Huge thanks must also go to all the Godstone competitors who made the trip, put in the effort  (and flowers) to show in each class, and who contributed towards the overall warmth and success of the event.   Thanks also to all of our members - and there were a good many - who attended and exhibited on the night.  The Club would also like to extend a big thank-you to our judges, Brian Knight of Knights at Nags Hall, and  Paul Grimmer of Plants 'N Gardens on the A22 by the Newchapel roundabout, who spent a great deal of time deliberating over the entries.


Brian and Paul judging Class 13 - a wine glass containing primroses.

For those of you into counting and the nitty-gritty, the final score was Hurst Green with 62 points against Godstone with 51.  Hurst Green achieved 9 x first places, 12 x seconds and 11 x third places;  Godstone's placements were 10 x firsts, 7 x seconds and 7 x thirds.  However, placement in the top three positions is not the be-all-and-end-all, and it is very pleasing to see any and all entries, and more importantly to share a comfortable evening with our friends from Godstone!

We look forward to next year - but with no resting on our laurels!

Why we were there!
A closeup of a Class 8 daffodil - 1 vase 6 stems Narcissi,
any colour may be mixed.

Class 18 - Easter baskets

Class 17 - A vase of mixed spring flowers and/or shrubs

Class 17 in close up - A vase of mixed spring flowers and/or shrubs

Class 15 - Pansy heads

Class 10 - A container of tulips



And finally, don't forget the food!

April meeting - Annual Spring Show Challenge Competition

Just a reminder that our meeting this Wednesday 9th April is the Spring Challenge versus Godstone Gardening Club.  They won the challenge teddy back last year, so we need to put on a good show with plenty of entries to win it back!

It is our turn to host the event this year, at St Agathas.  The hall will be open for staging from 7.30, and members are asked to bring a plate of food for refreshments once the judging commences.

Although many daffodils have "gone over", there are a number of other classes for spring flowers and pot plants.  The schedule is available from the links on the right or by clicking here.