The Princess and the Pea

Earlier this year - I might have mentioned it already - I managed to put my foot through our wooden patio table while trimming the Wisteria that grows on the pergola above it, as the wood had become somewhat rotten.  I had to endure the ritual scolding from the other occupant of the house, who was rather upsettingly more concerned with the damage to the table than the health and safety risks, or potential distress and harm that could have come to her husband.  Assessment of the damage was somewhat distressing as it became clear that a repair was not an option (and the table was not in fact that old to be that rotten either), and it meant another expense just after we found that the chimney was leaking.  Therefore, we had to say goodbye to the lovely greenhouse that we had planned, and buy some lead flashing, pay for another roofer to go on holiday to the Bahamas, and purchase a new table set.

After realising that too many new wooden table sets are actually made of remarkably thin slats (even many of the more expensive ones), and look lovely when you buy them, but are not likely to have very long lives, we decided on a metal set.  This was principally because, having destroyed the eight year old wooden set (which should have lasted a lot longer, but Things Are Not Made As They Used To Be), we ended up temporarily using our other twenty year old aluminium set which may not look quite like new. but is still going very, very strong. 

And this is where a new issue for today's gardeners comes in.  Whether wood, metal, rattan, plastic, or even plastic made to look rattan, nearly all chairs and benches today come with lovely cushions.  But where on earth do you store them?  Garden sheds are all very well, but today's gardens do not exactly have space for massive structures, and they are always a bit damp, potentially leading to mouldy cushions and covers.  Temporarily, therefore, until we managed to clear some space, we put the cushions for our new set (the old one did not have any), together with a bench cushion, into the conservatory. 

And this is what we found soon after.  A cat that always acts like a princess at the best of times, has apparently been reading our fairy tales and decided to go the whole hog.  Has she, we wondered, yet felt the pea beneath the mattresses?

 

May Meeting 2014 - What will grow in my garden?

Our meeting on May 14th 2014 was addressed by Mrs Alison Marsden, who spoke on the topic "What will grow in my garden?".   She gave an concise run-down on the factors that affect plants, and which determine the species that will and will not thrive in different situations.  The key factors include oxygen and carbon dioxide from the air, the type of soil, how damp it is, its acidity, and the climate of the area.

Although most of us grow on good old Hurst Green clay, we did discover that this type of soil has its advantages, as it will retain nutrients and moisture well.  We also found out that, while some plants prefer acid or alkaline soil, this factor actually makes it easier for the plant to absorb certain minerals that it needs, and that it is sometimes possible to grow plants suitable for one type of soil in another, if the minerals that it requires are instead artificially kept available for the plant.  As an example, rhododendrons prefer acid soil as it enables them to process iron, which they need to thrive - but you can grow rhododendrons and azaleas in less acid soil if sequestered iron is added religiously, to make up for the "wrong" type of soil. 

What do you with your ... Rhubarb

In the first of a (hopefully) regular series of "What To Do With Your Produce", aimed at ideas for using up a glut of (hopefully) home-grown veggies, fruit etc, I thought that I would repeat the recipes for the cocktail shots that we sampled at this month's meeting, if only to give an airing to our strange "arty" photographs of boozy drinks next to various flowers - I'm particularly impressed with this year's irises ... more seriously, these cocktails seemed to go down well and this blog is a good location to record the recipes for when you lose the paper versions handed out at the meeting.

The ideas put forward for using up rhubarb (apart from binning it, which is my personal preferred solution after being exposed to too much stringy rhubarb in too many school dinners), revolved around making a sweet rhubarb syrup and then using it in a number of ways, including in cocktails.  Remember, of course, that these should only be drunk in moderation!

Rhubarb Syrup

250g (8oz) chopped rhubarb

250g (8oz) sugar

½ litre (1 pint) water

Add all the ingredients to a pan and simmer until the rhubarb is soft.  Mash the rhubarb with a potato masher and then strain (you can use the strained rhubarb on ice cream, if you like).  

Chill the rhubarb syrup and use within 10 days.

The may be used in a number of ways – in fruit desserts or over ice cream, but is particularly good when used as part of a cocktail.

Incidentally, if you prefer a thicker pouring syrup, just simmer it until some of the water has evaporated, and it should thicken up nicely.  Just don't use too thick a syrup for the drinks that follow! 

 

Jilly’s Rhubarb Cocktail

Jilly's Rhubarb and Ginger Cocktail

1 part Rhubarb Syrup (as above)

1 part vodka

½ part lime juice

3 – 4 parts ginger ale (to taste)

Mix the syrup, vodka and lime juice together (or use a shaker, if you want to look professional). 
Top up with cold ginger ale and add ice if required.   

Drink!

Note:  the vodka may be left out for a teetotal version.

Rhubarb and Custard Cocktail

Cheat’s Rhubarb and Custard Cocktail

1 part Rhubarb syrup

1 part Advocaat

Add the syrup to a tall, thin glass.  Slowly pour the advocaat on top – it should float if added with proper care.  Serve as a layered cocktail – when the layers are drunk together and through each other, it will taste just like rhubarb and custard!

Club outing to Borde Hill and High Beeches gardens

On May 11^th, an intrepid bunch of members went on a club outing to Borde Hill and High Beeches gardens, which are very close to each other near Haywards Heath.  Members may recall that the Head Gardener of High Beeches, Russel Yates, gave a talk to the club back in March, and this was our return visit to see the gardens themselves.


The group photo - apologies to Jane and Brian who managed
to hare off to the tea room before the photo was taken and who are therefore missing!

Sculpture on show at Borde Hill

Borde Hill was the first stop, as it opened earlier than High Beeches.  The garden is a mix of formal gardens such as the Rose Garden for which it is famous, the Italian Garden, and areas such as the Azealea Ring and the Round Dell.  There is also a newly planted Midsummer Border.  Although it was a little early for the Rose Garden to be in bloom, the potential of this section of the garden was very obvious and there was still a good deal of interest for the visitors.  Borde Hill also has an exhibition of sculptures throughout the gardens, which led us around the areas nicely and added even more things for us to see (it is being held until the end of September).  Personally, I found the metal dragon exceptional, and was only saddened by being unable to afford it!

High Beeches is only ten or fifteen minutes away from Borde Hill by car, and is a woodland style of garden with extraordinary collection of trees, rhododendrons and azaleas.  There is also a wildflower meadow, which is billed as one of the best in Sussex and the South ; the flowers were only just beginning to show in this meadow on our visit, and some of the members on this trip will be going back later in June when it is supposed to be at its best.  However, the azaleas and rhododendrons were very much at their peak.  Although the weather had started off a little murky, with rain threatening (catch a glimpse of our hats at Borde Hill, for example), the sun came out in the afternoon  and the sky turned a glorious blue.  This made for a wonderful visit after a quick pit stop for refreshment in the High Beeches café - both properties have decent tea rooms serving a selection of snacks and meals.

High Beeches - the view on entry

There can be no substitute for pictures of a garden, and both are highly recommended for visits over the next few months, as you can see from the photographs illustrating this post.   A big thank-you to the drivers for this event, and we hope that more members will take up the opportunity to come on the visits – this one was very friendly and enjoyable, and they make a good opportunity to socialise with other members and get to know them.

Details may be found at www.bordehill.co.uk and www.highbeeches.com respectively.   

Borde Hill

 

The Italian Garden at Borde Hill

Rhododendrons at Borde Hill



The Round Dell at Borde Hill

High Beeches

 

Bluebells at High Beeches

Colour at High Beeches

The pool at High Beeches

A view down the garden at High Beeches

And finally ... The Mad Hatters at Borde Hill

One World Open Gardens 2014 - tickets now available

It is that time of year at which the One World Open Gardens tickets are made available.  For those who may not be aware, a number of local "real" gardens open for charity on Bank Holiday Monday 26th May.  One ticket gives access to all of the gardens, and costs £6 per person if bought in advance, or £7 if bought on the day. This year there are five gardens open.  Plants are available at the Plumbers Arms Allotments (the ones on the A25), and teas are available in two of the gardens en-route.

We thoroughly recommend this event if you are interested in gardens and garden design, as there are always ideas that you can use in your own garden.  It also gives you a chance to see what does and does not grow in the area.  The poster below (click to enlarge) gives the shops that are selling tickets, and Jane normally has some available at the May meeting.

May meeting 2014

Just a quick reminder that our meeting will be on Wednesday 14th May, when Mrs Alison Marsden will be talking on "What will grow in my garden?".  We hope to see you there!

As usual, 8.00 pm at St Agatha's Hall, Hurst Green.

Updating contact details - a gentle plea

We are currently in the process of trying to update members' addresses and telephone numbers, as well as email addresses as the latter can change a little more often.  Please could any member reading this article type a quick email to HGgardeningclub@gmail.com to confirm their details.

There is a practical reason for this, besides the obvious need to keep in touch.  As many members know, we are holding a member's open garden and garden party event on June 15th (a scanned invitation is below).  Although members who attended the Spring Challenge show should have received their "proper" invites (and we will be handing out more at the next meeting to anyone who attends and has not yet received one), we would like to send formal invites to any member who has not yet received theirs after the next meeting.  In addition, if we have your telephone numbers, we can postpone the party by a few weeks if the weather forecast is against us - but only if we can contact everyone easily.

So please, get in touch and confirm your details, even if you think we already have them.  Thank you.