Didn't We Do Well? Victory - Again - at the Spring Challenge!

The whole hall.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to all those
who took the time to exhibit - and to those who took the time to
organise and help out at the show!

Hoorah for Hurst Green Gardening Club!  Last week saw our annual Challenge against Godstone Gardeners' Club, held this year on "away turf" at the White Hart Barn in Godstone.  Having won in 2014, we were not expecting a positive result this year, particularly as we had no home advantage, but we can report that Hurst Green won again!  For those of a statistical frame of mind, the final score was Hurst Green - 76 to Godstone - 61.  This 15 point lead, (described rather kindly by Jane as "close" - Ed) when our Club is significantly smaller and was not on home ground, was remarkable, and is testament to the competitiveness and ability of many of our members.



The daffodil classes in this year's show.

Regardless of the actual outcome, however, the real purpose of the show is to allow two local clubs to have a social get-together, and to foster good relations between us, while giving both sets of members some lovely displays to gawp at - and they were very much gawpable (Is this  a word? - Ed) this year with entries in all classes including doubles and miniatures.  So, to Godstone, a special "thank-you" for your hard work in staging the show and organising a wonderful buffet during the judging!  This was a very enjoyable evening, and we would also like to extend our thanks to all those members (of both clubs) who exhibited or just came along for the evening, as without the entries and the visitors these show events would be nothing.


Tulips and pot classes

And, to all those who did not manage to make the show, or who may be nervous at showing their
blooms for the first time, please do take the plunge into showing and attending.  As a local club, our shows are not aimed at RHS national quality displays, but at a realistic local level, and "growing-and-showing" is rather addictive once you start, and not at all hard - every person has at least one item that is suitable for show, even if you think that you do not.  It is also wonderful for members to see plants and varieties that they do not know, and might like for themselves - without entries, shows like this will die out, and we really, really think it would be a shame if that were to happen.  The Spring Challenge had some extra classes introduced this year (cut tulips and single daffodil stems) specifically to allow even novices to have a go, and to ensure that there was a good spread of entries regardless of the weather, and all of our shows have classes that are suitable for novices and the more experienced alike.  Best of all, and the point of it all, is that they are enjoyable and great fun!

So, please do speak to our Show Secretaries, Jilly and Jeremy, or any other member of the committee for some advice on how to get started.  After two years' defeat in a row, we will need all your entries next year, as we are sure that Sylvia will not be taking this lightly and will be dragooning her troops into a win next year - unless we stop her again!  We are wanting the hat trick...

Second prize in the 6 stem class (may be mixed) -
Narcissus "Sunny Girlfriend"

Narcissus Bulbicodium "Golden Bells"
First place in the container of daffodils class.

Cut Tulip classes - new for this year

Spring Baskets - always a popular class, especially for visitors.

A flowering pot plant (pot over 7") - a Pleione (left)
and a Rhododendron - rather "Little and Large"!

A Growing Pot of Tulips

An Update on the Bulbs at Hurst Green Station

Crocus and Tete-a-Tete on the station approach

You may remember that the Gardening Club has been working with Mighty Oaks Youth Group (follow this link).  One of the projects that we undertook with them last year was the planting of some bulbs at the station in order both to improve the outlook for the residents, and to give an introduction to gardening to some of the youngsters that might like that sort of thing.

If you have been to the station recently, you should have seen that a number of the bulbs are now emerging.  We planted daffodils and crocuses amongst others, and the first of these have put in an appearance.  As this is the first year, they will appear rather sparse, but we hope and expect that the colonies of plants should soon establish and that, as the years go by, these will provide a much more spectacular sight.  We also intend to assist with more planting at the station to improve through the years, perhaps with primroses on the banks to replace all those primroses lost from the railways over the last fifty years.  We would also hope to have a second planting of bulbs to make up for any losses from the original planting, and to replace those that did not come up.

Daffodils on the bank

We have not finished with this project, and we are involving ourselves more with both the Mighty Oaks Youth Group and the newly established Creative Community project in Hurst Green.  We will be presenting more information at one of our meetings, and more details may be found on the Creative Community website, creativecommunityhg.blogspot.com.  It is early days, but watch this space!

Daffodils - Yellow Pest or Harbinger of Spring?

Narcissus Dutch Master. 
Garish and very, very yellow.

Many people have a deep, dark secret; whenever they hear another garden visitor utter the words "Daffodils! How lovely! Spring has arrived!", they cannot help but think "Yuk!  Can't stand the blasted yellow things."  But, of course, they never dare speak out and say so, as to do so might mark them as a pariah of the gardening world.

However, the attitude is much more common than might be believed; for many years, I myself used to look at the Yellow Perils with disdain.  They just seemed so ... well, ugly, for want of a better word.  Garish yellow heads on a stiff upright stalk that also managed to be unattractive in its own right, with those spade-like leaves that start to flop and look tatty so quickly.  Snowdrops, crocus, even many tulips just seemed so much more elegant, somehow.  Daffodils did not, contrary to popular opinion, nod gently and delicately in the breeze, but came up and smacked you round the face like a thug demanding all your attention, or worse, your wallet.  I could cope, and even appreciate - to a degree - a whole field of daffodils, seen at a distance, (such as at Stonewall Park - a local garden open for the NGS) but a small clump here and there seemed so crass and out of place.

Narcissus Bulbicodium - the "Hoop Petticoat".
Cute, and much more elegant.

The problem seems to be that very few people outside of the gardening world understand that there are many, many more daffodils out there than that brazen hussy of the type, the Dutch Master, the yellow thug that appears in local parks, gardens and hedgerows.  This cultivar has, almost single-handedly, given the genus a terribly bad name; available for a few pence each in nets of 20 kilos or more to landscapers and  local authorities, it seems to be the daffodil of choice for municipal parks and gardens.

Narcissus Rip Van Winkle.  A relatively small double
daffodil, which we have heard a number
of members asking about.

But the daffodil family is immense; there are over 10 divisions specified for exhibiting in shows, including the one that actually says "none of the other divisions, because we can't just keep adding more and more divisions even though we really, really need to".  It is almost impossible not to find a variety that you do not like, whether it is one of the smaller varieties such as Tete-a-Tete, or the small double Rip Van Winkle (both of which do well in the Hurst Green clay), to the tiny bulbicodiums known as "hoop petticoats".  Then there are the later flowering Poet's Daffodils (Narcissus Poeticus), which are much more refined, to the split coronas and the doubles that flounce their wares like the curtains in a  French Madam's boudoir (Ed - or so you have been told, I suppose?).  If you like fragrant plants, try growing Bridal Crown or Avalanche in pots and bring them inside when in flower.

Narcissus Bridal Crown - scented and multiheaded.
Also very pretty.
Image courtesy of crocus.co.uk

The point is that not all daffodils are the garish yellow municipal variety that you see in all of our parks and gardens.  We do have our spring competition against Godstone coming up on the 15th April, and it is an ideal opportunity to see a variety of types of daffodil close up - so do come along and be prepared to give daffodils a chance!