PROGRAMME FOR SOCIAL EVENINGS
AND OTHER EVENTS IN 2010/11
Held in
the Manor House Sports & Social
Centre,
Meetings
start at 8pm
(unless otherwise stated)
Doors open at 7.30
If you have any ideas
for future talks please contact Jo Bromwich
OCTOBER 21 How to encourage bees into your garden with Ann Wingate
NOVEMBER 18 Neale Holmes-Smith “Making the most of perennials”
NOVEMBER 26 QUIZ NIGHT starts @ 7.30 £9 per ticket
DECEMBER 16 CHRISTMAS SPARKLE
MEETING British Cheese Council – cheese tasting”
2011
JANUARY 20 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 7.30pm
FEBRUARY 17
MARCH 11 SPRING QUIZ NIGHT
MARCH 17
MARCH 26 SPRING SHOW in Henderson Hall
APRIL 21
MAY 19
JUNE 11 CARNIVAL STALL
SEPTEMBER 11 AUTUMN SHOW in
GUESTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME – guest entrance
£1
KATE’S OUTINGS
OCTOBER 16TH Return to visit to Bedgebury Pinetum by
car. Contact Kate if you
want to go
email –
contactus@algs.org.uk
Secretary Mrs
2010 OCTOBER
/ NOVEMBER
NEWSLETTER
QUIZ NIGHT
26th NOVEMBER
To be held in Manor House
£9 per ticket
Box Office Jo
Bromwich
2
QUIZ NIGHT
As one of our 3 main fund raising events we are holding our
annual quiz night in the Manor House again. For those of you, who have NOT
attended one before, please be assured that the questions are not all about
gardening! We always have an assortment of 8 sets of questions on various
topics. We even have been known to have musical ones! We also have a marathon
and a Who am I! Each table holds 8 people so you can
book a complete table with your friends or just book in ones and twos and Jo
can make up tables herself. For your £9 you have a superb fun evening,
Christmas decorations, a raffle, fish and chips or chicken and chips supper and
bar. Box Office is Jo Bromwich so get your name down now.
PLEASE COME ALONG AND JOIN US
BEDGEBURY
PINETUM – a return visit
There is to be a return visit to Bedgebury Pinetum on Saturday
October 16th to see the autumn colours. We are going by car; you can
let Kate know if you want to go by emailing her email – contactus@algs.org.uk
CLARENCE HOUSE,
Did any of you go to see Prince of
The START project (which is the name of this event) gave 20
different reasons why to start changing our lives – insulating; holidaying
closer to home; thinking about your driving mileage; lower our thermostats in
our houses; switching off our appliances at the wall; drying our clothes
naturally; recycle; use energy saving light bulbs; grow your own vegetables; be
thrifty with our food; buy only what you need; buy locally in season produce;
think about packaging; compost; re-using and repairing; fill the kettle with
the minimal amount of water; conserving paper and avoid unnecessary printing;
reusing unrecyclable materials; use natural cleaning products and have short
showers IB&Q were advertising a new shower head for £35 which reduces water
by half without you noticing it whilst showering). All ideas
to START thinking about to make our world a better place to live in.
BUTTERFLY WORLD (post code AL2 3NY)
I hope you all enjoyed visiting
the Butterfly World this year. We went twice taking our grandchildren along. I
thought it was much better than last year and next year hopefully the biome may
be in place. Whilst we were visiting the
NATIONAL ROYAL ROSE SOCIETY NEWS (post code AL2 3NR)
Did you book to go to see the roses this year? The time to
go is really June but roses do not like too much heat and I think they were
suffering this year. Hopefully St Albans
City Council will give them permission to open the car park next year for a longer
period. .
EMAIL ADDRESSES
Please don’t forget to let me know your up to date address
on email – contactus@algs.org.uk
if you change it. Thank
you.
ALLOTMENTS FOR
ABBOTS
Would you
like an allotment to grow your vegetables on?
The season runs from October to September. You can get whole
plots, ½ plots and ¼ plots. There are 3 sites – Jacketts Field (Rep Sally Sanderson),
Manor House (Rep
The Parish Council are looking at opening another site for
gardeners in Primrose Hill area, so watch this space. At least there will be
car parking and water laid on.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO
SHOW YOUR MEMBERSHIP CARD WHEN PURCHASING AT THE DEPOT
FLOWERS FOR ALL OCCASIONS
If you
need flower arrangements for any occasion at prices below the florist shops
contact email – contactus@algs.org.uk.
Please note - Jo does not provide flowers only.
WEB SITE – email – contactus@algs.org.uk
Our web
site has lots of useful information and we are regularly updating the site.
If you want to contact us by email use
- email – contactus@algs.org.uk
Maybe you want to sell something, email us on contactus@algs.org.uk
and we can sell it for you or let Jane know
URGENT – PLEASE SEND YOUR EMAIL
ADDRESSES TO -
Several members still have not sent
me their email addresses. If in doubt pleased send them to me again
MANURE
NOW IS THE
TIME TO SPREAD MANURE ON YOUR GARDENS. HERE ARE A FEW SUGGESTIONS WHERE YOU CAN
GET MANURE.
If you know
of any others please let me know so that I can pass the information on.
From our Depot – horse
manure per bag
For delivery -
Dave Birkin Tel: 01442 832997 - £30 for a 5 tonne load. It is a mixture of horse and cow manure and
is 18 months old.
For collection – don’t
forget to take your fork/spade and bags
a. Mansion House stables also
provides horse manure for free to collect.
You have to go there when someone is working at the stables and ask if
you can take some. They usually will be pleased to see you!
b. There is a house on the right hand side going down
c. There are stables run by Debbie Randall (07721327763) on
the A405 on the same side as Burston’s. Due to the dual carriage way you need
to go past Burston’s, over the next small roundabout to the big M10 roundabout,
come back on yourself about 100yds BEFORE you reach the next small roundabout (
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
WOULD YOU LIKE TO PAY
BY STANDING ORDER?
This is a much easier way of paying your subscription so please contact Myles
email – contactus@algs.org.uk
who will give you the bank details necessary to set this up, it is also a
guarantee that your subs will be paid on time!
AUTUMN SHOW RESULTS
BEST IN SHOW
DAHLIAS
(Gentry Cup)
ROSES (Bert
Cooper Cup) JANE LAY Class 115 3 floribunda sprays of Iceberg
FLOWERS
(Leon Lay Trophy) DOREEN HIGGS Class 128 3 yellow gladioli
FRUIT
(Norman Cup) JO BROMWICH Class 150 3 cooking apples
VEGETABLES
(John Peaty Cup) LES CLARK 1 purple headed cauliflower
WINE/BEER
(Ron Brothers Memorial Chalice) JANE LAY Class 204 bottle of sweet white wine
ART/CRAFT (Faulkner
Vase) LYNDA SUTHERLAND Class 210 photograph album made in fabric
DECORATIVE
(Silver cup) LYNDA SUTHERLAND Class 230 gift wrapped flower arrangement
HOUSEHOLD
(Crownshaw Cup) OLIVE DOLLAND Class 245 Bakewell Tart
YOUNG
EXHIBITOR (Barry Highland Cup) SOPHIE HUDSON Class 318 miniature garden
PHOTOGRAPH
(Val Beattie Cup) LEON LAY Class 221 wood scene at Manor House in the snow
EXHIBITORS GAINING
THE MOST POINTS
DAHLIA (Drusilla Dennis Chalice) LEON LAY
27 points
ROSES (Walter Ashby Rose Bowl) JANE LAY 10 points
FLOWERS
(Jane Lay Chalice) LEON LAY 11 points
FRUIT/VEGETABLES
(Kitchingman Trophy) ROGER SILVESTER 32 points
WINE/BEER
(Silver cup) JANE LAY 9 points
ART/CRAFT
(Silver Cup) LYNDA SUTHERLAND 21 points
DECORATIVE
(Henderson Cup) DOREEN HIGGS/LYNDA SUTHERLAND 3 points each
HOUSEHOLD
(Doreen Higgs Cup) DOREEN HIGGS 28 points
YOUNG
EXHIBITOR 4/7 yrs SOPHIE HUDSON 20 points
YOUNG
EXHIBITOR 8/12 yrs MARTIN HUDSON 18 points
STEWART CHALLENGE
PLATE awarded to
the family who overall gains the most points in the show
LAY 13
points
HIGGS 66
points
BROMWICH 46 points
REPORT ON SHOW
We held our Show on Saturday 11th September in a
new venue this year. We decided to try the recently refurbished Abbots Langley
Community Centre which we hoped would give all competitors more light and room
to show off all their carefully prepared exhibits. Access was also much
improved as car parking facilities were adjacent to the hall.
The committee had taken over 3 ½ hours on the Friday evening
to prepare the hall with enough tables for showing; in fact we ran out of
tables and had to bring some of our own. Most of us had not eaten so we were
pleased to get home, eat and get to bed before getting up early next morning to
run the show as well enter our own exhibits.
We opened our doors to exhibitors at 7.30am and it was a
challenge for the exhibitors to find their way around the hall. The kitchen is
tiny compared with the Henderson Hall so most of them used the café area to
prepare and by 10 the hall was full of the lovely colours and perfumes of
flowers as well as a mixed and enticing smell of the items of cookery.
By the time of 2.30pm arrived the exhibitors, and public all
were eager to find out who had won what on the show benches. The show was
supported well this year and Bryan Ellis, at the door, welcomed people to the
show and then David Sutherland then sold them raffle tickets. People spent a long time wandering around the
exhibits, praising plants, blooms, vegetables and
cooking, and many of course said that they could have done better! We said well
why didn’t you too enter? It is not the winning but the taking part.
Cllr Leon Lay, Chairman of the Abbots Langley Parish
Council, as well as being a member, presented the shining silver trophies. Many
of the usual members won trophies including Doreen Higgs for her flowers and
cooking, Olive Dolland and Lynda Sutherland for arts and crafts, Leon and
We had a bumper show this year. Some 50 members entered
which was a record. The Judges were all impressed with the show but they asked
that a few comments should be made – all plants, flower, vegetables should be
named if possible which would help judging; that wax seals were recommended for
tops of jam even with a metal lid top; the photos were so difficult to judge as
the quality was improving every year and the wines would give the professionals
a run for their money at the judge’s wine club. The carrots caused a little
consternation as in the class 167 everyone the judge had ruled had put the
wrong carrots in to be showed. They should have been those which are grown in
long tubes and come out 4ft long or more! He also pointed out that with the
vegetable class 188 and fruit class 156 collections you must show the highest
points vegetables and fruit from the lists shown, as points make prizes!
Obviously this will be changed for 2011.
Fantastic and exhausting day as usual but all members agreed
that the new venue should be used again next autumn but continue to use
Henderson Hall for the currently smaller spring show. Thank you to everyone for
taking part.
DEPOT REFURBISHMENT
As you have seen we have already started our big clean up of
the depot and it already looks much brighter and definitely cleaner. This has
not been done for many years now and the inside has looked very tired and
dirty. We will be - removing unwanted
guests! Painting the walls and metal beams and erecting new shelving. This
project has been very time consuming for your committee to do as they have only
been able to do the work in the evenings and no member has offered to help, so
far. Hopefully we may be able to spare a Saturday or Sunday morning to finish
the job.
Do you want to help, as more hands make light work? Maybe
you can only spare an hour or two, so please let us know.
Please email the Secretary on email – contactus@algs.org.uk
with offers of help so that we can contact you with the date and time.
BUSHEY ROSE GARDEN
May be
you are looking for a garden to go round? Try the newly restored Bushey Rose
Garden in Bushey. The garden was originally designed in 1913 by the influential
designer Thomas Mawson which has been reopened after a £1.5 million restoration
rescued it from years of dereliction. The Grade II registered garden fell into
disrepair after vandalism forced its partial closure. It took a year to restore
features such as a Bavarian tufa stone fountain and a Grade II listed summer
house. The house is the information office which contains a display about the
history of the garden. Hubert von Herkomer and the designer
Thomas Mawson. They have planted
500 new roses which include many cultivars rose enthusiast Mawson might have
chosen, such a Bourbon rose Boule de Neige and climber Reve d’Or.
There a lots of things to see – fountain, The Cloister, Lululaund
Plaques, rose temple, rose pillars, For more
information look on www.hertsmere.gov.uk.
The
garden is open daily and free between 7am to 7pm May to September and 7am to
4pm October to April. If you go by car park in the Kemp Place off the High
Street opposite the Red Lion pub. WD23 1DW.
HELP - ANYONE KNOW HOW TO GET RID OF THESE LINES PLEASE OTHERWISE I
WILL HAVE TO TYPE THESE OUT
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DEPOT |
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Pat Colwell
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October
02 |
John Merry |
Sarah Melling |
Terry Bray |
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October
09 |
Kate Macnish |
Roy Jenner |
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October
16 |
David Sutherland |
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Peter McDonnell |
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October
23 |
Jo Bromwich
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Keith Gissing |
Susan Harris |
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October
30 |
Jeremy Foster
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Roger Gotts |
Carol Kettle) |
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November
06 |
Sue North |
Bella Stuart-Smith |
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November
13 |
Myles Darbyshire |
Valerie
Mitchell |
Jo Donaniewki |
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November
20 |
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Sally Sanderson |
Brenda Kersey) |
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November
27 |
Chris Bromwich |
Paul Rennell |
Olive Reeder |
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December
04 |
Pat Colwell
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Vince Watts |
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December
11 |
Bryan Ellis |
Anne Richardson |
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December
18 |
Joyce Davies |
John Noonan |
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January
01 |
Kate Macnish |
Keith Robertson |
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January
08 |
Myles Darbyshire |
Julia Maslin |
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January
15 |
Jo Bromwich
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Alan Wragg |
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January
22 |
John Merry |
Tony Pink |
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January
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DON’T FORGET TO FEED THE BIRDS THIS
AUTUMN AND WINTER. OUR DEPOT STOCKS A LARGE
Mixed seed 85p Feeder seed 80p
No waste
mix £1.80 Peanuts £1.70
Sunflower
seeds black £1.30
Sunflower
seeds stripy £125 Fat
Balls 6 for a £1
Sunflower
hearts £1.90 Prices can change with
new stock
We also
stock dried mealworms and suet feast, also various feeders
The winter
migrant birds are now flying in. Have you seen a Fieldfare, Redwing, Waxwing, Brambling yet? I expect the Swifts, Swallows, House Martins
and Nightingales are now along way from our shores. Let us hope they get back
to us safely in spring?
Daytime
temperatures were the second highest for the eleven years, with only 2006
inclusive being warmer. The month had
temperatures of 20° C or more for all but 5 of its
days, with the 10th reaching 30° C (86° F).
Since
2003 (with the exception of last year) the average daytime temperatures fell
each August. The daytime temperature
reached 70° Fahrenheit on just 6 of the 31 days (23 in 2003). What happened to the summers of yesteryear?
LAWNS
Thinking back to the brown expanse that took centre stage in
the garden during the summer drought, and how subsequent rainfall brought it
back from the dead, I marvel at the resilience of grass. This year treat your lawn this autumn to a
combined lawn feed and weed.
Autumn fertilizers are available with just the right balance of nutrients to
boost root development and strengthen growth before the onset of winter. We
expect a lot from our lawns, now is an ideal time to sow grass seed to start
new lawns or repair bare
patches. Start by raking over
the lawn or using a powered lawn rake or scarifier. This removes any accumulated moss or debris
and lightly teases and loosens the soil surface. Now choose a suitable grass
seed and sprinkle over the whole lawn. If you want you can mix seed with some
potting compost to help see where you’ve been. Finish by watering the area to
help settle seed down into the soil, and repeat every couple of days if
conditions remain dry. This grass seed should germinate with a couple of weeks,
helping fill gaps and thicken growth.
Don’t forget you can buy your Autumn Weed and Feed at our
Depot.
LOOKING AFTER YOUR DAHLIAS
I am sure
that many of you have grown dahlias this year but do not know what to do with
them over the winter period. We keep ours successfully in the colder months and
this is how we do it –
1. Go round
your plants checking that they have the correct name labels on them.
2. Wait
until the frost has blackened the plants
3. Cut
plants down to about 6ins and compost the tops. Leave in the ground for a few
days unless the weather is going to be very bad.
4. Dig up
carefully the tubers and label them with nylon string around the tubers, not
just the stem. This will break up during the winter.
5. Remove
as much soil as you can, but don’t wash them. This is why you plant them in
compost rather than straight into the soil.
6. Cut
stems further if necessary and turn upside down to drain for two weeks to dry,
preferably in the greenhouse.
7. Purchase
some multi purpose compost from the depot and line plastic boxes ie like the TRDC recyclable ones or vegetable boxes with
dustbin bags if they have holes in them. Sprinkle the MPC on the bottom; place
the dahlias in squashing them in to sit side by side. Cover with MPC making
sure the labels show. You can use saw dust if you have any instead of MPC.
8. Stack
them in a cool but frost free place covered with blankets and fleece around all
the boxes, and bubble plastic on the top.
9. Leave
there but have a look at them during the winter.
10. When
February/March/April come they should start back into life.
Canna
lilies are similar but I keep mine in large pots rather than putting them in
boxes.
ELM TREES COMEBACK
An
Italian-bred elm with proven resistance to Dutch elm disease has emerged as the
most suitable candidate top return much-missed elm trees to the British
countryside. This follows trials of resistant cultivars by Butterfly
Conservation. 13 cultivars are being trialled by the Hampshire and Isle of
Wright branch as potential hosts for the endangered white-letter hairstreak
butterfly. This sounds good news so we may see elms again back in
CYCLAMENS
After the
last Newsletter have you purchased some of the beautiful cyclamens on sale?
Do you like
them in your garden rather than those big ones as houseplants?
The garden types
come in all colours and are very delicate.
Cyclamen coum – comes from
Cyclamen repandum – come from central
Cyclamen purpurascens comes from
Cyclament
cilicium – also comes from
Cyclament
hederifolium is found throughout the
As you can
see you can have cyclamens flowering all year in your garden, as well in your
house. Enjoy!
Start your
house plant cyclamen back into growth now
WHAT TO DO IN YOUR GARDEN NOW
- Plant crocuses, fritillaries and dwarf narcissus
in lawns
- Plant up
patio pots for autumn interest
- Lift gladioli, clean the corms and store them in
a shed or garage
- Prune rambling and climbing roses, and shorten
long shoots on standard roses
- Plant spring bedding, including wallflowers and
forget-me-nots, among tulips
- Lift,
divide and replant congested clumps of perennials
- Net holly berries to protect them from hungry
birds if you want them for Christmas arrangements
- Plant lily bulbs, including fragrant Lilium regale, in groups among low
shrubs to bloom next summer
- Move
shrubs that are growing in the wrong places
- Make a cross-cut in cabbage stems when
harvesting to encourage a further crop
- Sow
broad beans for early crops next May and June
- Put cloches over tender herbs like basil and
coriander
- Pot up mint, chives and parsley to keep on a
bright window sill
- Sow
green manure crops such as field beans and grazing rye
- Plant
garlic and autumn
onion sets
- Cover endive to blanch the leaves
- Dig up and pot up roots of chicory for winter
forcing
- Pick apples and pears before the wind blows them
down
- Finish pruning blackberries and autumn-fruiting
raspberries
- Bring aeoniums and other tender
succulents under cover for winter
- Empty begonia tubers from pots,
clean off the compost and store somewhere dark and dry
- Water plants more sparingly now
conditions are getting cooler
- Wash off all shade paint and
remove blinds and shade netting
- Sow
sweet peas for early flowers next summer
- Clear out old crops in pots and
growing bags, adding them to the compost
heap
- Bring pots of late-flowering
chrysanthemums under cover
- Line the
inside of your greenhouse with bubble polythene
- Check heaters are working
efficiently
- Water
potted azaleas with rainwater, keeping the compost constantly moist
- Use a fork or hollow-tined
aerator to spike
your lawn and improve drainage
- Dig up and pot up tender
perennials to bring indoors for winter protection
- Raise the cutting height when mowing
the lawn
- Apply an autumn lawn food
- Cover ponds with netting to
stop leaves falling in
- Remove pumps and filters from
ponds and water features
- Empty ceramic and glazed pots
to store under cover for winter
- Collect
fallen leaves smothering alpines and other plants
- Order roses, hedging and fruit
trees for winter planting
- Retrieve plant
supports from flower beds, clean and store away
WISLEY APPLE DAY
Apple growing enthusiasts from countries including
APPLE DAY AT
CHORLEYWOOD HOUSE
This year's event takes place on Saturday 2nd October from 11am-3pm,
and will be located in the environs of Chorleywood House, by the summer house. This
year they are thrilled to welcome national fruit expert and author Michael
Clark, who will be attending to try to help identify any mystery apples about
which you would like information. Michael is Honorary Warden of Tewin Orchard, a nationally important orchard, was a
founder member of the Hertfordshire Orchard Initiative and works in association
with Brogdale Horticultural Trust, home of the
National Fruit Collection. If you want to have your apples identified, please
bring along 3 typical examples of fruit and a short branch containing some
leaves for each variety. The service is free but we would welcome a donation of
£3 per variety. Visit www.chorleywood-orchard.org.uk
for more information.
Did you know that the Abbots
PLANTING BULBS
Preparing the planting site is as important as with other
plants. The ground should be improved with garden compost and grit added if
drainage is poor. Planting depths are important: large narcissus and tulips
especially =benefit from deep planting, also if planted deeply they will not be
prone to your hoeing or forking the soil. You could add slow releasing fertilizers
such as Growmore applied in February; in pots feed
with a high-potassium fertilizer such as tomato feed.
Now is the time to plant lots of bulbs. Do you know how deep
you have to plant them?
Nerines – the tope of the bulb should be visible
Muscari and crocus - 12 cm deep
Alliums – 14cm deep
Tulips – 16cm deep
Narcissus and daffodils – 22cm deep
Narcissus small – 15cm deep
Cyclamen – just below the surface
Snow drops – 10cm deep
Bulbs make a good choice for pots and they can be used in
conjunction with other plants. Ensure there are drainage holes at the bottom of
the pot. Chose a wide and deep pot. For short term
planting Multi purpose compost can be used with grit or perlite
added but for long term planting soil-based compost like John Innes no 2 is ideal.
GAZEBOS
FOR WINTER AND SPRING HIRE
We have two new gazebos for hire at £15. These are much easier to use than the old ones so if you are having a party or get together and need to shelter from and showers,
contact