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SGF summer 2022 no form for web Flipbook PDF

SGF summer 2022 no form for web

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Ben and Eilidh Cunningham create planters in Jeelie Pans under the watchful eye of Tom Campbell

Summer 2022

Vol 20: Issue 2

Contents Le•er from the Chair Dollar Purple Bell Vine Bridge of Weir HS East Lothian HS My Favourite Plant Stewarton Gardening Club Buchlyvie Garden Society Busby & Clarkston HS Caley Award Nomina•ons Colinton GC The Caley Teaching Glasshouse Killearn HS Annual Show Dalgety Church – Peace Garden

2 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 10 11 12 13 13 14

Scotland’s Gardens Scheme Changes 15 SGF at Scone Palace Garden Fair 16 Growing a Pallet Garden 17 Kilwinning Show 18 Flower Show Database (free) 19 Kilmacolm HS 20 The Resourceful Garden 20 Back to Basics – PRUNING 22 Table of Events 24-25 SGS Photographic Compe••on 26 Your Council 27 Regional Co-Ordinators 27 AGM and Forum 28

Le•er from the Chair We seem to have had a slow start to the growing year, certainly in my area, but I was determined to be a li•le more pa•ent a!er the disaster last year. I was seduced by the sunny weather to remove the insula•on from the greenhouse, only to ﬁnd things turning chilly and losing some of my tomatoes. I was also concerned that the frogs hadn’t appeared in the pond and wondered if they had been disturbed by my removing so much vegeta•on. I need not have worried as they turned up in force and I soon had masses of frogspawn. The Iris have beneﬁted from being divided and replanted as they have produced lots more ﬂowers, providing as they do, a res•ng place for moul•ng damselﬂies, and the Water Lilies are showing leaves for shade and cover. I was happy to be able to join others exhibi•ng for page 2

my local show at West Linton. Luckily, the bulbs supplied to members at the AGM were in perfect condi•on and my Christmas Hyacinths were also fully open for the April show. The plant sale in May was also worth a•ending as I found Delphinium Cherry Blossom to add to my collec•on. I have never seen shelves emp•ed so quickly, within 30 minutes they were cleared and the villagers had departed to start plan•ng in their own gardens. I was also lucky enough to be at the new Scone Palace Garden Fair over the Jubilee Bank Holiday. This was a terriﬁc opportunity to reunite with other SGF Council members, previously only seen at our Zoom mee•ngs. We were blessed with lovely weather and it was so good to be cha$ng to the public, peering into bags to admire plant purchases and enjoying the general ambiance. The

we are faced with the surroundings, in front possibility that we may of the palace, were lovely have to say farewell to and we were entertained our secretary Caroline. by a jazz band and street I am of course indebted performers who juggled to Andrea, our Treasand made balloon animals. urer, for nego•a•ng The resident Peacocks insurance and keepstrolled around unfazed ing the books straight, by the visitors and our Mike for keeping our concerns that they might memberships up to snack on our pallet date, Tracey for our ﬂowers were unfounded. social media presence We have plans to be and Alison for producat the Ayr and District ing our bright and proFlower Show in August, fessional newsle•er. and are looking forward Kathryn beside her planter at the SGF These are the most obto seeing some of you stall at Scone Palace Garden Fair vious roles but I apprethere. ciate the support from I have been thinking other Council members, and many lately about the purpose of Sco•sh hands make light work (and more fun). Gardeners’ Forum. A Forum is a In May, we said goodbye to Ann place where ideas and views can be Burns and John Smith who have both exchanged. It is not a service ac•vity contributed enormously to organising in which a few people provide a the pallet and planter compe••on at programme for the majority; everyone Gardening Scotland. Their re•rement should be an involved member, not was celebrated with a lunch and a walk a customer. The Forum can only around Saughton Park in Edinburgh ﬂourish with your involvement and and they take our thanks and best we welcome your thoughts and wishes with them. sugges•ons on areas for improvement. Your news is greatly appreciated and Arrangements for the AGM, which ar•cles for the newsle•er are always will be held in Nairn this November, of interest to other members. Please are progressing well. We have our keep them coming. More importantly, speakers and are now looking for we must recruit new members to the caterers for the all-important lunch. Council. See details in the centre of this Newsle•er. Earlier this year we were very pleased to welcome two new Council memI hope you all have a wonderful and bers: Hazel Mulberry of Stewarton produc•ve •me in your gardens Gardening Club, and Donald Hepburn this summer, enjoy your shows and from Bridge of Weir Hor•cultural Soou•ngs and I look forward to seeing ciety. We are looking forward to getyou before too long. •ng to know them be•er. However Kathryn Pi!s, Chair www.sco•shgardenersforum.org.uk

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Dollar Hor•cultural and Garden Club with Dollar In Bloom The Dollar Hor•cultural Club is op•mis•cally looking forward to the ﬁrst weekend in September when we hope to hold our ﬂower show for the ﬁrst •me in three years. A couple of the classes have been designed to reﬂect the Queen’s Pla•num Jubilee. Plans for an Open Gardens event are well under way in partnership with Dollar Community Development Trust. Around 20 gardens will be open to the public over two a•ernoons on May 21st and 22nd. There will also be a scarecrow compe••on, exhibits, children’s ac•vi•es, a sustainability event and teas available at the local community hub, The Hive. Our annual plant sale will go ahead, as it has over the last two lockdown years, in the front gardens of three or four club members. Plants go on sale over a period of six to eight weeks with an honesty box payment system. Plants will also be on sale at the Open Gardens weekend. We plan to repeat last year’s successful sale of annual seeds to a•ract pollinators, and are looking at changing the plan•ng from annual to perennial in some of the many planters around the town. Over the last two years the Club has focused its interest on community page 4

Raised beds installed at Dollar Health Centre

projects. We have reclaimed several sites around the town by transforming sad and neglected pieces of land into planted areas, bringing colour, insects and interest into previously barren plots. Many local volunteers have been engaged in these various projects. We hope to do the same on a much grander scale when we “take on” the town’s Memorial Garden with the permission and some ini•al help from our local council. Fiona Roe

Purple Bell Vine Several years ago, I saw an interes•ng plant in a friend’s garden. It was a delicate climber with unusual maroon ﬂowers that dangled down. Its name was Rhodochiton sanguineus or the Purple Bell Vine. The next year I ordered some plugs to grow for myself, which were about £1 each. I planted them in a pot ( they are not frost hardy) and was really pleased with the result. Ever the frugal gardener, I bought some seed for the following year (ten seeds for about £1.50) and on ﬁnding out that it was a perennial if kept frost free, I put the plant in my unheated sunroom to overwinter and ignored it. When I came to •dy it up the following spring, I was delighted to ﬁnd it had set seed! I sowed the bought seeds – and got zero germina•on. I sowed my own collected seeds and got excellent germina•on and was giving away plants that spring. So if you have a plant it is well worth trying to overwinter it – even if you don’t get seeds, it will sprout again in the spring with a bit of warmth and water. I have sown the older seeds this spring and got reduced germina•on but s•ll plenty of plants, and I s•ll have my overwintered po•ul. They do need heat to germinate, so start them oﬀ indoors or in a propagator. Given my experience with bought seeds, I think it is worth buying plants the ﬁrst •me and hoping they set seed and/or survive the winter. Sue Thomas [email protected] Try my blog at: newtonmorewildﬂowers.blogspot.com www.sco•shgardenersforum.org.uk

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Bridge of Weir Hor•cultural Society We have been pleased to welcome new members to the Society in our post-Covid-lockdown mee•ngs. Being conscious that some folk are s•ll wary of being in close proximity to others if they are not wearing masks, the decision to move to a larger hall within the village has given more space for those a•ending. Use of social media appears to be helping get our ac•vi•es no•ced, so we aim to con•nue with this. Our May Plant Sale went well, with people coming a considerable distance to take advantage of plants from members gardens and from Parklea Nursery. The May mee•ng was a talk, given by two of our members, on the recycling of garden and food waste by our local council and their commercial partner, ENVA. The intrepid members had gone to the ENVA site in Blantyre to be shown the sor•ng and processing of this waste stream to produce compost and soil improver. During the visit the staﬀ at ENVA were very enthusias•c and happy to discuss the challenges of dealing with what can be found in garden waste bins and to provide a sample of the ﬁnished product. At the

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talk there was a great deal of discussion, not only of the processes and material generated, but also how gardeners and gardening groups can gain access to the ﬁnished product. Our local Councillor has taken this on board and we await developments with interest. In June we had two events. Some members visited Wraes, a local garden which is open in the “Yellow Book Scheme”: the owners had agreed to allow access on the day before its oﬃcial opening day. The owners cha•ed about their development of Wraes over the last 10 years, redesigning areas around ponds and large raised beds, plan•ng a small orchard and pu•ng rhododendrons through an area of woodland. Despite the damp and blustery condi•ons it was a most enjoyable visit, enhanced by friendly and knowledgeable hosts. While our visit to Wraes took place, two members manned a stall at Bridge of Weir Gala Day. These hardy enthusiasts braved the elements to chat with visitors at the stand, sell plants and keep up our proﬁle in the village. In July our mee•ng will be a Gardener’s Ques•on Time, with the panel being made up of commi•ee members. We may not have Bob Flowerdew or Ann Swithenbank but there are usually diﬀering opinions coming to the fore from panel members (and the ﬂoor) and interes•ng discussions arise. This has proven to be a fun and popular event in previous years. August will see us put on a Garden Fes•val, an alterna•ve to our Annual Show. With a smaller number

A private visit to Wraes garden

of commi•ee members and the uncertainty over future lockdown situa•ons, a more relaxed event was thought to be a be•er op•on. Members and others will be invited to show what has been produced in their gardens

but there will be no oﬃcial judging. We hope that this will encourage less conﬁdent gardeners to put their ﬂowers and veg forward. Donald Hepburn

East Lothian Hor!cultural Society Due to Covid, the East Lothian Hor•cultural Society have been unable to hold their annual ﬂower show for the last two years It is going to take place this year on Saturday 3rd September in a change of venue: Aubingny Sports Centre. The Corn Exchange in Haddington, where it has been held in the past, has been leased by the NHS.

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East Lothian Hor!cultural Society Flower Show 3rd September 2022 Aubingny Sports Centre, Mill Wynd, Haddington EH41 4DB Emily Armatage

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My Favourite Plant I ﬁnd it very diﬃcult to choose a favourite plant since there are so many that appeal to me. For many years I have had a great love of acers and now have several, a red palmatum, deep ruby dissectum and a golden and pink leaved Seiryu variety – all providing contrast with each other. Most gardeners love to share cu•ngs and seedlings with others, and we have all no doubt admired something in a friend’s garden and gone home with a cu•ng or been promised a sec•on of the plant when it’s dormant and can be divided. One such treasure I was given by a friend was a small piece of Sorbaria sorbifolia which has come on nicely. It has a compact, bushy habit with lovely frond-like leaves which grow in shades of bronze/gold and reddish-pink in spring, and turn green in summer. I hope this year it will be mature enough to produce ﬂowers. There are several Hostas and I love the variety of leaf textures and colours of these – if only they were less popular with slugs! My hydrangeas suﬀered last year in the late frost and had no ﬂowers but I have been extra protec•ve of them this year and the buds are there, so I’m really looking forward to being reminded of the colours when they bloom. The soil in my garden is heavy clay so work is required to prepare some of my beds and improve the soil in order to plant the numerous shrubs and other plants wai•ng pa•ently in pots for their forever home. Mean•me I have taken a photo of some of the collec•on to demonstrate some of the colour, leaf shape and textures which I hope will page 8

contrast with and complement each other when planted.

Around ten years ago I visited the Netherlands and brought home tulip bulbs which gave me a great display each year. These were admired by friends and neighbours un•l spring 2021. Part of my fence was down following a storm and materials to repair hard to come by due to pandemic shortages. One morning following a snowfall, tell-tale hoof prints indicated a visit from local hungry deer, and on inspec•on I found they had chomped the tops oﬀ all of my tulips – so no ﬂowers last year. Some new bulbs planted to replace them for this year did not live up to the same standard and some were extremely disappoin•ng. Any recommenda•ons for a source of reliable tulip bulbs would be very welcome! Otherwise I may have to pay another visit to the Netherlands. Andrea McDowall Kirkin•lloch Hor•cultural Society

Stewarton Gardening Club The sun’s out, the birds are singing and nature is springing into life. We are all spending more •me out and about, enjoying our gardens and making the most of the warmer days. Tending to my garden recently made me think what a joy it is and how lucky we are. Recently I have had the company and pleasure of a male blackbird who follows me around when I am working in the garden, mowing the lawn and hoeing the borders, and he chirps at me un•l I feed him some dried meal worms then he calls the female blackbird to enjoy the spread. In May we had our ﬁrst Plant Sale and Coﬀee Morning since 2019. We received a good supply of plants, garden sundries and a full baking table to sell – all supplied by the commi•ee and members.

It was great to see everyone ge•ng together and having a chat over coﬀee and fresh baked scones and enjoying doing normal things again. Everyone is working towards our Flower Show on Saturday 3rd September, and then the start of next year’s programme of speakers and demonstra•ons. Hazel Mulberry Secretary

Buchlyvie Garden Society The Society started real life mee•ngs in October and managed the ﬁve sessions through to April, apart from January called oﬀ due to worries at that •me about Omicron. There were good a•endances at all the mee•ngs, even in March when some of the Commi•ee had Covid. The members enjoyed talks on Rock Gardening in Dunblane, Botanical Travels in Wild Places, Gardens of Australasia and the development of a local (mainly

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woodland) garden. We also had a lunch, a social/plant exchange in a village garden and an a!ernoon trip to the Na•onal Trust for Scotland’s Branklyn Garden in Perth. The Society made its contribu•on to the Pla•num Jubilee celebra•ons by providing a display to the Buchlyvie Church Flower Fes•val. We are now planning a series of ﬁve talks for 2022/23. Gill Smith

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Busby & Clarkston Hor•cultural Society Annual Show 2022 The Society has held a Show in Clarkston Halls, on the south side of Glasgow, since 1961, but this year is our 75th anniversary. Prior to 1961 Flower Shows were held in Busby East & West Churches from 1947. Our last Show was in 2019, then the dreaded lurgy kicked in in 2020, and like our fellow SGF members we cancelled 2020 & 2021. This has given our Commi•ee some •me for reﬂec•on on what we want from our Show. We’ve already changed the name “Flower Show” to simply “Annual Show” to emphasise the various categories at the Show such as Handicra•s, Photography, Wine, Young Exhibitors etc. and to come up with other ideas to engage with the public and our members. The Tea Room is always popular and the social aspect of the Show should our costs. Here are some of the changes not be ignored. We aim to improve we are making to the 2022 Show: the quality of our Tea Room this year * No entry fee, no prize money except alongside some radical changes forced for Young Exhibitors and a £5 token on us for ﬁnancial reasons. for best in Sec•on. The last two Shows lost around £400 * No requirement to be a member to on the day so we have had to look at exhibit. * Classes in Sec•ons reduced by 40%. * No separate Sec•on for Chrysanthemums, Dahlias, Sweet Peas, Gladioli & Roses. All will come under “Annuals & Cut Flowers”. * Pot Plant and Vegetable Classes reduced by 50%. * Reduced the number of trophies from 22 to 11. They will not be engraved on the day, making a huge saving. (A decision on engraving s•ll page 10

Previous Busby Show

to be made, but we may not engrave at all.) * Reduce the number of Rose!es by half – oﬀering best in Sec•on only. Each Young exhibitor receives a Rose!e for entering the Show. The Hall costs around £780 to hire for set up Thursday night, receiving entries from 4.00pm on Friday & all day

Saturday. We will now set up on the Friday a•ernoon with ﬂat tables rather than build staging. We’ve also reduced the number of rooms booked to only two main halls. Some of the above is rather controversial and the decisions were not taken lightly. We consulted with some of our main exhibitors who stated they would s•ll support the Show. It would be interes•ng to hear the views of our fellow Forum members and we’ll keep you posted on the outcome. Fergus Cumming President & Show Convener

Caley Award Nomina!ons Caley Award Nomina•ons are now open, so get your thinking caps on. Do you know someone who has made an outstanding contribu•on to Sco#sh hor•culture or to your local club? Is there a local community gardening group that you think should be recognised for the work they do? We have a range of awards, covering all areas of Sco#sh hor•culture: professional hor•culturists, students and appren•ces of hor•culture and amateur gardeners. Head to: thecaley.org.uk/awards/ to ﬁnd a brief descrip•on of each award and an online nomina•on form. www.sco•shgardenersforum.org.uk

If you have any ques•ons, please contact me: [email protected] Nomina•ons close on 18th November, 2022, and the awards will be presented at our Award Ceremony in March 2023. Fingers crossed that we can have a face-to-face event this •me around. Julie Muir

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Colinton Garden Club We have successfully resumed face to face mee•ngs and restarted our programme of ou•ngs. In March we had a talk on Peonies and a plant sale at Dreghorn Loan Hall by Billie Carruthers from Binnie Plants; this was our ﬁrst live mee•ng. On 7th April we visited Cringle•e House near Peebles to see the daﬀodils and have a tour from Mark, the head gardener. This was our ﬁrst outdoor venture since lockdown and perhaps, because of the cream tea on oﬀer, was well a•ended with forty-nine members enjoying the ou•ng. Our AGM was held at Dreghorn Loan Hall on 25th April, linked with a members’ cra• display en•tled “A New Dawn”, which show-cased a wide variety of cra•s started or completed by members during lockdown. Prizes were awarded for the best exhibits. Pla•num Jubilee tree plan•ng in Campbell Park In May we had an evening visit to Shepherd House Garden, Inveresk near hope to hold our Autumn Plant Sale Musselburgh, the beau•ful garden of in October and our Christmas Party in Sir Charles and Lady Ann Fraser. The December. rain held oﬀ, allowing us to appreciate Further details about our ac•vi•es this wonderful gem of a garden. and membership can be found on our For the Queen’s Pla•num Jubilee, the website: www.colintongardens.org.uk Club was invited to plant a tree in CampJon Gibson bell Park, Colinton. The tree was providTreasurer ed by the City of Edinburgh Coun- Members open gardens and June 18th Three members’ gardens in Colinton cil, and enthusi- plant sale June 29th Visits to three gardens in the as•c members of Summer outing Borders & East Lothian the Commi•ee Members’ talk:“ Roses” by Sept 26th Dreghorn Loan Hall or online. helped to ﬁnish Iain Silver. Membership renewal the plan•ng. Members’ talk: “An NTS Oct 24th Dreghorn Loan Hall or online. Future planned Garden” by Colin Wren events are given Members’ talk: “Sustainable Nov 28th Dreghorn Loan Hall or online. here and we also Gardening” by Pam Martin page 12

The Caley Teaching Glasshouse The Caley is crowdfunding for the construc•on of a new unheated glasshouse to be built in Saughton Park, Edinburgh. The glasshouse will be in the walled garden; The Caley’s home. It will be used to extend the range of classes and workshops it can oﬀer for everyone from the novice gardener to professional hor•culturists, and to produce plants for plant sales and demonstra•ons, enabling the Caley to support its charitable aims. To support the Caley to reach its funding target, please visit myparkscotland.eu.rit.org.uk/appeal/ caleyglasshouse All dona•ons are welcomed. Anyone dona•ng £50 or more will be listed on our “Be a Pane in Our Glass” virtual donor page.

A bit about the Caley The Royal Caledonian Hor•cultural Society was established in 1809 and has since grown to become Scotland’s na•onal charity for Hor•culture and Gardening. The Caley serves both its membership and the Sco!sh gardening community with advice, support and a range of courses. Based in Saughton Park, Edinburgh, the Caley has members throughout Scotland as well as interna•onal members who join online talks and demonstra•ons. The Caley runs open entry Shows and Specialist Demonstra•ons and Talks throughout the year to member and non-members and has plans on expanding these in the near future. The Caley is run by an elected Council under the leadership of President Colin Ainsworth. The Caley www.sco•shgardenersforum.org.uk

is delighted to welcome new members and those keen to either support, or beneﬁt from, what the Caley has to oﬀer. The Caley is a founding member of Sco!sh Gardeners’ Forum. Julie Muir Administrator www.thecaley.org.uk

Killearn HS Annual Show Saturday 27th August, 2–4.30pm Killearn Village Hall and Kirk, G63 9NL A#er two years of online shows we are very happy to tell you that our real, in person, Annual Show is back. We are very much looking forward to welcoming actual people and entries once again. We are sure all our entrants and supporters will be keen to come along to see the wonderful display of hor•cultural, cra#, baking and children’s exhibits. In 2019 we had over 900 exhibits from as far aﬁeld as Falkirk. Show schedules are available by calling 07788 373142. Glenda Asquith page 13

Dalgety Parish Church – Peace Garden In the summer of 2015, our minister at Dalgety Parish Church (DPC) in Dalgety Bay, Fife, put forward the idea of having a Peace Pole in the grounds of the church. She had seen this elsewhere and thought it a good idea. The Peace Pole project developed into being the centerpiece of a Peace Garden. “Now Michael Gourlay, he’s the Chairman of Dalgety Bay Hor•cultural Society (DBHS), he’ll be able to do this.” So the seed was planted, and the Peace Garden, seven years later, has evolved into what it is today. Michael Gourlay and his wife Pauline s•ll look a•er it. We had help with the ini•al ground works but the gardening part is ours. The Peace Pole has “May Peace Prevail on Earth” inscribed in eight diﬀerent languages around it. This reﬂects at least eight of the languages spoken by families in Dalgety Bay. I am sure there are more languages spoken now but that is as it was in 2015. The bench at the troughs has a Bible quote on it “Peace be S•ll” from Mark 4:39, with a plaque of braille reading the same. A Peace Service is held round the Peace Garden maybe ﬁve or six •mes a year and these are well a•ended. The bench is a popular place for a wee seat, a rest and a moment of reﬂec•on. People are o•en seen si!ng there. Last year on the Interna•onal Day of Peace, pupils from both primary schools, page 14

Dalgety Bay PS and Donibristle PS produced more than 750 very colourful origami cranes, which were strung up over the Peace Garden as a symbol of peace. Some of these birds were sent to Japan and added to a display in the Peace Garden at Hiroshima. Recently, as you can see in the photograph, DPC installed blue and yellow ribbons which are the colours of the Ukrainian ﬂag. Marigold and blue lobelia were also planted. Sunﬂowers, the na•onal ﬂower of Ukraine, were put in, all to show our support for Ukraine. It will look good when they all come out. The troughs are planted with sensory plants and the area around the base is planted with tête-à-tête miniature daﬀodils, which look lovely in the spring. The church gets good comments from passing people and it’s nice to know that we did that. Michael Gourlay Chairman Dalgety Bay Hor•cultural Society

Changes at Scotland’s Gardens Scheme Scotland’s Garden Scheme, the charity which opens gardens around Scotland to raise funds for other chari•es, has announced changes to its key personnel. Long standing Trustee and Chairman for the past ﬁve years, David Mitchell, has stepped down a•er 18 years with the charity having reached the end of his term. Dougal Philip takes his place as Chairman from April. A graduate of St Andrews University, Dougal began working as a landscape gardener before star•ng a garden centre, a business he has been in for over 40 years: New Hopetoun Gardens in West Lothian. A past president of the Hor•cultural Trades Associa•on, a Vice President of the RHS, a past chair of Perennial and now one of their Vice Presidents, he has much experience of running chari•es. Married to Lesley Watson, a past presenter of The Beechgrove Garden, they are both very keen gardeners and love visi•ng other gardens.

Dougal said: “Chairing the Trustees of Scotland’s Gardens Scheme will be an honour and a treat to be able to explore so many wonderful gardens across Scotland and meet so many passionate gardeners. Being able to use garden openings to raise funds for so many diﬀerent chari•es is such a wonderful thing.”

Liz Stewart

In another change for the charity, from April, Liz Stewart has been promoted from her role as Na•onal Organiser, to become Chief Execu•ve. David Mitchell will con•nue his excellent work in suppor•ng Sco!sh hor•culture, in his role as Vice Chairman of the Na•onal Trust for Scotland, where his main focus is on the Trust’s extensive por"olio of gardens. Daria Piskorz-Pronobis Dougal Philip

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[email protected] page 15

SGF at Scone Palace Garden Fair A•er the ini•al disappointment of last year’s cancella•on, we were delighted to ﬁnally arrive at Scone Palace for their ﬁrst Garden Fair. This has been a long •me in the planning, and a•er a great deal of correspondence we were able to meet with Head Gardener, Brian Cunningham, just before Easter, to hear his ideas and to have a look around the proposed site. As it was a ﬁrst •me for both organisa•ons, we approached the Royal Caledonian Hor•cultural Society (The Caley) to ask if we could share space in their gazebo and were relieved when they agreed. The Caley were holding a gardening advice event and we soon became involved in some spirited discussions on the merits or otherwise of diﬀerent types of hedging. There were several tricky ques•ons to answer so we were pleased to have the expert opinions of George Anderson and Carole Baxter as they passed by. In honour of the place and occasion we decided to build a pallet and a planter. The pallet was skilfully constructed and planted by Tom Campbell and his wife Liz from Brighter Bervie (Tom’s ar•cle see p17). I had the easier job of providing a planter to reﬂect the Pla•num Jubilee. This was achieved by incorpora•ng foliage with silver colora•on and white ﬂowers. The pallet proved to be a great a•rac•on partly due to its crowning glory, a vivid purple Cineraria Sene!, and many visitors commented and enquired about it. We were also pleased to receive compliments for the planter. Our inten•on was to revive interest page 16

in the Pallet and Planter compe••on which was previously held at Gardening Scotland; we were pleased to meet some local young people who remembered that they had enjoyed entering a few years ago. On the Friday morning we were joined by Eilidh and Ben Cunningham as they selected plants to decorate two “jeely pans”. You may recall these young gardeners working in the family garden at Old Scone as shown on episodes of “Lockdown” Beechgrove. They used their skill and imagina•on in producing two very creditable displays which were then used to enhance our space. (See front cover.) We spent two glorious days in beau•ful surroundings mee•ng up with familiar faces from SGF member socie•es and cha!ng to fresh faces about plant purchases and plans for gardens. The displays by Binnie Plants and Kevock Garden reﬂected their recent Gold Medal success at Chelsea and were full of choice Paeonies and Meconopsis. It was clear that everyone was happy to be out and interac•ng with like-minded people. The plant stalls were doing well and looked at one point as if they might run out of stock. It was apparent that the availability of advice from the growers was much appreciated. Eventually it was •me to pack everything away, say our goodbyes and head for home. We were •red but happy to have been a part of this longawaited event and we cannot wait to do it again next year. Kathryn Pi•s, Chair

Growing a Pallet Garden for Scone Palace I’m sure many readers miss the now defunct Gardening Scotland show at Ingliston where the SGF ran its very popular Pallet Garden & Planter Challenge. This June it was a great joy for SGF to be able to join the inaugural and successful Scone Palace Garden Fair, and to display a Pallet Garden and Planters which hopefully whe•ed people’s appe•te for reintroducing a challenge at next year’s event. For the beneﬁt of those unfamiliar, the common form of Pallet is a 1 metre square collar provided by the SGF, within which compe•tors design, plant up and display a garden exhibit based on a theme. Planters are smaller and entrants provide their own container which they plant up. Having observed the hard work needed to create a Pallet Garden in situ, my former engineering ins•ncts kicked in and built a base using reclaimed wood which raises the display above ground level with insert trays which can be preplanted. This modular system allows the plants to bed in and eases the work of se•ng up. However, care is required when transpor•ng the exhibit to site to avoid the plants being “shoogled aboot”. Taking account of the venue, it was easy to choose a theme for this year’s demonstra•on Pallet – “the Stone of Des•ny”. This also chimed with the Queen’s Pla•num Jubilee celebra•ons taking place on the same weekend. At Brighter Bervie we like to repurpose and recycle as much material as possible, so we started by searching out old stonework to represent the famous Stone of Des•ny. A replica can be seen

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outside Scone Palace at the spot where several of the ancient Kings on Scotland were crowned while si•ng on the stone. Having found our stones. we refur-

bished a rusty old plant holder to carry the centre-piece and began sourcing plants with suitably regal colours, including the Queen’s favourite Lily of the Valley. The Pallet and a cco m p a ny i n g

Ü

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Planters a•racted a•en•on from the crowds of visitors at Scone Palace which we hope converts into a line-up of spectacular entries next year. Please be encouraged to get together with your local schools and community groups of all ages and abili•es to get your crea•ve juices ﬂowing freely and develop your entries for next year, when the SGF looks forward to welcoming you and your inspiring garden crea•ons!

Tom Campbell SGF Council & Brighter Bervie

Final Display at Scone

Kilwinning Show is back! A"er almost three years, Kilwinning Hor•cultural Society are holding their annual ﬂower show on Thursday 25th August at the Abbey Church Hall. Doors open 2pm. James Burns NDH Show Secretary Ge•ng in the Frame at home page 18

Flower Show Database Historic Preamble This Database is an Access applica•on and will work on Microso• Windows 7 to 11. Access is part of the Microso• Oﬃce suite of programs; you will need this to have been installed. The Flower Show database was ﬁrst used at the Hurlford Gardening Club Flower Show (near Kilmarnock). At that Show exhibitors and class entries are inpu•ed the night before and on the morning of the show, up to Judging at 11am. Doors are open to the Public at 1.30pm, and exhibitor awards – both Trophies and prize money – are presented at 3pm. You can see the necessity of a quick turnaround. We have about 2½ hours to get it all sorted. This is what inspired me to design a database to cope with that.

Notes The database does not produce judging or results sheets or any kind of signage (other than the entry cards and reports). The ﬁrst •me you use it, it would be wise to run this database in tandem with your exis•ng system. In essence it is three databases: Exhibitors, Trophies & Awards, and Classes. All it is doing is linking Exhibitors to Classes and then linking Trophies & Awards to the Exhibitor.

Speciﬁca"ons You can customise the Database with your own Club, Society Name, Month, or Year as well as any entry and or membership fees. The Database can take any number of exhibitors, Classes and Trophies. it can apply points and prize money to 1st, www.sco•shgardenersforum.org.uk

2nd, 3rd places. It can produce a variety of Reports, from who has won what and how much prize money is due, to a Press report of exhibitors, classes, Trophies, etc. You can import your data from exis•ng spreadsheets (recommended) or you can manually enter the data. It can print entry cards (double sided), one side showing Class and Sec•on, the other the exhibitor’s Name, Class and Sec•on, with space for placing s•ckers (1st, 2nd, 3rd) as well as the show name, preferably on 200gm A6 paper. It does not require double sided prin•ng as each side is printed separately, but has to have a rear feed printer because of the thickness of the card.

Contact I am oﬀering this applica•on free of charge to interested Gardening Clubs or Socie•es, and can help with installa•on and setup if required. The database will be emailed to you with instruc•ons on installa•on. It is simple to use for someone with a minimum of IT skills (or so I’m told). Neil McNulty E mail: [email protected] Tel: 07807743351 page 19

Kilmacolm HS Our series of Winter Lectures 21/22 ended with a descrip•ve and entertaining lecture from the Colourful Kilmacolm team. They keep the winter/ summer tubs based around Kilmacolm ﬁlled with bright and beau•ful ﬂowers. We supported our local hospice with a Bring and Buy Sale of unwanted gi•s, pain•ngs by local ar•sts, baking by our members. We raised £625 for Ardgowan Hospice. The Plant Sale and Coﬀee Morning in May brought many members and residents together for a very happy morning – and providing fundraising for the Flower Show which will take place on 3rd September 2022 in the Cargill Centre, Kilmacolm. We are fortunate to have a good Chairman and excellent commi•ee. Finding good speakers for the winter lectures becomes more and more diﬃcult, and technology via Zoom or Teams could provide the answer, if only we had (younger) members who were tech-savvy! The gardens of Kilmacolm have been a blaze of colour, with the Spring shrubs holding their displays through April to June. Now for some good weather to bring on the roses, dahlias and annuals – for the Flower Show! We wish all Socie•es and Gardening Clubs a successful season of ac•vi•es and friendship. Jill Russell kilmacolmhor!cultural.com

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The Resourceful Garden Created for The Royal Caledonian Hor•cultural Society (The Caley) at Saughton Park and sponsored by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and The Caley. Designed and built by Kristyna Andrlova, Caley member and student of Garden Design at SRUC.

How it all began It all began with a chat on a Friday morning at a regular Saughton Park volunteers’ session. Kristyna, one of our volunteers and a student at SRUC, men•oned that she had a show garden to design as part of her course. As the Caley has a strong educa•onal slant, we all said it would be good if Kristyna could be able to actually construct the garden in Saughton Park. The Caley has a demonstra•on garden where a variety of diﬀerent plan•ngs show the public what can be achieved in small and larger areas of ground. There was a spare plot which we gave to Kristyna to design her garden. Caley members also donated plants which Kristyna has grown on for the garden and a pile of sandstone was plundered and set aside for use. Colin Ainsworth, Caley President

The design As Colin says, the project came about quite naturally and the long process was jump-started right there on Friday morning. I was very keen to produce a design for the chosen theme: Reuse, Recycle and Use Local. It is very close to how I imagine myself working as a designer going forward. Therefore, I was very pleased to introduce my design proposal for a miniature garden to The Caley, and

was touched by the reac•on which was more than posi•ve. The design is a mosaic of organic shapes and pa•erns, upcycled items and materials, and collec•on of donated, locally grown plants and even this year’s seedlings. It places Earth Care at the centre of the theme and invites people to observe and engage with the space. Taking the theme even further, the hardscaping structures are designed to be easily dismantled so that all used material can be reused. The same goes for the plants. The structural plan•ng will remain the longest, but there will be many beau•ful plants looking for a new home later. A•er all, we are hoping to show how resourceful any garden can be, therefore the “Resourceful Garden”.

The process Thankfully, I managed to get the support and secure some funding from SRUC. And thanks to generous plant dona•ons by Caley members, their exper•se and advice I began to prepare for the build. I also want to give massive thanks to all

Picture 6: Regular the plants Caring for the feeding collectedofplants at SRUC

my wonderful friends and classmates who have been helping me along the way. I would not be able to pull this oﬀ without you guys! The last few months certainly have been an exci•ng •me with a few periods of anxiety as I learn how to run such a project as I go. I am really grateful for this opportunity and I hope that everyone will enjoy the garden, and perhaps be inspired to follow in similar spirit when transforming their green spaces. Kristyna Andrlova

The garden completed at Saughton

www.sco•shgardenersforum.org.uk

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Back to Basics – PRUNING If your garden is anything like mine just now, following on from all the warm, damp weather we have been having, then you are probably tempted to grab a machete and ﬁll a couple of skips with excess foliage. But some•mes it pays to check that we are using the correct tools, cu•ng back the right plants, by an appropriate amount, at the op•mum •me of year. So, what are the correct TOOLS for the job? * SECATEURS – buy the best you can aﬀord and keep them sharp. Never a•empt to prune with blunt tools as they will cause damage to the plant. Ask at your local garden center where you can get them sharpened. Use secateurs only on small twigs up to 15mm. (Pinkie size!) * LONG HANDLED PRUNERS OR LOPPERS – Again buy the best that you can; look up the internet for those rated in WHICH? or other comparison sites. Use, generally, for branches up to 30mm. (Big thumb size!) * For anything larger, use a saw; a single-sided, straight, or curved PRUNING SAW is good for •ght spaces. In general, for anything larger than 60mm, a BOW SAW should be used but at this stage seriously consider health and safety and the possibility of professional help. WHAT PLANTS NEED PRUNED? Many trees and shrubs, though not all need regular pruning, for one or more

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reasons. * 3 D’s – removal of Dead, Diseased or Damaged wood * To encourage growth, ﬂowering and/or frui•ng * To retain shape or size, decora•ve or restric•ve * Pruning may also be a way of bringing neglected and overgrown plants back to a healthy, manageable condi•on. Pruning normally s•mulates growth. The principal shoot or bud of a stem is o#en dominant and may inhibit by chemical means the growth of the buds or shoots below it (apical dominance). Pruning or ‘pinching’ that dominant bud removes the control mechanism and can result in more vigorous growth ‘bushing out’. Hard pruning promotes more vigorous growth than light pruning; this needs to be borne in

mind when correc•ng the shape of an unbalanced shrub. Hard cu•ng back of vigorous growth o•en encourages even stronger growth. To balance the growth out, cut the weaker stems back more than the stronger shoots. The actual cuts made when pruning are important. Any cuts made, like other injuries, are possible entry points for disease. This risk is reduced by making clean, well placed cuts. Historically, pruning wounds were painted with bitumen compounds to discourage fungal and bacterial infec•ons. Nowadays most gardeners believe that if clean cuts have been made the tree is be•er able to heal itself without further interference. The only way to make clean cuts is always to use the correct tool – according to the diameter of limb to be removed – ALWAYS USE SHARP TOOLS. TO PRUNE OR NOT TO PRUNE – This is always the ﬁrst ques•on. The answer is to have the conﬁdence to simply LOOK UP A GOOD BOOK prior to pruning anything new. A wrongly pruned plant may produce no ﬂowers, no fruit or indeed may simply die. Invest in ‘The Royal Hor•cultural Society Pruning Guide’, and prune as instructed. Trees and shrubs may be loosely classiﬁed into ﬁve groups regarding their pruning needs: 1. Requiring no regular pruning – many evergreens. e.g. Rhododendron, Pieris. 2. Early spring ﬂowering on the previous year’s wood – prune

newly ﬂowered shoots hard back to old wood. e.g. Forsythia, Berberis Stenophylla. 3. Early summer ﬂowering on previous years wood – prune a•er ﬂowering – remove a maximum of 1/3 of old wood to base. Old, ﬂowered shoots – cut back to strong young growths on main branches. e.g. Ribes, Weigela. 4. Shrubs ﬂowering on current seasons growth – prune in early spring only. Cut ﬂowered shoots of previous year hard back. e.g. Buddleia davidii, Lavatera. 5. Forma•ve pruning – many trees and shrubs need to be pruned to give ini•al shape or to retain a speciﬁc shape. Examples include standard trees, topiary and cloud pruned specimens, plants grown on arches, pillars, etc. Some plants, though certainly not all, will respond to ‘rejuvena•on’ pruning: in other words, taking an elderly and overgrown shrub, for example, right back down to the base from where a new framework can be built up again over the years. TIMING OF PRUNING – May be cri•cally important depending on plant type. Some examples of just how crucial this can be: * Betula and Acer should never be pruned a•er November as cuts of any size will not heal before the Spring sap ﬂow – this can cause the plant to ‘Bleed to death’. Instead prune in the summer months a•er growth ﬂushes.

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/p 23 * Sambucus, Lavatera and Hebe all cope well with hard pruning/ renewal pruning in early Spring, but if this pruning is done during the Winter period, they will immediately break dormancy and start to shoot. New shoots are easily frosted, and the plant will normally die. * Plums require pruning only during the summer months when healing is fast, thereby avoiding the possible entry of the fungal disease ‘Silver Leaf’.

“REMEMBER – IF IN DOUBT – READ THE BOOK!” PRUNING AND NUTRITION – Hard pruning of plants is the equivalent of cropping and if con•nual regrowth is expected then it may be necessary to fer•lise to sustain expected new growth. This is especially true for those plants such as Cornus alba which are hard pruned on a yearly basis to give con•nual winter stem colour. Suitable top dressings include: * Bonemeal at one handful per m2 * Dung etc. as a 5cm thick mulch. Ann Burns

SGS Photographic Compe••on Are you visi•ng gardens open with Scotland’s Gardens Scheme? Don’t forget your camera! The SGS invites visitors to submit photographs of gardens open for charity to its Photography Compe••on. There are two judging categories: Judge’s Choice Award and Audience Award, and prizes to be won! The compe••on runs un•l 15th October. Judges will include Brian Cunningham, Head Gardener at Scone Palace and Beechgrove Garden presenter, with other judges s•ll to be announced. page 26

Full Terms and Condi•ons and instruc•ons on how to enter can be found on the website: scotlandsgardens.org/ photo-compe••on/ Don’t forget that there are lots of gardens open by arrangement – they would love to hear from gardening groups wishing to organise a visit. The full list of gardens open by arrangement here: bit.ly/3NuZ5nY Daria Piskorz-Pronobis

Your Council Honorary President: Jim McColl Honorary Vice-President: Jim Jermyn Chair: Kathryn Pi!s (West Linton HS) chair@sco"shgardenersforum.org.uk Vice Chair: Mike Rossi (Sco"sh Bonsai Associa#on) Secretary: Caroline Mathias (Biggar Hor#cultural Society) secretary@sco"shgardenersforum.org.uk Treasurer: Andrea McDowall (Kirkin#lloch HS) treasurer@sco"shgardenersforum.org.uk Membership Secretary: Mrs Mike Rossi 98 Main Street, Coaltown of Balgonie, Glenrothes, Fife KY7 6HZ Tel: 01592 771541 membership@sco"shgardenersforum.org.uk Council Members: Tom Campbell (Brighter Bervie) Donald M Hepburn (Bridge of Weir) Hazel Mulberry (Stewarton) Anne Vincent (Nairn and District Hor#cultural Society) Newsletter and Website Editor: Alison Murison (The Caley) editor@sco"shgardenersforum.org.uk Facebook and New Media: Tracey Stone (Lanark Gardening Club) media@sco"shgardenersforum.org.uk

Regional Co-Ordinators North

Ann Vincent, Nairn and District HS north@sco•shgardenersforum.org.uk North East Tom Campbell, Brighter Bervie northeast@sco•shgardenersforum.org.uk East Kathryn Pi!s, West Linton HS east@sco•shgardenersforum.org.uk Fife Mike Rossi ﬁfe@sco•shgardenersforum.org.uk West Central Andrea McDowall, Kirkin#lloch HS westcentral@sco•shgardenersforum.org.uk www.sco•shgardenersforum.org.uk

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