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Le Grenier a Sel – Part 3

All the building materials had arrived, suddenly there was no excuse for not doing anything any more! We

decided the first thing was to cut into the wooden walls where we wanted the windows to go, so that John did.

And suddenly we had light! Then there were the walls themselves, just one plank of wood thick, so they had to

be lined, then plasterboarded and at last we had upright walls. Things were coming on.

It took us about four months to get the walls, inside roof insulated and boarded,, windows and interior walls in,

and suddenly it was Summer and getting very warm. So while John pottered about indoors, I spent my time

outside planning the garden, at that time, just a corner of a field. The first thing was a hedge, we had no

intention of making the whole lot into a garden, we rather liked what was happening in what we jokingly called

''The Park.'' Having been cut back drastically, the grass was starting to grow, the trees sprouted leaves and it

was looking good. We - or to be totally honest - John made the drive up to the road, using tons of gravel and

said it was the hardest job he had done yet. I was still there with my plans for the garden in a scrappy notebook

and suggested that a trip to the garden centre was the next necessity

We came back with the makings of a hornbeam hedge, we rather liked the idea of it keeping its leaves, albeit

brown, during the winter, a small mountain of plants and the best wishes of the owner who clearly thought we

qualified as mad English. He could have been right of course. After another visit to St. Nazaire we came back

with the makings of the kitchen, so John got on with that while I spent my days digging and planting. We built

a patio outside one of the French windows, overlooking the lakes, then a wall to support it and I planted what I

was told was a very fast growing honeysuckle. And it certainly was - by the end of Summer the wall was well

camouflaged and the scent drifted up to the patio. Summer nights were heaven out there., looking over the lakes

and watching the moon rise. Then we made a set of steps down to garden level and thought, why not make it

into a pergola, so we did. Everything was taking shape, everything was looking good. Another six months or so

and we should be almost finished.

But Autumn came, then winter and the dark nights, so we retreated to the one room that was live-inable and

planned the next phase of work. Christmas, and all the family came over, we made up beds in a couple of

reasonable bedrooms, heated the caravan for the young ones, and the elderly ones stayed at the hotel in the

Village. But it was a wonderful Christmas, my Father, now in his late 80s was convinced he was in England

because we had Sky TV! Nothing we could do could change his mind. Life was quiet when they all left again,

so back to work. Soon we had three guest bedrooms, our own with shower room attached, a bathroom, a

kitchen (yes, it was in and working!) and an enormous sitting room with a wood fire which was supposed to

stay alight all night but never seemed to. But it kept the place warm, We had found a spiral staircase which as

luck would have it was exactly what we wanted, and this led to a mezzanine, where we eventually built

bookshelves to house what was called ''The Library!'' We were almost finished. It was looking wonderful and as

Spring gradually came round, we stood back and looked at what we'd done. Le Grenier a Sel was a home at

last, we drank a toast in the local Muscadet sur Lie and settled in for what we hoped would be many years. But

there's still the garden..........ah, that's another story! Cleo Brockman – Torquay

The final part 4 will be in the March 2016 Newsletter – can’t wait!

CORRESPONDENCE GROUP DECEMBER 2015 NEWSLETTER Editor: Lorraine Rudd e-mail: lorrainejrudd@sky.com

Book Review by Jan Etchells

I have now read another of Jojo Moyes books. This one is called ‘The Girl I left Behind’

It is a story told in two parts. The first part deals with France during the First World War and

the second part is set in the present day. It is a puzzle story, part love story, part detective

putting together the clues. It all turns round the ownership of a picture and is a great read.

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July Garden visit and Talk In the second week of July this year, the hot sunny week, as opposed to the cold wet week that followed, I enjoyed two Garden-Related events. On the Thursday I visited Acton Court in South Glos. With a friend I got the X46 bus from Bristol bus station to the delightful village of Iron Acton. This village is far enough away from Bristol to have not been "suburbanised" yet, anyway, its closer to Yate but maybe planning rules apply so far to stop it getting swallowed up. We first had lunch in the White Hart then went to sit on a seat on the village green. To get to nearby Acton Court we had to cross a very busy road ,luckily on a lights crossing. We then had to, being carless walk a short way up a busy road, a lane but busy with cars and lorries. There was a narrow pavement, it was doable but not pleasant, but the worst bit was at the end of this short walk within sight of the entrance to our destination. The last two properties had huge dogs that barked at us ferociously, it was terrifying. However we reached safety at the Court entrance and explaining our predicament to the people on duty there one of them kindly gave us a lift back to the village green when we left about 2 hours later. Acton Court is a Tudor House ,it was built, in fact rushed in construction (jerry built) by a local landowner and Bristol merchant on hearing that King Henry VIIIth was going to honour him with a visit,I n I think about 2 weeks time. Sir Nicholas Poyntz had this big, grand Tudor House thrown up to honour his King from whom he expected honours and importance at Court. For centuries the house was forgotten, a humble farmhouse, only partially lived in by various farming families. In the early 1980s it was found and bought by a local historian and now in July we can visit and have a tour of the house which is empty and unfurnished, all the interest is in the architecture and the archaeology of the site. Having visited once before, at the halfway point, I sloped off to sit on a seat in the cool shade of a tree and admire the meadow. It was delightful. Wild flowers bloomed in the long grass and I saw more bees and butterflies than I've seen for a long time. With tea and cake to complete our visit it was a very enjoyable afternoon. A further treat on the Sunday was to hear Monty Don speak at a place near the Botanic Garden, just off the Downs here in Bristol. As I chose to sit right at the back I only got a few glimpses of Mr Don but he has got a nice clear speaking voice so I didn't miss a thing. He showed us lots of pictures of his garden and other gardens around the world that he has visited. His theme was, “Why We Garden” or at least why HE gardens. To some extent I shared some of his gardening ideas, he likes some informality and lets things grow wild a bit as we see in his garden on TV. I know and have known folk who believe that gardens are about control which I personally find a bit obnoxious, or at least taking a need for tidiness and formality a bit too far! Jane Baker, Bristol

Garden Help - As this summer approached I decided I really did need some help in the garden. My back was

still giving me pain as well as my knees. So I cast around in my mind for a suitable person. I didn’t want

someone to come into my garden and do it ‘their’ way rather than ‘my’ way. I wanted someone who was keen

to do the work. In the end I approached the last pupil I had taught for just nine weeks to bring his English up

to scratch and enable him to pass his GCSE. Jack certainly started off with a bit of an attitude problem, but we

quickly slipped into an easy relationship.

I rang him up to make my suggestion. Would he like two hours paid work helping me under supervision in

my garden? Jack was keen and came along the first week. I wanted all the forget me nots pulled out as they

were well past their best. I asked him do you know what forget me nots are? The answer was no! I thought,

well you will know by the end of this morning! He worked very willingly pulling them all out.

The next week I started him on weeding the front drive. We both initially worked at that, pulling out

perennial weeds then spraying them with weedkiller. That job took several more weeks and once he knew

what was wanted he could work unsupervised. I have discovered that he wields a mean pair of secateurs and

when I want something cut back it is really well cut back.

He’s also learning, he can now recognise a poppy, as well as forget me nots, and fennel. If he stays with me

long enough he’ll be an asset next year. This last week I showed him how opium was harvested, but he was

unimpressed by such a labour intensive task. As far has he was concerned it was very little reward for so

much effort. But then he is only 15 years old and the drugs scene is not part of his life thankfully.

As far as he is concerned the cake he eats at elevensies is of far more importance. According to Jack everything

he’s eaten here has been lush. I am reeling with the high praise! Jan Etchells - Shrewsbury

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A Visit to Bitton

In the early 1990s I had a brilliant original idea. I thought of sinking poles in our garden, freestanding poles up which to

grow climbing roses. It was a great success. In particular May Queen and Felicite et Perpetue did very well. Then in the

local library I discovered an intriguing small book. This was In My Gloucestershire Garden by one Canon Ellacombe. I read

this book with great curiosity and discovered a famous gardener of whom I never knew yet who lived locally. In particular

he had poles installed in his garden to grow swags of roses up, my original idea and someone else thought of it 100 years

before! Now I have been going to the city of Bath all my life and often on the bus route through the village of Bitton that

is halfway between Bristol and Bath. At long last one sunny Saturday in August I had a chance to get off the bus at the

village and explore. I walked down the road to the church past a mixture of older and newer houses all with nice gardens.

At the end of the lane were some very old picturesque cottages. I was delighted to find that the church was open and sat

awhile in its dusky coolness. Going back along Church Lane I passed The Old Vicarage that was the Canons home and the

old church school that he founded. There is a lot more to tell of this man, one of the founders of the RHS. Next spring I

hope to do a wider ramble and will write some more about this engaging writer and gardener.

Jane Baker

My Pet Hate

I don’t dislike much in the garden, but my personal hate, or rather fear is caterpillars. This year my roses have suffered from saw fly for the first time ever. My heart sinks when I see them, but my daughter gave me a pair of thorn proof gloves and as I can’t feel anything when I wear them they have proved their weight in gold when it comes to dealing with caterpillars. The little saw flies rear upwards as I advance and then I squash, it’s very satisfying.

I’m a home tutor and once I was teaching a very nice little boy called Oliver. On one session he said he had something to show me and produced this huge hawk moth caterpillar lying in his hand. Would I like to hold it? I viewed it with horror, I wanted to die! I decided that honesty was the best course here, so very sensibly I confessed to being afraid of caterpillars and asked him to put it somewhere else. Bless him he did just that and took it away and put it in a jam jar.

We have remained friends over many years now Oliver despite his dyslexia has done very well in his chosen career.

Jan Etchells – Shrewsbury

Music Corner - I liked Jan’s article in September as, like her, I love music – especially of the Classical kind. I like Classic FM but I hate the adverts so I listen to Radio 3 in the mornings and leave it on for my two dogs, Rolfe and Hattie when I go to work. When my dog walker comes to stay I say turn the radio on for Rolfe – his mouth twitches a bit as he asks me what music does he like and I say he likes classical/relaxation music!

I love Einaudi, and saw him in concert at the Royal Festival Hall a few years ago where he played with a Cellist – I love the piano and Cello. I like most of what John Rutter has produced and especially a CD he collaborated with Catrin Finch, a Welsh Harpist – I have also seen her in concert and she is brilliant! Her latest album is called ‘Tides’ produced in support of Water Aid. Of course as a Reiki practitioner I play all sorts of relaxation music – they have to be listened to very carefully in advance so that the music you choose is not too ‘strong’, nor annoying, just simply background music. I couldn’t live with music or books, could you?

Lorraine Rudd - Cwmgwrach

What are other Members’ pet hates in the garden? Mine are

slugs and snails, especially handling snails and they leave a

residue on you – urgh! Let us know in next Newsletter? L - Ed

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Indoor Cyclamen Most Christmases I buy a small cyclamen. It’s sits along with previous year’s cyclamen on the kitchen windowsill and as long as I water it regularly it thrives. Then in early summer I put them outside in the sunshine where they are watered and fed along with the other pot plants. They always flower a second time, or if they look a bit sickly and tired they

throw up new leaves and it’s as if they give themselves a mental shake to improve their ways. I bring them in again as late as I dare, usually early November. I check them all over for nasty little caterpillars and remove those and put the plants back on a light windowsill where they will flower for a couple of months or more. They give me immense pleasure.

Jan Etchells

My Most Embarrassing Garden-Related Moment

About 20 years ago my Mother was friends with a lady about a decade older than her and used to visit her twice a week. This lady in her 80’s,now gone to glory, had been, along with her late husband, a keen gardener, and she had a small but well planted and tended garden. Not able to do the work herself anymore she had a man come one afternoon a week to trim and tidy, dig and stake. One sunny late afternoon I joined my Mum at her friend’s house and we were shown the garden which was colourful with summer flowers. I admired a beautiful red floribunda rose which was flowering profusely. I asked its name. That rose is "Carl" said my Mum’s friend. "My husband and I planted it on the day our grandson was born". Well I could have wished the ground would swallow me up as they say, I felt terrible, just awful. The very nice lady was calmly saying how beautiful and flowery the rose was and calmly I agreed but inside I felt terrible. For in quite recent years this lady's Grandson, Carl had died, aged 30, in a dreadful road accident, well a crime really as he was mown down by a so-called joyrider, as they were called back then. He left a widow and young children. It was, for me, an Embarrassing moment. Jane Baker, Bristol

Cymbidium Orchids - This was the first orchid I was ever given and they are my first love of orchids. I was working at Hilliers Nursery when a lady I worked with decided to give me her orchid because she couldn’t get it back into flower. I managed to do so and then I started going to RHS Orchid Shows and buying them. They get huge plants and you have to split them up regularly. The secret is to getting them back into flower is that they have to have changes in temperature so, in the summer months, stand them out in the garden in semi-shade if possible and feed all summer, Tomorite is good. Then, before the first frosts, you bring them into a cool greenhouse or a porch or a conservatory. By then you should see the flower spikes forming. By Christmas you will have your first flowers, they come in all different colours, white through to pink, brown and red and green, some are fragrant too.

TATTON FLOWER SHOW – I went to Tatton for the first time this year and really enjoyed the show. Although there were a lot of visitors you could drive in easily and park and there was plenty of space to move around.

As well as the plant marquee there was a Heritage Plant Marquee where all the National Societies exhibit, an art one, a food marquee etc.

There is something for the visitor who enjoys eating and drinking as well as looking at plants! I treated myself to a lovely wrought iron sculpture which is practical as well as it is a bird feeder/bird bath in the shape of leaves. Lorraine, Cwmgwrach

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SPANISH AND ITALIAN TOUR

I intend every year to do more in my own garden and less garden visiting. However, like so many of my intentions, it never gets fulfilled. This year has been good for garden visiting. I began in Spain in the area West of Malaga. It was a totally new area for me and this Spring, seen in lovely sunshine, made it a bonus.

There were lovely English type gardens on the estate we stayed at and I enjoyed seeing them. They often had delightful pools and were just so attractive. We drove further north however to Seville, with time to see the shady gardens of the Alcazar. In Seville we also visited a Botanical garden which, due to lack of funding, has been allowed to grow wild. One of the volunteers who is trying to get this all organised took us round. I felt it was a herculean task – masses of shrubs needing attention, nameplates in need to renewing also. Next day a delightful garden at the Palacio de Moratella. This is a very formal site, designed by Le Forestier. There were lots of massive plane trees and of course Agapanthus everywhere. We went on to Palma del Rio where a very lively lady showed us the lovely formal garden at the Palacio de los Portocarrero. She and her husband have devoted their lives to resoring this which is surrounded by the 13th Century Almohad Walls. The walls kept the garden warm and we wandered through seeing the fruit trees that Dona Cristina Itsarra had chosen to grow. The guide was so full of life it made a fascinating visit. We returned to our hotel at Torre de la Reina. Here the owner took us round his garden, again formal, with water, lots of lillies enclosed in box-edged beds and with glorious roses spilling over the high hedges. It had been such joy to see so much but now I had to be ready to go to Italy. This time our base was Lucca - a delightful city with a great many pedestrian streets. The City is surrounded by high walls with shady walks on top of them. Our visit was to see the gardens of the villas which are in the hills surrounding the City. We were blessed with sunshine which again made it all so good. We were really looking at the influence of the English picturesque movement on the more formal Renaissance gardens. Our first visit was to the Villa Olwia Buonvisi which has a park of about 12 acres with some formal and some informal areas. It was approached by a long tree-lined drive, giving way to the formal gardens before the villa. We learnt that earth and fire were necessary for the garden and in the place of fire there were masses of bright red pelargoniums or, as I love to call them geraniums! Here there were waterfalls and basins full of goldfish with fountains. As you will imagine small statues guarded these water features. On a large scale is the Villa Reale which was home to Napoleans’s sister, Elisa. She purchased adjoining properties and made a fine garden leading to a lower lake. Near the villa is an attractive water theatre and in the grounds are the remains of the Bishop of Luccas villa built in the 17th Century. There is talk of making this into a hotel but it needs much work and expertise. This villa has fine lawns around it and again formal planting, bright red geraniums everywhere. The other villa we visited, Villa Bernardine, was especially attractive with an 18th Century box theatre. It was a time of much enjoyment, also at times, as we were being invited into the villas. We ate and drank very well too!

Dorothy Brining, West Kirby Introducing Lawnmower Polo.

Lawnmower polo is a new and exciting sport for 2 players. Player 1 is commonly known as the MUG. Player 2 is

the D.

First the Mug needs to clear the pitch. This is commonly referred to as the lawn but may be an area of rough

shortish, fairly green vegetation. This involves removing sticks, balls, half bricks, rubble and in some cases portions of

old window frame, While she is doing this the D will be returning at least some of them to the lawn and hiding them in

the longer tufts of vegetation. Next it is necessary to extract the ancient ride on mower from the garage by first moving a

log splitter and a very heavy workshop crane. This gives the D time to move more lumps of wood back onto the pitch.

The mower is moved onto the lawn and the blades are engaged. At this point the D becomes excited and runs

around to find a tennis ball. The object is to drop a ball into the path of the moving mower so as to either wreck the

mower blades or chop the ball into small pieces. The Mug needs to lean from the seat like a real polo player (but possibly

rather stiffer and less sporty) and pick up the ball in passing and throw it off the lawn. This involves swerving and does

not give an immaculately striped look to the lawn. The D scores extra points by dropping the ball behind the mower while

it is reversing to turn or by a hit on something which was returned to the pitch while the Mug was not looking. It would be

unusual to complete a game without the D scoring at least 1 point. Julie Plumb - Suffolk

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Unusual Request

Working as a gardener for a range of clients I get to do some odd jobs. Some are just the normal,

work related; putting the bins out, signing for parcels, getting washing in if it rains. Others are slightly

out of the job description, I have helped dismantle marquees, served tea to garden visitors and I

once took an elderly client to a hall to help her clear up after her son’s wedding reception. My most

recent request, some may say, was way beyond the remit of a gardener. That said, I am known for

my love of flowers and my ability to arrange them for church displays and gift baskets. In fact when I

left school I wanted to become a florist but the careers advisor talked my parents out of that

particular path.

So what was the request? To dress the coffin of my late client – ‘because I knew her and her taste in

flowers’. How could I refuse, as I stood there in her garden, surrounded by the plants she loved, in

the design she had created from scratch? I had only been helping in the garden for about six

months although my husband had known Hilary many years through their shared love of music. The

brief made the matter more complicated. Hilary loved wild flowers and her garden, so there were to

be no ‘florist’ flowers and they were not to be arranged, just ‘strewn’ over the willow coffin and Ivy

draped round the sides. The beginning of September is not a good time for wild flowers, particularly

as farmers in Suffolk finish harvest and immediately start cutting hedges, ditches and verges in a

frenzy that eliminates foraging for nuts and blackberries let alone flowers.

I spent the next few days testing out flowers to see what would last out of water for four hours. I have

a love/hate relationship with florist foam (‘Oasis’); it’s marvelous for arranging flowers in a lasting way,

but it’s a petro-chemical product that is not biodegradable as anyone who has innocently put it on

the compost heap will know, but its use was out of the question for this task. I also made enquiries as

to whether you could weave stems through the willow. The funeral director was very helpful but said

the flowers would need to be wired on. What he did not say was this is very tricky. The willow weave

seems open enough but it did not prove to be so. I gradually built up a collection of flowers and

foliage that would last. The only flowers I ordered were pinks from Whetman’s in Devon. These are

true pinks, in beautiful shades with glorious clove-like scent. Having a large country garden means I

don’t lack Ivy, though finding the right strands still proved time consuming.

Luckily on the day my husband was able to accompany me for moral support. The coffin had been

placed in the Chapel of Rest. It took over two hours to get everything in place and wired on. The

picture shows the effect I created – which was ‘spot on’ according to the family. My only

disappointment is that it looks lovely from the top but the dais at the crematorium is fairly high and

the effect was lost. Have this in mind when you plan for yourself or a loved one - some beautiful

effects can be achieved, just take a look at the images on the web.

Veronica Munson who is a self-employed gardener in Suffolk

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NGS Garden Opening 2015 I opened my garden up mid-week this year as, over a weekend, you need so many volunteers to help with the teas, plant sales etc. My friend Wendy has been coming for the past 8 years so I thought I would give her time off this year! The first afternoon of opening was in mid-June when all the rambling roses and climbers are out and the perfume is wonderful. Also the aquilegias are out too. We had 35 people to the opening that afternoon which was pretty good, despite the weather. A lovely lady called Vicky came and did the teas for me – she also makes wonderful cream scones which went down very well and set me up for the afternoon! She works with children with special needs and they make gorgeous stained glass bits and pieces for the

house and garden out of recycled glass. She brought a few for sale and I bought myself a lovely dragonfly in blues and greens. One of the main pleasures of sharing your garden is the nice people that you meet who say wonderful things about the garden and hopefully you can give them one or two ideas for their own gardens. I open for private visits as well as for the ‘official days’ and Carrie from our group came this year. Again it was showering but I enjoyed taking Carrie round and she bought some of my surplus tomatoes, hope they did well for you Carrie. The local gardening club came end of June and guess what, rain again! I managed to get them into our railway carriage and available greenhouses for teas, they enjoyed themselves despite the weather and ate all the cakes which was great! A final visit was a lady from my Body Balance group who organised a party of 15 people in mid-August. I was hoping by August we might get a bit of sunshine but not a bit of it! However most of the visit was just a light sprinkling, a lady of 98 came with the group and insisted on walking round, brilliant! By then the lillies were in flower which I grow in large pots and the fragrance is truly beautiful. As well as opening the garden I give talks to garden clubs and I was asked to give a talk to a club in the Rhondda – I was rather surprised that they wanted me to give a talk in early August instead of visiting the garden, much nicer to see the garden ‘in the flesh’ rather than on slides but off I went. They were a Fuschia Garden Club so I went with a box of surplus Streptocarpus all in flower – I sold the lot which was great and made another £25 to the NGS coffers. All in all I raised £700 for the NGS which is probably the best we have ever done so it shows you don’t need to open up over a weekend. The private visits all added up. I take my hat off to anyone who opens their garden up – the amount of work is enormous, especially after such a wet summer, it is impossible to keep weeds at bay and constant deadheading. Of course there is the work of all those home-made cakes. Do I enjoy it, would I do it next year? The answer is yes. The NGS is always looking at new gardens to open so why not get in touch with your local Co-Ordinator – the scheme supports such wonderful charities like Cancer Research, Marie Curie, Carers and Hospices, Parkinsons and much more, who knows one day we might need one of those charities and that is the main reason why I open my garden and have been doing so for the past 9 years.

Lorraine, Cwmgwrach Nature Diary Jan and I thought it might be a nice idea to have a nature type diary of what is happening in your garden at different seasons, ie when did you see the first butterfly/dragonfly/ladybirds etc. As the seasons are so strange now it would be nice to record if anything different is happening at certain times of year. For instance this summer, my double begonias took a long time to get going and are only beginning to flower now late August/early September. Also my lillies flowered much later this year. I bought some lovely lilly bulbs at one of the shows late September (might have been Malvern) and put them in a large pot. I would say I had at least 40 flowers on may be 3 bulbs. The fragrance was absolutely gorgeous. Anyway you get the idea, look forward to contributions for March 2015. L – Ed

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Train Trip by Jan E - Shrewsbury

One weekend in August when my daughter and her partner came up to

see us they took me to Bridgnorth in Shropshire. This is an interesting

little town on two levels, High Town and Low Town. On Saturdays High

Town has a street market along the main street and underneath the old

market hall building. We enjoyed the market and also the one in the car

park where we saw lovely firm cabbages being alighted upon by a

cabbage white butterfly! There were a few stalls selling bric a brac as well

as fruit and vegetable stalls.

At the end of the main street is a sign for Severn Valley Railway. This is a

preserved railway line which runs down to meet the main line in

Kidderminster. We took a train as far as Bewdley. It was a heritage diesel engine that pulled us there. It was

the first time in more than fifty years that I had been there. As a child our family had had a holiday there. The

old toll house on the bridge was long gone and a rather brash new building in its place. Otherwise it looked

just as I remembered it. We arrived in time for lunch and as it was such a beautiful day we decided to eat at

one of the many riverside café’s. Bewdley is situated on the River Severn and huge numbers of swans and

geese, both grey and Canada, and mallard ducks and drakes were congregated round the bridge, obviously

very used to getting fed from the remains of sandwich lunches!

We returned to the station to catch our train back to Bridgnorth, this time pulled by a steam engine, so we

were able to get covered in smuts from the engine to the delight of my future son in law. At the end of the

journey we elected to walk down the hill to Low Town and get the Victorian funicular up the cliff to the High

Town. This has been beautifully maintained and has recently been repainted in traditional blue and cream. In

a matter of minutes we were lifted to the top.

An Italian ice cream cornet completed a delightful summers day before we drove home to Shrewsbury.

Geranium Rozanne – see

Jane’s article on next page – I

love this particular Geranium

as it never stops flowering!

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Pollinators, Plants and Pots by Jane

Harries

Sitting on my front doorstep in the

September sun, I appreciated yet again

the plants that attract insects in the

garden. There were, however, some

unexpected plants I’d not realised were

useful in this way. As well as the

valerian, Centranthus ruber, which

always feeds tortoiseshell butterflies

and the wonderful hummingbird

hawkmoths, and the barely open

sedums, crawling with hopeful bees, the

pelargoniums are proving popular. A

pair of acid yellow-green brimstone

butterflies spent half an hour sucking nectar out of what seemed to be a small supply in the bright scarlet centres of

these flowers. Cabbage whites flitted around a lot, dawdling aimlessly around all the flowers; geranium ‘Rozanne’ has

many butterflies and also a leaf-cutter bee feeding on it. (I recognise this bee because it once laid eggs in seed modules

in my greenhouse!)

15 days later and the ivy is out on my front hedge, and is crawling with bees and the odd wasp. I need to cut it back, but

it is such an insect magnet I am doing it in stages. The Holly Blue butterflies that used to nest there have not been seen

for a couple of years, so I feel less guilty doing so.

Leaving pollinators but not my perch on the steps, the pots have done well for me this year. I am new to container

planting, however I am slowly learning what works. This year I was proud of the pelargoniums, as I’d managed to grow

plants from seed and then take cuttings (after several years of the original plants dying over winter in my cold

greenhouse, I put them and cuttings inside and in my back porch. Success!) They’re producing big flower heads in

bright red and light and dark pink. I bought two helichrysums: one with gray-green and one with pale yellow-green

leaves, and they go well with the pelargoniums. Then my sister gave me a big pot for a present and planted it up with

another pale yellow helichrysum and a lovely two-tone pink fuschia, both of which go really well with my existing pots,

and with my own fuschia and the pale pink sedum in the flowerbed behind them.

My pot is benefitting from an Anglian Water moisture-retaining mat which you put underneath the plan when potting it

up, and water-retaining granules mixed with the compost, as well as a black bag with drainage holes as a pot lining.

Comparing it with my sister’s pot, this pot does need less water. If you’re in the Anglian Water area, you can get a free

‘water-saving in the garden’ kit free of charge which includes the mat and the granules – go to

http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/environment/how-you-can-help/using-water-wisely/save-water-in-the-garden.aspx

or phone them up (they will also come round and give you widgets to save water in the house). I garden in South

Northants.

Book Recommendations by Shirley Grummett - Notes to my Mother-in-Law by Phyllida Law and Toast & Marmalade

by Emma Bridgewater

The Garden by Vita Sackville West – recommendation by Jane Baker - This is a long poem in which the author

describes and celebrates the gardening year. Vita had previously written an even longer poem celebrating the Kentish

Weald countryside that she loved, its ways and people. The garden year as described by Vita will still be familiar to

most Cottage Gardeners, from the emergence of bulbs in Spring to sodden mistiness of Autumn. The poem was written

in the early years of the Second World War and the sense of peril of those days is recorded. It occurred to me that a

similar poem written now would have to include trips to garden centres, watching TV, decking and water features and

lots of other things, good or bad, that weren't extant in Vita's day!

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Christmas salad of peppers and Goats cheese (Serves 6)

3 red and 3 green peppers. About 24 cherry tomatoes, 2 cloves garlic cut into very thin strips (this can be omitted but it

does add to it!) 4 - 6 tbs Olive oil, 3 Crottin goats cheeses, halved horizontally, Vinaigrette dressing.

Preheat oven to 220C Gas 7. Quarter the peppers discarding stem and seeds, put into lightly oiled roasting tin cut side

up. Put tomato in each quarter and sprinkle with the garlic (if used!) Drizzle with oil, season.

Roast about 25 minutes Remove from oven and cool. About 10 minutes before serving, preheat grill. Put the cheeses

onto a baking tray, brush with oil, grill for about 2 mins until very lightly browned.

To serve - put peppers onto plate, garnish with salad leaves dressed with the vinaigrette and put goats cheese into

centre of each plate. Drizzle all lightly with the dressing and serve.

Marinated salmon with herbs (serves 6)

11 oz salmon fillet, 2 spring onions, Juice of 1 large lemon,3 tbs Olive oil, Grated zest of 1 lemon. Ground black

pepper. 1 tbs each of either fresh dill and either flat leaved parsley and fresh coriander. (If you like your marinate

slightly sweeter add some sugar to the lemon etc)

Put the salmon in the freezer just to freeze it a little so that is easy to slice into thin slices. Cut into very thin slices

working from tail end so that the slices are about 3 in. long, arrange in single layer in shallow dish. Chop the herbs and

finely chop the spring onions. Put a little salt into container (very little) add the lemon juice , stir till salt

dissolves. Then add oil, zest, onions and herbs and season with black pepper. Pour this marinade over the salmon and

allow it to marinate for at least an hour. Garnish with fresh lemon slices and serve with French bread.

Tomatoes with capers, almonds and herbs.

16 oz mixed tomatoes, 3tbs.Olive oil. 1 tbs maple syrup, 1 tbs lemon juice, 1 small shallot chopped, 2 tbs small capers

chopped, 1 oz chopped almonds, some flat leaved parsley, chopped. Salt and pepper

Slice the tomatoes into different sizes, (just for variation!) Mix oil maple syrup, lemon juice in a bowl and season to

taste. Add the shallot, capers, tomatoes, half the almonds and most of the parsley. Mix all together and serve topped

with remaining parsley and almonds.

I always make my own Vinaigrette which is very easy, into a jar with screwtop lid put two thirds Olive oil, one third

white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard (Must be dijon) and sugar to taste. Put lid on firmly, shake very well and that's it!

Christmas Pate.

1 medium Onion, chopped. 1 carton (about 8 oz?) Chicken livers, Butter (with a little oil added, I use Olive) 2 tbs

brandy (Optional)

Fry the onion in the oil for a few minutes, then add the livers. Cook gently until the livers are cooked through, adding

more butter if necessary. At the end, add the brandy. Pile into food processor, blend till really smooth, then pile into

container (or small ramekins) Put in fridge till needed.

(I know this recipe sounds incredibly easy - that's the beauty of it!)

All the above recipes from Cleone Brockman in Torquay – many thanks Cleo.

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A trip to Suffolk by Lorraine – I have always wanted

to visit Suffolk but it has taken until now to do so. It

is quite a long trip from South Wales but I decided

to make the trip in September.

On the way we broke the journey by visiting Beth

Chatto’s garden – there was plenty of colour in the

garden but I particularly enjoyed the dry garden

which was an old car park. Of course I visited the

Nursery and came away with a few plants!

We stayed in Snape in Suffolk as I have always

wanted to visit the Bressingham Gardens. This was

about an hour away and I absolutely loved the

gardens there – I could have spent all day strolling

amongst the gardens – there was masses of interest

there as you would expect and lovely plant combinations – see pic above. What I think is a shame is that you can’t buy

the plants as the nursery has gone. Considering the Blooms were such pioneers in finding new plants and brilliant ones

at that – I felt it was a great shame you can’t buy what you see. You still can track down some of the varieties – including

Geranium Rozanne.

I knew that Suffolk was a great gardening County but I hadn’t realised how much until this visit. There were so many

interesting nurseries and gardens to visit including Helmingham Hall – I liked this latter garden as you can take a dog

there which is good news for us dog lovers who like to take our dogs on holidays – see pic of me looking up at the

gourds in Helmingham below – very interesting planting.

Of course my visit was made even more special by paying a visit to 3 of our group members, Shirley in Essex and Julie

and Veronica near Ipswich. They all made me very welcome and it was lovely to meet those who I have been writing to

over the years. I loved seeing Julie’s orchard garden, Veronica’s beautiful cottage garden (especially visiting her at a sad

time as she had recently lost one of her pets and client) – her husband also makes excellent chocolate cakes! Lastly it

was lovely meeting Shirley and seeing her pretty cottage garden and dried flowers. It was also nice to meet someone

who enjoys the same books as me, we had lots to talk about!

Thank you to all those who made my trip to Suffolk very special – the weather was great and I managed to get all the

plants, books and goodies in the car (as well as my dog Rolfe)!

Gourds at Helmingham Hall on an arch

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COMMENTS ON PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER BY AUDREY LUFF I had one or two ideas roughed out but thought I would begin with the September Newsletter. The first piece on Wheelbarrows has got me started – we have a builder’s wheelbarrow in the garden but sadly it is transforming into slivers of rust. Like Monica I thought a good strong barrow with a pneumatic tyre would be just the thing in a garden I was starting from scratch and to begin with it was fine – just the thing for shifting the boulders I kept unearthing when digging, but as the beds developed and paths between them formed I realised the barrow was difficult to manoeuvre so it was used less and less. Now I am so much older and rustier myself it is impossible for me to get it up all the steps out of the garden so there it sits keeping the rain off some bags of vermiculite. I did reply to an email posted by a young woman looking for unwanted items she could use as planters. She was delighted with the watering cans I had spare but even she was not prepared to take on the poor old wheelbarrow. We never did have a wheelbarrow on our allotments [we eventually had 4 plots, all but 2 of which were in different parts of the allotment site]. What we had instead were 2 prams. One was quite posh with a working hood, the other was a Silver Cross chassis with a 'baby walker' truck fitted on it. We could pile tools and whatever else we needed to take to and fro on our short walk to the allotments. It was a standing joke that folks would ask us how the 'baby' was doing, or comment that it was a very good baby as they never heard it crying. The prams were equally useful when we were entering local shows when they could be loaded with containers, cut flowers and produce. On one occasion the local paper got wind of us and printed a large photo of the three children, my husband and myself parading along with buckets of daffs, tulips and spring flowers loaded on the prams. Since some of the shows were several miles away it was not unusual for people to stop us and ask if the flowers were for sale under the impression we were mobile 'barrow boys'! When we eventually gave up our plots to move to Yorkshire from London both prams were eagerly snapped up by other allotment holders. There was a sales hut on the allotments and in the 'yard' at the back they kept two large trolleys of the sort you used to see in big railway stations loaded with mailbags or large boxes of goods. When my mother died our landlords wouldn't let us take her part of the house, instead they offered us a flat [with garden] three doors up the road. Hiring a furniture van was ridiculous so we borrowed these two trolleys and moved all our worldly possessions on them from one house to the other thus providing the neighbours with an endless source of amusement. We soon realised that furniture from three floors of a large Victorian house will not go into one floor, even if that is still in a large Victorian house. With each of our 'children' setting up homes we knew the overflow would eventually be dispersed but there was still the immediate problem – more or less solved by the purchase of a large plastic greenhouse. Once the furniture had gone we were left with a handy sun-room-cum-seedling nursery. Notes to be continued next Spring Newsletter – Ed Dordogne Damselflies by Jennifer Creech, Llandudno Damsel Fly, Damsel Fly* You flittered down the river, Years later, and we remember

Damsel Fly, Damsel Fly* And rested on a rock-top; Those beautiful Damsel Flies;

Fluttering around in France;

You waited there for your pretty mate, Fluttering over a chuckling river,

And all along the Dordogne River –

And so for a while you stopped. Reflecting sunny, summer skies.

How you led us a merry dance!

We too stopped, and waited. *the beautiful Demoiselle (Agrion Virgo L)

You fluttered here With cameras primed, but at rest; This species prefers clear fast-running streams.

You fluttered there We awaited you with bated breath - Also found in UK.

And then you settled And then ‘took’ you at your best.

On John’s head so bare!

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My Piano Journey: A personal History

I have always had a deep love of the piano. My life story with it has been long and full of hurdles. My mother was tone deaf but my father was a brilliant musician but had cut the tendons to his 4th & 5th fingers on one hand when 3 years old so couldn't get the strength in them to be a concert pianist. He played the organ instead. He had a grand piano in our house and for the 1st year or so of my life I would have heard him play a lot. A few years ago I

found his name, AH Griffiths on the web on a list amongst other distinguished organ players, some of them very well known such as Vaughan Williams, John Ireland and Stokowski, who were pupils of Sir Walter Parratt www.cph.rcm.ac.uk/Tour/Pages/Parratt.htm My father was a student at the Royal College of Organists when Sir Walter was President. The latter was also organist at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle and had been Master of the Queen's music to Queen Victoria. He taught the piano to Princess Margaret who once gave him a piano book she had bound, as a gift. That was later passed on to my father and I had it for a while and then passed it to my great niece in America. My oldest sister remembers that Sir Walter often used to come to tea with us. After training, my father was organist at Jerusalem Cathedral for a few years.

He died in 1940. I was about 16 months old. Probably shortly after that I was dropped on my head on to concrete by a friend of my mothers. I had some physical problems as a child as a result. They included ones of co-ordination, high frequency hearing, speech difficulties and a lazy left eye. At 9 years old I went to boarding school. It was Christ's Hospital, sometimes known as the Bluecoat school. It was Anglican and founded in 1552 by Edward VI for the education of poor orphan children and nursing of sick ones. When I was there the girls school was in Hertford and the boys in Horsham. Soon after I left, an economic situation led to the Hertford site being sold to Tescos and the pupils joined the boys in Horsham. It is a much freer and happier situation. I had piano lessons at school but after a while my mother was written to and told I was so hopeless at it, that she was wasting her money paying for them. Sadly they were stopped. I was similarly told I was what was termed as 'growling' when singing so best to keep quiet. In singing competitions I was given the task of turning the pages for the pianist. I deeply regretted that I was considered unable to sing or learn the piano but when I look back I realise that I took an unconscious interest in the music at the school. There was plenty of it and the standard was high. We attended chapel at least once daily and had prayers with a hymn each evening in our houses. We had inter-house singing competitions and singing lessons where we sung traditional songs such as 'Where e'er You Walk' and 'Nymphs and Shepherds.' I remember a speech day when we sung a setting for Longfellows 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin.' It was long, dramatic and great fun. We also danced a little: Country dancing on rainy afternoons and practised ballroom dancing before a Founders Day dance, purely for females!

As a young adult I lived in accommodation such as bed-sits but eventually I was able to organise piano lessons for myself when I was in a position to have access to a piano. Finally I bought my own. It was some years later that, after some dramatic events, my left eye, in which I'd never had much sight started to improve. So did my hearing. I started seeing shadows in new ways and heard birdsong as rounded rather than flat sounds. These changes encouraged me to enrol for an Alexander Technique class at Goldsmiths College. I attended the class for about 9 years and during four of those summer holidays went on a week's Alexander Music Course. On one of those occasions I took part in the concert for the local people at the end of a week in Builth Wells. I played a very simple arrangement of, 'Land of My Fathers.' I was terrified and spent the week agonising with myself about it. Would I be able to live with myself afterwards if I didn't take part but what if I made a hash of it? I wasn't good at getting myself out of trouble if I played a wrong note. The group was very encouraging and knowing I was scared sung along as I played and the audience joined in. It went off

14

without a hitch. I was so relieved. My physical problems improved a lot as a result of Alexander Technique especially my co-ordination. For a few years I had piano lessons at Blackheath Conservatory where I made steady progress. I remember being surprised once when my teacher spontaneously exclaimed "That was very musical." I think I regarded that as rather a fluke!

In 1989 at the age of 50 I got a serious chest infection a few weeks before our marriage. I was determined to survive but it was a close thing. My chest eventually got better. Apparently when one organ doesn't work properly others sometimes take over its function. I think that happened in my case but my body was very traumatised and blocked up and ever since then I've felt involuntary internal struggles to push through blocked tubes as well as severe burning & other pains along the way. It has been and still is an exhausting process. I found my eyes quickly tired so I could only read odd paragraphs at a time and couldn't read music enough to play the piano. I still get into increasingly severe pains as more blocked parts of my body try to clear themselves. The process at least has kept me out of a wheelchair and I know some aspects, including breathing and my eyes, have improved quite a lot. In September 2014 I found I could see enough to play the piano again and so I organised some lessons. A little embarrassed I admitted I was 75 years old but was told that they had a pupil aged 86.

It has felt wonderful to be playing again. My new teacher is complimentary and tells me my playing is very musical, that my co-ordination is good and also my sense of rhythm. What a surprise and great joy. I actually begin to believe it though I know I still have some problem areas. My health doesn't allow me to practise as much as I'd like and in the time between I often long for my next practice. But at last I've come to believe that I have inherited some of my father's musical abilities even though I think I have inherited some of my mother's difficulties as well. My father was much in my mind after starting on the piano again and I have felt a connection with him that had been missing before though I was always very conscious of his loss. I realise now that I also grieved the loss of his music. Now I have found myself talking with my father in my mind so that for the first time in my memory I feel I have a father. After he died there would have been little or no music in our home until my sister was old enough to organise some. She was musical with perfect pitch, a lovely singing voice and good at the piano despite very little tuition. Tom, my husband is very pleased I've taken up the piano again, is encouraging and seems pleased to hear me play. There have been some adventures along the way, particularly when I found I needed a new piano but I will leave that story until another time. Monica Meeneghan, Caterham What a lovely story and thank you Monica so much for sharing this with us, very heart-warming and I feel may help other members of the group who have suffered or are suffering with ill-health. L – Ed – Of course we await the next instalment some time in the future! Has anyone else had personal journeys that they would like to share with us?

Well this is a bumper issue. Thank you to all those who I cajoled into writing articles for this issue – it has made it a very interesting one I think. Please keep the articles coming by sending them by post or e-mail to me. Have a great Festive Season. Warm wishes Lorraine Editor