VISIT TO TREDEGAR HOUSE, NEWPORT

Tuesday 20 March 2018

Depart: Jacob’s Wells Road 9.45am Christchurch 10.00am Clifton Cathedral 10.05am.

Tredegar House is one of the architectural wonders of Wales. For over 500 years it was the home of one of the greatest Welsh families – the Morgans – and later Lord Tredegar. One can visit the magnificent state rooms, the elegant family apartments and a warren of rooms below stairs.

The house is set in 90 acres of parkland with lakeside walks and formal gardens to explore. The impressive Grade 1 listed stables are worth a visit.

Cost £19 for NT members. This includes coach fare, coffee/tea on arrival and the driver’s gratuity. (NB non-NT members will be responsible for paying their own entrance)

Please complete the enclosed booking form and send it with a cheque payable to Clifton Garden Society by Tuesday 6 March to Gillian Joseph, 46 Princess Victoria Street, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4BZ. Tel: 0117 973 7296

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VISIT TO HANBURY HALL, WORCESTERSHIRE

Wednesday 25 April 2018

Depart: Jacob`s Wells Road at 9.00am Christchurch 9.15am Clifton Cathedral 9.20am

The house and gardens were originally a stage set for summer parties and offer a glimpse into life at the turn of the 18th century. The original formal gardens designed by George London have been faithfully re-created with an , orchards and walled garden. In the Parkland is George London`s visionary Semicircle which sounds worth a visit. Tours of the house are included.

Light refreshments are served in the walled garden or in Elsie`s tearoom in the house in colder weather. There is a small gift shop and second-hand bookshop.There are two manual wheelchairs available; if you would like one, please let me know.

The cost will be £23.00 to include coach fare, driver`s gratuity and entrance. Non- NT members will be responsible for paying their own entrance: £10.10.

Please complete the enclosed booking form and send it with a cheque payable to Clifton Garden Society by Monday 9 April to Brenda Thomas, Flat 7, Avon House, Beaufort Road, Bristol BS8 2JT. Tel: 0117 401 2741 2

VISIT TO BOWOOD HOUSE,

Thursday 17 May 2018 (NB change of date)

Depart: Jacobs Wells Road 9.30am Christ Church 9.45am Clifton Cathedral 9.55am

Bowood House has been the home of the Lansdowne family since 1754. It has undergone many changes in that time with the second Earl making improvements using , and the ‘Large House’ being demolished after the Second World War when it had fallen into disrepair. Half the house is open to the public, the other half being the home of the Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne. The Orangery, chapel, library, sculpture gallery and other rooms contain many treasures and works of art collected over the years.

The house is surrounded by a wide variety of speciality gardens making the perfect day out for horticultural lovers. Bowood’s magnificent stately home stands within one of Capability Brown’s most beautiful parks with gently sloping reaching down to the lake and distant views to the chalk downlands. There are many sites to visit around the gardens including the lake, Hamilton’s Cascade, the Doric Temple, the bothy and the .

Light refreshments can be had at the Treehouse Cafe or Stables Restaurant offering a buffet of hot or cold dishes with vegetarian and gluten free options. Situated in the house is Bowood’s Terrace Gift Shop providing local food, home and giftware.

The cost of the visit will be £26.40 per person which includes coach fare, driver's gratuity, and entrance fee to the House and gardens.

Please complete the enclosed booking form and send it with a cheque payable to Clifton Garden Society by Thursday 3 May 2018 to Anne Memery, 24 Stoke Lane, Bristol BS9 3DN Tel. 0117 962 4341 E-mail [email protected] Mobile on day only: 07527 968967

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MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL 2018

Thank you to all the members who have renewed their membership for 2018, and have received their new cards, but there are still several who have not done so. If you find a membership form with this newsletter, it means that I have not yet received your renewal. If you intend to continue your membership, please complete the form and return it to me together with your cheque as soon as possible (sae not required).

If you do not intend to continue your membership will you please still return the form, advising me of that so that I can delete your name from our records.

Christine Baldwin

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NOTICE OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

TO BE HELD IN THE APOSTLE ROOM CLIFTON CATHEDRAL, BS8 3BX

WEDNESDAY 18 APRIL 2017 7PM FOR 7.30PM

(PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE)

Annual Reports will be distributed at the meeting

Drinks and nibbles will be served before the meeting.

Following the AGM there will be an illustrated talk by RoseMary Musgrave

Please phone Gillian Joseph on 973 7296 if you have any queries about the meeting

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DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS

New EU Data Protection Regulations will come into force on 25 May 2018 and, as long as we are still members of the EU, they will apply. The committee have looked at the new Regulations and believe that our current policy is still in line with the provisions. Information we hold re members is given only to members of the committee to enable us to carry out the business of the Society and is not given to any other person or organisation.

Christine Baldwin

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GYM AND ILFRA'S HOLIDAY QUIZ

COMMON NAMES OF PLANTS

PART 2

A = anagram Answers on p9

26. Raptor unwanted plant (8) ------27. The Queen's petty cash (10) ------28. Fairy mollusc (10) ------29. Entomological shortage (7) ------30. Herds of sheep, as one might say (5) ------31. Hi, Peterloo (A, 10) ------32. The healthy are in the this (4) ------33. Quiet backache (8) ------34. Oriental luminaire (7, 7) ------35. Demure wine (8) ------36. Canine got up (3,4) ------37. Quiet fixer (6) ------38. Dismiss a prickle (9) ------39. What reputedly killed Edward II in Berkeley Castle (3, 3, 5) ------40. Sweeper (5) ------41. Artificial stone (8) ------42. Bob dies down in winter (4,6) ------43. Photograph a fire eater (10) ------44. Elizabeth is occupied (4, 6) ------45. Arachnid machinery (6, 5) ------46. A flower in the eye (4) ------47. Elates (A, 6) ------48. Parsimony (5) ------49. I care (A, 5) ------50. A worry (A, 6) ------

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

FEBRUARY

THURS 22 Talk FUBBG Ed Drewitt has been studying the life of urban peregrines for the last 20 years – what they eat and where they go when they leave the nest. 7.30 pm Frank Theatre, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TL Non-members £5

TUES 27 Talk WoEHG Fermented foods Matthew Pennington will talk about locally sourced ingredients and tasty fermented foods. 7.30pm Abbots Leigh Village Hall. Non-members £5 For further details phone 0117 973 3305

MARCH

SAT 3 Walk AGWP Identifying lichens on the Downs a guided walk with lichen enthusiast Sheila Quinn 10.30am-12.30pm £5 per person Booking essential. Phone 0117 903 0609

TUES 6 Talk AGWP An introduction to wild life gardening Ian McGuire will demonstrate how to create a garden nature reserve. 7-8pm £4 per person. Booking essential. Phone 0117 903 0609

TUES 20 CGS Event Visit to Tredegar House NT See newsletter for details and booking form.

TUES 20 Talk WoEHG Herbs and the Celtic wheel of the year Rosemary Stibbon looks at the significance of the medicine wheel and its associated herbs for nutrition, immunity and relaxation. 7.30 pm Abbots Leigh Village Hall. Non-members £5. For further details phone 0117 973 3305

APRIL

SUN 8 Walk AGWP Gorge-ous spring plants Discover spring flowering rarities around the Gorge with botanist Libby Houston.10.30am-2.30 pm £5 per person. Booking essential. Phone 0117 903 0609

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SUN 15 Walk AGWP Early birds and bacon (veggie) butties with bird expert Michael Johnson. After identifying birds on the Downs return to the Zoo for breakfast. 6am-8.30am Booking essential. Phone 0117 903 0609

WED 18 CGS Event AGM with speaker 7pm The Apostle Room, Clifton Cathedral

WED 25 CGS Event Visit to Hanbury Hall See newsletter for details and booking form.

MAY

THURS 17 CGS Event Visit to Bowood House See newsletter for details and booking form. NB change of date.

TUES 22 Talk WoEHG Medical herbalists Annwen Jones and Becs Griffiths from the Rhizome Clinic will explain how herbs can be used for nutrition, immunity and relaxation.7.30pm Abbots Leigh Village Hall. Non-members £5. For further details phone 0117 973 3305

KEY: AGWP Avon Gorge Wildlife Project. FUBBG Friends of University of Bristol Botanic Garden. WoEHG West of England Herb Group.

********************************************************************************** DATE CHANGES Please note that a number of dates have changed since the last newsletter. Please check carefully that you have noted the correct date before booking.

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COPY DATE FOR NEXT ISSUE: 13 APRIL 2018

Please send contributions to: Gundula Dorey [email protected] 14 Goldney Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4RB Tel: 0117 927 6812

The editorial committee would very much welcome more contributions from members. Have you visited an interesting garden recently? Do you have a favourite plant you would like to tell readers about?

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SHRUBS THAT LIFT THE SPIRITS

In January the days can (often) seem flat with grey skies, not uplifting at all. The wintry silhouettes of trees, though beautiful in their way, are not showing colour or life, evergreens excepted. BUT, amongst the bare branches and brown, dead leaves, we know there is life! Suddenly there is much to gladden the heart. And I'm not talking of ground level where, yes, it is possible to find the emerging snowdrops, the first early crocus perhaps, or even narcissi breaking records to be first; and a primrose or two. Well, lots of things really. At a higher level, wonderful winter-flowering shrubs and small trees are a miracle in themselves, often flowering on bare branches: Prunus coronilla (every year, at this time, it is in full flower), Mahonia and winter jasmine are the more common ones that come to mind. And, of course, 'Bow Bells', our beautiful camellia in a pot. (Some of you will remember it being featured before.) Once again it is now in full flower, and will be until beginning of March. Just above the camellia is a rosemary which began life as Rosemary officinalis 'Prostatus' but is now strongly thrusting upward. It has made the record book for me this winter. It began flowering well in November, paused a little, and is now putting on a great show of soft blue/grey- green.The pairing of rosemary and camellia for winter display is marvellous!

Not having a large garden to wander around, I went to our University Botanic Gardens to explore – another grey day, but it was rewarding. The earliest Magnolias bear exciting, large furry buds, already swollen with promise. I had a mission to find Stachyurus praecox which, as I recalled, had flowered very early last year – or perhaps the year before. It is a small shrub with spreading bare branches, hung with drooping spikes of greenish-yellow flower buds like tiny lanterns ready to light up – very good for lifting spirits. It is known as winter-flowering and that is why I confidently went to look for it. Sadly, memory had failed. The shrub is Stachyurus chinensis and the flowers will not be out until February or March when they will, indeed, be lovely. Easy to find, it is close to the Welcome Lodge where, now at the end of January, the beautiful Prunus mume is certainly in its full deep pink glory. But, being a tree, it is not supposed to be included here! Below it, and in beds nearby, are all the hellebores. A large bush of Sarcococca is also close and its perfume adds to the magic.

Further on, along the winding paths of The Flowering Collection, you can catch the fragrance almost before you see it, of a Daphne, D. bholua. It has similar flowers to D. odora but is a taller shrub and flowers prolifically in winter, making it a heady experience. The clusters of flowers are deep pink and white tubular stars.

A little taller is the witch hazel Hamamelis mollis at 12ft maximum, very fragrant and winter flowering. Those spidery, acid-yellow crinkled petals, not affected by frost, shine out on their bare branches, the brown buds popping their flowers like table fireworks. H. japonica is the Japanese witch hazel, H. mollis is the Chinese one. Hybridising has produced some wonderful red-orange varieties.

Back at home, our Pieris, in a pot, is placed so that we can see it from the kitchen window. Even in early December, the tiny, urn-shaped, pinkish buds hang on elegant branches of evergreen leaves, promising the flowers to come in February. The display is very 'Japanese', which is where they come from: Asia. Some of the varieties are no more than six foot high, probably less when grown in a pot. Some are known for their brilliant red leaves following the flowers. P. japonica's form is attractive with pendulous

8 stems covered in flowers. Ours, I think, is P. floribunda, with very modest colouring of leaves, which I prefer. The lily-of-the-valley-like flowers give us delightful slight fragrance but they are not known for this. Is it the brain bestowing an extra virtue on something already delightful?!

I believe I have been indulgent. The timing of a selection of shrubs flowering in January and February was at first a challenge but has turned out to be uplifting for me. I hope this piece may be for you too.

Sallie Fox

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EASTER 2018 PLANT SALE AT THE BOTANIC GARDEN

I'm being cheeky and putting in a plea for plant donations from members of our society. As some of you may know, I run the 4-day Friends' plant sale at the Botanic Garden’s Easter Sculpture Festival in order to raise funds for special projects. We have many loyal customers who come every year and they are looking in particular for anything slightly unusual. If you are splitting plants this spring, could you please spare a few. We also have keen buyers of your houseplants or surplus vegetable seedlings. Your plants need to be of a reasonable size and clearly labelled with the name and the flower colour.

If necessary, I can pick up your contributions just before the sale but cannot store them. Ideally you should deliver them to the BG Terrace on the Thursday afternoon which is when we collate and set up. Please contact me: Tel: 0117 9245656 Email: [email protected]

Even if you can't donate plants, please do come up to the Gardens for this stimulating Sculpture Festival. The woodland display will also be at its best. What better way to start the new gardening year?

Chris Purvis

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ANSWERS TO QUIZ

26. Hawkweed 33. Plumbago 40. Broom 47. Teasel 27. Pennyroyal 34. Chinese lantern 41. Shamrock 48. Thrift 28. Periwinkle 35. Primrose 42. Herb Robert 49. Erica 29. Bugloss 36. Dog rose 43. Snapdragon 50. Yarrow 30. Phlox 37. Privet 44. Busy Lizzie 31. Heliotrope 38. Firethom 45. Spider plant 32. Pink 39. Red hot poker 46. Iris

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DAVID SPELLER’S GARDEN MISCELLANY

The precious rose blossom that appears at Christmas is a well-known phenomenon, but I am surprised to be cutting occasional perfect roses in late January. Well, we have been fortunate locally during this winter thus far. The RHS has issued a further report, which can be downloaded, Gardening in a Changing Climate,1 and this has been summarised by one of its authors in The Plantsman.2 Very briefly …rising temperatures will produce a longer growing season (though late frosts may still occur) but this advantage will be offset by extreme events, heavy rainfall with possible flooding and periods of drought. Gardeners may have to depend on plants that can tolerate waterlogging, such as candelabra primulas, but also on drought-resistant plants, such as berberis, solanum and lavatera. The escape from gardens of invasive alien species (as recently of gunnera in Ireland) may well increase, and the spread of some pests, such as the oak processionary moth and the rosemary beetle, will almost certainly be encouraged.

A pest new to the UK, the beetle Anthonomus, which feeds on pear tree foliage, has been discovered in Kent.2,3 The yellow shrub, Kerria japonica, generally seen as disease-free, is being attacked by fungal leaf blight.4 Alarmingly, another nest of the Asian hornet (which preys on bees and other pollinators) has been discovered in Devon and destroyed.2 Perhaps the greatest threat is the spread of Xylella fastidiosa, a bacterium which, far from being fastidious, attacks many trees and shrubs. Measures are in place to ensure that imported specimens will be properly inspected and that infected plants will not be included in Chelsea show gardens.5 The ban on neonicotinoid pesticides has been maintained, as further evidence has accumulated of their harm to bees,6 but there is a suggestion that some fungicides may also be deleterious.7 While the counts of many butterflies were down last year, it is pleasant to read that the numbers of red admirals and common blues had increased considerably.3

Returning to ‘Winter’ … How should we gardeners spend this season? We can anticipate and then enjoy the scarce flowers as they come along, beginning with the snowdrops. We can resolve to plant other, less common, plants that bloom in the first months of the year – such as Cyclamen coum, with its beautifully marked leaves and neat blooms, which, like bergenia, bring pink and purple to join the yellows and whites of the time.3 Perhaps we should set aside our concentration on flowers and admire other winter beauties. Bare trees, fully grown in adequate space, are magnificent in many weather conditions; and there are evergreen trees besides conifers, including eucalyptus, arbutus, olives, loquats, as well as evergreen flowering trees, such as magnolias and acacias (‘mimosa’).8 The bark of trees stands out in winter, whether the white bark of birches (especially of Betula utilis var. jacquemontii), the chestnut brown peeling bark of Acer griseum, or the bright stems of Cornus varieties.3,8-10

The ‘winter walks’ planted at RHS gardens, Wisley and Harlow Carr, show the lively and satisfying effects that can be achieved without blossoms.8,9 Walking in the country in winter I have frequently been struck by sudden vivid green patches in the prevailing grey-brown, and these have always been composed of evergreen ferns. The same effect can be achieved in a garden, of course with varieties of Asplenium, Blechnum, Cyrtonium and Polystichum.8 I have resolved to try growing these ferns in containers

10 for winter display, rather than rely on such plants as ‘winter pansies’ – which actually cease growing and look dismal in cold weather, rampaging away again in the spring.

We can bring the garden indoors. Garden centres and other retailers report a large increase in sales of foliage house plants, such as Monstrosa (‘swiss cheese plant’), Alocasia, Calathea, Aloe vera and Echeveria.9 In this trend, succulents including cacti are often attractively low maintenance and resilient in the dry atmosphere of many houses.3

We can choose our seeds and plan our plantings and other work for next season. Compost containing peat will be more expensive, as weather conditions have reduced the harvest.4 Gardening Which? has considered its scores across the years and commended Thompson & Morgan Incredicompost, followed by both Wyevale and Wickes’ peat-based composts. B&Q composts had been more variable, but generally their own peaty brands had scored highly. Melcourt’s Sylvagrow was the most consistent peat-free brand. This last does not contain the composted green waste which seems to be the extremely variable component of most peat-free products.6

Otherwise we may curl up in the warm with a book. Novelist and children’s writer Penelope Lively, at 83, has published Life in the Garden,11 which has been a broadcast book on Radio 4. Barely illustrated, but prettily presented, this discursive book repeatedly strikes a chord with any gardener’s experience and attitudes. Among other topics the author compares garden writers and deals with garden styles and fashions, town and country gardens, garden visiting, gardening by married couples and garden snobbery. She refers to the occurrence of gardens in paintings, from Cranach to Munch, and in literature, from Peter Rabbit to Eliot’s Burnt Norton: Eliot’s well-known conflation of ‘time present’, ‘time past’ and ‘time future’ parallels the gardener’s memory, current observation and anticipation. The reader has the pleasure of recalling the familiar and the invitation to read other books featuring gardens.

Finally … and I apologise for ending my article once again with a reference to snails … but I know that we have all been worried about the fate of Jeremy. You will remember that Jeremy was a one-in-a-million snail with an anticlockwise curled shell and all the organs, including the sexual, transposed to the opposite side of the body. Well, Jeremy has died, alas, but not before a mate (named Tomeu), similarly structured, had been found for him. The couple produced 56 snails, all conventionally spiralled.12 Isn’t that a heart-warming story for a winter evening?

1www.rhs.org.uk/climate-change; 2The Plantsman 16(4) December 2017; 3The Garden 142(12) December 2017; 4Gardening Which? November 2017; 5Gardening Which? December 2017; 6Gardening Which? January-February 2018; 7Guardian Weekly 05.01.18; 8The Garden 143(1) January 2018; 9The Garden 142(11) November 2017; 10Plant Heritage (Somerset) No 79 Autumn 2017; 11Penelope Lively, Life in the Garden, 2017, Penguin UK, ISBN 978-0-241-31962-8; 12Guardian Weekly 27.10.17

Further information from David Speller ([email protected]; 0117 929 8425)

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DAVID’S WINTER DELIGHTS

Narcissus ‘Topolino’ A late January rose from ‘The Lady of Shalott’

Snowdrops, evergreen ferns and a Cornus bark display at Welford Park

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