Page 60 • The HERALD • 7th December 2023 v INDEPENDENT, LOCAL AND PROUD v All Aspects of Garden Work Undertaken • Driveways • Paving • Artificial Grass • Turfing • Decking • Fencing • Hedge Cutting • Landscaping Hythe Garden Contractors Family company established 1977 For a free quotation please call 023 8084 3556 or 023 8084 0378 SPADEWORK Family Landscaping & Fencing Team ] Decking & Natural Sandstone Paving ] Patios ] Driveways ] Block Paving ] Turfing ] All Types of Domestic & Commercial Fencing ] Security Fencing Supplied & Fitted Tel: (023) 8089 4909 Mobile: 07703 566814 u Free Estimates u Fully Insured • All types of trees expertly felled, topped & pruned • Stump Grinding • Hedges pruned & trimmed • Lawns Laid • Fencing & garden work • Rubbish Clearance • Patios & drives jet-washed • Patios & Drives resurfaced or replaced Registerd Waste Carrier Licence CBDU374716 H Fully Insured H Evening: 01794 522092 Daytime Mobile: 07946 513633 Email: treefellers@gmx.com ✿ DOWN THE GARDEN PATH ✿ Martin Young is a Horticultural Speaker - a retired Intelligence, Communications and Brie ng O cer in the RAF. He is a very keen plantsman and has a long-term interest in butter ies, moths and the plants which attract them - as a teenager he bred Butter ies and Silk Moths. Martin is the Chairman of the Plant Heritage Dorset Group and takes a keen interest in plant conservation. He also ran a Specialist Nursery for 12 years: Plants for Pollinators, Hardy Geranium, Hesperantha, unusual Buddleja and Coastal Plants. He organises Specialist Plant Fairs in Abbotsbury and Athelhampton and managed to raise £10,000 for plant conservation last year. Martin showed us stunning autumnal photographs, stating that autumn is actually a colourful season and doesn’t just mark the end of the summer - it is the start Crocus, Primroses, Violas, Dwarf Daffodils herald the beginning of another totally di erent but equally enjoyable season. Martin’s talk was very informative, inspirational and interesting and reminded us of how stunningly beautiful the Autumn season actually is. e evening ended with a very appropriate bee-themed ra e by our wonderful Lin! Our next meetings are: 7th December: Graham King - All that Glitters, No meeting in January, 1st February: Carole Norman, 7th March: AGM & Show Night ‘A Memorable Event’. For more information please contact Debbie orne: 07769 830752. Autumn and Winter Colour with Martin Young by Debbie Thorne, Foresters Flower Club of a beautiful new season. e rst signs being when the leaves of deciduous plants and trees such as oaks, Acers, Maple begin to change into beautiful colours before their leaves fall. He advised that heads of plants e.g. Hydrangea should be le until spring to protect the next owering. Scented owers e.g. Mahonia, Skimmia and Viburnum are ideal for birds and bees to feed on and dry seed heads are best le for birds e.g. cha nch. During summer it is large owers which attract pollinators, whilst in winter it is small owers which have a stronger scent and attract the pollinators. Autumn/ Winter pollinators which brighten the garden such as mixed heathers, Hebe, Abelia (great for ower arranging and is a semi evergreen compact shrub), Fatsia, Buddleja Weyeriana (can ower during Christmas), Hellebores, Cyclamen, Daphne, Chinese Witch Hazel, Christmas Box -evergreen, white owers then small plum fruit. Also Leucothoe, Osmanthos, Holly, Euonymus, Hedera, Heuchera, Bergenia, Choisya, Pittosporum (changes colour, honey bees adore tiny owers in Spring), Coprosma, Rosemary, and Peiris. Plants which have berries that are also good for birds are the Pyracantha, Cotoneaster, Crab Apple, Gaultheria procumbens, Hypericum, Mahonia and Taxis (currently in trials for cancer). Martin also talked of early Spring owers such as Forsythia (marking the end of Winter), Snowdrops (containing antifreeze: flower in freezing conditions), Totton & District Gardeners Society’s next meeting will be on Wednesday 13th December for a Christmas party. Followed on Wednesday 10th January for their Annual General Meeting. e meeting is held in the ree Score Club Hall, o Salisbury road, Totton at 7.30pm. ey welcome visitors and new members. For more information contact them via their new website: tottongardeners.weebly.com or email: totton. gardeners@btinternet.com Christmas Party Woodlands Gardening Club meets on the second Tuesday of the month. Meetings start at 7.30pm at Netley Marsh Community Hall, Woodlands Road, Netley Marsh. eir next meeting takes place on Tuesday 12th December for their Christmas Party. Visitors are very welcome at £2.50; for more information about the club, call Susanna on: 023 8029 2953. Christmas Party at Woodlands Gardening Club
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