Herald - Issue 424

Page 58 • The HERALD • 2nd June 2022 v THE NEXT HERALD IS OUT ON 23RD JUNE v A J GLEESON BUILDING & GROUNDWORK DRIVEWAYS EXTENSIONS BRICKWORK GROUNDWORK BLOCK PAVING Colours & Designs to suit your requirements Local Work Available to View CALL FOR A FREE QUOTATION New Forest & Southampton 023 8084 4180 Mobile: 07770 771475 Bramdene, Main Road, Dibden, Southampton | DOWN THE GARDEN PATH | Fred Hurst 023 8084 2191 or 07761 467217 • Grass Cutting • Garden Clearance • Hedge Cutting • Fallen Trees Cleared • Mini Digger Hire with Operator • Property Clearance • Small Demolition • Tractor Flail Cutting FULLY INSURED v FREE QUOTATIONS • 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 H Fully Insured H Evening: 01794 522092 Daytime Mobile: 07946 513633 Email: treefellers@gmx.com On Tuesday evening at 7.30pm the Black eld Gardening Club held their monthly meeting at St Francis Church, Langley. is month the presentation, given by Ray Broughton, lecturer at Sparshott College, Wisley and Kew Gardens. Ray’s presentation was called ‘Seed Sowing and Plant Propagation’, but it actually covered so much more. e whole presentation was full of wonderful tips, brilliant ideas, all delivered in a friendly and understandable way. It will be impossible to relate everything we were told, but I have tried to select a few of the ideas ---tried and tested by Ray. e rst tip he gave us was one that could be of use to any gardener –the best way to thoroughly clean secateurs or hedge trimmers, or bladed tools is to smother them in Heinz (must be Heinz) tomato sauce and leave them overnight and then clean them o . All of the residual dirt will have gone and the metal blades will be perfectly clean. Reference lling seed trays, Ray explained that you should always rm the soil in the corners of the On 13th May Hythe Flower Club welcomed Lucinda Knapman with her demonstration entitled ‘Fabulous Flowers’. Lucinda has been a professional orist for 35 years with a degree in Fine Art. A nalist in the Chelsea orist of the year competition twice as well as a nalist in the Inter-Flora orist of the year. Loving beautiful owers and colour, her style of ower arranging is designed to be accessible to all with tips on care and conditioning of owers. ey were shown 6 stunning designs in a variety of containers including a cut down lemonade bottle covered in gi paper!! All very innovative with an emphasis on recycling and ecological elements. One arresting design was made with an Apple branch destined for the bon re. Flowers used included Amaryllis, Roses (both single and spray), Stocks, Canna lillies, Gerbera, Antirrinhum, Vanda Orchid and Cymbidium Orchid. A huge variety of green plant material complimented the chosen owers beautifully. A very talented and charismatic lady, Lucinda showed them a stunning variety of arrangements and we hope to welcome her to Hythe in the future. Hythe Flower Club meet on the second ursday of the month. On Thursday 9th June they welcome Andrea Hilliard and on Thursday 14th July they have an in-house workshop. Visitors and new members would be welcomed 7pm for 7.30pm at Hythe Parish Hall. For further information please email: Hythe owerclub@aol.com seed tray to encourage the moisture to remain in the middle of the tray. Loose soil in the corners attracts the moisture away from the centre of the tray. When planting tiny black seeds it is a good idea to mix them in with some corn our. is enables you to see the seeds as they fall onto the soil, plus it coats the seeds. Ray then described a good way to prepare a seed bed drill a er the soil has been prepared and raked nely. Use a garden rake which has a small back plate and long tines. Draw the back plate across the prepared seed bed in lines, drop the seeds thinly into the drill, then carefully draw a THIN layer of soil over the seeds. e seeds should not be covered in a thick layer of soil. Water in with a ne rose on the watering can. Ray then explained the various ways to take di erent types of cuttings and how to propagate them, plus the di erent ways to propagate various types of bulbs. An important fact to be aware of when dealing with dahlia tubers, is that the tuber being separated from the mother plant should always have a piece of the Tomorite or a similar product. e actual potatoes grow in the straw while the roots grow down into the soil, resulting in clean potatoes, and easy harvesting. Ray con rmed that liquid fertiliser is good for quick results, but always apply to damp soil. Granular fertiliser, such as bone meal, takes roughly 3 months before there are any results. Nettles make an excellent liquid compost. e meeting ended with a lively and interactive question and answer session, and everyone was delighted with such an informative presentation. ank you Ray. Next meetings of Black eld Gardening Club are Tuesday 14th June for ‘Some Unusual Perennials’ by Bryan Madders, St Francis Church, Langley, at 7.30pm. All visitors welcome (£2.00). All enquiries to club secretary Patricia H-G on T: 023 8024 3795. Some Unusual Perennials BLACKFIELD GARDENING CLUB by Patricia Hedley-Goddard ower stem attached to the tuber, or it will not grow. We were then shown an image of his superb method of growing potatoes with the least e ort and easy cropping. e potatoes are planted in one inch of soil for the roots to grow into, and then the plot is covered with a thick layer of barley straw (MUST be BARLEY straw). e bed is then kept watered with Hythe Flower Club