Gardener’s Cuttings Bournemouth Orchid Society plans bigger and better shows
Bournemouth Orchid Society, known for staging one of the best orchid shows in the country, is planning bigger shows and in 2011 a new venue. The society has won four consecutive gold medals at the Peterborough International Orchid show.
Orchids, both temperate and tropical, will be on display both as group arrangements and as individual plants. The society has also further developed its top level flower arranging classes.
For orchid lovers who have problems with their plants there will be a plant clinic and potting demonstration, giving them the chance to learn all about cultivating orchids from experts. Visitors to the show can bring along their plants and for a small charge their orchids will be re-potted, along with advice on caring for their plant. There will be orchids, books and sundries for sale, catering, free parking at the September show, and lots of friendly advice.
The next show is on Saturday 25th September, from 12pm – 4.30pm at Beaufort Community Centre, Beaufort Road, Southbourne, Bournemouth BH6 5LB.
Bournemouth Orchid Society stages one of the best orchid shows in the country on 25th September
In 2011, the show on 26th February will be held at the Allendale Community Centre, Hanham Road, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 1AS, and opens to the public 12pm – 4.30pm. For more information ring 01794 513847.
RHS offer new horticulture qualifications
For gardeners who want to learn more one option is the formal qualifications offered by the Royal Horticultural Society which has launched a new set of horticultural qualifications.
Ten new qualifications are designed to be studied part time and are suitable for those working in the industry, those who are looking to change career and enter the profession, or for the keen gardener wanting to learn more. The RHS Level 1 Award in Practical Horticulture is also suitable for use in schools. Courses leading to RHS qualifications are offered by approved centres throughout the UK, and are also available by distance learning. Further information can be found under ‘Courses’ on the RHS website
www.rhs.org.uk, or you can call 0845 130 4646.
Is this the world's most valuable pineapple?
Heligan’s Clive Mildenhall and Nicola Bradley celebrate pineapple success
When the Lost Gardens of Heligan cut their first pineapple of the season, grown using an authentic Victorian technique, they calculate it would have cost the equivalent of £10,000. The miniature fruit was grown in the restored Pineapple Pit, in the Melon Yard at Heligan, using the natural warmth of 30 tonnes of manure to heat the complex Victorian structure.
Heligan restored the derelict Pineapple Pit after discovering it 20 years ago, covered in ivy and 5ft high brambles.
A team of horticultural and restoration experts worked alongside the Heligan Productive Gardens team, determined to unlock the forgotten 70 year old technique of growing pineapples - and they succeeded!
The second pineapple ever grown at Heligan, using the rediscovered Victorian technique, was sent to the Queen by Heligan Director Tim Smit. The first was tasted by the Heligan Gardeners to check it didn't still have a hint of 'farmyard warmth' about it!
Rare, exotic and hard to grow, pineapples were a symbol of great status and wealth in Victorian times. A pineapple on your dining table meant you were a person of discernment, style and affluence.
Finding the right manure to keep the plants warm over the winter in the Pineapple Pit is difficult. The horse manure must be mixed with straw to produce the correct chemical reaction, which creates the heat and humidity required.
8 Country Gardener
Do snails have the ability to keep coming back to eat your vegetables?
Scientist's quest to see if snails have homing instinct
A scientist from the University of Exeter is helping to solve one of the great gardening mysteries — do snails have sat nav? Dr Dave Hodgson, from the School of Biosciences, is working with amateur scientist Ruth Brooks to find out if the creatures have a homing instinct. They are running a national experiment hoping people all over the country will offer to take part. Snails are ferocious herbivores and can wreak havoc in gardens. This leads some green-fingered enthusiasts to resort to any means to keep them at bay. Many try collecting the snails and moving them to another area, but some believe they simply return to the same spot. Dr Hodgson said: "This is a fantastic project because this is a real issue for gardeners all over the country — how do you stop snails from eating everything you grow? The next big step in the project is to hold the "Great Snail Swap" experiment, which aims to get people all over the UK taking part.
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