News
Red Arrows star at county show
THE Kent County Show attracted 77,000 visitors over three days – up 2,000 on last year. In spite of hotweather and Oper-
ation Stack being in force on the first day, the turnout at the 86th annual show held up well, with a display by the RedArrows on Friday boost- ing numbers. The Malling area was well repre-
sented among the 400 exhibitors and trade stands. The Kent Federation of Horticul-
tural Societies chose a calla lily grown by Pat Wickwar, from Ley- bourne as the best pot plant at the show. Mrs Wickwar, of London Road, was delighted with her first win in this category. She thanked her son Michael for watering the
Show on TV
THE BBC Countryfile team of Adam Henson, Tom Heap, Matt Baker, Ellie Harrison and Anita Rani were at the show to film a programme which will be broad- cast on July 26. It will be available afterwards online on the BBC iPlayer.
plant when her husbandwas ill. “I’m really chuffed,” she said. “It’s
a case of what goes around, comes around, as I bought the plant at the showground three years ago.” In spite of the win, the keen gar-
dener, who has a half-acre plot, told the Downs Mail that fuchsias re- main her favourite plant. She started growing them after an inspiring visit to a flower show with a friend 12 years ago and is also a member of the Mid Kent Fuschia Group, which meets monthly in Maidstone. Next year’s show will run from Friday, July 15-17.
HAMILTON KITCHENS
Yvonne Leaver with the banana fruit in her Larkfield garden Going bananas in garden
A COUPLE fromLarkfield are adding a tropical twist to their horticultural skills after a banana plant in their garden began to bear fruit for the first time. Martin and Yvonne Leaver bought
the banana plant – which is classified as a herb – in Cornwall seven years ago, and thanks to some tender loving care by the garden enthusiasts it has produced a bunch of 30-40 baby ba- nanas, measuring two inches long. The couple put the success down to
a combination of factors including the maturity of the plant, the hotweather and “inside knowledge” fromYvonne’s
mother-in-law, Mary. She has been growing bananas at the family home in Sri Lanka for more than 30 years and has been assisting her daughter in Brooklands Road with some tricks of the trade about this tricky, tropical plant.
Husband Martin (70) said: “We
know others in Kent have been suc- cessful in growing bananas but we hope, with Mary’s expert help, that they will get even bigger.” Yvonne (65) says the only thing that
may work against the couple is the short summer. In Sri Lanka they take three months to ripen.
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