THE HAMPSTEAD GARDEN SUBURB HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

www.hgs.org.uk/hortsoc - hgs@hortsoc.co.uk

NEWSLETTER ~ AUTUMN 2007 Editor: Marjorie Harris

THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY RENEWED THEIR MEMBERSHIP FOR 2008. SOME OF YOU WILL HAVE RECEIVED NEW MEMBERSHIP CARDS; OTHERS WHO HAVE PAID MORE RECENTLY WILL FIND THEIR CARD/S WITH THIS NEWSLETTER. FOR THOSE NOT YET RENEWED, PLEASE USE THE FORM AT THE BACK AND SEND ASAP TO SONIA MATHIAS. YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR CARDS WITH THE NEW YEAR MAILING, WHEN WE WILL BE SENDING OUT THE HANDBOOKS AND A SCHEDULE FOR THE SPRING SHOW.

AS ALWAYS, YOUR NEW MEMBERSHIP CARD WILL ENTITLE YOU TO 10% DISCOUNT ON PLANT MATERIAL AT MANY LOCAL NURSERIES AND GARDEN CENTRES (WEEKDAYS ONLY AT CAPITAL GARDENS TEMPLE FORTUNE AND ALEXANDRA PALACE). IN 2007, MORE THAN 400 MEMBERS JOINED THE SOCIETY. CAN WE DO EVEN BETTER IN 2008?

Annual General Meeting The 93rd AGM will take place at 7.30pm on Tuesday 27 November at Fellowship House, Willifield Way, NW11. This is your opportunity to catch up on the current year’s activities, to elect new members of the committee, to get answers to any questions you may have, and to attend the annual presentation of cups, medals and prizes for achievement at the shows. Even if you haven’t won a cup, don’t forget to collect your prize money from the Treasurer. Chairman Marjorie Harris and Events Secretary Diane Berger are stepping down from their posts. Michael Franklin has been nominated to take over the chairmanship and Lorraine Wilder and Jane Epstein have been nominated as joint Events Secretaries.

Fungus Foray on Hampstead Heath Our second Fungus Foray will take place on Sunday 11 November on Hampstead Heath. The walk will be led by the very experienced Cindy Blaney, as Andy Overall is now unable to be with us. We hope lots of you will come along and bring family and friends. Following all the rain we have had, the fungi should be spectacular. Tickets cost £5 (under 12s free) and all children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Meet at the Wells Tavern, Well Walk, NW3 at 10am. The Society cannot accept any responsibility as to whether any fungi are found or whether they are edible or non-edible.

Thankyou! A very big thankyou to Joan Rees Phillips, Gill Read and Joyce Wheatley, who have retired after running the teas rota at the flower shows for many years. They were each presented with a Henrietta Barnett rose at the Autumn Show. Lorraine Wilder has taken on the mantle of teas organiser. She will appreciate help with preparing and serving teas, as well as offers of cakes. If you can help, please contact Lorraine by phone (8455 0721) or email: lorraine.wilder@btopenworld.com.

Events reports The Autumn Flower Show at the Free Church Hall on 8 September was a great success, despite the oddities of this year’s ‘summer’ weather. We would like more children of all ages to enter the shows, and would also like to have their ideas for competitions. We apologise for not including the Flower Show Prizewinners lists for the Summer and Autumn shows with this newsletter. It would have added a huge cost to the printing bill. However we will circulate them at the AGM on 27 November and anyone who would like a copy, but can’t attend, should contact Yvonne Oliver (020 8455 8741), who will happily provide one. Ben Potterton’s talk on Late Summer Colour at Fellowship House on 27 September was most enjoyable. His enthusiasm was infectious and how nice to to be able to handle and smell all the flowers he was talking about, not just to see pictures. As you may have noticed, the Suburb Centenary Flowerbed has been cleared of its commemorative bedding plants, which turned black in the first frosts in October. Over the summer we received many comments about the amount of pleasure it was giving to the community and so many requests for it to remain on the Green in the future, that the Society applied for and has now received permission to keep it from the London Borough of Barnet. We plan to maintain it for the next two years at least, so that we can use it for our own centenary celebrations in 2009. For the winter the raised bed has been covered by turf, underplanted by lots of spring bulbs. Watch this space, and the flowerbed, to find out what it will look like next summer.

An outline list of next year’s activities will be circulated at the AGM so that you can get the dates into your diaries. One brand new event being organised by Michael Franklin will be a Family Treasure Hunt on 18 May. A centenary sub-committee to plan the Society’s 100th birthday celebrations in 2009 will be set up after the AGM. Some things are already in the pipeline, but any exciting and innovative ideas and suggestions from you would be very welcome.

‘Grow your own’ You might remember Monty Don doing a feature on Gardeners’ World about a film set on an allotment site somewhere in England. Grow your own is a British movie about a refugee family who are given a plot to help rehabilitate the traumatised father. At first the refugees are met with suspicion by the allotment stalwarts, but gradually they are accepted into the diverse community brought together by their mutual love of making things grow and their battle with a phone mast company. This film is now available to buy on DVD and sounds like a must for a cold winter night’s viewing, hankies at the ready.

SPRING FLOWER SHOW Saturday 15 March 2008

2.00-4.00pm You will need to plant your bulbs and other spring flowers soon, ready for the second Spring Flower

Show to be held at Fellowship House, Willifield Way, NW11. Details will be circulated in the new year with the Handbook to all members who have renewed their subscriptions.

For advance information, contact Yvonne Oliver (020 8455 8741, yvonne.oliver@virgin.net)

Society wins awards for centenary flowerbed Setting the seal on what has been one of the busiest and most exciting seasons ever for the Horticultural Society in the Suburb’s centenary year, in October the London Gardens Society presented us with a bronze medal and certificate at the Mansion House for a ‘garden display in a public place’. We had also entered the flowerbed in the ‘Barnet in Bloom 2007’ competition (communal garden not supported by municipal funds). We were delighted to receive a ‘Barnet in Bloom’ third prize and certificate and a ‘London in Bloom’ Certificate of Excellence from the Mayor of Barnet, Cllr Maureen Braun, at the Town Hall.

RHS London shows 2007-2008 (Day 1: 11am-7pm, Day 2: 10am-5pm) 9/10 November 2007. Theme: Plants for Christmas

Jekka McVicar, the UK’s herb guru and a past speaker to the HGS Horticultural Society, will be at the show on Friday 9 November from 1.30pm – 5.30pm with freshly made herbal teas to help visitors prepare for the excesses of the party season. Jekka will be also answering questions and signing copies of her new book, ‘Jekka’s Complete Herb Book’. 15/16 January 2008. Theme: Winter Colours

12/13 February. Theme: Signs of Spring 11/12 March. Theme: The World of Plants

15/16 April. Theme: Daffodil Festival

The Ten Commandments for gardeners (courtesy of The Times) 1. Thou shalt conserve water 2. Thou shalt put the right plant in the right place 3. Thou shalt not use peat 4. Thou shalt recycle garden waste* 5. Thou shalt reuse non-biodegradable products 6. Thou shalt minimise thy use of chemicals 7. Thou shalt leave a messy bit for wildlife 8. Thou shalt use hard landscaping with sensitivity 9. Thou shalt use lighting responsibly 10. Thou shalt teach thy children where food comes from

*Those who wish to recycle rather than throw away products that won’t biodegrade, can exchange items they no longer need completely free through FreeCycle, which has now started up in Barnet. Go to www.groups.yahoo.com/group/FreeCycleBarnet to find out more and join the group. Camden and Haringey also have groups. Just exchange the word ‘Barnet’ for ‘Camden’ or ‘Haringey’ if they are closer to where you live.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION OR RENEWAL 2008 (Ref: NLtr3/07)

To: Sonia Mathias, Membership Secretary, 87 Willifield Way, NW11 6YH (8455 7334) I WOULD LIKE TO JOIN/RE-JOIN (please delete as applicable) HAMPSTEAD GARDEN SUBURB HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY AND ENCLOSE A CHEQUE FOR £5 (SINGLE)/£7.50 (DOUBLE) PAYABLE TO HGS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY AND AN A5 (23X16CM, 9X6 INCH) STAMPED ADDRESSED ENVELOPE. NAME…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ADDRESS……………………………………………………………………………………………POSTCODE………………………. PHONE…………………………………………………………………………..….EMAIL……………………………………………….. SIGNED……………………………………………………………DATE………………………………………………………………….

Fungus Foray on Hampstead Heath, 11 November 2007

To: Michael Franklin (020 8458 5846 mikefrank@onetel.com) – 94 Oakwood Road, NW11 6RN NAME…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. ADDRESS……………………………………………………………………………………………POSTCODE…………………………… PHONE……………………………………………………………………………..EMAIL……………………………………………………. I would like to join the Fungus Foray at 10am on 11 November. I will bring ___________ people with me and enclose* £5 for each person attending (children under 12 free, but all children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult). No dogs. TOTAL (£)______________________ (Cheques payable to HGS Horticultural Society) *Tickets may also be obtained at the meeting point, the Wells Tavern, Well Walk, Hampstead, NW3.

Do you have an allotment? The Horticultural Society would be very pleased if more allotment-holders would show their produce at the flower shows. For details contact Yvonne Oliver, Show Secretary (020 8455 8741).

Composting is easy, good for the environment and good for your garden. Bins at subsidized prices are available for between £15 and £40 (call 08451 306090 or check the London Borough of Barnet website – www.barnet.gov.uk).

Recycle your Christmas trees and Christmas cards You can leave your old Christmas tree next to your green recycling bin for collection by Barnet. And why not take your Christmas cards to Marks and Spencer or WH Smith, where they will be collected for recycling by The Woodland Trust?