Bexrose Bulletin
MAY 2007
Published by the Bexleyheath & District Rose Society.
Patron:- Dr. David G. Hessayon MBE.
President:- Mr. W. Skinner
Vice President:- Mr. J. Elliott
Chairman:- Mr. A. Nunn
Vice Chairman:- Mr. M. Andrews
Hon. Secretary:- Mrs. J.Newton
Hon Treasurer:- Mrs. Z.Neale
Show Secretary:- Mr. A. Neale
Membership Secretary:- Mrs. M. Cornell
Miss V. Rochester
Other Committee members:- Mr. R. Jones, Mr. R. Pulling, Mrs. D. Carr, Mrs. D. Lemon, Mrs. J. Dyer.
Mrs. E. Cleall.
Web Site:- www.bexrose.org.uk
Webmaster Chris Newton Email:- postmaster@bexrose.org.uk
Next Meeting Tuesday 22nd May 2007
We meet once again at St. John Fisher Hall, Thanet Rd, Bexley where the hall will be open from 7-15pm for setting up. The meeting will start at 8pm until 10pm with a break at 9pm for refreshments and the raffle and of course a chance to chat to other members. This month our speaker is Mr. Dusty Miller who will give us a talk with slides on Vegetables. As many members are now venturing into the allotment side of horticulture we thought we should cover this area. We will start our Floral Art Table show again this month to get into practice for the show. We would like members to have a go at the modern design. The floral colour to be white. Size no larger than 12" x 12". This month will be the first Rose Table show of the season and once again the only chance to practice before the show. There will be both experienced and novice classes for 1 HT rose, 1 Cluster stem and 1 vase of 3 miniature roses. Good luck
Obituary
We were sorry to hear of the death of Mrs. French. Our condolences to her family.
We were sorry to hear of the death of Betty Morrison. Our condolences to her family.
Welcome to New Members.
Mr. & Mrs. Harding from Gravesend.
Dates For Your Diary
May 10th to 13th Malvern Spring Show.
May 22nd to 26th Chelsea Flower Show.
1st to 3rd June Cambridgeshire Garden Show Godmanchester.
June 13th to 17th BBC Gardeners World Live NEC Birmingham.
June 16th Bexrose Summer Rose Show.
July 3rd to 8th Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.
July 18th to 22nd Tatton Park Show.
July 25th Royal Sandringham Flower Show. Sandringham Estate, Norfolk.
August 21st to 23rd Wisley Flower Show.
September 11th & 12th London Flower Show. RHS Halls Westminster.
September 29th & 30th Malvern Autumn Show.
October 9th & 10th Great Autumn Show Harrogate.
November 9th & 10th RHS London Flower Show.
RNRS Show Dates for 2007
May 11th to 13th RNRS Spring Competition Malvern Show
June 23rd & 24th RNRS Early Summer Show Shepperton
July 7th & 8th RNRS Mid Summer Show incorporated in the West Midlands Rose Society Show. Western Park.
July 28th & 29th RNRS Miniature Roses Show St. Albans.
September 14th to 16th RNRS Autumn Show Harrogate
WMH Leisure Garden Shows for 2007
The Herts Garden Show, Saturday & Sunday 19th & 20th May Knebworth House, Stevenage, Hertfordshire. Tickets ring 01438 812661 or pay on the gate. Parking Free. Price Includes grounds and attractions. House also open but at extra cost.
The Kent Garden Show, Saturday, Sunday & Monday 26th 27th & 28th May. Detling show ground, Maidstone Kent. Tickets ring 01795 474660 or pay on the gate. Children and Parking free.
The South East Garden Show Saturday, Sunday & Monday 25th 26th & 27th August. The Hop Farm Country Park Paddock Wood Kent. Ticket ring as above or pay on the gate. Children & Parking Free.
Price also includes all Hop Farm attractions.
The Autumn Kent Garden Show, Saturday & Sunday 8th & 9th September. Detling show ground Maidstone Kent. Tickets ring as above or pay on the gate. Children & Parking free.
All shows open at 9-30am and close at 5pm. Refreshments available.
Ellenor Hospice Open Garden Scheme 2007
May 27th Sunday Conifers, Frensham & Crawden Bank Ash Road, New Ash Green. Entry £3 for all gardens.
June 3rd Sunday Loose Village Safari, The Dairy House, Kirkdale, ME15 0EA Admission £5 for 8 gardens.
June 10th Sunday 219, 221, 223 Dartford Road, Dartford. Admission £2 for 3 gardens.
Greenwich & Bexley Hospice Garden Festival 20th May 1pm to 5pm. Free entry and parking.
Held at Bostal Heath Playing Fields, Bostal Hill, Abbey Wood. SE2. Bus route 99 and B11.
This popular event offers plants and shrubs, hanging baskets, garden ornaments sheds and compost all on sale at reasonable prices. Lots of events going on all afternoon, refreshments also available.
Pat's Progress
Pat Powell has asked me to once again thank everyone who has kindly asked after her. She is making slow but steady progress and has her arm out of plaster now but is still unable to write. Her leg will need another few weeks before she can put any weight on it. Although her doctors say she will not regain all her mobility she is very determined that she will get mobile again. We look forward to seeing her again at meetings.
Day Trip to Detling Garden Show 26th May Cost £13
A coach has now been booked for this trip and we will leave Townley Road Central Library Bexleyheath at 9-30 am. If you are interested please book your seat with Janet, friends are welcome if the old man wants to play golf instead. There is a vast array of stalls for plants, garden equipment and crafts, all at very reasonable prices, also a flower show. There are also plenty of food outlets and coffee stalls. The organiser told me that the Saturday is not usually as crowded as the other two days.
The Rose Growers Calendar by kind permission of Don Charlton
May
1. Look for excess shoots, die back and blind shoots, nip out or cut back as necessary.
2. The first buds should be appearing this month and if you wish to improve the quality rather than have quantity then now is the time to consider disbudding. Nip out the centre buds of cluster flowered roses and side buds of HT roses.
3. Apply the second application of rose fertiliser and water in if the weather is dry.
4. Look out for insects, it is likely that your first application of insecticide needs to be applied this month. Follow the manufacturer's instructions fully.
5. Mildew and Blackspot are just around the corner and it makes life easier by applying a fungicide now as a preventative measure rather than trying to find a cure later.
6. The first decent blooms of the season should come around the second half of this month. If you want to cut some for the house then cut the stems when the blooms are only 1/4 open and leave the stems in deep cold water, in the shade, for at least 3 hours before arranging them in a vase or bowl indoors.
Hardly a Rose in Sight From Brian Christie Continued St. Helena
The South Atlantic Islands were formed by volcanic action of the mid-Atlantic Ridge. For those of us who don't swim, it was a little disconcerting to learn that there are more than 10,000 feet of water beneath the ship as we travelled across the south-east Atlantic Basin.
I suppose St. Helena is known for at least one thing - that it was the place of Napoleon's exile between 1815 and 1821. However, as we journeyed toward the Island, the officers and crew, many of whom were St. Helenians, told us about their homeland and its geographical and historical significance. In 1815, upon receiving Napoleon as it's "guest" the Island's land and sea defences were greatly strengthened for expected attacks by France to rescue their hero. The population increased to about three and a half thousand. In 1890, after the Zulu wars, Chief Dinizulu and his family were exiled to the Island for 7 years. Shortly after, in 1900, the first of more than 6,000 South African Boer prisoners were sent to the Island. With these prisoners the population was in excess of 9,800. Many prisoners died on the Island, mainly through a Typhoid outbreak and are buried in a large Boer graveyard in the Baptist Cemetery. Not until 1957 was the Island again used as a place of exile, when 3 Bahraini princes were banished to it. They remained for 4 years.
Situated in the mid-South Atlantic Ocean, St. Helena was a refuge for sailing ships. The East India Company used it as a victualling stop. It was used as a base by the British Navy in 1840 for the abolition of the slave trade. Ships leaving the West African coast bound for the Americas and West Indies were intercepted and brought to St. Helena, where the slaves were released. Between 1845 and 1869 more than 1,000 shipping calls were made annually, but by 1869, when the Suez Canal opened, the numbers of ships' calls drastically fell. Due to air travel, 1977 saw the end of the Union Castle's service calling at St. Helena en-route to and from South Africa. Today the Royal Mail Ship "St. Helena II" makes up to fifteen visits a year to service the Island. St. Helena Island has a good reason to be classed as one of the remote places of the world. No wonder the Royal Mail Ship is known as "the St. Helena lifeline.
Our arrival also brought desperately needed supplies and by the afternoon we heard residents passing the message that " they have got potatoes" (in the local shop). A few small plantations of coffee are grown on the Island. We were surprised to learn that St. Helena coffee is considered the best and most expensive in the world, so much so that we were served with imported Nescafe!
A flax industry was started in 1874 to supply hemp. In the first half of the 20th century it was the only staple industry and several hundred Islanders were employed. However, the Islander's major customer, the British GPO who used the string in the postal services, cancelled the contract in 1966. This caused the Island's economy to slump, from which it has never recovered.
In the horticultural sense St. Helena is a flora treasure-chest, for although many species of plants from Australia, South Africa and the Asian Continent have been introduced, it is the endemic plants that are the gems. There are about 40 species that are only found growing on the Island which is approximately 47 square miles. Quite recently several of these species, long thought to be extinct, have been
"re-discovered" growing in remote and secluded areas in the wild. Endangered species include the Bastard Gumwood tree. In 1982 one tree was found. It died in 1986, but from cuttings and seeds taken before it died, a few specimens have been raised at the Island's Endemic Plant Nursery. Similarly there are 3 seedlings of the St. Helena olive, a few seedlings of Helena Rosemary, a couple of hundred seeds but no plant of Boxwood which was only re-discovered in 1999. The St. Helena Ebony is a success story with several thousand plants now being propagated for re-introduction into managed woodlands.
Other species on the critically endangered list:- Bone Seed a ground-creeping hairy herb, growing on mountain tops. Dwarf Jellico An umbrelliferous plant of white flowers. Seeds can germinate on tree ferns. False Gumwood About 10 trees remain in the wild but seedlings are being raised.
He Cabbage Tree. Leaf clusters are cabbage-like growing on the end of branches. Flowers form like cauliflowers within the leaves. New trees are being raised from seed. There are many other trees and shrubs that are being saved in this way.
There is no airport on St. Helena, although there have been feasibility studies in the area known as Prosperous Bay Plain. The mineral salts present in this area are responsible for the only location for at least 22 plant species. Apparently there is no legislative protection, so if the airfield was to be built, such a natural source of endemic species could be lost.
Alas roses, even as an imported genus, are not easily found on the Island. We saw only 4 rose plants, none of them familiar. Within a few days we were again on board the RMS "St. Helena", now bound for Ascension Island, another 705 miles to the northwest.
Secretary's Report on the April meeting
This month our old friend and member Bill Bossom came to give us the "Bert Powell Lecture". He showed us some slides which must have dated back to the late 50s and early 60s. The exhibition hall at the RHS was packed with exhibits and people. It's not like that these days. Most of the people were wearing hats too!! He also showed us slides of some of the Society's exhibits that they used to put on at shows around the country. Led by Jack Frost, Bert Powell, Ben Rainsbury and Mick Andrews would work all night to stage their exhibit and they often won prizes. One time, some how, Mick was the only member available to stage the Society exhibit and he managed a 2nd place, a wonderful achievement.
Bill showed us many slides of his own seedlings and roses that he has bred, a lot of them being climbers.
He went through the process of propagation and pollination with us and also showed slides of the budding process as well. The root stock Rosa Laxa is used to graft the bud onto and all this root stock is grown in Holland. It was very interesting to see his lovely garden full of roses and bedding plants and he also showed us how to make hanging plant holders out of lemonade bottles, these were very effective and gave a different shape to the usual hanging basket. Bill was asked to build a garden at Capel Manor and he showed us the results of his efforts at the college. No money was offered so he filled it with his own seedlings many not named. After his illness he was not able to look after it but the college offered to take it over. The students were supposed to work on the garden but pretty soon it was bulldozed and the area used for other purposes less labour intensive. Bill also used to look after quite a few flower beds around the town of Enfield as the local authority did not get involved in this area. Of course all his beds were full of roses. Roses in roadside flower beds don't seem to get black spot as the continual dose of car exhaust fumes seems to kill off the spoors. Bill also had to give up looking after these beds, one which was taken over by 2 ladies continues to have roses but all the others that were taken over by men have green plants in them now that don't need much tending. Bill reminded us that all roses that reach the final stage and are ready to be named and marketed have to be registered with the American National Rose Society and there are currently 36,000 roses named on this register.
It was a very interesting lecture with beautiful slides of Bills efforts and it was nice to be reminded that the Society has a long and honourable passed in the rose world. We must try and keep this up and not go into decline like so many other societies have in the recent past.
Free Compost Bin
A member has a black compost bin surplus to requirements which has never been used. If any member would like to take it off her hands ring Janet and she will put you in touch.
What Has Been Going on at Chiswell Green ?
The Gardens of the Rose have been totally rebuilt. At the AGM last year visitors saw the new structure in place and the first batch of plants. Since then the first plants have begun to put down their roots and many, many more rose plants, shrubs, trees and bulbs have been added.
The gardens are really beginning to look like new gardens should. The Society has been extremely lucky to have so many generous supporters among the rose breeders and growers, particularly in the U.K. About 8000 rose plants, of some 2500 varieties, have been supplied or promised so far and very few of those have had to be purchased by the Society! Visitors will be able to see one of the most comprehensive collections of roses in this country, if not in Europe, when the Gardens re-open to the public in June.
Visitors will also be able to enjoy the new roses in a number of ways. There will be more varieties than before, the paths have been replaced and improved to make it easier to get round the gardens and great care has been taken in the choice and positioning of the roses. A series of the beds have been laid out to provide a visual history of the rose in this country and other sections have been laid out to show how roses can be used with other plants and in different ways.
Apart from rebuilding the gardens the administration of the Society has also undergone change to return it to a more sound financial foundation. In recent years, much of the work associated with running the Society has been undertaken by contractors/ consultants. This weakened the relationship between the staff at HQ and the members and the Trustees decided that a return to the former closer links would result in financial savings and improve effectiveness. The increases in most of the costs of providing the usual services to members, without any subsidy from the Gardens, has been a drain on resources and the Trustees have pursued improvements to counter those increases. A few hiccups have been experienced during the transition but many members have expressed their pleasure on being given the name of the people dealing with their particular queries. Improvements will continue in the coming months.
Taken from RNRS Spring Bulletin March 2007.