Bexrose Bulletin
JULY 2007
Published by the Bexleyheath & District Rose Society.
Patron:- Dr. David G. Hessayon MBE.
President:-
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, 4, Lyndhurst Close, Barnehurst, Kent DA7 6DH
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 Email:- postmaster@bexrose.org.uk
Next Meeting Tuesday 24th July 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. Our speaker this month is Mr. Howard Cox who will give us a talk with slides on Butterflies. We will hold our usual Monthly Rose Table Show for Experienced and Novices and our Floral Art competition this month will be on the theme of Butterflies.
Obituary
We were very sorry to hear of the death of our President Wally Skinner. "Raffles" as he was known for many years was persuaded to join the Society by his son- in- law Martin Double and they spent many happy years competing against each other on the show bench. Wally grew some beautiful roses and always took part in our monthly rose show. He was a member of the team that put up Society Exhibits at rose shows around the country. He served on the committee for many years and ran the monthly raffle. His funeral took place on 27th June and members of the committee attended. A donation will be sent to Age Concern as it was one of Wally's favoured charities. Our condolences go to his daughter Valerie and family.
We were sorry to hear on our return from Northern Ireland that Alvin Jemmott had passed away on Friday 6th July. He came with us to Wiltshire but found it very tiring but did manage to attend several monthly meetings. Our condolences go to his wife Peggy and family.
Welcome to new members
Mrs. M. Callegan, Bexleyheath.
Mrs. J. Highland, Welling.
Mrs. E. Parkin, Bexley.
Mr. & Mrs. Reason Bexleyheath.
Mrs. S. Harding, Woolwich.
Mr. T. Palmer, Bexleyheath.
Miss S. Page, Belvedere.
RNRS Show Dates for 2007
July 28th & 29th RNRS Miniature Roses Show, St. Albans.
September 14th to 16th Autumn Show Harrogate.
Dates for your Diary
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.
WMH Leisure Garden Shows for 2007
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
Sunday July 29th 56, Leamington Ave, Orpington, BR6 9QB Entry £2 2pm to 5pm.
Greenwich & Bexley Hospice Open Garden Scheme 2007
Sunday July 22nd 8, Warren Road, Bexleyheath 2pm to 5pm. Entry £2 children free.
Sunday August 5th Serica Court, Greenwich High Road, Greenwich 2pm to 5pm. Entry £2 children free.
Saturday August 11th 12 noon to 6pm. Hospice Garden Party. Tickets available in advance only from the Hospice Fundraising Office on 0208 312 2244 £6 Event to be held within the Hospice grounds. Free parking adjacent to Hospice.
Summer Show Advanced Entry Draw Winners.
1st Portable DVD Player 2878 Ann Reynolds
2nd Garden Strimmer 2541 Mrs. J. Riley
3rd Garden Vouchers 0359 Vanessa Rochester
4th Garden Trolley 2618 James
5th Ltd Edition Table Mats 1254 Mrs. Wayling
Summer Show Raffle Winners
1st Holdall Blue 166 Brian Christie
2nd Duvet Set Orange 163 Denis Tapp
3rd Ladies Toiletries Orange 204 Rosemary Day
4th Silk Scarf/Bath Salts Orange 331 Eileen Westrop
5th Wisley Garden Book Blue 113 Reg Rider
6th Rose Orange 329 Iris Smith
Secretary's Report on the Summer Show.
The quality of the roses on show this year were as good as ever but sadly the number of entries was down leaving a whole side of tables empty. This was filled with vases of members rejected roses and by the time the public came to view we had full benches and a wonderful show which everyone appreciated. We managed to attract quite a few new people in the afternoon through our advert in the News Shopper which was very attractive and also our new banner and advertising board. They all said they enjoyed the show very much especially the tea and home made cakes.Mick Andrews won the RNRS Bronze Medal, best and second best bloom in show and the WAHolmes Cup for Open Champion. Nigel Chapman won Show Champion and Members Champion, Joan Dixon won the Jack Frost Shield for Junior Champion. Dora Lemon won best in show for Floral Art. Plant sales did better than last year and Tombola were nearly sold out, the attraction being some very good prizes. We picked up a few new members and members chatted to others who were very interested in our meetings.
The Committee thank everyone who turned out on Friday night to help set up and all those who helped on the day. Another successful show over for another year.
Open Garden Sunday 29th July 2007 200 Upton Road South, Bexley, Kent.
Once again Mick and Brenda Andrews are opening their garden in aid of our chosen charity "Woodlands Farm Trust". The time is earlier this year so you should see different plants in their full glory. The garden is very unusual being semi tropical with tree ferns, bananas and many more rare plants. Admission is £1 and includes light refreshments or a glass of wine. Opening time from 1-30pm to 5pm. Do come along and support a worthy cause and see a wonderful garden.
The Rose Growers Calendar by kind permission of Don Charlton.
July
1. Keep the rose beds tidy by weeding, disbudding. Watch out for insect and fungal diseases.
2. Deadheading will be one of the main activities this month. Cut the spent blooms off down to the appropriate leaf node. Cut the stem at about the second set of leaves down from the bloom, this will do for a quick repeat flowering, or cut a bit lower down the stem if later , better quality blooms are required.
3. The third and last feed of the season ought to be applied this month. This should be well watered in if the weather is dry.
4. Continue to bud rootstocks, but ensure that the sap is flowing well beforehand. Bud wood of different and interesting varieties can usually be obtained from rose shows, but always ask for the exhibitors permission before taking any stems at the end of the show.
Lost at the Summer Show
A small pair of secateurs in a canvas pouch were lost at the summer show. If anyone picked them up, would they please contact Ben Rainsbury on 0208 301 1288 he would like them back as they have great sentimental value.
Secretary's Report on the June Meeting.
Unfortunately Mrs. J. Talboys was unable to come and speak to us as she had a car accident a few days before our meeting. Fortunately she was not hurt, just shaken up a bit but was unable to get a replacement car in time. Mr. Brian Self, who has spoken to us before at the old hall kindly stepped in at the last minute and gave us a talk with slides on his garden at Boxley in Kent which he bought in 1966. The house was an old cottage with a newer side extension and the garden was about an acre around it with an area of stepped beds. Quite a few of the slides were taken in winter and the snow was pretty thick. The garden looked very attractive in the snow as there were quite a few trees including an ornamental crab, a hill cherry and a weeping cherry of which he was very proud and we saw it in each season. Mr. Self told us that he had modelled his garden over the years on Sissinghurst from which he used the white garden and also the showers of daffodils. Great Dixter where he used some elements of the long border and Sheffield Park for the trees. He made several banks and supported them with stone walls and covered them with rock roses and lavender. His soil is on the chalky side but he seemed able to grow quite a variety of plants including Rugosa roses for their beautiful hips in autumn. He was very fond of his old car which had been in his family for about 40 years and we saw slides of that in most seasons. There was also a tree which seemed to have moved from one house to the next with him and he said he took a bit of a gamble by planting it in the garden at Boxley before the sale of the property had been finalised. Mr. Self answered members questions after the tea break. The Chairman thanked him for kindly stepping in at the last moment.
Rose Table Show for June.
Experience
HT 1st M. Andrews 2nd No Name 3rd D. Lemon
Floribunda 1st B. Rainsbury 2nd M. Andrews 3rd D. Lemon
Miniatures 1st B. Rainsbury 2nd M. Andrews 3rd D. Lemon
Points B. Rainsbury 8 M. Andrews 8 D. Lemon 3
Total Points M. Andrews 17 B. Rainsbury 8 D. Lemon 7 E. Purnell 6 A. Nunn 1
Novice
HT 1st V. Pulling 2nd L. Beadle 3rd Not awarded
Floribunda 1st V. Pulling 2nd Pat Portch 3rd R. Madden
Miniatures 1st Not awarded 2nd R. Madden 3rd V. Pulling
Points V. Pulling 9 Rosemary Madden 3 Pat Portch 2 Les Beadle 2
Total Points V. Pulling 12 Les Beadle 5 J. Miller 4 Rosemary Madden 3
Pat Portch 2 R. Harris 2
Summer Trip to Northern Ireland.
Needless to say we had to make an early start on this trip as we had to catch the 2-30 pm ferry from Hollyhead so the Chislehurst members were picked up at 5-35am. We were all bleary eyed but excited about being on our way for the trip that we had all been looking forward to for so long. Kevin our driver decided to make only one stop which made it a long drive for him but we got to the ferry terminal in good time and were soon queuing up for lunch on board. On arriving at Dublin port Kevin managed to weave his way round the City to arrive at our overnight stop at the Plaza without getting lost. We had stayed at this hotel on our last trip to Ireland and we were not impressed then as it is situated on a duel carriageway that is busy all night and then revellers who had been to the night club underneath the hotel decided to set off the fire alarms at 2-30 am just for fun. We got back on the coach the next morning tired and crotchety only to find Kevin very chirpy from a good night's sleep, he hadn't heard the fire alarm at all. Just as well, he had another long drive ahead of him with quite a lot of road works around Dublin.
We picked up our City Guide outside Trinity College and he took us inside and showed us the various buildings, and their history. He told us about the book of Kells housed in the Library but we didn't have time to see it. Back on the coach we drove down many of the lovely Georgian and Victorian streets where we could see all the different doorways with their lovely fanlight windows. We passed the Tart with the Cart (Molly Malone) and the Fag on the Crag (Oscar Wilde) and made our way up to the Castle, another place worth visiting if you have the time. Of course we couldn't come to Dublin without at least passing the Guinness factory. Too soon our tour was over and we grabbed a bite to eat, a quick look around the shops and we were back on the coach to make our way to Belfast.
Our Hotel for the week was the Dunadry Inn, quite peaceful so we thought as it was out in the country. That was until the weddings started. One every night for the next three years. We all got a good night's sleep the night they had the dry wedding. The food was very good with enormous helpings and the staff were very nice and helpful but when we came from the dinning room every evening we had nowhere to sit and relax with a drink as everywhere seemed to be taken by wedding guests, so quite a few of us just went to bed for a restless night.
Well, we are Bexrose members and we don't let a little night starvation get us down. Next morning we boarded the coach and Kevin drove us to the Antrim coast having had a full night's sleep and not hearing a thing. We made our way up the coast in and out of the little glens, the weather was very showery but at least we could see the scenery from the coach. We stopped at Cushendun for coffee and devoured hot scones strait from the oven made by the lady who ran the restaurant that looked like a castle. This is the place where much of the architecture was designed by Clough Williams-Ellis of Portmerion fame. Sadly the town was flooded out the next day. After a quick lunch in a large pub in Ballycastle we continued our journey up to the viewing point to see Rathlin Island, Northern Irelands only inhabited island and where Marconi sent his experimental radio signals from the headland. Luckily every time we got out of the coach the weather was dry which was just as well as the walk to the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge was about 1 1/2 miles, we then made the crossing hanging on for dear life and hoping that some twit wouldn't think it fun to make the bridge sway a bit. After a quick walk round the island and a peek at some nesting sea birds we had to make our way over the bridge again and quite a steep climb back which was an easy stroll down hill on the way out. We finally made it back, gasping for a cup of tea and thinking we would never make it to the Giants Causeway. We arrived at the top of the Causeway in a deluge of rain, the first time we had got wet since we arrived in Northern Ireland, not bad when the locals say it rains in-between the showers. Luckily they run a bus down to the beach, the walk takes 20 minutes. The Causeway is quite unique and you can see how it got its name as the rocks look like stepping stones, they are made of Basalt and are hexagon shaped. Some stand up like organ pipes, one is shaped like a boot which every Japanese wants to have their picture taken on, and one is shaped like a camel. The whole area smells very strongly of the seaweed Kelp which the locals collect and boil up into some sort of disgusting mush which is supposed to be very good for you! It wasn't advisable to stay here too long as it was raining hard so we caught the bus back and got back on the coach for our journey home. Sadly we couldn't visit the Bushmills distillery as tourism is really on the up now in Northern Ireland and they had been booked up since January. The rain stopped and we had a very good run home through a bright sunny evening to another delicious meal and another noisy wedding.
Tuesday was Kevin's day off so we had hired a local coach to take us into Belfast for our tour round with Billy Dickson who was a scream as he thought his own jokes were really funny and he couldn't stop laughing at them. We did every area of Belfast, the Shankill and the Falls and Divis Flats, we saw both republican and loyalist art work on the walls of houses and factories and many areas even painted their emblems on the road. Billy took us to the Harland and Wolfe ship yard and showed us the dry dock where the Titanic was built. We saw the two Cathedrals of Belfast, the huge shopping areas and many areas where new houses were being built. Billy took us to a local library where there was a statue of
C.S. Lewis outside looking into a wardrobe. We drove round to Stormont Castle and Billy stopped the coach and asked the security men if we could just have a look inside at the grand hall. We were allowed 10 at a time which gave us a great thrill as we had tried to get a guided tour which once again had been booked up for months. Stormont stands at the top of a hill which gives wonderful views over the countryside and the approach road was really impressive. We made our way back to Belfast centre where we said goodbye to Billy and went to the visitors centre to buy some souvenirs. After a light lunch we visited St Anne's Cathedral with its lovely stained glass windows dedicated to the Royal Irish Rangers and then we went to St. Patricks RC Church which was really pretty inside. After a quick buzz round the shops we were back on the bus and heading for Dunadry Inn, and another wedding. I must say that the ladies dresses were all very unusual, you don't see fashion like that in Bexleyheath!
After his restful day spent swimming and sleeping Kevin was ready to take us over to the west side to County Fermanagh and the town of Enniskillen and further on to the Belleek pottery factory where we had a guided tour and were able to speak to some of the workers about the process they were doing. Some of us bought items of pottery as a souvenir and we also had a look in the museum which showed the different types of cream wear and sanitary wear that had been made in the factory since they opened in 1857. The men were very interested when we got to Enniskillen Castle and the young lady gave us a very interesting guided tour round pointing out how the keep was built with a splayed base and she showed us the toilet which had only recently been discovered.so we all had a look down that to where it came out at ground level into what would have been the moat. We were then handed over to the chaps who looked after the regimental museum. Enniskillen is the only British town to raise two regiments for the British Army. We had a quick look round the town and posted a few cards then back on the bus to the delights of another wedding and a disturbed night.
Thursday we all came down to breakfast refreshed from an unbroken night's sleep, the last wedding had been a non alcoholic affair, what a blessing there are a few strict Presbyterians around! Today we were going to Mount Stewart, the must see garden in Northern Ireland and I must say the rain stayed away and the garden was both superb and quirky. Our guided tour of the house started in the Alice in Wonderland room which the family used at Christmas. The chairs and settee were giant sized. Lady Mairi Viscounts Bury still lives in the house, she is in her 80s and still does some gardening. The Londonderry family had owned the house until it was given to the National Trust and Lord Castleraegh was one of the ancestors. He was British Foreign Secretary From 1812 to 1822 and had been give a set of 22 dining chairs used at the Congress of Vienna 1815 in recognition of his role in the talks. The Music room had a beautiful floor made of Mahogany and Oak by a local craftsman. The Chapel had been converted from a sitting room and the Londonderry family still use it, Lady Mairi and her parents were married here. There was no wallpaper or silk brocade on the walls so the rooms looked rather gaudy or depressingly gloomy with dark paint, especially in the bedrooms. There was a magnificent view of the Italian Garden from a rather dreary bedroom. We then made our way to the garden where we wandered through the Shamrock Garden with its Topiary Harp and Sailing Boat also a rider on horseback and I think a fox. The Sunken Garden comprised of symmetrical beds which were full of rich blue, orange and red flowers complimented by purple foliage. The Italian Garden was memorable with oranges and reds to the east and softer blues and pinks to the west and under the conifers were purpley blue wallflowers just coming to the end of their flowering. The DoDo Terrace was to the east with its statues of DoDo's and a sailing ship, a mermaid, a hedgehog and a stegosaurus. The terrace was built by Lady Londonderry and relates to the Ark Club, a social circle which she set up in 1921. We had a late lunch at Mount Stewart and then spent the rest of the afternoon driving round the Ards perninsula,before returning to our hotel and the worst wedding yet. Their guests bagged all the seats and were still having great fun and playing football on the courtyard grass at 4-30am. Several members complained to the management but the guests didn't take much notice. I would have loved to have gone round and knocked them up at 9am next morning.
Sadly Friday had arrived and we were on our way back to Dublin again. We had enjoyed our stay at Dunadry despite the weddings as the staff were very nice and friendly and the food was excellent. On our way we called in at another National Trust Garden, Rowallane Gardens. This is known as the plantsmans garden with trees and shrubs from around the world. Unfortunately with all the rain we had had it was a little boggy in places but we managed to get round most of the outlying areas and then the lovely walled garden with a cottage and clock tower on one side and beds of Penstamens. This was supposed to be a national collection but there didn't seem to be many varieties to me. The little pond garden was pretty too with its urns at one end and some lovely trees and shrubs giving dappled shade. We got caught in a shower here, only the second time we had got wet in a week of quite bad weather. Kevin drove us down to the town of Newcastle where we took a very bracing walk along the sea front and took some photo's of the Mountains of Mourne coming down to the sea. We had a lunch in a cafe which would have fed an army, our toasties came with salad although we had asked for chips which also turned up and then a cup of tea. Then a basket of scones and jam turned up which were in with the price which was £6-95p. They are obviously big eaters in Newcastle. We soon found ourselves back in the Plaza Hotel Dublin after Kevin had tried to take a short cut but landed up in a cul-de-sac. We had a very early breakfast next day and were on our way by 6-45am. Thankfully there was little traffic at that time in the morning so we made it to the ferry in time for the first crossing. We arrived at Hollyhead at
11-45am and began to make our way through Wales and down the M6 toll to Birmingham and home. Traffic was good despite events at Duxford and Silverstone and we got back to Bexleyheath just before 7pm. Although we were tired and glad to be home we all agreed that we had had a wonderful holiday and we all thanked Kevin for his good driving that got us safely there and back doing over 1,400Kms.