Edgworth & District Horticultural Society

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our members

 All the committee send their good wishes for a wonderful

 Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

 

A Christmas time like no other but it is good news that we can meet our families for a few days, (with care if a New Year lockdown is to be avoided).

 2020 has been a year that will go down in history as the year when everything was cancelled right across the world.   

Every single person in the world must have felt the effects of this dreadful epidemic in one way or another. Many have succumbed to Covid, been shielding from it, many businesses are in difficulty, no social life, cancelled holidays and inconveniences where ever you turn. 

Disappointments too, in my own family there have been several special birthdays this year and all were celebrated on Zoom.

These included a 13th, 18th, 21st, 30th, 50th, 60th and 70th so when we are able to there will be a big celebration ‘do’

With the introduction of vaccines there is now some hope that we may return to some kind of normal in the foreseeable future. 

 

Irene Spencer 

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Christmas Trees

A decorated Christmas tree (usually a conifer, often spruce or pine) originated in Northern Europe. The custom developed in medieval Estonia and Latvia and in Germany where Protestant Germans brought decorated trees into their homes. Its 16th-century origins are sometimes associated with Martin Luther (1483-1546), who is said to be the first to add lighted candles to an evergreen tree (I’m not sure our house insurance would cover this!) The first written evidence of a decorated Christmas Tree is from Riga, Latvia in 1510. The Catholic Church resisted the custom and in 1982 a Christmas Tree stood for the first time at the Vatican.

In medieval times, mystery plays were given on 24 December. A “Paradise tree” decorated with apples (to represent the forbidden fruit) was used as a setting for the play. This was later placed in homes with the apples replaced by round objects such as shiny red balls.

In Britain the custom was slow to take off. George I's German-born wife, introduced a Christmas tree at a party she gave for children in 1800, so Queen Victoria as a child was familiar with trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. Presents were placed around them. By 1841, after Victoria's marriage to the German Prince Albert, wealthier middle-class families were following the fashion. In 1848 The “Illustrated London News” described the trees in Windsor Castle in detail and showed the main tree, surrounded by the royal family, on its cover.

By the 1860s this had led to their widespread use in better-off homes. It took until the mid-1920s for the use of Christmas trees to spread to all classes.

If you would like a bauble with a difference – perhaps try a Faberge Egg or ask the small jewellers in Titchfield, Hampshire to make it. They created one from 18 carat white gold,  covered in 1500 diamonds and orbited by two rings, with 188 rubies! (It’s only about £90.000).

 

Phil Broughton

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Materials required:

•  Foam circular wreath ring.
• Evergreen foliage – selection in good /clean condition.
• Selection could include some of the following:
• Grape ivy – the variety that has the cluster seed heads. These could have a light spray of gold/white paint spray.
• Long trailing foliage – ivy / variegated vinca / eg clematis etc
• Evergreen foliage: short lengths of spruce / conifer / eucalyptus / pittosporum / skimmia / laurel / heuchera leaves / holly with berries / bay leaves / hellebore leaves / birch swigs / small rhododendron leaves etc
• Hydrangea heads – dried / dried orange slices / cinnamon sticks / pine cones.  Small crab apples are nice – use cocktail sticks or wires to attach.  There are lots of tips on u-tube on wiring.
• Co-ordinating wide ribbon.
• You will need to purchase some means of attaching to your front door (depending on the design of your door).  I attached mine to glass panel so use a plastic sucker hook.  Available from B&Q etc. You can buy an over the door hanger / or attach to the inside of your door and hang over to front.
• If you like a little bling with your xmas you can add baubles at the end and even tiny xmas battery operated lights.

Simple steps:

Firstly soak your Oasis foam ring.  If you have any flower food add to the water and leave for 30 minutes to soak. These days Oasis have produced bio-degradable wreath rings. I have made door wreaths with a wire frame but they are quite tricky for a beginner – the foam wreaths are more enjoyable to complete and last longer – in fact I take off the door early in the New Year, take off any Xmas bling and lay outside and enjoy till end of January.  Put a pot of snowdrops / crocus in the centre for extra cheer! To recycle the foam I break into smaller chunks and put in the base of potted garden containers for spring / summer. Saves on compost!

Once your ring has soaked – put on draining board to drain.  Cut 2 x 3 inch pieces of strong stem / 2ft long length of wired ribbon.  Decide where the centre of your ring will be for your hanging point.  Avoid the joined area of the ring.  Take each stem and several ‘hair pin’ bent lengths of strong wire and push the stem vertically at the hanging point – the stems will help stop the ribbon cutting through the foam.  Add your ribbon – but don’t tie till the wreath is completed.  If you want to add lights to your arrangement do this at this point. Use your hanging point as a guide for the next step – adding your materials.

Assemble the collected materials.  Start with selecting / cutting your evergreen stems to approximately 3-4 in long.  Better to cut all stems first and then start to assemble.  Cut each stem end on an angle.  It will help your stems to take up water.

Add your stems working in a clockwise direction-always working in the same direction.  Gradually adding around the sides and moving towards the centre.  Cut the thicker stems in a sharp point (helps to minimize damage to foam).  Push in each stem no more than ½ in.  Try not to take out too often.  Lift up your wreath from time to time to check all sides are covered. 

Next add any trailing foliage which should be inserted roughly opposite your hanging point.  Your wreath should now be looking quite full.  You shouldn’t see too much oasis foam.

Decide which areas on your ring will be focal points – 2/3 are ideal.  Add your larger items first hydrangea / cones etc.  Add your remaining items. 

Finally add your baubles on ribbon with wires.  If you want to add small (20 light) set Xmas lights add right at the beginning before you insert any foliage.  Tie in battery box with twine securely onto the ring. I would tie into top of your hanging point (where your ribbon bow will help hide the box). Once wreath is fully complete, wrap the lights loosely into your foliage.

Lastly put your wreath on the draining board and spray with water thoroughly – once hung don’t forget to spray from time to time during the holiday – especially if the weather is mild.

Well done … Once you have tied your ribbon your wreath is ready to hang!

Angela is an independent professional florist and has ready to hang door wreaths and kits available.

Please contact Angela direct on swallow.angela@yahoo.co.uk 

 

Angela Swallow

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 Butterflies in our Gardens

Astronomically autumn extends almost to Christmas, ending on the winter solstice, this year on December 21^st.  Meteorologists end it on November 30^th so they can tidily give each season three whole months. However you do it, it’s an odd time to be writing about butterflies!  But it’s nice to recall a sunny afternoon this summer, sitting in my garden and watching them flit around flowers.

I was spurred to grab a book from the house to identify the little white one which was fluttering at the hanging baskets on my summer house. The book contains excellent drawings and interesting facts about each type and I then spent the rest of the afternoon engrossed by it.  I’ve selected a few of these colourful characters: those that we are most likely to find in our north west gardens. Perhaps this will help us to dream beyond the next two seasons spurred by memories of spring and summer

  

Red Admiral  

If there’s a butterfly that most of us recognise this is probably the one. Its eye-catching red bands on a white trimmed, dark background led the Victorians to call it “the red admirable” from which it gets its name today. They are unable to survive our cold, wet winters but hibernate on the continent. Strong but seemingly erratic fliers, in May they instinctively fly north reaching all parts of Britain. Eggs are laid on nettles, the food of their caterpillars. Six weeks later new adults bolster our UK population. In September they start to head south, gathering in large numbers in southern England before crossing the channel. I think bird migration amazing but can’t imagine how such small locally bred creatures know how to do this!

 Large White  

Its latin name, Pieris brassicae says everything! It’s a gardener’s nightmare as it flutters amongst our cabbages and nasturtiums laying groups of 60 to 90 yellow eggs on the underside of the leaves. Organic insecticides caused severe losses after WW2 and despite regular migrants from the continent, numbers haven’t recovered. Unlike its smaller cousin, its colourful caterpillars are quite prominent as they munch the leaves of our carefully nurtured brassicas.  They overwinter as a speckled chrysalis in the shelter of shed eaves, fences or tree trunks

 Small White  

Perhaps this was the visitor to my hanging baskets whose small size set me wondering. It is now more numerous than its bigger relative and both share the common name “cabbage white”. Its dark markings are less pronounced. It may be smaller, but gardeners beware! Its caterpillars are less visible, smaller and leaf green. Even worse, they gorge unseen on the heart of a cabbage, before emerging outwards to the leaves.

 Green Veined White  

Also a very common visitor to our gardens this butterfly is easily mistaken for the small white (especially when fluttering around). When it settles, streaks of green and black scales can be seen on the underside. It is wrongly blamed as a cabbage pest but its caterpillars feed on the wild relatives of cabbages such as Lady’s smock and Hedge mustard.

 

 

These colourful and interesting visitors to our gardens are joined by many others. I learned a lot by writing this article and perhaps will cover a few more in a future newsletter

Phil Broughton

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You are probably wondering what butterflies have to do with Christmas, well it reminded me of one Christmas Day  a few years ago when all our family were gathered round the table for Christmas dinner.   We began by pulling the crackers and we couldn’t believe it when a red admiral came out of one of the crackers and was flying around the room.  (No drink had passed my lips at that point, I swear)

It made our day bringing a little bit of summer to a cold winter’s day.

Irene Spencer

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CHRISTMAS QUIZ

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a family quiz on Christmas Day. 

The answers can be found at the bottom of this newsletter

1.  In the Carol ‘Good King Wenceslas’, the king asked his page to bring  three things.  What were they?
2. What was the reason for Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem?
3.  Celebrated on Lady Day, what name is given to the event 9 months before the birth of Jesus, in which an angel tells Mary  “fear not for thou shalt bring forth a son”?
4. What drink mostly associated with Christmas, is made with red wine and spices
5. Dasher, Dancer, Cupid, Comet, Prancer and Vixen are six of Santa’s reindeer.  Name the other two (Rudolf is not one of them).
6. How many points does a snowflake have?
7. What were the names of the three magi who brought gifts to baby  Jesus?
8. Where did the Magi bring gifts from? 
9. The poinsettia, a plant with bright red or white bracts, popular at Christmas, was originally from which country.
10. Which ingredient of Christmas cakes comes from an Italian word  which translates into English or March Bread?
11. Who composed the music for the Christmas ballet ‘The Nutcracker’.    (1 point for a correct answer plus 1 point if spelt correctly).     
12. How would you say “Merry Christmas” in French?  

Irene Spencer

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 I love a real tree and the fact that it is more eco-friendly is a bonus.  You need to buy from a sustainable, British grown, local source to reduce your carbon footprint, Check out British Christmas Tree Growers Association  website at www.bctga.co.uk to find out who the suppliers are.    It is best to buy a rooted one to plant in the garden afterwards but this isn’t always practical due to space etc.  Next best thing is to take it to the local recycling depot where it will be turned into wood chips or compost.  Councils often offer to collect the used trees.

Don’t bring your tree into the house too soon or it will struggle to last the 12 days of Christmas.  It needs to be kept outside and moist as long as possible.

When you bring your tree indoors it is best to stand it away from a heat source and in a tree holder designed to hold water.  Spray it regularly to help keep it fresh.

According to DEFRA we buy more than 6 million trees each year, enough to stretch from London to the North Pole

Irene Spencer

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Old Lady at the Bank

An old lady handed her bank card to the teller and said “I would like to withdraw £10”. The teller told her “for withdrawals less than £100, please use the ATM”.

The old lady wanted to know why... The teller returned her bank card and irritably told her “these are the rules, please leave if there is no further matter. There is a line of customers behind you”.

The old lady remained silent for a few seconds and handed her card back to the teller and said “please help me withdraw all the money I have.” The teller was astonished when she checked the account balance. She nodded her head, leaned down and respectfully told her “Madam you have £300,000 in your account but the bank doesn’t have that much cash currently. Could you make an appointment and come back again tomorrow?”

The old lady then asked how much she could withdraw immediately. The teller told her any amount up to £3000. “Well please let me have £3000 now.” The teller now very friendly handed over £3000 with a smile.

The old lady put £10 in her purse and asked the teller to deposit £2990 back into her account.

The moral of this story is....

Don’t be difficult with old people, they spent a lifetime learning the skill!

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Bank of Mum & Dad

A man in Scotland calls his son in London the day before Christmas Eve and says, “I hate to ruin your day but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough”.  'Dad, what are you talking about?' the son screams. “We can't stand the sight of each other any longer” the father says. “We're sick of each other and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Leeds and tell her. ”Franticly, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone.  “They're getting divorced!” she shouts, “No way, I'll take care of this!”  She calls Scotland immediately, and screams at her father “You are NOT getting divorced.  Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?” and hangs up

 The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. 'Sorted!,   They're coming  for Christmas - and they're paying their own way.’

David Spencer

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The first two meetings of 2021 will be virtual “meetings” using Zoom.

To join them you will use your PC, Tablet, Laptop (or a suitable mobile phone) and will need to click a link which we will email to you about a week before.

 

Wednesday, January 20th.

Using Zoom

Through the Garden Gate

Margaret & Geoff Fletcher, Birkdale, Southport
Margaret is the County Organiser of the National Gardens Scheme in
Lancashire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester

 The full programme for the year is now on our website

Hopefully at some point in the year we will be able to meet up in The Barlow.

Fingers crossed!

 Attached to this email is an insert to put in your membership card, giving all the EHS events planned for this year. Just print the attachment (actual size), trim it around the box with scissors and it should fold (or stick) nicely inside your card.

BEST WISHES TO EVERYONE

 

KEEP SCROLLING FOR ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ

 

 

KEEP SCROLLING

 

 

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KEEP SCROLLING

 

 

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YOU ARE ALMOST THERE

 

 

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CHRISTMAS QUIZ ANSWERS.

1.              BREAD, WINE & PINE LOGS

2.              TAXES & CENSUS

3.              ANNUNCIATION

4.              MULLED WINE

5.              DONNER & BLITZEN

6.              8

7.              BALTHAZAR, CASPER & MELCHIOR

8.              THE EAST/ORIENT                   

9.              SPAIN

10.          MARZIPAN

11.          TCHAIKOVSKI         (1 point for a correct answer plus 1 point if spelt correctly).  

12.          JOYEUX NOEL