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Week 6 - The Garden in November
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Nov. 24th, 2009 @ 11:48 am
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Here we are with our main topic, The Garden in November:
( The Garden in November )
( November Plants )
Got everything done yet?
JoCurrent Mood:  rushed |
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Halloween
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Oct. 27th, 2009 @ 08:45 am
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Happy Halloween!
Got your pumpkins carved out? Cinder toffee ready?
Here's something to amuse you for Halloween. Put your coffee cup down before viewing. Seriously.
I really mean it.
Enjoy...
Jo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b853h1ocEhMCurrent Mood:  scared |
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Week 5 - More Yellow Wild Flowers
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Oct. 26th, 2009 @ 08:23 pm
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We looked at some more yellow wildflowers this week - here are the pictures:
More Yellow Wild Flowers
And here are my notes:
( Click me! )
Happy wildflower hunting!
JoCurrent Mood: rushed |
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Week 5 - Soils
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Oct. 26th, 2009 @ 08:17 pm
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Our main topic for week 5 is Soils, Composts, Mulches and Fertilizers. Here's the handout:
( Soil Management )
And remember, the function of organic matter is to rot down, eventually. If your compost heap is looking less like Bob Flowerdew's and more like something that came in a skip, provided it's organic, it will rot. That's a promise.
JoCurrent Mood: rushed |
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Week 4 - Spring bulbs
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Oct. 26th, 2009 @ 08:11 pm
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Our main topic for this week is Spring Bulbs. I've included some information on bulbs for other seasons, too.
( Bulb Planting )
There are plenty of bulbs still in the shops and garden cetres - make the most of them. The RHS at Harlow Carr have trialled planting tulip bulbs as late as mid-January, and founjd that it made no difference to the timing or amount of flowering. So, it's definitely not too late.
JoCurrent Mood: rushed |
| » Week 3 - Yellow wildflowers |
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This week we looked at some yellow wildflowers.
Here are the pictures:
Yellow Wild Flowers
Here are my fairly simple notes on them:
( Yellow Wild Flowers )
Some of these are still flowering, or have distinctive leaves - have a good look round, and you'll see them.
Jo
Jo
Oct. 26th, 2009 @ 08:05 pm
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| » Week 3 - Propagation |
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Our main topic for this week is Propagation.
Here's the handout:
( Propagation )
So, are you going to try out some hardwood cuttings from your prunings? Or sowings of alpine seed that needs overwintering? Or some autumn division of perennials?
Let us know how you get on.
Jo
Oct. 26th, 2009 @ 06:20 pm
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| » Week 2 - Wildflowers |
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Our wildflowers this week are green. Well, greenish, anyway.
Here they are. See how many you can recognise before you look at the name...
Wild flowers
And here are the notes I used:
( A Selection of Green Wildflowers )
If you bookmark these entries, you'll be able to check out your local fields and hedgerows in spring.
Jo
Oct. 4th, 2009 @ 08:15 pm
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| » Week 1 : Jobs for September/October |
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We didn't really get started on our main topic - the first week always has so much to try and pack in... But, we'll carry it over to next week. And the main topic was Jobs for September/October.
Here's the handout:
( Jobs for September/October )
Next week, we'll also have a quick look at plants that are in season for these two months.
Jo
Sep. 26th, 2009 @ 06:10 pm
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| » Week 1 : Blue wildflowers |
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We decided last term that we would have a look each week at some of our native wild flowers. This week, it was the turn of the blue flowers. The images that we saw can be found at Photobucket:
Wild flowers
I didn't produce a handout for this, but here is an informal note of some of the things we said about them:
( Blue wild flowers )
Another handout was the Postcode Plant database for S26. If you want to find the plants for your own postcode, and check whether they are different, here's teh link to the Natural History Museum:
Natural History Museum’s Postcode Plant Database
Just click the link.
And here is the S26 list:
( Plants recorded in S26 )
Have fun with it! You might even want to recreates a small piece of the past by reintroducing some of the more worthwhile species to your garden.
Jo
Sep. 26th, 2009 @ 05:47 pm
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| » Autumn term 2009-10 : week 1 |
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So, we're back again, but in a different room this time.... Hold that thought... Because the room turned out not to be very suitable, and we are moving next week. I don't know which room we will be in, although we won't be back in our old room, more's the pity. We will be in the main building, though, so things should be much better.
And we have some new faces, which is really nice to see. Welcome to you all, and I hope you enjoy the course.
As a reminder, here's the course programme for this term:
GARDENING FOR PLEASURE
Suggested programme for the Autumn Term 2009/10
Major topic
Week 1 The Gardening Year – September/October
• Jobs for the season
• Plants for the season
Plus
• Enrolment
• Introductions
• Finalisation of programme
Week 2 Propagation
• General propagation
• Cuttings
• Seedling aftercare
Week 3 Spring Bulbs
• Varieties to plant
• How to plant
• Using containers
• Bulb pests
• Bulb problems
Week 4 Composting, Fertilizers and the Soil
• Making compost
• Using compost
• Which fertilizer?
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Cultivation problems
Week 5 The Gardening Year - November
Jobs for the season
Plants for the season
Splitting perennials
Moving plants
Cutting back
Preparing for winter
Week 6 Herbs
• Planning for herbs
• Useful herbs
• Picking practice
• Maintaining the herb bed
• Recipes
Week 7 Garden wildlife – the good, the bad and the bugly
• Recognizing helpful wildlife
• Recognising harmful wildlife
• Recognizing wildlife with little or no impact in the garden
• Postcode fauna and flora
Week 8 The Exotic Garden
• Planning an exotic border
• Choosing plants
Week 9 Trees and shrubs for autumn and winter colour, and for small gardens
Week 10 The Gardening Year – December
• Jobs for the season
• Plants for the season
• Review of the gardening year
Week 11 ???
Minor topic
Recognizing wild flowers
Jo Hanslip
July 2009
That's the plan, anyway...
Jo
Sep. 26th, 2009 @ 05:04 pm
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| » Week 10 - Winter garden |
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Strange as it may seem, we included a discussion of the garden in winter as our main topic, here in midsummer. But, as we said, in order to enjoy a garden in winter, you have to start planning early.
Here are the handouts:
( The Living Winter Garden )
( Winter Crops )
( Winter Interest )
Jo
Jul. 4th, 2009 @ 03:58 pm
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| » Week 10 - Plant of the Week - Gladiolus |
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Our plant of the week this week is that much maligned genus, Gladiolus. We approached it as a mystery plant - I just showed the unlabelled images of the species, which turned out to be very diverse and beautiful, and then we discussed which genus that might be.
Here are the images again. You'll see the species first, and then a small selection of some of the ones more normally in cultivation.
Gladioli
And here's the handout. Don't forget to check out some of the links:
( Gladiolus )
Think better of Gladioli now?
Jo
Jul. 4th, 2009 @ 03:45 pm
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| » Week 9 - Companion Planting |
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Our main topic this week is Companion Planting. There are a lot of claims about companion planting - which plants won't thrive with others, and which ones will, but many of those claims are unsubstantiated. However, there are partnerships that work well, so use your own experiences to take advantage of plant relationships.
Here are the handouts
( Companion Planting - a factsheet from Cornell University )
( Companion Planting - a factsheet from Golden Harvest Organics )
Well, was it useful?
Jo
Jun. 29th, 2009 @ 11:07 pm
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| » Week 9 - Plant of the Week - Allium |
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Our plant of the week this week is that huge group, the alliums. This is a surprising group - there may be a lot of weedy ones, but there are many gems, often little known.
Here's the handout:
( Alliums )
And here are the images at Photobucket:
Alliums
Enjoy
Jo
Jun. 29th, 2009 @ 11:01 pm
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| » Week 8 - The Garden in June |
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Our main topic for this week is The Garden in June. Here are the two handouts:
( The Garden in June )
( Seasonal Plants for June )
Jo
Jun. 22nd, 2009 @ 09:08 pm
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| » Week 8 - Plant of the Week - Leucojum |
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Our plat of the week this week is Leucojum, the snowflake, together with its cousins, Acis.
Here are the pictures:
Leucojum
And here is the handout:
( Leucojum )
Jo
Jun. 22nd, 2009 @ 09:03 pm
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| » Week 7 - Seed Sowing |
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So, the final moment came, and we all had to tell how our seed sowing exercise went... And plants were exchanged. I hope everyone learned something, and had fun doing it...
Here's the handout
( Seed Sowing )
Jo
Jun. 22nd, 2009 @ 08:48 pm
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| » Week 7 - Plant of the Week - Ornithogalum |
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Our plant of the week this week is another member of the Hyacinth family, the Ornithogalum genus, which isn't cultivated as often as it should be.
Here are the images:
Ornithogalum
And here's the handout:
( Ornithogalum )
Jun. 22nd, 2009 @ 08:24 pm
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| » Week 6 - Sun and Shade |
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Our main topic for this week is those two extremes, Sun and Shade.
Here are the handouts:
Shade Garden:
( Shade Garden )
( Sun Garden )
Jo
Jun. 22nd, 2009 @ 08:19 pm
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