Nidderdale Hardy Planters |
CONTACTS
CHAIRMAN:Paddy Mayes TREASURER: Ray Cooke |
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Nidderdale Hardy Planters was formed
as a gardening society in the summer of 1999. The group offers
monthly lectures during the autumn, winter and spring and garden
visits during the summer. Today the club has more than 100 members,
and this is still increasing. Although monthly lecture meetings
are held in Knaresborough, members are currently drawn from surrounding
parts of North Yorkshire, including Harrogate, Wetherby, up Nidderdale
as far as Darley and from villages towards
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Meetings are held on the second Tuesday
each month from September to May, starting 7.30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Church Hall, Knaresborough.
Guests are always welcome – come to a meeting and “try
before you buy”. Current
subscription rates are £9 pa for individuals and £15 for
a couple. Guests pay £3 a session.
The Club invites expert speakers covering
a wide range of gardening topics. At each meeting there's an opportunity
to buy plants from the plant stall and to discuss gardening problems
with fellow members over a cup of tea. You don't have to be an expert.
Everyone is welcome, from absolute beginners to hardened hardy planters
- we all have something to learn!
We try to attach a report of our meetings
to this webpage – although we don’t always manage it!
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 Members enjoying the wonderful garden at Gresgarth Hall. |
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A popular highlight of the club programme is the coach trips, organised during the summer months to take members and friends to outstanding gardens all over the North of England. Many seize this opportunity not only to purchase plants which, perhaps, they can't find at their local nursery, but also to gather ideas for planning their own garden. We always have a comfortable coach and members thoroughly enjoy their day out in good company. Spring 2009 Newsletter (PDF 708KB) Nidderdale Hardy Planters Along with seasonal drinks and nibbles, members enjoyed their December talk by bulb expert Ivor Fox. His particular interest is in miniature bulbs and this subject area was at the core of his talk. In fact he narrowed it down further by concentrating on the many species and miniature hybrid tulip varities now available. Not only did he enthuse about their beauty but convinced members that, for reliable repeat appearances in the garden, they were superior to most of the standard tulips available at the garden centre. Ivor is a specialist miniature bulb trader who sources bulbs from all over the world, develops their potential on his own land in this country then favours those bulb experts, the Dutch, to produce them in the numbers required to trade. He is a regular exhibitor at the Harrogate Autumn show. His catalogue and website: www miniaturesbulbs.co.uk is mouth watering. The one aspect of growing tulips that he really stressed was the importance of drainage. Tulips hate sitting in waterlogged soil over winter. For best results treat each bulb to a gritty mix of sand and gravel at the bottom of the planting hole. In pots and bowls a 50/50 mix of John Innes 3 and grit/sand is ideal. Another point he made was that we should not rush to plant tulips as soon as they appear at garden centres and supermarkets, usually September. This early appearance is all about sales. mid-October to mid-November is a good time to plant tulips. Generously, Ivor brought a gift of some of his favourite bulbs for all those present. Amongst these was tulipa clusiana which his catalogue describes as "The Lady Tulip of Southern Europe. Elegant, slender pointed flowers. White with outer segments of raspberry pink. A classic flower. 8in. AGM" (RHS award of Garden Merit). We meet each second Tuesday of the month, September to May, at 7.30pm at Holy Trinity Church Hall, Knaresborough. New members and visitors always welcome. Dilys Davies, Vice President of the Hardy Plant Society, visits us on Jan 13 to talk about the great 20th century plant collecting patron, A.K. Bulley and his association with Ness Botanical Gardens, Liverpool. Further information from Paddy Mayes, tel 01423 781531 paddymayes@btinternet.com |
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