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Bloxham Village Gardening Club Program for 2005
January Feburary March April May June July August September October November December
January
On 24th January Dr John Page on Irish Gardens. February.
On 28th Febuary Peter Sheasby gave a talk on Flowers from South Africa. March.
On 21st March Janet Cropley gave a talk on Wall Plants and Climbers. April.
On 25th April Peter Toms from Farnborogh Garden Centre, gave us an excellent talk on Bees in the garden.
There are 250 species of bees in the British Isles of which about 200 are bumble bees and 50 are solitary bees. Of these the honeybees are the most important. There are between 80 and 90 agricultural crops worldwide which rely on them for pollination and they are also necessary in the garden.
Vividly coloured and highly scented flowers attract most insects, of which honeybees are among the best pollinators. They need to collect vast amounts of nectar and pollen and of the over 6000 bees in a hive, each bee makes many trips from flower to flower to hive the produce honey (135,000 visits to make 1lb of honey).
The honeybee is also a social bee. Around 6000 exist in a hive which needs a temperature of around 40F and the queen lives in a cluster in the centre throughout the winter. The vast majority are found in domestic situation and do not normally sting because they cannot withdraw from human to animal skin and will inevitably die. Queens can produce eggs for a maximum of 5 years and lay up to 2000 eggs a day from a single mating. Drones, which are produced from unfertilised eggs , do not survive mating or the winter.
Among the early pollen sources are pussy willow and hazel catkins, followed by one of the major sources, dandelions. Pollen is carried on the hind legs and then knocked off inside the hive. It is coloured differently according to the flower source, including bright blue pollen from the Rose Bay Willowherb.
Occasionally wasps will take over a hive to get at the nectar and will strip it. They collect nectar, but not pollen, so they are poor pollinators. They are carnivorous in the early months and in late September when the queen stops laying and the nest breaks up.
Peter ended his talk, which was accompanied by fascinating slides, by telling us about the various types of honey available. Honey crystallises naturally, some more quickly than others; amongst these, oil-seed rape honey crystallises very quickly. Finally the two biggest exporters are China and Mexico.
This was our last meeting of the spring and we shall reconvene on 26th September at the Parish Rooms.
May.
On 22nd of May was our Plant Sale. June.
Sunday 26th June a visit to Sudley Castle near Winchcombe in Gloustershire was arranged on the last day of the Rose Festival. The weather was hot and sunny and those that went had a lovely day out.To see more pictures of Sudley click Sudeley Picture Gallery 2005.
To go to the Sudeley Castle web site then please click Sudeley Castle Website.
July.
On evening of Monday 25th July at 7.30pm, Janet Cropley opened up her garden to us at Hill Grounds in Evenly.
It was a very grey evening by 15 of our memebers were more than rewarded by the wonderful welcome we received from Janet and her husband.
We had the option to walk around this lovley garden ourselves or to follow in a group while Janet answered all our questions. We finally were treated to refreshments in the garden which also helped to warm us up a bit.
Thank you to The Cropley's for allowing us to see their garden.
29/07/2005 - James Sheppy August.
On Monday 15th August at 7.30pm, Mr. Rodderick Nicholson of Nicholsons Nurseries at North Aston, Oxfordshire, very kindly gave us a talk on the subject of "Trees for small gardens" at his home near nursery.In the large garden, which was full of trees of various sizes and varieties, we were treated to a full and very interesting explanation of all the trees and shrubs that would be suitable for any small to medium garden.
Mr Nicholson displayed his love and knowledge of trees as we were shown the whole of his extensive garden and he answered all of our questions and queries with great enthusiasm.
We then all met at the nursery in North Aston where Mr Nicholson showed us some examples of soem of the current stock available and were only beaten when "bad light stopped play".
To see more pictures of the trip click Nicholson Picture Gallery 2005.
To go to the Nicholson Nurseries web site then please click Nicholson Nurseries Website.
29/07/2005 - James Sheppy
September.
On Tuesday 13th September there was an afternoon visit to Waterperry Gardens including a guided tour to be given by Mary Spiller.
Although there was a disapointing number that attended, those that did had an enjoyable afternoon.
On 26th September May Hilary Twigg gave us a great talk on "Seed propagation" at our new venue at the Parish rooms near Bloxham Museum.
The meeting was opened with some notices and announcements by our chairman and a brief explaination of the new gardening club website by the program secretary. A packed house enjoyed a lively talk and demonstration by Hilary Twigg on the do's and don'ts of seeds and seed propagation. This was follows by a questiona and answer session then coffee and biscuits.
We all went away with a few new tips which we all hope to use next spring. October.
On 24th October Reg Moule will be giving us a talk on Fruit in small gardens. November.
On the 28th November is our AGM. December.
No Meeting
January Feburary March April May June July August September October November December
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