May Meeting | 'Dahlias' - Richard Ramsey | Tuesday 13th May, 8pm
We welcome the start of Spring on the 20th March and look forward to seeing our gardens burst into new life. Whilst it's a busy month in the garden, it's important to make time to relax and enjoy the arrival of Spring; perhaps enjoying a cup of tea and the new Worplesdon Garden Club March Newsletter
Hardy annuals can be sown outside where they are to flower, or you can sow in trays undercover or in a sheltered spot.
Sow vegetables that require a long growing season, such as Chillis, in a propagator or warm window sill.
Finish cutting back all dead tops of perennials to make way for the new growth.
Bush roses should be pruned now.
Shrubs grown for winter colour of their stems such as Dogwood (Cornus) should be cut back (stooled) now.
Mow lawns when necessary, but raise the cutter height so as not to remove too much of the grass blade for the first few cuts. Dedicated moss treatments or combination treatments of moss and spring ‘weed and feed’ can be applied towards the end of the March.
Divide congested perennials - wait until the first signs of growth then lift and split, discarding the dead or woody centre of the clump and replant the younger vigorous parts from around the edges
If you have any indoor bulbs (hyacinth, amaryllis, narcissi) that have finished flowering, move these to a very sheltered outdoor area or ideally a cold frame or unheated greenhouse and continue to water and feed until the leaves die down naturally in a few months’ time.
Ventilate greenhouses on warmer or sunnier days if you are overwintering plants or perhaps give it a pre-Spring clean inside and out and ensure that the glass is clean to allow as much light in as possible.
Keep the greenhouse well ventilated and water regularly as warm days and rapidly growing plants will dry the compost out quickly.
Chitted seed potatoes should be planted from late March through April, especially first-early potatoes that will be ready to harvest in about 12 weeks.
The old canes from autumn fruiting Raspberries should be cut back to ground level, but do not cut the canes from the earlier, summer-fruiting varieties.
Fill in any depressions in the grass and over-sow any bare patches with new seed.
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The Frosts and Colours of Winter...
Crocus 'Victor Hugo'
Erica, Ornamental Heather
Polyanthus, Primula
Crocus
Daffodil, Narcissus
Camellia, Camellia japonica
Hellebore
Polyanthus, Primula
Crocus
Camellia, Camellia japonica
Hellebore
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The answers to all the short clues are plant names starting with the same letter, either in their common name or their Latin name, but what’s the name of the plant resulting from the cross-pollination of letters from the other plants in the grid? The answers are at the bottom of the page.
There are several events at RHS Wisley, including the last days of the Houseplant Takeover (until the 12th March), the Bonsai Show (11th-12th March), and the Orchid Show (17th-19th March).
There are quite a few early Spring gardens opening as part of the National Garden Scheme this month, including, Pembury House West Sussex, Timber Hill Chobham, and St Timothee Maidenhead that all require pre-booking. For more details of gardens in our area, please see the NGS Website.
The Surrey Police Band will be giving a concert at Emmanuel Church on Saturday 18th March in aid of Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care. Tickets (£10) and information from Ticket Source.
Merrist Wood College will be having their House and Garden Spring Fair on Saturday 25th March (10am-2pm). Worplesdon Garden Club will have a stand at the event. It’s a bit early in the year for selling any plants, but we will be able to showcase the Club.
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(Click to Reveal)
The Cross Pollination plant is the Turnip. Once a mainstay of the British diet before the arrival and popularity of the potato, this humble root vegetable from the Brassica family has returned to the spotlight recently with an unfortunate comment by the Environment Secretary Therese Coffey on the challenge of importing tomatoes and other salad crops from the continent where there has been shortages due to bad weather. Whilst these vegetables are high in vitamin C and are still widely grown in the UK, they are already almost out of their peak season that lasts from October to February.