After a fascinating career in Zoology at Bristol university, Roger is still keeping busy giving talks on subjects that gardeners will be interested in. He has previously talked about worms and insects so we were looking forward to how he would interpret “ Alien Invaders “ to inform and entertain us.
A bit of Geology to start off, concerning continental drift which produced the continents we now know. Over millions of years of evolution, as human kind travelled and traded and consequently nature adapted with transportation of animals and plants.
One animal that was introduced in the 1860`s by the Duke of Bedford to enhance his large country estate – the Grey Squirrel – has quickly established itself as a pest and endangered our native Red Squirrel. The Grey, which originated from North America, has entertained us with it`s acrobatic antics, it has increased agility as it`s leg and shoulder joints are so flexible. It can live in any trees whereas the Red prefers conifer forests.
Another real pest is the Brown Rat – originally from China – it can spread disease. In fact the Black Rat spread the Black Death Plague!
Birds we now take for granted such as Swans and Pheasants were introduced species. The Pheasant has been artificially bred as a sporting bird on country estates. The Collared Dove is thought to have got to the UK under their own steam – they came originally came from Asia Minor – the birds progression has been tracked over time from there, through Europe until they arrived in Bristol in the mid 1950`s which was correctly predicted. Another bird thought to have come here on it`s own volition is the Little Egret and more recently the Cattle Egret. The Black Cap was always a summer visitor until about 30/40 years ago. It was thought that the abundance of food here made them stay, however the study of ringing these small birds showed that the migration still took place with the southern visitors. The birds that were observed made a shorter migration from Germany and other European countries.
Roger had plenty of examples of plant life too that we now accept as indiginous such as Periwinkle, 3 cornered leek which is almost impossible to eridicate but is edible and makes a good pesto! The Spanish Bluebell has been hybridising with our native Bluebell for years to the detriment of the drooping bluebell woods we know in Devon. On sea cliffs around the mild Devon coastline we can see prolific Hottentot Fig a succulent from South Africa. It is polymorphic which means it flowers in different colours on the same plant. Also endemic is Buddleia which is best known for attracting Butterflies to feed on the nectar, but was rare until growing on the bomb sites of world war two. Alexanders were introduced by the Romans as their stems are like celery. This plant prefers a coastal location
and is prolific in hedgerows there.
One insect that we are most familiar with is the Daddy Long Legs – it came from caves in southern Europe but has now made its home in corners of our homes and garages.
The Harlequin Ladybird is a definite pest as it eats our native ladybird, it has been in the country about 25 years and become invasive. It is also polymorphic for spots and colour – Red/Black, Yellow/Black, Black/Red with either 2,5,7 or 22 spots originally from South Asia.
The Barnacle is quite a recent introduction, most of them can be traced to the opening of the Suez Canal. When ships had to travel around the Cape of Good Hope the colder weather killed off the Australian Barnacle but when the ships made the shorter and warmer sea journey through the canal the barnacle came to our shores and stayed.
Nearer to home in Torquay the poisonous False Widow Spider was spotted in 1900 brought in with Bananas from the Canaries or Madeira.
New species that that have all ready invaded are a flat worm from New Zealand that feeds on our earthworm and a Ring necked Parakeet from tropical Africa which has been spotted at NT Saltram and is prolific along the River Thames.
Roger ended his talk with a few future predictions:
The Red Kite, has been reintroduced in the Chilterns so expect to see this scavenger bird in our skies soon.
Within 10 to 20 years, from New Zealand, a stick insect which lives on and looks like blackberry stalks which is about 5 or 6 inches long.
We all look forward to any other talk will give us in the future.
Giving a brief history of his varied and interesting career from Horticultural college where he was responsible for 5 acres of Carnations - most of them under glass, to working his way through every department at both Suttons and Dobies, he had come to Dawlish Garden Society now that he`s retired, to talk to us about new introductions for us to grow in our own gardens.
In alphabetical order and with excellent images of each plant, Tom recommended certain varieties that would do well in our climate here in Devon.
• Achillea Ptarmica `Niblessa` is a perennial with double early flowers bred in Germany
• Ageratum `Blue Horizon` he considers a hidden gem, Japanese bred does well in a container or border. Flowers are 12 -16` high with a 2-week vase life when cut for the house.
• Anemone `Elfin White` - dark green foliage this hardy perennial, not Japanese, colour white with a lavender underside, it flowers June to October 12 to 16 inches high
• Antirrhinum ` Madame Butterfly` - bred in the USA to be used at the back of a border, grows to 3 ft, has a good colour range, is fragrant and makes a good cut flower
• Aquilegia ` Chocolate Soldier` is very fragrant in a dark colour
• Begonia ` Non-Stop` F1 this German bred, tuber forming summer long flowering will be available as seed or plug plants in the new year
Tom went on to explain that many new introductions don`t set seed which means they don`t need dead heading and flower for longer in the season. However, no seed is a disadvantage to birds and wildlife generally so choose your varieties carefully.
• Calendula `Porcupine Yellow` and `Power Daisy` both flower all summer long in 2 colours – yellow and orange
• Calibrachoa `Blue Scone` is perfect for bedding
• Californian Poppy `Jellybeans` has semi double flowers is great for dry sunny borders, bred in Holland
• Cosmos `Fizzy Pink` AGM is also Dutch
• Dahlia `Yankee Doodle Dandy` is a collarette type which produces seeds and you can take cuttings easily
• Delphinium `Bolero` is a striking semi tall plant blue with a white center produced from cuttings – there will also be a red version later in 2024
• Digitalis `Candy Mountain` is F1 with vibrant colours
• Erysimum `Fragrant Sunshine` is a yellow perennial shrub with a strong fragrance
• Gerbera `Strawberry Twist` from the Netherlands this can be planted outdoors for bedding or in containers
• Impatiens `Divine Mix` is mildew resistant with large flowers that don`t need deadheading
• Linaria `Licilia Azure` is a lovely Toadflax
• Lupin `Snow Pixie` is a highly fragrant white annual
• Marigold `Zenith Mix` seedless cross of African and French
• Marigold ` Burning Embers` unusual red variety bred in USA
• Nasturtium `Baby Rose` is a new colour
• Nasturtium `Purple Emperor` also a new colour
• Nasturtium `Dayglow Mix` trailing variety to 3 ft
Tom had a top tip for adding a few seeds of Nasturtium low down into hanging baskets which will germinate and prolong the flowering season and interest in the display.
• Nepeta `Blue Panther`
• Osteospermum `Akila` developed especially for containers
• Pampas ` Feathers Mix` back in fashion, white, cream, and pink mixed colours
• Penstemon `Popstar Blue` bred in Cheshire this will be available in a series of colours, red, pink and lilac
• Petunia ` Tidal Wave` `Red Velour` grows like mad, ideal to cover a dry bank if plants are placed 2 -3 ft apart
• Petunia `Sensation Blue` a fragrant variety
• Poppy ` Hungarian Blue` from Suttons
• Sedum `Atlantis` was Plant of the Year 2019 at Chelsea, variegated, a plant for contemporary gardens
• Sunflower ` Garden Statement` only 3 ft high
• Sunflower `Giraffe` Hampshire bred will grow to 15 ft
• Sweet Pea ` Sublime Mix` cross of Spencer and Grandiflora varieties, therefore this is very fragrant and has large flowers
Tom finished his talk by taking questions from members – when asked what his favorite flower was, he said in terms of value for money it had to be COSMOS.
However, his personal favorite was ZINNIA - you can sow the seed directly into the border, this plant doesn`t like root disturbance, flowering all summer long it will be covered in bees and butterflies.
No better recommendation.
Sue is the current chair of Devon Gardens Trust and has a wide and varied career in horticulture. During the 80`s she was supervisor of the Palm House at Kew, then in the 90`s, curator of the Chelsea Physic Garden. At the Eden Project she was Horticulture Director. Sue has a longstanding interest with colour in garden design.
To start her presentation Sue showed a colour wheel to explain that colours lying next to each other complement and harmonies whereas opposite colours accentuate or even clash.
Sue showed us the famous Keukenhof Gardens in Holland where rivers of small blue Muscari bulbs were contrasted with bright yellow Tulips very effectively. Research has shown that the eye gets accustomed to the transition from yellow into blue more easily than other colours. The weather, time of day and light levels can also affect how colours are seen during the day with the strongest colours are more noticeable in afternoon sunlight.
Sue showed some effective examples of contrasting plants such as orange California Poppies with blue Cornflowers, and another purple Lupin with lime green Euphorbia.
BLUE is normally classed as a cool colour and can give the illusion of length to any perspective as it scatters the light – think of the quote “the far blue yonder “and the sight of a Bluebell wood.
RED is an advancing colour – it brings the flowerheads into closer view. Quite often in a hot colour border red flowers also have bronze or dark leaved foliage such as Berberis to set off the pops of colour. Sue showed a photo of an exotic plant from New Zealand called Lobster Claw which we all admired but slugs and snail love it too so sadly it won`t be on our shopping list.
PINK is the colour of Spring and lots of planting schemes use grey foliage to compliment this to great effect.
WHITE can be used to cool down and calm a planting plan but comes into its own if you use the garden in the evening or at night. White flowers are also good for attracting moth pollinators. There is a famous white garden at Sissinghurst. A Black and White themed garden has become fashionable lately, Sue showed an image of tall dark Frittillaria Persica with white Tulips which looked very dramatic. She recommended a garden in Cornwall, Gosvigo, where they have a Hellebore Day in spring. These Hellebores come in lots of dark shades alongside the pretty lighter shades too, so ideal for the Black/White scheme.
GREEN is such a useful colour in the garden as it varies from pale lime through intense yellow shades to dark bottle green. Some garden designers are now advocating mixing vegetables in with flowering plants in garden borders – for instance Swiss Chard, especially the rainbow variety, which is very colourful with the added advantage of being edible too. Sue also recommended using Kohlrabi to integrate into any flower border. Fruit too is a healthy addition to any garden as lots of varieties have anthothiacins which are helpful to a well-balanced diet.
We look forward to Snowdrops and Tulips to start offspring, with plentiful planting taking us through summer into Autumn when light levels decline the pigments break down. This is when we get spectacular colour from the leaves of trees which can produce such amazing images such as in New England with reflections in the many lakes there. In Winter, bark colour is important especially the peeling bark of an Acer when it`s backlit by low sun. it`s so important to think about location when planting to accentuate these features.
The best advice that Sue can give us is – Choose and plant the colours that you like.
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