Happy New Year to you all, Pauline and I hope that you had a nice Christmas and did not work to hard and you chaps have got over your man flu, it took me nearly four weeks to shake it.
Thanks go to Maurice and Doreen and their team for giving us such a good night it ranks as one of the best.
Another year starts and it will soon be fuchsia growing season once again and before you know it the show will be upon us once more.
If anybody fancies joining the show committee we would love to hear from you.
Well here we are again, another new year starting and I haven’t the faintest idea where the last year went!! I had so many things planned to do but somehow they got forgotten and one week went into another, then a month had gone by and so on and now here we are starting all over again. The only thing left to say is “HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL” and we hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and kept well and had plenty of good food etc.
Well the Christmas party seemed to have gone well and I hope that those Members who came along enjoyed themselves as much as we did. Even those who didn’t actually participate in the dance routines of the Barn Dance seemed to have enjoyed watching all the rest of us making a complete hash of the dances, and it was so lovely to see everyone laughing and clapping to the music and having a good time.
Many thanks also to Terry who organised and called out the numbers of the Bingo and that in itself was a lot of fun to play, especially the one when it came to the last two standing, that was really funny.
Everyone brought food along for the evening and we had a wonderful selection on the table. So once again it’s just left for us to say “thank you” to all those who came and entered into the spirit of the evening’s entertainment which is all we ask for and makes the hard work worthwhile.
Our numbers are still quite low for this trip (40-ish) so if you have friends or anyone else interested in joining us for the day or perhaps you didn’t come up to put your names down then please see us at the next Meeting in February or gives us a bell.
The cost of this trip is £24 Members and £25 Guests which includes the cost of the coach, 2-course meal and a raffle ticket. For those Members who are coming on the trip and will be at the next meeting, I would appreciate it if you could please let me have the full amount of money during that evening.
For those new Members who may be joining us for the first time on our Nursery Trip, we will be leaving the Collier Row Community Centre at 9.00 am and travelling first to the Craft Nursery at Ardleigh to look around and purchase some plants for you to grow on and enter into the Show. This is followed just up the road for a lovely 2-course luncheon at The Wooden Fender Pub. Afterwards we will hold the draw to our Raffle on the coach before continuing on to the next Nursery called Barns Plants. We then finally board the coach for the homeward journey returning at around about 5.30 pm.
Well that’s my lot for now, but please make sure you read the next Newsletter in March for full details or any late changes that may arise.
This is what I am going to do over the next month. If you are not sure of what to do we certainly do not mind being asked and hopefully we can help.
For those who do not have greenhouses you have a head start to the growing season. I am about to up size my plants and increase the feed to half strength to get them going. Don’t forget fuchsias are hungry plants but we do not want to over feed first of all.
When you up size pinch out if they are ready to so you can start to get your shape and also you might just be able to get another pinch out of them which in turn means more flowers on your plant and hopefully you could grow the cuttings on to sell at our show. We do need your plants as what we sell helps to pay for the show and you would be surprised at how much it costs to put on.
Besides feeding I will give them a dose of Provado as well in case one or two of Mr Vine Weevil might just have got through; so let’s finish them off once and for all. I did find a couple of vine weevils in my geranium cuttings but a good crunch under foot did the trick so now all my plants that are in the greenhouse have had a dose of Provado. Also ensure that you clear any leaf debris that may have occurred.
I give my plants a spray of ROSE CLEAR No 3 to help get rid of any aphids or fly infestation that has happened. You could sow some marigolds to grow on in your greenhouse as the fly population don’t like the plant so, hopefully, they will get lost!
All this work gives you a better chance to see what you need to purchase on the “Nursery Trip”. It is better to do it before rather than after. I already know a couple more plants need to be replaced.
(Updated: 28/01/2012)
We were glad to see so many Members at the AGM this year, and I think the evening went very well indeed. After the formal meeting we had plenty of time to socialise over a nice cuppa and a piece of cake whilst browsing around the stalls that some of the girls had laid out for us to see their handy-work.
I expect most of you by now have already dug up your fuchsias and put them to rest somewhere warm for the winter, I hate this time of the year as the gardens look so mucky and uninteresting, I am so glad we’ve managed to put some pansies in pots as they brighten up the patio area as we watch the birds feeding from our window.
As we have mentioned before hopefully this year we will be able to do our Barn Dance as it was unfortunately cancelled last year due to the snowy conditions. We do hope that those Members who are coming will enjoy themselves and try to take part in some of the dances, but of course it’s your choice, whether you would like to join in or sit it out and watch the rest of us making complete fools of ourselves, but hopefully everyone will have a good laugh!!! As we told you it will be a D.I.Y. Barn Dance CD, from which Doreen has worked out some easy routines for us to do. We are starting the evening at 7.15 -7.30 pm so we can get going with the dancing early and then take a break for our buffet meal and maybe look at a few quizzes whilst eating.
Afterwards, Carole & Terry have kindly offered to help us by doing a few games of Bingo which hopefully will round off the evening’s entertainment nicely for everyone, especially those who couldn’t join in with the dancing. There will be a raffle as usual and it will be drawn after this and maybe if some of you want to do some more dancing afterwards then, of course, we will try to oblige – that’s if you’re not worn out by then and depending on the time!!! I hope that there might be a few more of you who couldn’t make the AGM and would like to come and join us for the evening then please come and enjoy yourselves for a good get-together with friends for the last night of the Society’s meetings for the year. Don’t forget that you can bring along your partners as well or a friend and if you want to dress in Barn Dance style so much the better.
Finally, for those members who have kindly agreed to bring food along for the buffet table, if possible could you please bring it plated up and covered with cling film or silver foil, then it can be put straight on to the table for us. Many thanks
As always this is the first trip in the New Year and we go out to select our plants to grow on for the Show from two nurseries. We will be returning to our old haunts once again ie The Craft Nursery in Ardleigh, followed by our usual lunchtime break at The Wooden Fender Pub. We have been given a new menu once again for you to make your choices of food. This will be included in the February Newsletter so you can give us your selected choices at that meeting. After lunch we will hold the raffle on the coach before continuing our journey to the next nursery which is Barns Plants.
If any of you haven’t put your names down for this trip and want to go on it, then please let us know by phone or at the next evening. The cost of this trip will be £24 for Members and £25 for guests which includes the cost of the coach, meal and a raffle ticket as well.
Well if we don’t see you at the Christmas get-together in December, then both Doreen and I would like to wish you and your families a really nice relaxing Christmas and a happy healthy New Year.
It was great to see so many people turn up for our 24th AGM and we did not have too many fireworks going off. I think the Christmas stalls went down well.
Many thanks to Doreen for making some great cakes for us to have with our tea and coffee it makes a lovely change from biscuits.
Thanks to Jan Haley for taking on the sales stall and Stella Humphreys and Dawn Page for the Tombola stall at our next show.
For those who cannot make our Christmas get together your Committee wish you a very happy Christmas and a great new year.
Many thanks to all of you that were our 24th AGM. I would like to thank all of you that had tables with interesting articles which made it a very nice AGM and the cakes provided made something very nice for your taste buds.
Our next meeting is our Christmas get-together which is always a very enjoyable evening.
I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
This is what I am going to do over the next month. If you are not sure of what to do we certainly do not mind being asked and hopefully we can help.
What is happening this year with the weather - cold one minute hot the next. Do we turn on the heating in the green house or not Pauline will say not but our babies do not like it too cold just like us. If it is going to be below 39 the heating will definitely go on.
I try to get out every day just to give my plants a quarter turn which helps with growing a more even shaped plant.
I am only feeding once a fortnight at one quarter strength as, like us, they need to be fed and they like a lot at times. Try not to water too much as they do not like wet or cold feet (it’s a sure way to finish them of). I also water from the base and not get the leaves wet. From my experience they do not like it in the cold weather and the leaves die off and our friend Mr Bot Rytis steps in and, if you do not catch him, bang goes another plant.
I have also taken lots of cuttings of geraniums and with them comes a few more bugs so I will make sure they get a dose of Provado as well. I find that it not only protects from vine weevils but it also helps keep white fly and other bugs at bay.
This year I have double wrapped my greenhouse with a layer of fleece and a layer of bubble wrap just to see if it makes any difference. We will see.
(Updated: 19/11/2011)
Don’t forget it’s the AGM this month so come along and see how we are getting along.
Up to going to press only one person has booked a table for our Christmas stalls so come on if you want one there is still time to get in touch with me and book a table.
It was nice to see a few members who have not been for some time, no matter how long it is since you last came we are always pleased to see your smiling faces.
If anybody who does not have the newsletter sent via e-mail and would like to, please let me know and I will arrange it.
Hi There, I hope you all enjoyed your evening with Ian Currie and his talk about the weather, he certainly went into the subject in some depths, it made you feel that you should always go out with your umbrella.
Out next meeting will be the AGM, but first and foremost I am sure that you will join me in a big thank you to all our Committee and tea ladies that work so hard to run this Society’s meetings, and the organising on the days we go out in coaches. Also a big thanks to our members who come to our meetings.
Now back to our AGM. If there are any changes or additions you would like to see made in the constitution bring it up at the meeting, these changes can only be made if two thirds of the members at the meeting vote for them. This is your night to put forward your points of view.
See you at the AGM.
Well it’s that time again to put pen to paper for the next newsletter and looking at my calendar I notice it is just 7 weeks until Christmas, what a shocking thought, where oh where has this year gone. Thinking of all the things I promised to do this year, but never got around to doing them, one day seemed to go into the next week, then month and so on, so now they will just have to be put on hold until next year.
Doreen would like to thank all those members who came up at the last meeting to put their names down on the lists saying they will be able to attend and also selecting items of food that they would be able to bring along for the buffet table.
If there are any more members who couldn’t get to the last meeting but are coming to the AGM, and are likely to come to the party, then please see us during that evening to add your names to the lists. Many thanks.
I do hope you are able to attend this year as last year the party had to be cancelled due to bad weather. We are hoping to keep the December get-together the same as we had planned for last year which is a DIY “Barn Dance” where we hope that you will be able to join in the fun or just sit and have a laugh at everyone else making fools of themselves as they go wrong in the sequences. This will not be for the whole evening, so don’t worry we will stop for a break in the middle to catch your breath and go up to the buffet table for food and a chat with friends. Afterwards we anticipate playing a fun game of Bingo and may be a few quizzes. We will see how the time goes throughout the evening. So hopefully if you are able to support us for this evening’s entertainment I feel it will be a good laugh with nice company and good food and everyone needs that before the winter months begin.
This is our annual Nursery trip in March to get our plants for the Show. After a lot of discussions with the committee members, and with difficulty in finding new nurseries that sell Fuchsias plants so early in the year, we have decided to return once again to our old haunts which are The Craft Nursery in Ardleigh, Lunch at the Wooden Fender Pub and afterwards to another nursery called Barns Plants. Details regarding the exact times etc will be in the December newsletter. We will be collecting names at the November meeting, to give us a good idea on numbers interested in joining us in the New Year.
This is what I am going to do over the next month. If you are not sure of what to do we certainly do not mind being asked and hopefully we can help.
The middle of September the weather could not make up its mind what to do just like us. Do we put the plants inside the greenhouse or leave them out? Some of the plants that I cut back are getting established once again and I will be able to get some winter cuttings.
This year I am going to break down my large half basket of Deep Purple. It could have looked better but for the pigeons landing on it more than once causing it to break so I did not get an even growth. Still, we will have another go next year!
If you have any pots that have been used and you are finished with, give them a clean and sanitise them, you never know if any fungus or bugs are lurking inside.
(Updated: 26/10/2011)
It was nice to see our editor’s granddaughter Jazmin at our meeting maybe we could start a trend???.
I still have not heard from anybody about taking on the Tombola remember it is your society and not your beloved committee, so come on give them a bit of support and give me a ring.
At the AGM in November we are going to do the “Christmas Fair” again so if anybody wishes to have a stall please let me know so we can get the tables arranged.
I am looking forward to reading in our newsletter other peoples interests that I hope you are going to pen, without your news it gets increasingly difficult to keep it fresh and interesting. So come on, put pen to paper I’m sure somebody out there has got a good story or something that happened to them, it all makes interesting reading. Remember, we do not all have to be a Dickens, Conrad or J K Rowlings.
Chas
Hi there, didn’t our last speaker Peter Webb do well to keep us entertained during the evening with the tales he told us, I was sitting at the back and I could see all of you were shaking with laughter some of you were close to hysterics and nearly falling out of your seats. I shall be booking Peter for 2013 if he is available.
Brian Morrison donated £160 to the Parkinson Disease Society; this money came from the sale of his fuchsias sold at our Annual Show, which he sent to them on the Society's behalf. They sent him a thank you letter which he gave me. I would like to thank Brian from all of us in the Society for this gesture.
Our October speaker is Ian Currie from Surrey who is going to give us a talk called "Making sense of the weather". He states fuchsias are one of his favourite plants. Ian is a weatherman, speaker, writes in the Garden News, a weather watch columnist and the editor of Weather Eye Magazine. So it seems we are in for a very interesting night.
Well it doesn’t seem possible that by the time you receive this Newsletter we will be into October, where has this year gone – I cannot believe I am digging up my plants and re-potting them and planting my bulbs for the Spring, it only seems like yesterday when I was planting things in the garden for Summer.
We are pleased to say that this trip will certainly be going ahead as we have had quite a good response from Members this time, but we still have a few seats remaining on the coach so, as I’ve said before, if there are any of you going on this outing who might like to bring along a friend, then please give us a bell or see us at the next Meeting.
This trip is to Wisley’s Apple Tasting weekend and of course you will be able to admire the lovely autumn colours in all their glory as you wander around the gardens. As I expect most of you know, there is a shop and also a garden centre to wander through and of course the usual restaurants to get a meal from.
For all those Members who have paid me the full amount already, I say thank you very much, and if you haven’t already paid me for the trip, we must have the money at the next Meeting (7th Oct) at the latest, as I have to let Wisley know our final numbers. If you are unable to attend this meeting then please send me a cheque through the post made payable to The North Romford Fuchsia Society - (£14 Members/£15 Guests) – many thanks.
We will be leaving the Collier Row Community Centre at 9.00 am sharp to enable you to have a lovely full day there and then returning home as usual about 5.30 pm. If you are coming by car to pick up the coach don’t forget you can park at the Community Centre - £1.00 parking ticket from Derek. Also as usual there will be a Raffle just before leaving for the homeward journey and your money has been included in the coach price. Many thanks and see you at the next meeting. Maurice Oak
Do you get confused with the different feeds that are available? I always have done, hence many have been tried, but none seem to have proved totally better than their rivals.
Chempak is the food usually suggested when embarking on fuchsia growing, yet there are different strengths etc. and I get lost trying to determine which and when to use.
Phostrogen is another feed, but how often and how much is debatable. I have used it with some success, but it has not proved to be any better than other feeds.
Then, of course, there are the various tomato feeds which all have their own merits.
There is also Miracle Grow which our daughter uses with stunning success.
So which, in your experience, have you found to be the best? Perhaps we could have your views in future Newsletters. You just may have some secret you are willing to share with us.
Happy Growing, Don Knight
This is what I am going to do over the next month. If you are not sure of what to do we certainly do not mind being asked and hopefully we can help.
Now that the greenhouse is clean and tidy and I have cut back and downsized (put them into smaller pots) most of my plants. I now need to start thinking of getting them all into the greenhouse so that I can get my garden back to what it is normally like without lots of benches decorated with fuchsias.
I am going to give my fuchsias another dose of Provado so the plants can really get it into the sap and prevent any of Mrs. Vine Weevil's offspring getting a start and killing my plants.
By the middle of the month I should be able to take some cuttings before the cold sets in and our plants stop growing.
This time of the year I find there is not a lot to do to our plants once we have cut them back and down sized, other than making sure that my trays are clean of old debris, some of our not so friendly bugs like to hide under old debris, so get rid of it.
Is anybody experiencing the same thing as me? I’m looking at my fuchsias which are now all in full bloom. A number of them are a few years old plus I buy new ones every year from various places.
Looking at the labels it is very obvious that some of them are wrongly named. I can understand one or two getting mixed up over the years but plants I have bought this year are also wrong.
I’ve got ‘White Queen’ which is a beautiful all white Fuchsia - mine is Purple and Red.
I bought six ‘Swingtime’ for my half baskets in the spring. My understanding and memory of when I’ve grown them before is that it is a red and white, fairly big, full double flower. Mine are red and white but more like a semi double.
“Devonshire Dumpling” is white and very light pink whereas the one I got this year is red and dark pink.
I lost my favourite fuchsia last year and replaced it this year. At least I thought I did. ‘Citation’ is a very distinctive flower and the only other one that I know of which is remotely like it is ‘Impudence’. The only similarity with the one I bought is that they are both red and white, but it is nothing like ‘Citation’.
I’ve also got doubts about a number of others.
The trouble is if I do (No chance!!!) manage to take a successful cutting without realising the name is wrong, all I’m doing is passing the problem on.
If there is enough people with plants they want identified, perhaps we could look into the possibility of getting an expert to come along to a meeting next year to specifically try to name them. Eddie Haley
Dear All, Now to my favourite subject “FUCHSIAS”
To prove that I listen to our speakers etc and wanted them to really show a week before the big day I beheaded all the open Fuchsias and a week later they all looked fantastic and in my eyes were saying “look at me” and of course we all have our favourites that always look the best.
One of my oldest plants is “Riccartonii” and was here when we moved in, with it being so hardy the original plant is here also. The rest of the Fuchsias apart from “Kolding Pearl” a really nice single and shows up very well in the bed the rest are called “Terry’s Fuchsias” in a multiple of colours because as always the name tags have got lost or even didn’t get there.
I don’t know about your garden but ours has not stopped blooming and on the vegetable plot some plants have been fantastic and some have been rubbish, our raspberries have not stopped and with our one and only strawberry plant that is in a pot, unloved and just left has not stopped producing fruit and is still in flower.
Well that’s me lot got to get ready for yet another holiday (big sigh) (sorry Mr Ed). As always I hope that your bit of England is as ever as good as our bit and Carole and I wish you all the very best.
(Updated: 04/10/2011)
A very warm welcome to Patrick Dorset on becoming a member of our society.
What fun we had on guessing the pictures that I had taken from unusual angles. Some certainly baffled most people although there is always somebody who has a good eye for the unusual.
Congratulations on Chas Tatum winning the Chairman’s Challenge with his Fuchsia Barbara Windsor.
For those that have not received their winning trophies they will be at the September meeting for you to pick up.
Hi there, I hope you all enjoyed our cup winners presentation evening at our last meeting, congratulations to all of you who took the cup and to all of you who entered the show. Those who had won their first cup were on cloud nine as they walked away with their trophy. I would also like to thank Chas for all the hard work he put in organising the evening and the rest of the committee who helped out during the evening.
Our speaker for the next meeting is Peter Webb a farmer who will be giving a talk on the good life as a gamekeeper, which I think you will enjoy.
This is what I am going to do over the next month. If you are not sure of what to do, we certainly do not mind being asked and hopefully we can help.
Well it’s that time of the year to clean and sanitize the greenhouse. First I am going to remove all the plants and give a good sweep up then put in a smoke bomb, light it, get out quickly and shut the door. It looks quite eerie at twilight with the smoke coming out of the holes and gaps. The next day open up the greenhouse and give a good wash down with Js fluid (make sure you are wearing gloves) cleaning all the glass and benches. It is surprising how many bugs rest in the greenhouse.
Over the next month I will cut back my beauties and down size, that is to say putting them into a smaller size pot. This helps with not taking up to much space and somehow helps the plants especially next year when you up size again.
You could try starting some cuttings off for next year. Just make sure that the stems are not getting ready for flowering as it will be a lot harder to strike. Also I am going to give them a final dose of Provado just in case any of our friendly vine weevils have laid their eggs.
This year as an experiment I am going to try sanitising my used pots to see if there is any difference than un-sanitised. You never know what disease might have attached to the pots.
We need somebody or a couple to take over the running of our TOMBOLA stall for next year's Show. You will get plenty of help and support from the committee. The Tombola is a very good side attraction to the Show. If we cannot fill this position, there will be no Tombola, and that means less funds raised.
Annual subscriptions for 2011-2012 are due at the next meeting. The renewal fee is £8.00 and it would be most helpful if you could bring the correct amount.
Fourteen months, not a long time that! Is it? But that’s how long I have been looking after the newsletter. When I started I invited the membership to send me an article of some sort to help keep the newsletter interesting as well as informative. During that period I have received one item from somebody outside of the committee and that’s disappointing. Normally on the back page we print notice of forthcoming events, notices from other Societies or a recipe from either Chas or myself.
How nice would it be to see an alternative article submitted by a new name.
(Updated: 24/08/2011)
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(Updated: 11/03/2010)