Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Galanthus => Topic started by: Tim Ingram on January 22, 2016, 06:29:18 PM
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http://www.rtbf.be/video/detail_des-perce-neige-par-milliers-dans-le-jardin-de-brigitte?id=1991077 (http://www.rtbf.be/video/detail_des-perce-neige-par-milliers-dans-le-jardin-de-brigitte?id=1991077)
Brigitte and her friend Maryese visited us this morning on a trip over to the UK to see snowdrop gardens and the Myddelton House Snowdrop Day, and Brigitte mentioned this piece about her garden on Jardins et Loisirs. Now why don't we have more programmes like this about plants-peoples gardens in the UK? No hype, no drama, just appreciation of a fine level of gardening and of plants.
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The programme made interesting watching and it would be good to see the garden in summer.
It struck me at once that Brigitte's very nice displays of snowdrop cultivars owed a lot to the size of her garden, allowing her to space out her different cultivars. That in turn lessens the danger of imported stagonospora running riot from one group to another.*
But I agree Tim's point that programmes such as this make good watching. Whether the main TV channels here would find room for such programmes amidst their apparent obsession with so-called "reality" shows I'm not sure - maybe gardening needs an advocate like David Attenborough. A couple of years ago Monty Don did a luminous series about gardens in Italy (I think) so maybe he would be the man for the job.
*Went round a major snowdrop garden known to every serious snowdrop grower recently; stag was cutting a swathe through the collection, grown close together, like the Grim Reaper.
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I'm sure gardening needs an advocate like David Attenborough Steve because it would take our appreciation of plants to a different level - in the same way that we view good Natural History broadcasting. What struck me about this short programme was the rapport between the presenter and Brigitte but also the calm and interesting narrative (even though I couldn't properly understand much of it!) - the celebration was about the garden and the plants and not about the presenter or the programme itself. It was also nice to see other people visiting the garden and obviously enjoying it and commenting on it - the sharing of gardens which those of us who open them regularly benefit from and are enthused by and gives gardening a 'community' rather than a hierarchy.
(Stagonospora, yes - this really is a danger with a monoculture like snowdrops and we try to separate varieties and plant groups in different places as much as possible. It is a reason why good classic cultivars should not be neglected because their longevity must be an indication of some resistance to pathogens like this).
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A "strongly agree" to your final point Tim.
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This is what we passionate gardeners crave. There is so much potential for really good gardening programmes.
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It would be fantastic to have space like that
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What a lovely garden, beautifully maintained! If only a UK gardening programme would donate a slot that long to show off snowdrops! I can think of no one better to present it than our own Alan Street 😊😊 It could turn into a very long series!!!
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Gardener's World in 2014 featured a beautiful snowdrop garden in Scotland owned by a botanic artist and they also had a visit to a snowdrop show in Dunblane. I would have liked the visit to the garden to be longer.
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Welcome to the forum Mary, am I right in assuming a link to Paddy ;D
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Welcome to the forum Mary, am I right in assuming a link to Paddy ;D
Mary is the Brains of the operation, Brian!
Welcome Mary!
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I think it was the Beechgrove Garden TV programme which you recall for some of those features, Mary. The SRGC Early Bulb Day has been featured ( as has the Kincardine Show ) http://www.beechgrove.co.uk/module_uploads/2/Factsheet%202015%20-%20prog%201.pdf (http://www.beechgrove.co.uk/module_uploads/2/Factsheet%202015%20-%20prog%201.pdf)
They also featured an Edinburgh snowdrop garden.... name of the owner escapes me meantime.
In the distant past I have to say I think TV did rather better with garden visits - Beechgrove has often done them well ( rather large numbers of SRGC members have been the subject of the best of them!) and several of the old Channel 4 programmes did well too.
So much nowadays is about "design" - which often means either hard landscaping or some johnny-come-lately ( of either gender) imposing a scheme on some poor soul with more money than sense! ;D ;D
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They also featured an Edinburgh snowdrop garden.... name of the owner escapes me meantime.
I think it might have been Shepherd House at Inveresk?
http://shepherdhousegarden.co.uk/snowdrops/ (http://shepherdhousegarden.co.uk/snowdrops/)
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The very one, Matt, thanks!
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Thanks for the link to the garden. What a wonderful garden in all seasons, great photos. Thank you all for the welcome.
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http://www.rtbf.be/video/detail_des-perce-neige-par-milliers-dans-le-jardin-de-brigitte?id=1991077 (http://www.rtbf.be/video/detail_des-perce-neige-par-milliers-dans-le-jardin-de-brigitte?id=1991077)
Brigitte and her friend Maryese visited us this morning on a trip over to the UK to see snowdrop gardens and the Myddelton House Snowdrop Day, and Brigitte mentioned this piece about her garden on Jardins et Loisirs. Now why don't we have more programmes like this about plants-peoples gardens in the UK? No hype, no drama, just appreciation of a fine level of gardening and of plants.
Absolutely gorgeous, Tim, thanks for drawing the program to our attention. Watching it made me want to redouble my efforts to increase the number of each variety of snowdrop I have as they really achieve perfection in clumps. I do have the hellebores, cyclamen, and scilla to go with them but unfortunately I can't grow Iris reticulata and allies. Have tried all sorts of conditions and locations over and over with no success.
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Carolyn - it's a stimulating garden isn't it. Brigitte says she does really well with hepaticas too. Iris 'Katherine Hodgkin' grows quite well with us but I have had similar experience as you have with many of the reticulatas - they do OK for a season or two and then decline. One group of 'Clairette' has grown more successfully in an area liberally top-dressed with pea gravel. By coincidence I have just picked up a plant of Galanthus 'Walker Canada' from Richard Bashford at the Myddelton House Snowdrop Sale! Richard says what a fine plant it is and also prduces good seedlings, so I greatly look forward to growing it.
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I have had similar experience as you have with many of the reticulatas - they do OK for a season or two and then decline.
Last year I went to a talk by Toronto-based expert Alan McMurtrie. My impression is that what you describe is normal for these plants (in cultivation) unless they are dug-up and replanted.
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Here is another, longer, video which introduces snowdrops rather well (I'm not too sure about the short section a little way in?). It is nicely produced and if you watch towards the end there is a fine plant of Helleborus thibetanus; a good celebration of snowdrops in a plants-persons garden which could easily (with the same care and imagination) be extended to the woodland garden to come:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9NzKvc4RyU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9NzKvc4RyU)
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Another fun video, Tim. I thought again what an under-appreciated snowdrop 'Viridapice' is, so striking. I had a good laugh when they called 'Augustus' beautiful (which it is) and then compared the outer segments to a golf ball. I guess you have to be a golfer to appreciate that.
Maxine, I second your motion to have Alan present a series, the longer the better, on snowdrops. You know I am one of his biggest fans.