Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: TC on April 15, 2009, 08:15:05 PM
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I have just been watching the Beechgrove Garden featuring Cyril Lafong. I have taken some pictures for our overseas forum members to give an idea of his garden and glasshouse.
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Thanks Tom...great little feature.
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Thank you for the interesting pitures.
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Us exiles will have to wait till it appears on the BBC iplayer to watch it. Tomorrow night's agenda.
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Very impressed Tom. Not only with Cyril's magnificent set-up but also your 'stills' work. Many thanks.
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Well done, Tom! What a great idea. I was frustrated to find out that there was no chance to watch the BBC Scotland programme on one of the other Sky channels for those elsewhere.... amazing really when you think of some of the stuff that they make widely available. edit: I see from the Tern TV page that the programme was supposedly available on Sky channel 971 ...... couldn't find it myself :P ::)
Cyril Lafong, called by the BBC on their website "Cyril Le Fong" ....."George Anderson creates an intensely planted fruit and veg garden for Kevin and Susan Lawrence in Bishopbriggs, as well as visiting Cyril Le Fong, who grows and exhibits multi-award-winning alpines in Glenrothes."
The piece showed a happy Cyril in his beautiful garden... at a time (filmed a couple of weeks ago) when the Corydalis where carpeting the beds and looking really lovely. The plants in his a glasshouse are beyond wonderful, of course, and Cyrill gave some hints about how to succeed ...."well drained, but moisture retentive compost and good ventilation and light" ...says it all really! On the Beechgrove Garden website of Tern TV, the company who ake the programme fr the BBC, they have Cyril as " La Fong" .... poor chap, must not know who he is after all this :-X
The website has a fact sheet about the programme, which gives a little info about the piece and about the fact that Cyril has given the Beechgrove Garden a selection of super alpines for their garden.
Having spoken about Cyril's vast number of Forrest Medals on the piece, the only reference to what a Forrest Medal is ( which must have greatly puzzled many viewers) is in the programme factsheet " Cyril is so good at what he does that he has won over 26 Forrest Medals (for more information see www.srgc.org.uk), and what is it that he does so well? He grows Alpines."
Cyril was interviewed by George Anderson, formerly of the RBGE and presently President of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society, a man who adds much to the programmes presenter line-up...... I think it is a pity he is not on more often.
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See how that crevice garden in picture seven (2009 04 16 Cyril Lafong 010.jpg ) was built here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2719.0
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Beechgrove Factsheet for the programme featuring Cyril is here:
http://www.thebeechgrovegarden.com/fact_files/FACTSHEET_03_2009.pdf
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I can see the programme on Sky 971
Who knew he would be on but didnt say?
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No Mark, He was on the TV tonight..... BBC1 at 7.30pm (...the Potting Shed is a radio programme that Ian and I work on.)
Susan gave us the heads up just before the programme.... I couldn't find it was showing other than on BBC 1 until afterwards! :'(
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I would guess that iplayer doesnt show BBC Scotland programmes just like our programmes
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Very impressed Tom. Not only with Cyril's magnificent set-up but also your 'stills' work. Many thanks.
It's really quite easy. Set the shutter speed to 1/60 second ( or less) on shutter priority, square the camera with the screen - beware of any reflections - and shoot.
On digital TV you have an option to freeze frame the picture which makes it even easier. The only post photographic work is to square up the picture and then downsize it for the web.
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Tom, a great idea to show us some pictures of this TV programme, which I am never able to see here,
and see some shots of the garden and the glasshouse of this great gardener.
I'm very impressed by the spacious glasshouse of Cyril. I'm sure this is very important to get the plants
the best ventilation inside.
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Thanks so much for these Tom, great to see the Secret Squirrel and a little of his garden. Those raised beds look really brilliant, full of so many wonderful plants.
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Thanks a lot Tom ! ;)
Very interesting to see even a glimpse of Cyril's garden and glass houses.
Thanks for the added info Maggi !
I hope to see some more pictures of the new crevice garden later on as it develops. :)
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Beechgrove Factsheet for the programme featuring Cyril is here:
http://www.thebeechgrovegarden.com/fact_files/FACTSHEET_03_2009.pdf
Well, after reading that "fact" sheet I wonder why Cyril doesn't "germinate cuttings" more often! ;D
Thanks, Tom, for your pics!
cheers
fermi
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All is not lost ;D
Beechgrove Garden
Wednesday 22nd April on BBC2 Scotland at 19.00, Sky channel 971....
And repeated on Mondays, BBC2 at 13.00.
Maggi you cant see channel 971 because it's on 101
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Note also in pic 2009 04 16 Cyril Lafong 006.jpg ... the banks of fans along the roof of the glass house ....that's a good way to get fine ventilation.
... but I was a bit surprised to see that the fan blades had no safety covering..... best not to be a tall person with a bouffant hairstyle when you visit Cyril, I reckon!! :o
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Mark, sadly the programme on the 22nd will be a new one and not the one with Cyril. :'(
The ways of the BBC and their alternative channels and i-player systems are indeed mysterious ....just don't think they are conducive to any kind of worship! :P
Fermi...... as I say, the 'BEEB' is often not the brightest broadcaster on the block .....though it MAY be that the Squirrel's Secret is that he CAN germintae cuttings.... frankly, it wouldn't altogether surprise me! ;D
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The programme is now available (for those in the UK) on the BBC iplayer. It isn't immediately obvious but if you put Beechgrove Garden in the search box it will appear.
Yours, a happy exile. :)
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Yes, the BBC website is as good at hiding info as some others I can think of!
Try this link.... from the UK only...... http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00721bz and hear, through the miracle of daft editing, Cyril tell us that Pulsatilla vernalis is " one of the best shrubs for growing in the alpine house" ...... as if Cyril would say such a thing ? Terrible shortage of specialised knwledge in some media folks!
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silly me the programme is on channel 990
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well done for finding the programme on the internet
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Fed up this morning because the computer is in a huff and won't download my photos of Anne's garden opening and our bluebell wood. To cheer myself up I have just watched last night's Beechgrove Garden on BBC iPlayer. They visit the Brodie daffodils this week - 18min 40sec into the programme if you don't want to know what to do with frost-damaged plants or how to plant a vegetable garden.
Thank you for telling us about this programme, Maggi. I am getting a bit bored with watching Toby Buckland dig holes on Gardeners World.
If you put 'Beechgrove' into the search bar you get straight to the programme and also the radio phone-in.
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Yes, the BBC website is as good at hiding info as some others I can think of!
Try this link.... from the UK only...... http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00721bz and hear, through the miracle of daft editing, Cyril tell us that Pulsatilla vernalis is " one of the best shrubs for growing in the alpine house" ...... as if Cyril would say such a thing ? Terrible shortage of specialised knwledge in some media folks!
I think the way Cyril grows plants, his Pulsatilla vernalis would be a shrub! I'm surprised it's not a tree! ::)
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When talking about Narcissus fly problems the head gardener say he lets the weeds grow around the Narcissus. From experience in my garden nothing stops Narcissus fly eggs being laid. I've been sparying a systemic insecticide once a week this month to control the Narcissus fly and aphids. The latter are unaffected so far
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Mark, this is way off the Beechgrove thing which we can't get anyway, but we have a product here called Ripcord which is entirely fatal to aphis and almost any chewers including woodlice and earwigs, all kinds of flies etc. I use it in a squirty bottle (the kind you use to clean the shower) and squirtit around clumps of Narcissus when they'\re in flower. The flies just die as they approach and settle. It doesn't harm the plants - or slugs. :'( I think it's normally used to keep spiders off buildings and is effective for 2 years it says on the bottle but in reality, much longer than that.
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When talking about Narcissus fly problems the head gardener say he lets the weeds grow around the Narcissus. From experience in my garden nothing stops Narcissus fly eggs being laid. I've been sparying a systemic insecticide once a week this month to control the Narcissus fly and aphids. The latter are unaffected so far
Mark, I would be sparing with the spray, I'd be quite liberal! ;)
What has happened to 'Gardener's World'? I didn't much like AT, but the programme has gone wierd ever sinch MD left and I rarely watch even part of a programme.