WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Michael and Sharon Mitchell, from Beech Hurst, in Southam, gave a joint talk on how and why plants get their names. Michael gave a very interesting overview of how plant taxonomy evolved from as early as 400 BC through the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, to today. Some of his slides showed how accurate some early illustrators were, versus medieval illustrators’ fantasy plants. How lucky we don’t have to rely on these below to identify potential medical treatments!
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| Image source: Botanical Gardens of Sydney |
We learned so much: while primroses are related to yellow loosestrife and cyclamen, purple loosestrife is in the same family as fuchsias, willowherbs and enchanters’ nightshades. His slides were a delight.
Sharon covered the medical aspects of plant names, explaining that the suffix -wort in a common name points towards either the Doctrine of Signatures — the appearance of a plant was believed to show it would help that body part (e.g. lungwort or toothwort) — or it could reflect a plant's use, such as woundwort, which is antiseptic and can stop bleeding; soapwort, which contains a natural soap; or mugwort (mug = midge or mosquito) which deters insects. Another nugget to relish is that the fig in figwort refers to a haemorrhoid, which the plant was said to cure!
The Mitchells were a tremendous double act and we all appreciated this excellent talk.
September 2025
This was our first meeting of 2025-26 in a cosy new venue. Dr Alison Foster, formerly of Oxford Botanical Gardens, asked us to think about drinks made from plants, and tellingly members immediately suggested gin… but Alison’s talk was about the way tea and coffee came to be such a huge global influence.
Tea has been involved in many key global events including
the Boston
Tea Party and the Opium
Wars, when opium was smuggled into China to help to pay the enormous cost
of buying tea to meet British demands.
An astonishing almost 50 million cups of tea have been drunk by 11 am each day in the UK with the total rising to about 82 million by mid-evening (your mind will boggle watching this counter).
Intensive research into both plants continues, in the hope of
finding new varieties which are more resistant to pests and climate change and far more credit is being given in naming them after local botanists rather than the
historical ‘imperial’ naming traditions.
Alison gave a really interesting breakdown of the way coffee
and tea are cultivated and the implications of the methods for the growers and
their workers. As a chemist by training,
she was particularly scathing about the process of decaffeinating both tea and
coffee, telling us to really look at the packaging to avoid noxious chemicals.
July 2025
May 2025
ENJOY YOUR HOUSEPLANTS
Susie Hickman has run Windowsill Plants in Market Harborough for the past 6 years, so is well qualified to give our recent talk. Her key takeaways were: if you look at your plants regularly you will learn what makes them happy, ensure you give each plant the right light levels, and water them correctly (not over watering), most houseplants will do very well. She recommends checking them over regularly so that you spot any which are unhappy before disaster strikes.
In terms of position, plants with succulent or thick waxy leaves will thrive on a south windowsill as they are well-adapted to strong light. Some, like Sanseveria (Snake Plant) can also tolerate lower light levels.
Plants with softer leaves will generally need more indirect light, and red/purple backed leaved plants are adapted to catch low light.
Watering is best done by giving them a good soak for around 20 minutes, then draining, and leaving well alone until the next watering. Plants need to process the water held in their roots, so need a gap between watering.
Susie recommended always using houseplant compost and suggested mixing iit with 30% Perlite and some bark, to avoid roots getting soggy. She said Baby Bio works well given every other feed during British Summer Time, using the clock change to prompt starting or stopping feed.
For red spider mite, the best solution is natural predators – the RHS gives useful information.
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March 2025
A GARDEN FOR ALL SEASONS
We all hope to have gardens with a lovely display of flowers all year round, and our speaker Diane Clement showed us how she manages in her mostly shady garden in Wolverhampton.
She gave a very detailed overview of her plot, showing the critical importance of knowing the aspect of your garden, and, vitally, where shade falls at different times of the year. She does not use any bedding plants but focuses on bulbs, perennials, and shrubs.
She showed how she uses layering effects, for example, a small witch hazel underplanted for early spring with hellebores, cyclamen coum, and hederifolium, which are then succeeded by anemones, geraniums, and rudbeckias later in the year.
Diane stressed that all her plants have to earn their keep; she doesn't keep them if they don't!
February 2025
INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIC GARDENING
We couldn't have had a better speaker for this subject, in that Emma O'Neill is the head gardener at Ryton's Garden Organic.
Emma talked us through the basics:
- Soil Health: Maintaining healthy, fertile soil using natural methods such as composting, mulching, and crop rotation. Healthy soil supports strong plants, encourages beneficial microorganisms, so you can avoid using artificial fertilizers.
- Biodiversity: Planting a variety of crops, encouraging both pollinators and beneficial insects, as well as companion planting creates a balanced ecosystem that naturally controls pests. Emma stressed how even the tiniest pond will help enormously, as will any hedging and log piles you can accommodate in the garden.
- Natural Pest Control: Using non-toxic methods for pest management, such as mixing flowers with vegetables to bring in pollinators and predators (e.g., ladybirds and lacewings), and employing barriers like row covers.
- Sustainability: Emma showed how much can be recycled, from water conservation, reducing waste through composting, as well as trying to reuse even the unlikeliest things (even old bike wheels) as part of a pergola for climbers.
Garden Organic is up the road at Ryton - it is usually only for group visits, but there is an NGS open day on 12 July and 6 September 2025. They have great resources online.
January 2025
GARDENING IN WINTER - WHAT A JOY!
Southam residents Michael Irvine and his wife have made a really lovely interesting garden on Warwick Road, on what might be seen as a very challenging rather shady sloping site running down to the river.
Michael kindly gave us a thought-provoking talk, using pictures from his own garden, encouraging us to get out there, and to take time to notice the tiniest details of winter plants' flowers and foliage, rather than getting overwhelmed by the grey cold days. He stressed how if we venture into what Shetlanders call the ootadaeks (out and about), we're bound to reap the benefits.
He gave us a rundown of particular plants to cherish in winter, including snowdrops and ivy-leaved cyclamen, sedums for their winter structure, and bright-leaved kales, all of which cheer up a January view.
He allowed time for us to discuss with our neighbours our plans for improving our own gardens, which somehow made us focus on actually doing something rather than just daydreaming about it.
Finally, he suggested we look at Andy Goldsworthy's ephemeral art, to remind us of the beauty of simplicity in the passing moment.
Andy Goldsworthy's acer leaves installation
November 2024
GROWING ORCHIDS IN THE HOME
Our final guest speaker for 2024 was Malcolm Moodie, one of the UK's leading experts on orchid growing. Orchids are the largest family of plants globally, with over 32,000 different species. His talk focused on the Phalaenopsis/Moth Orchids, as many of us have these at home. Club members brought some rather sad examples of our plants to the meeting, giving entertainment to the audience and some humiliation to the owners when Malcolm critiqued their growing and care.
Moth orchids naturally grow on the bark of trees, so they must not be potted into normal compost, only bark-based orchid compost. They should be placed on a bright windowsill, but not facing south to avoid scorching the leaves. Keep the humidity up by misting and ideally use a tray with clay pellets, which will suit other houseplants too.
Water orchids with clean, room temperature rainwater once a week in summer and every 10-14 days in winter. Stand the orchid on a draining board, watering it and letting it drain completely to avoid rotting the roots. Don’t leave any water in the crown of the plant. If you repot your orchid, try to remove the small central coir 'propagation cell,' which is generally very waterlogged and can lead to problems.
A key takeaway from Malcolm was that most orchid feeds and compost are completely unsuited to moth orchids, especially those with pink packaging, which are generally no good. He recommended Orchid Focus feeds, available online or locally from Barby Nurseries and Smiths Nurseries.
Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis)
October 2024
I'M NOT MUCH GOOD AT GARDENING
David Morgan spoke about his exploits in his garden over the years. He and his wife live in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, in a long upwards sloping garden which backs onto farmland. Having acidic loam-type soil, their garden looked very colorful with rhododendrons and azaleas in the spring.
Although he is the area organizer for the Worcestershire NGS, he doesn't know much about plants. His wife is more knowledgeable than him, so she is the head gardener, and he is the keen but accident-prone assistant and manual laborer.
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| David Morgan's garden (photo from NGS) |
The garden was originally all lawn with a few trees around the edges but is now full of densely planted beds and borders with numerous arches which both increase the number of plants they can grow and help to break it up
into different areas. Having plenty of seating gives a variety of viewpoints, while
statues and water features create focal points. David has personalised the
garden with a mug tree, using surplus mugs tied to the branches of a tree and
when the leaves drop off the mugs look like ornaments on a Christmas tree.
When their neighbour’s wife died and the gentleman was
considering what to do with his garden the Morgans offered to take it on and so
now David’s wife can grow vegetables and fruit to complement their own garden
and their neighbour is happy to have a tidy garden to look at and lots of fresh
vegetables to enjoy.
They have opened their garden under the National Gardening
Scheme for over 18 years and over that time, together with their local
neighbours, have raised more than £80,000 for the charity. His talk was very
amusing and all present said what an entertaining evening it had been.
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| David Morgan's garden (photo from NGS) |
September 2024
GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE AND YOUR PLATE
Philippa Arnold from Warwickshire Wildlife Trust kicked off our new gardening year. She gave us a comprehensive overview of all the actions we can take to support the UK's beleagured wild animals and insects. It was rather depressing to hear that this country is one of the most nature-depleted in the world, but equally encouraging to be reminded of how easy it is to encourage nature into our gardens by providing food, water and shelter. She encouraged us to think of our gardens as highways for animals and birds to reach other areas and provided links with more ways to attract and support wildlife in our gardens:
- https://www.wildaboutgardens.
org.uk/ - https://www.
warwickshirewildlifetrust.org. uk/teamwilderindividual/
Please mention the talk by Philippa Arnold in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" box.