Seaford Gardening Club At last summer has arrived! What a pleasure to sit in the garden with a book, cup of tea or just to potter. Hopefully the good weather will continue for a while. Laurie Manser, our speaker at the May meeting, gave an amusing talk entitled ‘Gardening in the Old Days’. We have had many talks by Laurie over the years but he has now made the decision to give up as he would rather go out on a high with the knowledge still intact! He began his talk with the history of his life of gardening within private and public gardens and all the different people he had worked alongside. Suttons Seeds gave him a diary many years ago in which he has jotted down advice, stories and much knowledge obtained over the years so he has been able to pass on the stories etc. to his audiences. Laurie told us that gardeners once used cyanide as a pest control – just a couple of spoonfuls sprinkled in the greenhouse did wonders. Mind you, it was a case of making a quick exit! Health & Safety would not allow it these days, thank goodness.
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A few tips he gave us: If a bee stings you do not be tempted to rub or pat it as by doing so you would press the sting in further and then it would be hard to remove. l
Always water your garden plants from the top – after all rain enters pots and soil that way.
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Wooden labels are better than plastic ones as they eventually become brittle with age and also the writing disappears from them.
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Use the compost which suits your needs – preferably a homemade mixture.
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When he appeared on quiz shows the ‘experts’ would quite often differ on the advice they gave their audience but they always respected Laurie’s contributions to the shows. I wish I could have written down all Laurie’s funny stories and advice – we will miss him giving us talks about his life of gardening. The club closes for the summer break in July and August, but the new programme of talks will be available at our meeting on Wednesday 30 September. Watch this space in the July and August issues of Seaford Scene for information. There are still seats available on two outings – 5th September to Green Island Garden in Essex and an autumn visit to Sheffield Park on 14th October. Non-members are welcome to join us – just phone Anne Silk on 01323 491331. Further information on the club’s activities is available by phoning the same number or visiting the website www.seaford-sussex.co.uk/sgc. A happy summer gardening to you all.
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