' Dear members here is the Society's news for the start of 2024
The 2023/2024 Year Book holds the schedule for the Spring Show on April 13th
so do dig it out and look to see what you can enter. YES you , don,t leave it to everyone else, please enter and support the show.
The next part of the 2024 Programme is as below:
Spring Show April 13 3.00 Village hall
Plant Sale May 4 9.30 Westmore Green
Wisley Visit May 18 10.00 at RHS Wisley
So please put these dates in your diary.
and come along and support the Society
Year Book - The 2023/24 Year Book is in circulation now . If you have missed that knock at the door or the email reminder then please
contact either
Christine Stainer Tel 577803 or email [email protected] or myself Martin Allen
577201 or [email protected] and we will arrange to deliver a book.
If you wanted to pay up front and have a book dropped through the door, please make your £5 payment or donation to the Society's bank account :
Sort Code 08 92 99 Account Number 65516610 adding your address as reference
to enable us to deliver a book, or confirm by email payment has been made and we will deliver soon afterwards.
You will find in the Year Book the usual details for Knights and Suttons and details about RHS Tickets and of course all of the classes for the Autumn Show that will be held on Saturday 9th September . Please do look through the classes and see what you can enter.
November is the month for the T.H.S. Annual General Meeting
September - Is the month of the Autumn Show
The Horticultural Society Spring Show 2023
report and the Tatsfield Horticultural Society Plant sale and the
Horticultural Annual Wisley Visit report can be found on the Events page
TATSFIELD PARSH COUNCIL AND TATSFIELD IN BLOOM JOINT TREE PLANTING INITIATIVE
Two years ago we decided to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee by collecting local seedlings of Oak and Beech and planting them around the village over the winter of 2022/23. The seedlings were donated following an appeal and have been growing at the allotment site on a plot kindly provided by the Allotment and Community Gardens.
The situation has now changed following the death of the Queen and the accession of King Charles 111. We are now planning to carry out the planting of these seedlings to mark these events in January/February; the bulk of the planting will be in the Millennium Wood which is part of Tatsfield Green to replace the many trees that were removed due to ash dieback disease. There will also be a ceremonial planting on Tatsfield Green of a Red Oak.
We would also like to hear from anyone in the parish who has a large garden, paddock, or field and would like to be part of this tree planting initiative. If you are interested in taking part please contact Jon Allbutt ([email protected]) or Kim Jennings ([email protected])
We would also like to hear from anyone who would be interested in helping us plant and helping to care for these trees
Summer 2022 report
The weather is going bonkers and temperatures are sky high with all records being broken (writes Dave Bishop).
Tatsfield gardening expert, Jon Allbutt, tells me that a lot of local gardening folk are really worried that all their hard work in the spring will be destroyed by this current period of hot dry weather.
The combination of no rain, high temperatures and wind is drying up planted containers, our grass, and is even causing problems for trees and shrubs.There seems to be no prospect of any significant rain over the next couple of weeks so Jon suggests that the plan of action to save our plants should be:
Evening Garden Visit to Titsey Place
The Society is arranging a visit to Titsey Place on Tuesday July 5th at 7pm.
You are welcome to bring along a picnic to eat on the picnic tables outside the formal walled gardens after our tour of the gardens with the Head Gardener, Rory Dryburg. The Café/restaurant will not be open. The Society will be providing wine.
The cost will be £6.00 per head to enter the gardens. I am not sure how much Rory will charge at the moment but most probably between £4-£5 or maybe a donation.
He will give us a potted history of the gardens and tour, along with any future plans he may have.
Sue Warren 542892
Please support the society by supporting our events.
HINTS AND TIPS FOR TATSFIELD GARDENERS- For the additional photo's from Catherine's garden that accompanied the article in the Parish Magazine please see the November 2021 edition, they are well worth looking at.
My Patio Garden
This is the seventh in a series of articles by various THS committee members, on gardening seen from a personal perspective.
The past two years have been a difficult but an interesting time for gardeners and gardens. 2020 discovered many new vegetable growers in every community and Garden Centres quickly ran out of seeds and plants. 2021 dawned with a further lockdown but the Garden Centres had worked hard to provide seeds and plants for those who had got the bug for growing.
I am not a gardener and I make it up as I go along. I have a patio garden which has a six foot by three foot raised bed and several patio pots. At the end of spring 2020 I left the spring bulbs in the pots which I am pleased to say all flowered in spring 2021. I just kept the area tidy during the summer of 2020 and enjoyed reading in my outside space during that time.
2021 dawned and I decided it was time to make progress in my garden, although in lockdown again. I ordered 2 roses, 3 courgette plants and 3 tomato plants which were all late in arriving due to the snow and the cold wet weather we had in spring. I have little space indoors to plant seeds but I did plant sunflower seeds for 5 of my grandchildren. Then there were rats.
In February I saw a rat crossing the end of my garden and found that neighbours had seen similar. It is believed that rats came into domestic gardens this year especially for the amount of bird food many of us had put out to enjoy birdwatching during lockdown. I stopped feeding the birds and had a visit from pest control. Fortunately I believe the rats moved home when the food outlets reopened.
One side of the patio is in the shade for most of the day and I decided to develop this area by purchasing 2 wooden troughs from David Bacon on the village green. I painted these, as well as my 2 garden seats, lined them and filled them with compost. Planting them was interesting and I really had little idea what would grow in the shade. Two clematis flowered but were not happy. Those that did well were Penstemon, Veronica, Nepeta racemose, Digitalis and Lobelia. Geraniums were very late to flower as were Impatiens. The Petunias were ok until they were flattened in the summer storms.
I had two packs of unopened wild flower seeds from 2020 which I decided to sprinkle on my raised bed as in there were already several perennials. I was pleased to see that several grew and then I had the job of finding out what they were! All the plants both sides of the patio were much more straggly than usual, particularly the roses, as they were all trying to find the sun during our poor spring and summer this year. The best wild flowers, as pictured, were Wild Mustard, Borage and Mallow.
I had plenty of courgettes from the 3 plants, in a large pot, but only early on, some of which I shredded and froze for courgette cakes. The tomatoes were very slow to flower and fruit but I am still eating, in October, the ones which ripened in September! The sunflower seeds all grew in a pot and grew to great heights but not high enough I think to win prizes. We are now into autumn and were able to hold the Tatsfield Horticultural Show and the Plant Sale. I used the community composting site a few times, which has now closed for the winter. Please continue to support the society. Now for planting a few more bulbs.
I had fun in my garden this year with plenty of interest and colour, as pictured, and I hope you did too.
Catherine Webber THS Committee Member
HINTS AND TIPS FOR TATSFIELD GARDENERS
Composting for Black Gold
This is the sixth in a series of articles by various THS committee members, on gardening seen from a personal perspective.
There is no doubt that ‘you get out what you put in’. In other words, unless you are prepared to feed, water and nurture your plants, the results – whether it is in size and numbers of flowers, or the lushness of your grass, or the weight of fruit and vegetables – will be disappointing. The first step must be to provide a good soil. Most soils are adequate for gardening, but there are very few that cannot be improved, often by the addition of garden compost. This should not be mistaken for fertiliser (although all compost contains small amounts of plant nutrients) but is a soil conditioner. On heavy clay soils, compost serves to lighten the soil and to improve the drainage, and makes it easier for air, rain, nutrients and roots to penetrate. On sandy, light soils, compost gives the soil more body, making it more water-retentive. It adds micro-organisms and worms to all soil
Garden compost is easy to make, and even easier to use – just spread a thick layer on the surface of the soil and the worms will incorporate it.
You can buy a compost tumbler, which has advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, it is expensive. On the other hand, it is moveable. However, the amount produced, whist it might be quicker than a ‘traditional’ compost bin, is much smaller.
There are many types of ‘traditional’ bin. You can just put 4 stakes in the ground, in the form of a square, and nail a length of chicken wire round 3 sides. Or you can build one from wood, as they are on the composting site in Approach Road. This can be done very cheaply by using old pallets. Or you can make one out of breeze blocks or corrugated iron. There are however a few things to remember. Firstly, the bigger the better! Large heaps heat up, and stay hot, better, so will kill weed seeds. A bin one meter cubed is more than adequate. Secondly, the decomposition process uses oxygen, so make sure there is provision for air to get in – pallets are ideal. The bins above are made of pallets.
You can compost almost anything organic – leaves, grass, shreddings, peelings, paper, cardboard, coffee grounds, tealeaves – but do not use cooked food waste, as it attracts vermin. It is best if you can gather all the compostable material at one time so that it all heats up together, but of course most people only produce relatively small amounts at irregular intervals, so a bin is built up gradually. For the best, and quickest compost, anything like hedge cuttings and prunings should be shredded first. This breaks down cell walls, allowing sap out and decomposing organisms in. It is best to put in layers of material, but none of them too thickly. If you use, for example, just grass, a thick layer will not allow any air to circulate, or allow any water to trickle down, and will not have sufficient nutrients to allow it to break down. So I might put in a layer of grass cuttings, but I mix this in with the layer underneath. It is also good to add some kind of activator. I use stable sweepings or horse manure, both freely available at no cost locally, but you can use proprietary activators like ‘Garotta’, which contains a source of nitrogen and ground limestone. After a period of time, you should end up with a bin full of organic waste mixed in with some kind of activator. At the composting site, where bins are filled in one day, the temperature will then rise by bacterial action to in excess of 60°C in a week, but in a typical domestic setting, each layer will tend to warm up and cool down somewhat separately. It is important that the heap is not too dry. If you are using naturally wet materials like grass cuttings, there may be sufficient moisture already present, but otherwise the mixture will have to be watered thoroughly.
Depending on the outside temperature, the size of bin, and the materials used, the rotting process can take as little as 6 weeks. When it is ready, the compost will have reduced in volume by about a half, and should consist of dark brown, crumbly material, rather like very fibrous soil, with no recognisable pieces, and with a pleasant smell. If your compost is rotting unevenly, or the bin is only small and does not get very hot, it will require turning, possibly twice. It is therefore convenient to have two bins next to each other, and to turn the contents of one into the other. That way, one can be ‘finishing’ whilst the first bin is being refilled. When finished, provided that the soil is moist, it can be used as a mulch in spring or summer, which will reduce the need for watering, or in the autumn as a thick top dressing, which will improve the soil structure and add some long-release nutrients.
Peter Maynard
Making a bright splash of summer colour - For the additional photo's from Bob's garden that accompanied the article in the Parish Magazine please see Pages 47 and 48 of the June 2021 Parish Magazine, they are well worth looking at.
This is the fourth in the series of articles by committee members of the Horticultural Society.
I have been a keen gardener all my adult life, which has been mainly here in Tatsfield, where I have been lucky enough to have a large garden at the end of Ninehams Road. My first gardening love was growing vegetables, and I still grow many vegetables, but I like growing flowers too, mostly annuals.
What I particularly like is making a bright splash of colour in the summer, as large and bright as I can manage. There is nothing skillful or difficult in this – anyone can do it who is prepared to spend the time and apply themselves to the job. And you might get a suntan as well as a bright summer garden! I think the best way to illustrate this is with pictures, which is why much of this article consists of photos.
I fill most of my summer flower beds with bedding begonias, whose proper name is Begonia Semperflorens. They are shortish plants, perhaps 8 inches high. My beds are completely filled with red flowers, with the odd dash of white (there are also begonias with pink flowers available). The plants come with a choice of two different colour leaves –green or bronze – and you can choose whichever combination you want.
These plants have a number of plus points for the amateur gardener: the plants don’t mind if we don’t have much rain, slugs don’t like them, they don’t need dead-heading - and most important for those of you, like me, whose gardens are vulnerable to deer, those animals won’t eat them.
I buy my begonias as small plants from a garden centre or nursery towards the end of each spring and plant them in beds in my front and back gardens once the danger of frost has gone. To have maximum impact, the plants should be planted close enough to each other so that they make a solid mass of colour when they are fully grown (with no soil to be seen in-between). That’s it. Nothing more to do, other than keep the beds watered (but not in bright sunlight as the plants will burn) and weeded.
I hope you succeed in having a bright summer splash. I am afraid the plants won’t survive outside once the frosts arrive but I know some friends whose begonias have done well when brought indoors.
Bob David
This is the third in a series of monthly articles on gardening and related topics written by members of the Tatsfield Horticultural Society committee. So if this article stimulates your interest or just raises some questions that need answering then email [email protected] and it will be passed to the relevant person to respond to.
If this article stimulates your interest, and maybe raises some questions that you would like answered, why not contact us. You can email me at [email protected] or call me on 577100. You can keep up to date on all THS activities by visiting [email protected] . If you are not already a member and are interesting in joining us, please contact Christine Stainer at [email protected]
HINTS AND TIPS FOR GARDENING IN TATSFIELD
as printed in the May 2021 edition of the Tatsfield Parish Magazine
I wouldn't dare to give advice to anyone about how to garden – all I can do is describe how we have developed our own garden in the 40 years or more that we have lived in Tatsfield. Like most 'home' gardeners, my judgements about gardening are the result of years of accumulated knowledge – some by instinct and some simply by experience and 'having a go'. Most important thing is that I enjoy gardening.
I have to start with a warning – don't get too enthusiastic because gardening can start to take over! On the other hand, never be wary of trying some new plants/shrubs in the garden – there are so many options. I found that, particularly when I retired from work about 15 years ago, I got more ambitious about what I planted. When we originally moved in, we inherited an almost empty garden - just one large conifer in the centre, two concrete bunkers and a tall, very crooked conifer hedge! I don't follow rules too closely but, in general terms, I love planting using bright colours and I'm not fond of straight lines. Most of our flower beds are formed with curved edges rather than straight. I don't like mowing – which means I keep cutting into the lawn to create new planting areas! I have a general preference for small trees, shrubs, roses, with closely planted perennials - but use some self-grown summer annuals to fill in any gaps. I use a lot of Hemerocallis (Day Lilies) in the flower beds and Oriental lilies in large pots. Both of these are very tough and basically look after themselves all year round in most weathers.
The first three months of the year are so unpredictable (especially in Tatsfield it seems!). I am writing this article (end March/beginning of April) – with high temperature levels last week and now the threat of possible frost/snow/strong winds for the next few days. Should I delay some of the planting - both flowers and vegetables? At the beginning of every year I generally start to panic about leaving everything too late and that nothing will catch up if I don't get going quickly – it has never happened and most plants and vegetables survive and grow despite me!
Last year I made a note of which plants I would like to grow more of e.g. I need some more penstemons – I took a lot of cuttings last year and they are doing well in the cold frame, together with those I grew from seed during the middle/end of last year and are also waiting in the cold frame ready to be planted out. Which plants shall I give up on and replace with something new? In case some of the perennials are a bit sad this year, I am growing on a number of annual 'filler' plants from seed in the greenhouse – including Cosmos and Rudbeckia together with some Lupins and Aquilegia - the latter might not get planted out this year but they will do well next year – I hope! Whatever happens, I know that my annuals will do their job until some of my new perennials take hold – persicaria and scabiosa and a few others. The tomatoes are also growing well from seed in the greenhouse where they will be grown on in growbags – I once tried growing them on outside and they got the dreaded blight!
Eventually, we managed to fit in a reasonably sized vegetable garden area and that provides us with most of the standard popular veg - I have some some celeriac, courgette and leek seeds bursting forth in the greenhouse, but all the other stalwards (runner and french beans, peas, potatoes etc) can wait to go straight out into the veggie area later on – not enough room to kick-start everything in the greenhouse. Broad beans should be in by now but I'm running late– garlic already in. A couple of years ago, we also found room to plant some espalier apple and pear trees along the vegetable garden fencing!
Finally, I should just remind you that, once the pandemic is beaten and life comes back to usual, you might enjoy attending the Tatsfield Horticultural Society shows that we usually organise twice a year – hopefully, conditions will allow the September Show to go ahead this year. You don't have to exhibit anything – you can just wander around to see all the brilliant displays of flowers, plants, vegetables etc – meet some of the THS members who grew them – and perhaps get some good advice! Do contact us if you are interested in the THS activities – you can email me on [email protected].
Enjoy your gardening.
Pamela Bishop
COMPOSTERS UPDATE
We are intending to open the Compost Site to the villagers on Saturday 3rd April from our usual time of 10pm to Noon. The volunteers have spent the last few weeks sieving and turning the bins and shredding lots of twiggy green allotment waste to get ourselves to the position to be ready to receive the green waste and for you to collect the Black Gold compost.
We have been very careful whilst up there because of the Covid rules and have worked in isolated
Groups as much as has been possible so to continue to make it safe for the volunteers and those villagers that will use the site we will operate as follows:
As we need to follow Covid rules we will adopt the one way system that we did last year and allow only two cars at a time to unload or collect so please be patient if you are asked to queue or wait a bit longer. When unloading the car or speaking with a volunteer please make sure that you are wearing your face covering and stay a good one or two meters apart and we will all stay safe.
Turn sharp right on entering the main gate and queue in your car along the fence side until directed to the receiving bays by a guide composting member , we will not be able to assist you in unloading your car , unless elderly, so please bag up your garden waste into easily manageable amounts.
Please check the THS website each week this year as we may not always be able to open and we will try to keep the website updated with the closed dates.
The one way system will make the site a little crowded so please take care and stay safe when using the site.
With thanks
Composting volunteers
Allotments as printed in the April 2021 edition of the tatsfield Parish Magazine
This is the second in a series of monthly articles on gardening and related topics written by members of the Tatsfield Horticultural Society committee. So if this article stimulates your interest or just raises some questions that need answering then email [email protected] and it will be passed to the relevant person to respond to.
If this article stimulates your interest, and maybe raises some questions that you would like answered, why not contact us. You can email me at [email protected] or call me on 577100. You can keep up to date on all THS activities by visiting [email protected] . If you are not already a member and are interesting in joining us, please contact Christine Stainer at [email protected]
Allotments were an important part of the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign in WW2; back then Tatsfield Allotments were sited directly opposite the present site in what is now part of the gardens of Crane Cottage. Parish Council records show that it was Tom Rushen who rented a large number of the allotments producing mainly vegetables for the local community. Tom was a regular exhibitor at our shows and won many prizes; he is remembered by THS in the annual award of the Tom Rushen Cup. These allotments fell into disuse and were abandoned in the early 1960’s.”
So we all know home grown fruit and vegetables is a lot fresher tastier and better for you than anything you can buy that has probably already been previously frozen. But there are also limitations to what you can grow in a small garden or even smaller window boxes or pots and grow bags.
So the answer is to find yourself an allotment, autumn is the time when finding one should be easier as this is the time when people have come to the conclusion that it is not for them and the plots are released and ready to be re-let. Although it is known that the waiting lists nationally grow longer as some allotments are lost to the much needed housing it is still worth getting on to any list that you can if you are really determined. You can see the details regarding the Allotments in the village that are run and managed by the Tatsfield Allotment and Community garden committee at the bottom of the page.
Did you know that a “standard allotment” is 10 rods (the land is still measured in old terminology?) which equates to a sixteenth of an acre, but you do not have to take a full plot you could either take a smaller plot or of course share the load with some other person or neighbour to share the load, but of course that will mean sharing the produce.
Rents vary all over the nation and you can expect to pay anything between £20 and £ 100 per year. But for this you will get the use of the plot for growing whatever fruit, vegetables, salads or flowers that you can use to decorate your house with.
They can be planted up in any way that you want, like little gardens that you may not have at home or just in the traditional row format there may also be opportunities to even grow vines for home brewing. You can see that the Tatsfield in Bloom volunteers have successfully grown grapes for a few years now on the Bakery bed, so it is an option in Tatsfield.
When starting out don’t leave it too late to start work, and definitely before spring. If the plot has been left vacant you may have to do a good thorough weed or at least a good clean up. But if you are lucky you may be allocated a plot that has been regularly turned and composted and will be easy to get ready quickly. If not dig the ground over take out all the roots you find then invest in lots of well-rotted manure or compost from the compost site and start to work it in. As you do this perhaps over time go back with your hoe to remove any new growth that you do not want.
If you can only prepare half the plot then start with vegetables in the first year and then sow the rest with a green manure crop such as Lucerne or red clover in April and cut it regularly. This way you will improve the soil and reduce the weeds that you will have to deal with next year.
Remember allotments need to be done on a much bigger scale than what you could do in your garden , you do not have to plant close together, and you should also think about staggering your planting so that they do not all “fruit” at the same time or choose crops that can be frozen. Also
Don’t forget that when you remove your summer crop you can then start planting your winter crop in the same plot with a little preparation beforehand.
We are lucky that we have an allotment site in the village which is located on Approach Road just West of the village centre. There are over 60 plots and, nearly all are rented by local people. A small plot is 4.5m x 4.5m and a large one is 10m x 10m. If you are interested in renting a plot when one becomes available please contact Alan Armitage ( 07899725944.).
Remember the benefits of where the Allotments are sited is the fact that the Compost site is on the same site so only a wheelbarrow ride away to your plot, so why not take advantage of the outdoor life, some physical work but fresher , tastier and better crops. Also when normality returns you can exhibit your crops through the two Shows that the Horticultural Society puts on, with every hope that September may be allowed to go ahead this year.
And then of course there is the very enjoyable social side of the Allotment members as seen in this picture.
HINTS AND TIPS FOR TATSFIELD GARDENERS
As printed in the March 2021 edition of the Tatsfield Parish Magazine
Welcome to the first of a series of monthly articles on gardening and related topics written by members of the Tatsfield Horticultural Society Committee. If this article stimulates your interest, and maybe raises some questions that you would like answered, why not contact us. You can email me at [email protected] or call me on 577100. You can keep up to date on all THS activities by visiting [email protected] . If you are not already a member and are interesting in joining us, please contact Christine Stainer at [email protected]
The THS Committee has very reluctantly decided that for the second year we must cancel our Spring Show; we will decide on whether to go ahead with our May Plant Sale in the village centre at our next meeting; we very much hope that we will be able to have our visit to the RHS Wisley Gardens and our Autumn Show. Please make sure that you keep your copy of the 2020 Year Book as it contains the, so far unused, schedules for both shows and will be used just as soon as we can get our ‘shows back on the road’!
LAWNS
The winter weather, especially the rain, has left our lawns looking very sad. Bare patches, lots of moss, an uneven surface with tufts of coarse grass and a poor colour.
Before taking any action at all, ask yourself what sort of lawn do you want? Is it an ornamental fine level surface with lovely mown lines, or a tough wearing surface that can take regular wear from play.
As a general guide the finer the lawn the greater the cost in terms of time, a good mower, and the regular maintenance needed to maintain a good surface and colour. Starting off with a hard wearing play surface is a good idea if you have young children, or visiting grandchildren, or dogs; later on you can then improve and upgrade the surface to the fine lawn you always wanted.
A grass area that is uneven could be simply due to having too many coarse tufted grasses mowed infrequently, but it could also be due to sinkage and settlement over the years. A more regular mowing regime can give better control over coarse, faster growing, grasses. Now the big question – how often should the lawn be mowed? Mowing the grass twice a week (or three times if it is growing quickly) reduces the vigour of coarse grasses and gives a finer finish; mowing once a week is enough for hard wearing grass.
An important tip! – a hard wearing lawn needs to have longer grass!. A fine lawn can be regularly mowed down to 10mm or less (less than half an inch) but a hard wearing surface should be mowed to around 25-30m (an inch or more) for best wear and recovery
If the problem is due to settlement you can adjust your levels by making up a mix of equal parts soil and sharp sand adding a handful of grass seed per bucketful of the mixture. Cover and leave it until you can see the grass seed start to germinate – in warmer weather that could be just four days or so. Find a straight piece of wood a metre or so long to use as a straight edge, put the mixture over the low area and tread it down gently, now rub it level using the straight edge. If the low area is more than an inch or so deep (deep enough for you to pass your hand easily between your straight edge and the grass) you should remove the old grass first. Water it in dry weather and the grass will grow through quickly.
A fine ornamental lawn should have a majority of fine leaved grasses (Fescues, Meadow Grass and Bentgrass); a hard wearing surface needs tougher leaved grasses that are more vigorous so they can recover from wear like Ryegrass that are used on sports pitches. The packet of grass seed will give details of the grasses and their percentages in the mixture.
You will notice that I have said nothing about weeds! In the past we would apply weedkillers several times a year in our quest for the perfect surface, but this is now only done for the perfect surface such as a golf or bowling green. Think of them as wild flowers to be enjoyed by all!
16 February 2021
The 2023/2024 Year Book holds the schedule for the Spring Show on April 13th
so do dig it out and look to see what you can enter. YES you , don,t leave it to everyone else, please enter and support the show.
The next part of the 2024 Programme is as below:
Spring Show April 13 3.00 Village hall
Plant Sale May 4 9.30 Westmore Green
Wisley Visit May 18 10.00 at RHS Wisley
So please put these dates in your diary.
and come along and support the Society
Year Book - The 2023/24 Year Book is in circulation now . If you have missed that knock at the door or the email reminder then please
contact either
Christine Stainer Tel 577803 or email [email protected] or myself Martin Allen
577201 or [email protected] and we will arrange to deliver a book.
If you wanted to pay up front and have a book dropped through the door, please make your £5 payment or donation to the Society's bank account :
Sort Code 08 92 99 Account Number 65516610 adding your address as reference
to enable us to deliver a book, or confirm by email payment has been made and we will deliver soon afterwards.
You will find in the Year Book the usual details for Knights and Suttons and details about RHS Tickets and of course all of the classes for the Autumn Show that will be held on Saturday 9th September . Please do look through the classes and see what you can enter.
November is the month for the T.H.S. Annual General Meeting
September - Is the month of the Autumn Show
The Horticultural Society Spring Show 2023
report and the Tatsfield Horticultural Society Plant sale and the
Horticultural Annual Wisley Visit report can be found on the Events page
TATSFIELD PARSH COUNCIL AND TATSFIELD IN BLOOM JOINT TREE PLANTING INITIATIVE
Two years ago we decided to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee by collecting local seedlings of Oak and Beech and planting them around the village over the winter of 2022/23. The seedlings were donated following an appeal and have been growing at the allotment site on a plot kindly provided by the Allotment and Community Gardens.
The situation has now changed following the death of the Queen and the accession of King Charles 111. We are now planning to carry out the planting of these seedlings to mark these events in January/February; the bulk of the planting will be in the Millennium Wood which is part of Tatsfield Green to replace the many trees that were removed due to ash dieback disease. There will also be a ceremonial planting on Tatsfield Green of a Red Oak.
We would also like to hear from anyone in the parish who has a large garden, paddock, or field and would like to be part of this tree planting initiative. If you are interested in taking part please contact Jon Allbutt ([email protected]) or Kim Jennings ([email protected])
We would also like to hear from anyone who would be interested in helping us plant and helping to care for these trees
Summer 2022 report
The weather is going bonkers and temperatures are sky high with all records being broken (writes Dave Bishop).
Tatsfield gardening expert, Jon Allbutt, tells me that a lot of local gardening folk are really worried that all their hard work in the spring will be destroyed by this current period of hot dry weather.
The combination of no rain, high temperatures and wind is drying up planted containers, our grass, and is even causing problems for trees and shrubs.There seems to be no prospect of any significant rain over the next couple of weeks so Jon suggests that the plan of action to save our plants should be:
- Do not water your lawn. This uses a lot of water – a significant factor if you are a pensioner and on a water meter. When it eventually rains, the grass will recover with maybe a few bare patches that can be seeded over in September.
- Never water in the middle of the day. Evaporation will take away up to 50 per cent of the water used. Some plants will suffer severe leaf scorch if they get wet in full sun. Water very early or, even better, at dusk.
- A good soaking once a week is more valuable to plants than a quick sprinkle every day. Remember, we are watering down to the roots not the surface of the soil.
- With patio containers, soak the soil first. Then make a homemade watering device by taking a plastic bottle, cut slits (not holes) near the top (keep the top screwed on), cut off the bottom, turn it upside down and push the top into the soil. Fill with water and it will seep out of the slits; it will work well to keep the moisture levels topped up.
- Avoid using a hosepipe. Hosepipes are not easy to lug around, especially if you are elderly and/or have limited mobility. They are also very wasteful of water. Use a watering can or bucket – you do not have to fill it up.
- Remember there are alternatives to using mains water. Use buckets and watering cans, or other suitable containers to store your washing up and bath water. A good trick, if you have some hosepipe, is to siphon the bathwater into containers and store it until you need it. We now have to call this ‘grey water’ and it is perfectly all right to use for watering the garden.
- You can also prepare to store precious rainwater by fitting a water butt to your roof down pipe. Yes, it will rain soon and, when it does, it might be a lot in a very short time so capture it while you can. Even without a water butt, you can harvest a lot of rainwater by putting as many containers as you can find.
Evening Garden Visit to Titsey Place
The Society is arranging a visit to Titsey Place on Tuesday July 5th at 7pm.
You are welcome to bring along a picnic to eat on the picnic tables outside the formal walled gardens after our tour of the gardens with the Head Gardener, Rory Dryburg. The Café/restaurant will not be open. The Society will be providing wine.
The cost will be £6.00 per head to enter the gardens. I am not sure how much Rory will charge at the moment but most probably between £4-£5 or maybe a donation.
He will give us a potted history of the gardens and tour, along with any future plans he may have.
Sue Warren 542892
Please support the society by supporting our events.
HINTS AND TIPS FOR TATSFIELD GARDENERS- For the additional photo's from Catherine's garden that accompanied the article in the Parish Magazine please see the November 2021 edition, they are well worth looking at.
My Patio Garden
This is the seventh in a series of articles by various THS committee members, on gardening seen from a personal perspective.
The past two years have been a difficult but an interesting time for gardeners and gardens. 2020 discovered many new vegetable growers in every community and Garden Centres quickly ran out of seeds and plants. 2021 dawned with a further lockdown but the Garden Centres had worked hard to provide seeds and plants for those who had got the bug for growing.
I am not a gardener and I make it up as I go along. I have a patio garden which has a six foot by three foot raised bed and several patio pots. At the end of spring 2020 I left the spring bulbs in the pots which I am pleased to say all flowered in spring 2021. I just kept the area tidy during the summer of 2020 and enjoyed reading in my outside space during that time.
2021 dawned and I decided it was time to make progress in my garden, although in lockdown again. I ordered 2 roses, 3 courgette plants and 3 tomato plants which were all late in arriving due to the snow and the cold wet weather we had in spring. I have little space indoors to plant seeds but I did plant sunflower seeds for 5 of my grandchildren. Then there were rats.
In February I saw a rat crossing the end of my garden and found that neighbours had seen similar. It is believed that rats came into domestic gardens this year especially for the amount of bird food many of us had put out to enjoy birdwatching during lockdown. I stopped feeding the birds and had a visit from pest control. Fortunately I believe the rats moved home when the food outlets reopened.
One side of the patio is in the shade for most of the day and I decided to develop this area by purchasing 2 wooden troughs from David Bacon on the village green. I painted these, as well as my 2 garden seats, lined them and filled them with compost. Planting them was interesting and I really had little idea what would grow in the shade. Two clematis flowered but were not happy. Those that did well were Penstemon, Veronica, Nepeta racemose, Digitalis and Lobelia. Geraniums were very late to flower as were Impatiens. The Petunias were ok until they were flattened in the summer storms.
I had two packs of unopened wild flower seeds from 2020 which I decided to sprinkle on my raised bed as in there were already several perennials. I was pleased to see that several grew and then I had the job of finding out what they were! All the plants both sides of the patio were much more straggly than usual, particularly the roses, as they were all trying to find the sun during our poor spring and summer this year. The best wild flowers, as pictured, were Wild Mustard, Borage and Mallow.
I had plenty of courgettes from the 3 plants, in a large pot, but only early on, some of which I shredded and froze for courgette cakes. The tomatoes were very slow to flower and fruit but I am still eating, in October, the ones which ripened in September! The sunflower seeds all grew in a pot and grew to great heights but not high enough I think to win prizes. We are now into autumn and were able to hold the Tatsfield Horticultural Show and the Plant Sale. I used the community composting site a few times, which has now closed for the winter. Please continue to support the society. Now for planting a few more bulbs.
I had fun in my garden this year with plenty of interest and colour, as pictured, and I hope you did too.
Catherine Webber THS Committee Member
HINTS AND TIPS FOR TATSFIELD GARDENERS
Composting for Black Gold
This is the sixth in a series of articles by various THS committee members, on gardening seen from a personal perspective.
There is no doubt that ‘you get out what you put in’. In other words, unless you are prepared to feed, water and nurture your plants, the results – whether it is in size and numbers of flowers, or the lushness of your grass, or the weight of fruit and vegetables – will be disappointing. The first step must be to provide a good soil. Most soils are adequate for gardening, but there are very few that cannot be improved, often by the addition of garden compost. This should not be mistaken for fertiliser (although all compost contains small amounts of plant nutrients) but is a soil conditioner. On heavy clay soils, compost serves to lighten the soil and to improve the drainage, and makes it easier for air, rain, nutrients and roots to penetrate. On sandy, light soils, compost gives the soil more body, making it more water-retentive. It adds micro-organisms and worms to all soil
Garden compost is easy to make, and even easier to use – just spread a thick layer on the surface of the soil and the worms will incorporate it.
You can buy a compost tumbler, which has advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, it is expensive. On the other hand, it is moveable. However, the amount produced, whist it might be quicker than a ‘traditional’ compost bin, is much smaller.
There are many types of ‘traditional’ bin. You can just put 4 stakes in the ground, in the form of a square, and nail a length of chicken wire round 3 sides. Or you can build one from wood, as they are on the composting site in Approach Road. This can be done very cheaply by using old pallets. Or you can make one out of breeze blocks or corrugated iron. There are however a few things to remember. Firstly, the bigger the better! Large heaps heat up, and stay hot, better, so will kill weed seeds. A bin one meter cubed is more than adequate. Secondly, the decomposition process uses oxygen, so make sure there is provision for air to get in – pallets are ideal. The bins above are made of pallets.
You can compost almost anything organic – leaves, grass, shreddings, peelings, paper, cardboard, coffee grounds, tealeaves – but do not use cooked food waste, as it attracts vermin. It is best if you can gather all the compostable material at one time so that it all heats up together, but of course most people only produce relatively small amounts at irregular intervals, so a bin is built up gradually. For the best, and quickest compost, anything like hedge cuttings and prunings should be shredded first. This breaks down cell walls, allowing sap out and decomposing organisms in. It is best to put in layers of material, but none of them too thickly. If you use, for example, just grass, a thick layer will not allow any air to circulate, or allow any water to trickle down, and will not have sufficient nutrients to allow it to break down. So I might put in a layer of grass cuttings, but I mix this in with the layer underneath. It is also good to add some kind of activator. I use stable sweepings or horse manure, both freely available at no cost locally, but you can use proprietary activators like ‘Garotta’, which contains a source of nitrogen and ground limestone. After a period of time, you should end up with a bin full of organic waste mixed in with some kind of activator. At the composting site, where bins are filled in one day, the temperature will then rise by bacterial action to in excess of 60°C in a week, but in a typical domestic setting, each layer will tend to warm up and cool down somewhat separately. It is important that the heap is not too dry. If you are using naturally wet materials like grass cuttings, there may be sufficient moisture already present, but otherwise the mixture will have to be watered thoroughly.
Depending on the outside temperature, the size of bin, and the materials used, the rotting process can take as little as 6 weeks. When it is ready, the compost will have reduced in volume by about a half, and should consist of dark brown, crumbly material, rather like very fibrous soil, with no recognisable pieces, and with a pleasant smell. If your compost is rotting unevenly, or the bin is only small and does not get very hot, it will require turning, possibly twice. It is therefore convenient to have two bins next to each other, and to turn the contents of one into the other. That way, one can be ‘finishing’ whilst the first bin is being refilled. When finished, provided that the soil is moist, it can be used as a mulch in spring or summer, which will reduce the need for watering, or in the autumn as a thick top dressing, which will improve the soil structure and add some long-release nutrients.
Peter Maynard
Making a bright splash of summer colour - For the additional photo's from Bob's garden that accompanied the article in the Parish Magazine please see Pages 47 and 48 of the June 2021 Parish Magazine, they are well worth looking at.
This is the fourth in the series of articles by committee members of the Horticultural Society.
I have been a keen gardener all my adult life, which has been mainly here in Tatsfield, where I have been lucky enough to have a large garden at the end of Ninehams Road. My first gardening love was growing vegetables, and I still grow many vegetables, but I like growing flowers too, mostly annuals.
What I particularly like is making a bright splash of colour in the summer, as large and bright as I can manage. There is nothing skillful or difficult in this – anyone can do it who is prepared to spend the time and apply themselves to the job. And you might get a suntan as well as a bright summer garden! I think the best way to illustrate this is with pictures, which is why much of this article consists of photos.
I fill most of my summer flower beds with bedding begonias, whose proper name is Begonia Semperflorens. They are shortish plants, perhaps 8 inches high. My beds are completely filled with red flowers, with the odd dash of white (there are also begonias with pink flowers available). The plants come with a choice of two different colour leaves –green or bronze – and you can choose whichever combination you want.
These plants have a number of plus points for the amateur gardener: the plants don’t mind if we don’t have much rain, slugs don’t like them, they don’t need dead-heading - and most important for those of you, like me, whose gardens are vulnerable to deer, those animals won’t eat them.
I buy my begonias as small plants from a garden centre or nursery towards the end of each spring and plant them in beds in my front and back gardens once the danger of frost has gone. To have maximum impact, the plants should be planted close enough to each other so that they make a solid mass of colour when they are fully grown (with no soil to be seen in-between). That’s it. Nothing more to do, other than keep the beds watered (but not in bright sunlight as the plants will burn) and weeded.
I hope you succeed in having a bright summer splash. I am afraid the plants won’t survive outside once the frosts arrive but I know some friends whose begonias have done well when brought indoors.
Bob David
This is the third in a series of monthly articles on gardening and related topics written by members of the Tatsfield Horticultural Society committee. So if this article stimulates your interest or just raises some questions that need answering then email [email protected] and it will be passed to the relevant person to respond to.
If this article stimulates your interest, and maybe raises some questions that you would like answered, why not contact us. You can email me at [email protected] or call me on 577100. You can keep up to date on all THS activities by visiting [email protected] . If you are not already a member and are interesting in joining us, please contact Christine Stainer at [email protected]
HINTS AND TIPS FOR GARDENING IN TATSFIELD
as printed in the May 2021 edition of the Tatsfield Parish Magazine
I wouldn't dare to give advice to anyone about how to garden – all I can do is describe how we have developed our own garden in the 40 years or more that we have lived in Tatsfield. Like most 'home' gardeners, my judgements about gardening are the result of years of accumulated knowledge – some by instinct and some simply by experience and 'having a go'. Most important thing is that I enjoy gardening.
I have to start with a warning – don't get too enthusiastic because gardening can start to take over! On the other hand, never be wary of trying some new plants/shrubs in the garden – there are so many options. I found that, particularly when I retired from work about 15 years ago, I got more ambitious about what I planted. When we originally moved in, we inherited an almost empty garden - just one large conifer in the centre, two concrete bunkers and a tall, very crooked conifer hedge! I don't follow rules too closely but, in general terms, I love planting using bright colours and I'm not fond of straight lines. Most of our flower beds are formed with curved edges rather than straight. I don't like mowing – which means I keep cutting into the lawn to create new planting areas! I have a general preference for small trees, shrubs, roses, with closely planted perennials - but use some self-grown summer annuals to fill in any gaps. I use a lot of Hemerocallis (Day Lilies) in the flower beds and Oriental lilies in large pots. Both of these are very tough and basically look after themselves all year round in most weathers.
The first three months of the year are so unpredictable (especially in Tatsfield it seems!). I am writing this article (end March/beginning of April) – with high temperature levels last week and now the threat of possible frost/snow/strong winds for the next few days. Should I delay some of the planting - both flowers and vegetables? At the beginning of every year I generally start to panic about leaving everything too late and that nothing will catch up if I don't get going quickly – it has never happened and most plants and vegetables survive and grow despite me!
Last year I made a note of which plants I would like to grow more of e.g. I need some more penstemons – I took a lot of cuttings last year and they are doing well in the cold frame, together with those I grew from seed during the middle/end of last year and are also waiting in the cold frame ready to be planted out. Which plants shall I give up on and replace with something new? In case some of the perennials are a bit sad this year, I am growing on a number of annual 'filler' plants from seed in the greenhouse – including Cosmos and Rudbeckia together with some Lupins and Aquilegia - the latter might not get planted out this year but they will do well next year – I hope! Whatever happens, I know that my annuals will do their job until some of my new perennials take hold – persicaria and scabiosa and a few others. The tomatoes are also growing well from seed in the greenhouse where they will be grown on in growbags – I once tried growing them on outside and they got the dreaded blight!
Eventually, we managed to fit in a reasonably sized vegetable garden area and that provides us with most of the standard popular veg - I have some some celeriac, courgette and leek seeds bursting forth in the greenhouse, but all the other stalwards (runner and french beans, peas, potatoes etc) can wait to go straight out into the veggie area later on – not enough room to kick-start everything in the greenhouse. Broad beans should be in by now but I'm running late– garlic already in. A couple of years ago, we also found room to plant some espalier apple and pear trees along the vegetable garden fencing!
Finally, I should just remind you that, once the pandemic is beaten and life comes back to usual, you might enjoy attending the Tatsfield Horticultural Society shows that we usually organise twice a year – hopefully, conditions will allow the September Show to go ahead this year. You don't have to exhibit anything – you can just wander around to see all the brilliant displays of flowers, plants, vegetables etc – meet some of the THS members who grew them – and perhaps get some good advice! Do contact us if you are interested in the THS activities – you can email me on [email protected].
Enjoy your gardening.
Pamela Bishop
COMPOSTERS UPDATE
We are intending to open the Compost Site to the villagers on Saturday 3rd April from our usual time of 10pm to Noon. The volunteers have spent the last few weeks sieving and turning the bins and shredding lots of twiggy green allotment waste to get ourselves to the position to be ready to receive the green waste and for you to collect the Black Gold compost.
We have been very careful whilst up there because of the Covid rules and have worked in isolated
Groups as much as has been possible so to continue to make it safe for the volunteers and those villagers that will use the site we will operate as follows:
As we need to follow Covid rules we will adopt the one way system that we did last year and allow only two cars at a time to unload or collect so please be patient if you are asked to queue or wait a bit longer. When unloading the car or speaking with a volunteer please make sure that you are wearing your face covering and stay a good one or two meters apart and we will all stay safe.
Turn sharp right on entering the main gate and queue in your car along the fence side until directed to the receiving bays by a guide composting member , we will not be able to assist you in unloading your car , unless elderly, so please bag up your garden waste into easily manageable amounts.
Please check the THS website each week this year as we may not always be able to open and we will try to keep the website updated with the closed dates.
The one way system will make the site a little crowded so please take care and stay safe when using the site.
With thanks
Composting volunteers
Allotments as printed in the April 2021 edition of the tatsfield Parish Magazine
This is the second in a series of monthly articles on gardening and related topics written by members of the Tatsfield Horticultural Society committee. So if this article stimulates your interest or just raises some questions that need answering then email [email protected] and it will be passed to the relevant person to respond to.
If this article stimulates your interest, and maybe raises some questions that you would like answered, why not contact us. You can email me at [email protected] or call me on 577100. You can keep up to date on all THS activities by visiting [email protected] . If you are not already a member and are interesting in joining us, please contact Christine Stainer at [email protected]
Allotments were an important part of the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign in WW2; back then Tatsfield Allotments were sited directly opposite the present site in what is now part of the gardens of Crane Cottage. Parish Council records show that it was Tom Rushen who rented a large number of the allotments producing mainly vegetables for the local community. Tom was a regular exhibitor at our shows and won many prizes; he is remembered by THS in the annual award of the Tom Rushen Cup. These allotments fell into disuse and were abandoned in the early 1960’s.”
So we all know home grown fruit and vegetables is a lot fresher tastier and better for you than anything you can buy that has probably already been previously frozen. But there are also limitations to what you can grow in a small garden or even smaller window boxes or pots and grow bags.
So the answer is to find yourself an allotment, autumn is the time when finding one should be easier as this is the time when people have come to the conclusion that it is not for them and the plots are released and ready to be re-let. Although it is known that the waiting lists nationally grow longer as some allotments are lost to the much needed housing it is still worth getting on to any list that you can if you are really determined. You can see the details regarding the Allotments in the village that are run and managed by the Tatsfield Allotment and Community garden committee at the bottom of the page.
Did you know that a “standard allotment” is 10 rods (the land is still measured in old terminology?) which equates to a sixteenth of an acre, but you do not have to take a full plot you could either take a smaller plot or of course share the load with some other person or neighbour to share the load, but of course that will mean sharing the produce.
Rents vary all over the nation and you can expect to pay anything between £20 and £ 100 per year. But for this you will get the use of the plot for growing whatever fruit, vegetables, salads or flowers that you can use to decorate your house with.
They can be planted up in any way that you want, like little gardens that you may not have at home or just in the traditional row format there may also be opportunities to even grow vines for home brewing. You can see that the Tatsfield in Bloom volunteers have successfully grown grapes for a few years now on the Bakery bed, so it is an option in Tatsfield.
When starting out don’t leave it too late to start work, and definitely before spring. If the plot has been left vacant you may have to do a good thorough weed or at least a good clean up. But if you are lucky you may be allocated a plot that has been regularly turned and composted and will be easy to get ready quickly. If not dig the ground over take out all the roots you find then invest in lots of well-rotted manure or compost from the compost site and start to work it in. As you do this perhaps over time go back with your hoe to remove any new growth that you do not want.
If you can only prepare half the plot then start with vegetables in the first year and then sow the rest with a green manure crop such as Lucerne or red clover in April and cut it regularly. This way you will improve the soil and reduce the weeds that you will have to deal with next year.
Remember allotments need to be done on a much bigger scale than what you could do in your garden , you do not have to plant close together, and you should also think about staggering your planting so that they do not all “fruit” at the same time or choose crops that can be frozen. Also
Don’t forget that when you remove your summer crop you can then start planting your winter crop in the same plot with a little preparation beforehand.
We are lucky that we have an allotment site in the village which is located on Approach Road just West of the village centre. There are over 60 plots and, nearly all are rented by local people. A small plot is 4.5m x 4.5m and a large one is 10m x 10m. If you are interested in renting a plot when one becomes available please contact Alan Armitage ( 07899725944.).
Remember the benefits of where the Allotments are sited is the fact that the Compost site is on the same site so only a wheelbarrow ride away to your plot, so why not take advantage of the outdoor life, some physical work but fresher , tastier and better crops. Also when normality returns you can exhibit your crops through the two Shows that the Horticultural Society puts on, with every hope that September may be allowed to go ahead this year.
And then of course there is the very enjoyable social side of the Allotment members as seen in this picture.
HINTS AND TIPS FOR TATSFIELD GARDENERS
As printed in the March 2021 edition of the Tatsfield Parish Magazine
Welcome to the first of a series of monthly articles on gardening and related topics written by members of the Tatsfield Horticultural Society Committee. If this article stimulates your interest, and maybe raises some questions that you would like answered, why not contact us. You can email me at [email protected] or call me on 577100. You can keep up to date on all THS activities by visiting [email protected] . If you are not already a member and are interesting in joining us, please contact Christine Stainer at [email protected]
The THS Committee has very reluctantly decided that for the second year we must cancel our Spring Show; we will decide on whether to go ahead with our May Plant Sale in the village centre at our next meeting; we very much hope that we will be able to have our visit to the RHS Wisley Gardens and our Autumn Show. Please make sure that you keep your copy of the 2020 Year Book as it contains the, so far unused, schedules for both shows and will be used just as soon as we can get our ‘shows back on the road’!
LAWNS
The winter weather, especially the rain, has left our lawns looking very sad. Bare patches, lots of moss, an uneven surface with tufts of coarse grass and a poor colour.
Before taking any action at all, ask yourself what sort of lawn do you want? Is it an ornamental fine level surface with lovely mown lines, or a tough wearing surface that can take regular wear from play.
As a general guide the finer the lawn the greater the cost in terms of time, a good mower, and the regular maintenance needed to maintain a good surface and colour. Starting off with a hard wearing play surface is a good idea if you have young children, or visiting grandchildren, or dogs; later on you can then improve and upgrade the surface to the fine lawn you always wanted.
A grass area that is uneven could be simply due to having too many coarse tufted grasses mowed infrequently, but it could also be due to sinkage and settlement over the years. A more regular mowing regime can give better control over coarse, faster growing, grasses. Now the big question – how often should the lawn be mowed? Mowing the grass twice a week (or three times if it is growing quickly) reduces the vigour of coarse grasses and gives a finer finish; mowing once a week is enough for hard wearing grass.
An important tip! – a hard wearing lawn needs to have longer grass!. A fine lawn can be regularly mowed down to 10mm or less (less than half an inch) but a hard wearing surface should be mowed to around 25-30m (an inch or more) for best wear and recovery
If the problem is due to settlement you can adjust your levels by making up a mix of equal parts soil and sharp sand adding a handful of grass seed per bucketful of the mixture. Cover and leave it until you can see the grass seed start to germinate – in warmer weather that could be just four days or so. Find a straight piece of wood a metre or so long to use as a straight edge, put the mixture over the low area and tread it down gently, now rub it level using the straight edge. If the low area is more than an inch or so deep (deep enough for you to pass your hand easily between your straight edge and the grass) you should remove the old grass first. Water it in dry weather and the grass will grow through quickly.
A fine ornamental lawn should have a majority of fine leaved grasses (Fescues, Meadow Grass and Bentgrass); a hard wearing surface needs tougher leaved grasses that are more vigorous so they can recover from wear like Ryegrass that are used on sports pitches. The packet of grass seed will give details of the grasses and their percentages in the mixture.
You will notice that I have said nothing about weeds! In the past we would apply weedkillers several times a year in our quest for the perfect surface, but this is now only done for the perfect surface such as a golf or bowling green. Think of them as wild flowers to be enjoyed by all!
16 February 2021