The Elstead Garden Club enjoyed a trip around the world in their gardens, courtesy of our President, Brian Deaville, at the June meeting. We were invited to take our seats on `Deaville Airlines", and to listen to the safety announcements! The Oxygen, giving life, led us to the snowdrop, the plant that brings us all back to life after the cold of winter. There are a wide variety of snowdrops, hailing from northern parts of Europe in the main, and they should always be bought "in the green", as once bulbs have dried out, they are very difficult to get started again. Wallflowers are found all across Europe, as are peonies, stretching right across, into Asia and China. Species peonies should never be dead headed, but the black seeds collected, and grown on. We were encouraged to hug our cherry trees, as extra loving would rub off the loose bark, and leave us with nice smooth polished trunks!

When growing primulas, some of which hail from China, it is a good idea to plant a stick beside the primula. This is not to support the plant, but to remind you that it is there, as the primula will die right down to a resting bud in the soil, and it would be very easy to come along and dig it up! The camelia is the same plant that produces tea, and was originally smuggled out of China into India by British merchants. Wisteria Sinensis, the Chinese version, flowers before the leaves, and the Japanese version, with its long florets, gets the leaves first. We also the saw the Chocolate Vine, from China, and Japan, which needs ruthless pruning, as it is very vigourous.

Campsis is a cross Pacific hybrid, found in Asia and North America, and this brought us to the Ceanothus, or Californian Lilac, which does not normally flower from old wood, and Carpentaria, related to the Mock Orange, which needs a sheltered position. Trilium Sessile has flowers without stalks, and every part of the plant in threes. Sumacs are prone to grow suckers if you try to cultivate too much around the base, and damage the roots.

Tagetes and Yuccas both hail from Mexico. Tagetes need hot dry conditions, and do seem to be successful at deterring white fly. Begonias do not produce double varieties in the wild, in South America. You get the best flowers from cuttings, not tubers, and this is also true of dahlias. Lantana, and Azara Serata, from Central America and Chile, both need cutting back regularly, and the Cremacarpus, or Chilean Glory Vine, climbs rapidly, flowers freely, and needs protection at the base. The Scottish Flame Flower is beloved of slugs, and does best if you can persuade it to climb through a yew hedge, as the toxins in the yew deter the slugs. Coming back to South Africa, some agapanthus are hardier than others. The narrow leaved ones tend to be hardy, and the white flowers will normally stay true. Euphorbia Polychroma we saw, changes colour as the flowers age. This was a fascinating tour of some of the world's garden plants, in the hands of an expert, who had grown many of them himself.

The Village Hall was the usual sea of colour for the Summer Show on June 25^th.  It was good to see so many entries.

Our July meeting, sees Chris Shepheard on the English countryside, and on August 8^th, Mr P Spriggs will be talking on Practical Pruning, a very useful topic, in the URC Hall at 7.45 p.m. Hope to see you there.

Gillian Drew