GARDEN HISTORY

[Maggi Young]

Of course they are! Except when you are weeding.

 ...or when you are slug and snail hunting - then they're a fearful battlefield........

[Maggi Young]

Edinburgh Public Gardens and Squares Conference 2014
26th September 2014


(photo from http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/ )

The Scottish Enlightenment is manifested in the Gardens and Squares of Edinburgh’s New Town. Edinburgh’s historic gardens and squares are a result of the development of the city following late 18th century ideals of town planning, and form an important and integral part of the Edinburgh World Heritage Site.

The aim of the conference is to explain their significance, to celebrate them and to demonstrate how they can be maximised for the benefit of the social, economic and cultural life of the city in the 21st century.

The first two sessions in the morning will set the scene, describing the history, philosophy and development of the spaces within the city. The afternoon session will discuss the practical aspects of managing these spaces. A Reception in the banking hall of Royal Bank of Scotland, St Andrews Square, will conclude the day.

The conference was conceived by the Garden History Society in Scotland and organised by Historic Scotland in association with other partner organisations (EWHT/Cockburn/AHSS/BEFS).

Programme here : http://conservation.historic-scotland.gov.uk/squaresgardensconfprog2014.pdf

Event Cost: £60.00 (limited availability -  student tickets at £20.00)

Time: 9.00 – 17.30. Please note all tickets include drinks reception in the banking hall at Dundas House, St Andrews Square from 17:45 – 19:15

Buy ickets here : http://tickets.historic-scotland.gov.uk/webstore/shop/ViewItems.aspx?CG=TKTS&C=EPGSC

[MarcR]

From Dr John Page:


250 YEARS OF GROWING ALPINES OUTDOORS IN BRITAIN
EXPLORES THESE TECHNIQUES AND TRIES TO SHOW HOW MANY GROWERS WERE AHEAD OF THEIR TIME. A SECONDARY THEME IS THE EVOLVING UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT CONSTITUTES A ROCK GARDEN AS OPPOSED TO AN ALPINE GARDEN.[/i]


IV.   Her husband, J.C. Loudon, had over 600 species of alpines in his London garden, all in pots. Many serious growers of alpines were not prepared to entrust their precious plants to rockwork. They were well aware of the importance of appropriate composts and the need to reproduce snow cover, vital in a country where winters could be mild and extremely wet. Alpines in pots were the answer, plunged outdoors in ash-pits, and protected by overhead lights when the rains came. Alternatively, they were kept in frames covered with glass sashes. Charles McIntosh (“The Book of the Garden”, 1853) recommended that the standard compost should be “sandy peat and loam in equal parts”, but some alpines he stressed had special needs, such as Saxifraga cernua  “which is only found amongst the debris of micaceous rocks” Here, he advised “soil in which mica in a reduced state forms a part”. This realization that different species might require bespoke (specially made) composts was taken to its logical conclusion at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, where James McNab’s rock garden consisted of four thousand angular compartments of various sizes, each “filled with soil suited to the various plants”. It may have looked bizarre but the results apparently were a great success.


J.F.P.

I have found a similar concern for members of Iridaceae that are winter dormanr and want dry winters. I have some casement windows that were removed to install double pane glass.
I built a frame to hold a window with the West side on the ground and the East side 3' above the ground.I placed another window standing vertical on the south side. This leaves the plants under the frame exposed on the North and East. Since our prevailing winds are from the West with occasional storms from the South, my Winter dormant plants stay dry.