Galanthus: January 2008

[Alan_b]

I think I have missed the importance of Big Boy.  Is it the largest
elwesii?

Do we know its measurements so we can compare our biggest ones
with it?

I had to look it up in "Snowdrops" by Bishop et al (I was going to call this the Snowdrop "bible" but thought better of it as that could give rise to all sorts of offence).  Apparently the flowers are very big but the rest is not particularly so.  It "rarely exceeds 20cm in height" but the outer segments of the flower "average 42mm".  This gives it a very striking appearance, by all accounts!   

[Paddy Tobin]

Loes,

Reading your posting above led me to look at your profile. I hadn't realised you were female. The name 'Loes' would be very uncommon, actually never heard it previously, and so would not indicate male or female. Just another inconsistency, I suppose.

Paddy

[mark smyth]

Paddy do you know that Glasnevin Bots had most of their choice snowdrops stolen during opening hours?

[Anthony Darby]

My clump of 'John Gray' is now looking good. I left a tangle of iris leaves surrounding them so they haven't drooped.

[mark smyth]

I know a couple of people who grow 'John Gray' in a trough where it dangles over the side

[Brian Ellis]

Brilliant idea Anthony, I had comtempated moving John Gray to a trough but think this is a much better solution.

vg 10/10   

[annew]

I just want to say ( having just read the last 3 or 4 pages of this thread) that I was in no way offended by Paddy's (or Mark's) remarks. I enjoy the jolly ribbing that passes between forum friends, and would trust that none of us would be so lacking in judgement to deliberately give offence.
Re John Gray, why does it need support? Are the flowers too heavy for the stalk, or the stalk too short?

[Anthony Darby]

'John Gray' is an early flowering nivalis with a long stem and huge flowers which invariably lie on the ground and the slightest excuse.

[Martin Baxendale]

Lesley, I'm not getting ratty thank you and I wasn't defending you. I was addressing a wider question than whether you personally were offended. You may not be offended by sexism and women being casually put down as somehow less than men but a great many people are and, like racism, it has no place in a public discussion even amongst friends.

The oppression of women around the world is very really, from sniggering schoolboy jokes to being beaten, lashed and stoned for wearing the wrong clothes or inappropriate behaviour. Where do you draw the line?

Or are you saying I shouldn't say anything because I'm not a woman? I can't speak out against racism because I'm not black? I can't object to anti-semitism because I'm not jewish?


Anne, I found Paddy's comment offensive. And I found Mark's comment offensive, not just to me but to other forum members who he was effectively saying he would not trust with what he knew. There was no need for him to say that so explicitly.

I'm sure it was thoughtlessness on Mark's part rather than wanting to offend. But it was still rude to put it the way he did.

Perhaps you weren't offended because it wasn't you asking for information to help a forum friend with a request, and it wasn't you who was told in effect "I'm not telling you or anyone else because you can't be trusted with the special secret inner-circle information I've been entrusted with."

[Tony Willis]

Gerard

I am very happy to pass on your email address to my friend,let me know if this is okay, and it will be up to them if they then wish to contact you. I am not being difficult or secretive but I never give out email addresses without permission.
I know that selling is not an option but they may have one to swap.

I find all this a little difficult because I have moved in a plant world all my life where propagating difficulties species was one way of spreading them around and they have always been given freely and without obligation.If this was not the case as most are not available commercially we would all remain beginners.

'A spare is one to share'

I was going to post a witty repost to Paddy involving Mrs W. but I tried it out on her first and I am now incapacitated and in pain so I will keep it to my self.

[David Nicholson]

.......Anne, I found Paddy's comment offensive.............

Martin, I have no wish, really, to prolong your liturgy on Political Correctness because this is not what this Forum is about, but I have to say that you appear to be the only one offended by a fairly innocuous comment!

Perhaps the main strength of this Forum is it broadness in view, comment and indeed humour, centered around the main thread of plants and gardening. Long may this continue.

[KentGardener]

'John Gray' is an early flowering nivalis with a long stem and huge flowers which invariably lie on the ground and the slightest excuse.

I planted my John Gray at the edge of a raised bed - as I had read before (possibly on here) that they looked good hanging over the side of a trough.  The flowers and stems reached that height where they fall over....  and guess what?....  They fell in the opposite direction and are now laying in the mud!  Twice I have pushed them towards the edge where they can hang nicely - but noooo!... they are having none of it and insist on playing in the dirt!  (Typical Man?)

Lovely flowers though!

John

[Martin Baxendale]

Tony, thanks for your helpful response re. Gal. Big Boy. It is a shame that the snowdrop world has become a rather untrusting, wary world where people are reluctant to share helpful information.

David, how would you know whether I'm the only person offended by sexist comments on the forum. This is a public forum open for anyone to access and read and thousands do just that every week. Its contents reflect on all of us and the SRGC. I come here to talk about plants too, and to try to share information, not to read unfunny sexist remarks.

[Paddy Tobin]

Martin,

I posted above without seeing your postings on the previous page. It was only when I saw reference to them that I looked back, so apologies if you thought I was ignoring what you had to say; it was simply an oversight.

I feel it is very unfortunate that you were offended by any of my comments. It certainly was not my intention. This is the danger, as I expressed in a post addressed to Lesley last evening, of putting any attempt at humour in writing. It rarely conveys the feelings with which it was intended and can so very easily be misinterpreted. Indeed, the border between humour and insult can be a very thin line to tread and prone to danger. To clarify any misunderstanding let me say that I had no intention of insulting anybody, well not really insulting anybody, if you know what I mean.

Of course, any humourous comment against the person can be taken as a joke or taken as an insult depending on how the reader/listener takes it. And, yes, one can substitute whichever name/person one wishes into a previously expressed humourous comment and show how it might now be interpreted as inappropriate. Quite honestly, the insertion of 'Irishman' instead of 'woman' into any of the jokes would not be a source of any annoyance for  me.

Indeed, I imagine the same jokes about women, coloured people, Irish people etc have their equivalents in each country. Here we have the 'Kerryman' jokes. In England it seems the Yorkshire people come in for their fair share of jibes and the Scottish people for the tight-fistedness. These kinds of jokes do the rounds and are changed according to circumstances and company. However, at the end of the day it is only humour, only intended as humour and certainly not meant to be offensive.

There has been a fair sprinkling of humour and banter throughout the various forums and it would be a less enjoyable place for  most if that was not the case. Please look on my comments, attempts at humour, in that light.


And also important - your comments are not the cause of any insult, upset or discomfort to me. I think it is important to be clear that I simply take it as a case of you expressing your opinion, something which is most welcome and I'm sure done without any intention of being hurtful in any way.

Hopefully, this has poured some oil on troubled water.

Paddy

[Paddy Tobin]

Mark,

I hadn't heard anything about the snowdrops in Glasnevin. Is this a recent happening? They grow most of their snowdrops in pots in a private area of the gardens and I'm sure these will have been safe at any rate. They do have a number planted out in the woodland area alright though less in latter years than previously because of changes in staff and differing interests and priorities.

Do have a stab at a name for that plicatus. I got it from Bob as G. 'Paradise Giant', as posted previously on this thread. Have another look and see if you can even narrow down an identification. I don't know where Bob's plants came from, possibly from across the Irish Sea on one of his spring outings but where exactly I don't know. Again, it might well be the case that I got a few snowdrops at the same time from Bob and mixed up the labelling when planting. Could so easily have happened. The only consolation is that all the snowdrops I got from Bob with this one are planted together in the one bed, so if mixed up at least they are still close together and it might be possible to sort them out.

Have a go at suggesting a name. I looked through the photo gallery on Judy's Snowdrops and really couldn't say I satisfactorily matched it to any one there.

Paddy