Rebuilding a nursery - Copton Ash

[Tim Ingram]

Thanks Jan. Have some good connections here and on Facebook with gardeners in America and in the NARGS. I like that International nature of gardening, it goes with my scientific mind and background which crosses boundaries. Hope to show much more through this spring. There is an article coming up on our garden later in the spring as well - photographed last April, which is quite encouraging to work on it now for 2018.

Ian, Heather Angel's talk was superb! I've posted a short description on my Kent Diary http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/diaries/Kent/+January+/875/. The only problem is really learning from her photographic skills - I now need a good Macro lens and much more time and patience. We advertised the talk widely and doubled our normal audience which gave a real buzz to the evening. She stayed with us so I also had a good opportunity to speak with her before and after her talk; she is a very remarkable lady.

[ian mcdonald]

Tim, it looks like you had a good meeting from your report. I don,t think I fall into any category regarding plants. I am not a scientist and not a very good gardener. My plant photos. are what could be described at best as "record photos." I have looked for wild flowers for many years and if I find a rare species I wonder why it is growing in that place and not other places. I have quite a collection of flower photos. but doubt if any would be up to the standard of being published. I don,t take the time to compose the photo. People like Heather Angel must take a long time to get everything just right before pressing the shutter, I envy their skill and commitment.

[Maggi Young]

In March issue of RHS magazine  The Garden -  article by Rachel de Thame on  Tim and Gillian Ingram's garden at Copton Ash ......




 Not great shots, just quick snaps to give you the idea!

[Tim Ingram]

Still a little while to go before the real glories of spring flowering like those in Bennet Smith's photographs in that article, but it's wonderful watching everything emerging now, and most of these plants were nicely covered in snow during the arctic blast of weather we have just had. Looking forward to spring. A few nice things here in the foreground from Choice Landscapes and Hartside Nursery at Alpine Garden Society Shows. There may be more at the South West AGS Show at Rosemoor tomorrow - especially from Keith and Ros Wiley at Wildside.

[Hoy]

Looking forward to read it! I have saved it to the holidays next week (We are expecting the third blast of arctic weather in 4 weeks)

[Maggi Young]

Another  diary  of sense from Tim - http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/diaries/Kent/+April+/894/  including  images of  many old  specialist nurery catalogues which will bring memories for many  of us.

[Tim Ingram]

For the true plantsman/geek. The diminutive flowers of a Penstemon, aff. grinnellii (RMB 551), ex. seed from Robert Barnard. This is growing in a narrow sand bed next to our neighbours which previously was an ugly Leylandii hedge. There are some other oddities here including a couple of umbels from Steve Law at Brighton plants, Heracleum stevenii and Thapsia garganica, which I will picture anon. The second picture shows the shrubby Scabiosa cretica and a couple of Sideritis species, surprisingly not cut back by the arctic weather in March, along with Veronica thymoides and Lithodora oleifolia (just beginning to flower).

[Maggi Young]

Readers will be aware  both of Tim's championing of his local district, and his agreement with so many of us that  television treats  "alpine and rock gardening" rather  poorly - so it was good to read this ....

Tim Ingram

Well would you know (Margaret Young, Paddy and Ben Parmee, Adrian Young, Cliff Booker and anyone else who champions rock gardening and alpine plants). The Faversham Rock Garden  is  on Gardener's World this Friday... and it is a pretty good example - a real feature of the town. See the very end of my Diary Entry from last summer http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/diaries/Kent/+June+/835/

‎Sandra Todd‎

re:  Blooming Marvelous Gardening Faversham

This may be of interest to some of you, BBC Gardeners World film unit was in Faversham a couple of weeks ago. They were doing a piece on the volunteers and Abel’s Acre ( Forbes Road rockery), anyway it’s going to be shown on Friday 8th June.

[Maggi Young]

A reminder that Tim's diaries  are available on the  AGS  website : http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/diaries/Kent/#top

 I commend them to readers.   

[Maggi Young]

Tim and  Gillian's  garden at  Copton Ash near  Faversham  has  various open days  for the  National Garden Scheme in  2020 ....   https://ngs.org.uk/view-garden/9253/?fbclid=IwAR2m4i82OchMgJgp3HRB9OSW-gLXCkZs2KxB3xgoeANy0Xlmc9uzQtouqpg   for  all details

Tim wrote  on  Facebook : The final touches before the weather inevitably sympathises and breaks down for the weekend. If you like the bracing climate of North Kent and want to blow away the cobwebs there will be warm soup and good company. Even owls are welcome 😉.
https://ngs.org.uk/view-garden/9253/
(Note: parking may be difficult outside the garden on the A251 Ashford Road due to the imminent gas pipeline repairs. There is walking access to the A251 from Salters Lane (parallel to the A251) via the small private lane close to the motorway bridge)

[Maggi Young]

Tim continues  his  Diary  of  a  Kent  Gardener on the  AGS  website .... this is the  link to one from 2017   ...
http://archive.alpinegardensociety.net/diaries/Kent/%20June%20/830/?fbclid=IwAR3IziUPZZcKgq1y8RxYLyCAAofiqhTZWfIo4B-juSBXeYRUKLOyAFRjDPg