all the fun of the wildlife fair

The Beth Chatto Gardens held a wildlife fair today.  I gather it was the first time they'd done one, and nobody knew exactly what to expect.  I can guess why they were doing it: because late August is a dead time for plant sales, and anything is to be welcomed that encourages the car park to fill up with people who will buy entry tickets and might buy at least some plants, and in the case of the Chatto Gardens refreshments (their cafe is very nice).  The beekeepers had a stand, so I said I'd go and help on that for part of the day, as I thought it would probably be entertaining and the other stands sounded interesting (plus I am a helpful person keen to Do My Bit for my Association).

The Chatto Gardens were very good to us, as helpers got free admission to the fair and gardens, and we were allowed as many volunteers as we needed, and free tea and coffee from the cafe, and borrowed bee-friendly plants from the sales area as part of our display.  Our stand wasn't as elaborate as the one we have for the Tendring Show, but we had our teaching beehive, and some basic tools, and posters, and gave out samples of cakes made with honey (recipe booklet 50p) and did candle rolling for the children (£1 a go).  Luckily I did not have to supervise any children making their own candles, as I've never done one myself, but I watched my fellow beekeepers carefully while they did it.  The candles come out tapered, and if you weren't concentrating it would be very easy to finish up with the wick protruding from the wrong end.  It was a grey and rather chilly day, and the wax foundation wasn't as flexible as it would have been given warmer weather, so I was doubly glad to escape.  Instead I talked to prospective new beekeepers about what was involved and how to progress things if they wanted to.

On the other stands, the Colchester Naturalists had got trays of pond life, a case of deceased stag beetles, and a live stag beetle grub, so I went and learnt more about how to identify stag beetle larvae, and the best time to clear out a pond (September).  The Essex and Suffolk Dormouse stand had hazel nut shells that had been nibbled by doormice versus other sorts of mice, and I think I finally began to grasp the difference in the teeth marks.  Apparently there are doormice in the Chatto Gardens, indeed they had a photograph of Mrs Chatto herself holding two, and round here is something of a doormouse hot spot, so the idea that they might be in our wood is not so ludicrous as I thought it was.  The doormouse expert offered to check nutshells for me to see what had eaten them, if I wanted to send him samples, and it turned out I knew his parents because they are beekeepers.  It's a small world.

I introduced myself to the people on the Woodland Trust stand, and got an update on anything I ought to mention in my talks, though I think I knew most of it.  While I was there I did check out the answers to a couple of questions that have been bothering me, even if none of my audiences have asked them yet.  The most pressing was, given the need for the UK and the world to increase agricultural production, and the value of some other non-farmland habitats such as heathland, what sort of land does the WT want to plant over with trees?  The answer is grade 3 agricultural.  I looked at the Tendring Tree Wardens stand and discovered that another beekeeper I know is one of my local tree wardens.  I was speaking to his mother yesterday about doing a Woodland Trust talk next year (very small world indeed).

There was a substantial element of people with an interest in nature conservation networking with each other.  The RSPB officer in charge of their new wildlife garden at Flatford Mill wanted advice on keeping bees in the garden at Flatford.  After discussing the matter we tended towards the verdict that it was a good idea to have bees on site, but not beehives in the area open to the public, especially since so many visitors bring their dogs.  Bees don't like dogs (or horses, though most people don't bring those).  In theory having nice bees in a garden open to the public should not be a problem at all, but the trouble is that the RSPB would potentially only discover that their hive had developed inappropriate guarding behaviour and become nasty after a visitor (or their dog) had got stung.

The carpark was pretty full by the time I left at about half past one.  I'll be interested in any feedback I get from our secretary about whether the Chatto Gardens found it worthwhile, but I enjoyed myself.

an unplanned garden visit

Calling into the Beth Chatto nursery to get a small present to take to a friend's house, I managed to drop my mobile in the car park.  Fortunately they found it and called the Home number, so I ambled round in the afternoon to collect it.  While I was there I looked round the garden, which is still free to RHS members in March.  The hellebores are looking good, and one of my favourite bits of planting at this time of year, a large Cornus mas grown as a small standard tree rather than a large shrub, next to a spotted laurel.  Cornus mas is a splendid plant, which carries small yellow flowers on bare branches.  It's a pity you don't see it trained as a tree more often.  Like most cornus the leaves grow in opposite pairs, and the leader often seems to die back, or is deliberately stopped by nursery growers trying to make it bushy.  Once this has happened training the plant up on a couple of metres of clear and reasonably straight stem becomes difficult.  The laurel, some variety of Aucuba japonica, makes a marvellous partner for the cornus because it has bright yellow dots across its dark green leaves which pick out and echo the yellow of the Cornus flowers.  The spots create an illusion of dappled sunlight even on dull days (this afternoon was actually bright and sunny), and while some of the heavily variegated aucuba can be a bit garish the spotted one is not garish at all, merely cheerful.

I was comforted to see that not all of the borders have been weeded and mulched yet.  As I look at the post-wintry mess outside my windows it's a sort of relief to know that even a world famous garden with teams of professional gardeners and keen young horticultural students to tend it, is still not totally tidy and polished for the season ahead.  Something has been digging in her garden too, leaving holes and scuff marks in the gravel garden.  Wildlife is no respecter of greatness.