Hobart Horticultural Society Inc. Tuesday 28 th April From the President Hello to all our members, I hope everyone is well and keeping occupied in these very strange times. Just because we cannot meet, please don’t think you are forgotten. It has been a time for catching up by phone with people we rarely see and for expanding our computer skill - lots of gardening questions are asked and answered on various Facebook groups. It seems unlikely we will be able to meet before the middle of the year; I am asking that no meetings of the Society be held in the coming month. We must wait and see when social distancing restrictions are eased before we can advise about Committee and Section meetings as well as the Society’s Annual General Meeting. Whether we will be able to hold spring shows will depend on the Hobart City Council and the availability of venues. I am sure we will have a great celebration when we are given the all clear to return to something approaching normal! You might like to make suggestions about a special function that we could hold. In the meantime, I will add my report on the Dahlia show in March as we won’t publish a Journal until we have some certainty about dates and meetings. Please enjoy your gardens or the neighbours’ gardens as you take a walk. No doubt some of you have embarked on new projects. Here in Carella Street, I am employing a local business to trim some trees (and prevent Kevin from climbing ladders!), employing another local business to build some shelter for the cars. The local shops do good trade as many people prefer the smaller shops to the supermarkets. Our apple crop is being shared amongst friends and neighbours, so lots of apple crumble on the dinner table, I think! Kevin’s new shredder is doing sterling work with bottle brush and buddleia branches. The roses are blooming and chrysanthemums opening. I guess many of you still have a dahlia or two. Bulbs should be planted (except for tulips) and the first jonquils are appearing. Resist the temptation to prune roses, much better to wait until June/July. Indeed, with good music, books and home cooking I have much to be thankful for. My only frustration is the length of time it is taking for mail orders to arrive and not being able to visit my granddaughter. A good lesson in patience! Stay safe and well, best wishes, Mary Marys’ Class Act having a 4 th flush of blooms.
Transcript
Hobart Horticultural Society Inc.
Tuesday 28th April
From the President
Hello to all our members,
I hope everyone is well and keeping occupied in these very strange times.
Just because we cannot meet, please don’t think you are forgotten. It has
been a time for catching up by phone with people we rarely see and for
expanding our computer skill - lots of gardening questions are asked and
answered on various Facebook groups.
It seems unlikely we will be able to meet before the middle of
the year; I am asking that no meetings of the Society be held in
the coming month. We must wait and see when social
distancing restrictions are eased before we can advise about
Committee and Section meetings as well as the Society’s
Annual General Meeting.
Whether we will be able to hold spring shows will depend on
the Hobart City Council and the availability of venues. I am
sure we will have a great celebration when we are given the all
clear to return to something approaching normal! You might
like to make suggestions about a special function that we could
hold.
In the meantime, I will add my report on the Dahlia show in March as we won’t publish a Journal until we
have some certainty about dates and meetings.
Please enjoy your gardens or the neighbours’ gardens as you take a walk. No doubt some of you have
embarked on new projects. Here in Carella Street, I am employing a local business to trim some trees (and
prevent Kevin from climbing ladders!), employing another local business to build some shelter for the cars.
The local shops do good trade as many people prefer the smaller shops to the supermarkets. Our apple crop
is being shared amongst friends and neighbours, so lots of apple crumble on the dinner table, I think! Kevin’s
new shredder is doing sterling work with bottle brush and buddleia branches. The roses are blooming and
chrysanthemums opening. I guess many of you still have a dahlia or two. Bulbs should be planted (except
for tulips) and the first jonquils are appearing. Resist the temptation to prune roses, much better to wait until
June/July.
Indeed, with good music, books and home cooking I have much to be thankful for. My only frustration is the
length of time it is taking for mail orders to arrive and not being able to visit my granddaughter. A good lesson
in patience!
Stay safe and well, best wishes, Mary
Marys’ Class Act having a
4th flush of blooms.
Social Distancing,
Hobart Horticultural Society
It has been fun and a real pleasure seeing the pictures that have been shared on our facebook group.
It is a wonderful way to keep in touch.
The picture on the right was sent in by new member Margaret May.
Join our facebook group. Keep up the pictures. Some garden stories lovely.
STAY HOME
KEEP SAFE
STAY WELL
WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
Get me some water, I am parched, I am wilting, It is so crowded here.
Ah there is some water - quick soak it up before all these other horrible greedy things lap it all.
Get out of the way, you are squeezing me and tangling around me. That is a little better, the water is wonderful. I will rest now for a while in the sun. But even the sun is hard to find, these horrible big weeds are shading me. Squashing me down as they lay on top of me.
I don’t usually moan, but I am meant to be beautiful and loved. Maybe this is a test. They say life wasn't meant to be easy, but oohh it is soo crowded in here. Tangled, choking, dry. There must be a better life.
Hang on a minute. I mean hang on. I am now being turned upside down. Someone is banging at the side of the pot. They are shaking the pot, throw it on the ground, bang it again, Pull at my leaves, turn the pot around and bang on the other side. Ouch Ouch.
All the others are complaining as well. We are hanging on by our roots that had gone through some little hole in the bottom of the pot. AHH what is that, our roots have been cut off. We can no longer hang on, the pot is being bashed on a rock. It breaks and we all tumble to the ground. One big bundle of pot bound weeds, grass, pebbles and me.
Something is pulling at my leaves, then shaking me,
I am beginning to feel free of all the tangles, loosened of the grasping roots. I can breath, I feel that I have been released.
The fairy doctor then examines me. How much damage? Broken and rotten bits are removed, that’s better. My roots are trimmed, I am on the ground I surrounded by some of my sisters, they too have been released and trimmed.
A pretty urn shaped pot with butterflies painted on the side is half filled with fresh clean soil to snuggle my roots before gently encasing my prettily placed leaves. No ugly blades grasping. Oh bliss, a sprinkle of aquasoled water the champagne of plants.
Convalescing in the sun my roots are healing and growing freely. My leaves are fresh and invigorated. I am so happy and I can feel a flower bud erupting.
Look at me, I am a blaze of colour, pretty pink flowers.
I am a chrysanthemum, ready for mothers day. Sunday May 10th 2020.
Helen Lindsay
Happy Mothers Day
These 2 pictures are sent in by Heather Shaw.
The white one is Violet Lawson
Heather tells us her white nerines are as pretty as a
picture. She has also been potting up lots of
tomatoes and even gave some plants away to the
posty.
Hobart Horticultural Society Dahlia and Floral Art Show.
What a beautiful display of dahlias members presented in the Town Hall on Friday 13th and Saturday 14th March. The
hall was filled with colour from reds to white and everything in between. Congratulations to all exhibitors and especially
to our champion winners. Brian and Karol Smith won Champion dahlia with”Formby Karon” and reserve with “Formby
Rocket”. It was great ee so many entries in Novice and intermediate Sections, well done all
We saw some lovely roses in Cut Flowers despite some not very cooperative weather! Carol Mackey benched a beautiful
Peg Monaghan vase of flowers and a lovely vase of native blooms. The Floral Art entries were amazing – such
wonderful and thoughtful interpretations of the various themes,
congratulations all, especially Helen Lindsay and Val Mudge.
The Junior entries were also excellent.
Maree Johnston and Pamela put up a lovely Shoobridge entry
with some interesting plants, as always. We missed the Ikebana
ladies but hope to see them next time. They, like the Bonsai
Society did not receive our dates for their newsletter and it was
only that Jill and Herbert brought extra plants that we saw
Bonsai grace the benches.
The piano relay was very pleasant again and raised funds for the
Relay for life Team although the actual relay had been
cancelled. Thank you Helen for organising it.
My sincere thanks to everyone who helped set up, (Greg Fooks and his team), manned the door and sold raffle tickets
(thank you Rhyll) and contributed and or worked on the stall (Heather, Helen, Maree and Helen Blowfield).
Our visitor numbers were very low on Friday afternoon but picked up on Saturday. We were pleased to see a number
of tourists from the cruise ship, including one lady from Arizona who had never before seen a dahlia! Visitors were
wowed by the display and the beautiful venue. Thankfully more people chose to have refreshments so that Salamanca
Rotary were able, I hope, to make some profit.
Sadly, the fourth dahlia show to be held on Saturday 21st March had to be cancelled due to concerns about the COVID-
19.
Mary Crowe
Helen Blowfield’s patio Mary Crowe’s Zygocactus
Elizabeth Kerrison Anthony Weeding Shirley Jackson
