MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN SOCIETY - CATALONIA BRANCH NEWSLETTER
January 2012 - Joan Ball (joanball53@gmail.com)
Hello Everyone
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! We have some great weather at the moment but some rain would not go amiss.
It is with sadness that I have to tell you that Anne Bramley passed away in December. Anne was a lovely, warm-hearted person of whom we will have fond memories. She will be sadly missed.
If you know of any others who may be interested in Mediterranean gardening please pass this along to them and remember all are welcome to attend our events.
PAST EVENTS
17TH DECEMBER – CHRISTMAS LUNCH AT PACHA MAMA - CALONGE
The group of sixteen members toured around my garden giving me some good ideas. After the tour we had a very productive planning session where we agreed on an agenda for this 2012. We had a wonderful Gourmet Christmas Lunch with all types of different dishes contributed by the attendees and of course some libations - a good end to a good year!!!
FUTURE EVENTS
There is a varied calendar of events for 2012 which I have attached there may be some slight changes as the year progresses. It was decided that one event a month would be sufficient, however, there are occasions were more than one event takes place either due to trips or fairs.
4th February 2011 – 11:00 a.m. - Marimurtra Botanical Gardens – Talk on Soils of Catalonia
Peter Steadman who is a Geologist and a very knowledgeable gardener is giving this talk. The talk will cover the soils of Catalonia and how they effect our planting. This is an excellent talk and should not be missed by any garden enthusiast or profession.
15th/16th February – Green Forum Fira in Girona
At this event there are a number of displays from professional nurseries together with discussion groups throughout the two days. This is an open event, however if anyone would like to meet up on the 16th then let me know. You can get more information on their website and also apply for free entrance tickets. www.firagirona.com/2012/forumverd/es/
GENERAL INFORMATION
Translation of Talks
David Glen has kindly offered to translate at our talks from English to Catalan.
Web site
Now that our Local Blog is up and working I would like to encourage everyone to actively use it. At our planning meeting it was suggested that we look at developing our own local Branch Web Site.
MGS Leaflets
Members would like the MGS leaflets into Catalan – is there anyone that can translate in Catalan from either English or Spanish – please contact me.
Marketing the MGS Catalonia Branch
During 2012 I would like to work on increasing expanding the members and guests of MGS Catalonia so we will increase our presence at local fairs. This year we will have a presence at the Calonge Music and Garden Fair in May and also St. Stephan’s Christmas Fair in December. In preparation of this it would be good to have a flyer explaining the MGS – in three languages Catalan, Spanish and English.
Table
The Branch has now purchased a fold-up table that will be used for Fairs and Events – the cost of which has been funded by the MGS
Seeds List
Don’t forget members are allowed 10 packets of seeds each year and this year there is so much choice. To order your seeds or for more information http://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/seedlist.html
Report on the Survey of MGS Members – November 2011
Find attached the results of the most recent survey that Christine Savage undertook.
Minutes of General Assemblies and Administrative Committee meetings Financial Statements
Minutes of the October 2011 General Assembly and Administrative Committee meetings and this year’s Financial Statements are now available.
Copies of any of these documents can be sent by email. Contact joanball53@gmail.com if you would like a copy.
WHAT TO DO IN THE GARDEN DURING JANUARY
- Major month for planting hedges, trees, bushes and climbers
- Stake slender trees
- Cut back any roses not yet pruned.
- Divide & replant perennials
- Prune bougainvillaea hard – and take hardwood cuttings for propagation.
- Prune hibiscus & jasmine more gently also lantana, plumbago & other shrubs & climbers.
- Last chance for pruning Wisteria.
- Re-pot winter flowering bulbs
- Top dress fine lawns with sand & peat
- Plant early potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, broad beans, garlic, lettuces, radishes & tomatoes
WHATS BLOOMING IN OUR GARDEN NOW –
Aloe arborescens - ( Candelabra Plant )
| Aloe arborescens is a tree-like, many branched succulent with rosettes of sword-like, fleshy, bright green leaves, to 24 inches long, partly concave above, with toothed, wavy margins. This is one my favourite cacti not only because it brightens the garden in the winter but its medicinal benefits are amazing as it is known to promote highly effective immune support, healthy blood, cardiovascular, colon and immune system health general health and well-being. |
| Cultivar: | n/a |
| Family: | Liliaceae |
| Size: | Height: 0 ft. to 12 ft. Width: 0 ft. to 6 ft. |
| Plant Category: | cacti and other succulents, houseplants, landscape, |
| Plant Characteristics: | low maintenance, medicinal, |
| Foliage Characteristics: | coarse leaves, evergreen, |
| Foliage Color: | green, |
| Flower Characteristics: | erect, showy, |
| Flower Color: | reds, |
| Light Range: | Full Sun to Full Sun |
| pH Range: | 5.5 to 6.5 |
| Soil Range: | Mostly Sand to Sandy Loam |
| Water Range: | Semi-Arid to Dry Other Dates For your Diary Laungedoc Branch Saturday 21 January at 14.00 Talk in French by Olivier Filippi at the Devezou Cultural Centre in Montferrier Thursday 23 February at 10.30 Talk on salvias by Frédéric Prévot at at the Jardin de la Gare restaurant, Vers (30) Saturday 25 and Sunday 26th February Fête de la Bigarade, La Caunette in the Minervois, between Béziers and Carcassonne. UK BRANCH MGS UK Branch trip to Montenegro and Herzegovina 5 – 13 May 2012 Montenegro, formerly a republic within Yugoslavia, has a Mediterranean coastal belt popular with summer tourists and a contrasting mountainous interior. For more details please refer to our blog or contact Heather Martin – UK Branch Head - hma@clara.net PORTUGAL Hapimag Resort, Albufeira, Algarve Friday/ Saturday/Sunday 23 - 24 -25 March Spring Conference - Algarve Mediterranean Flora 20 October – 1 November AGM 2012 in Australia The event has been arranged in three separate packages to allow flexibility for participants. The pre-AGM Melbourne package October 20 – 23 An informal day on Sunday 21st at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne and then bus trips on the Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd. The AGM Adelaide package October 24 – 28 Those taking the Melbourne package will be flown to Adelaide mid morning on Wednesday 24th arriving at lunch time (a group booking will be organised to keep this cost down) and be collected from the airport and delivered to hotels. The Welcome drinks will be Wednesday evening. There will be garden visits, lectures and the discussion groups and General Assembly meeting on the Thursday to Sunday with the final dinner on the Sunday evening. The post-AGM optional days October 29 - 30, plus October 31 - November 1 Day trips from Adelaide on Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th, then a two day trip to Kangaroo Island on the Wednesday 31st and Thursday 1st November. |
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