Our thanks to so many who sent Christmas cards, greetings and their good wishes - we had to have a double line of string to display them.  I'm sorry we don't mail to everyone ourselves.  It would be a huge task.

It was my miscalculation to have all the staff off for the Christmas/New Year period.  We did have a catch up day on the post Christmas Wednesday but even so there will have been many phone calls and emails that we missed or replied to rather late so my apologies.

Star of the Show must be Christine Walkden whose gardening programme on BBC2 on Friday evenings has been unique in its gentle approach with real people, real plants, and actual gardens .  Quite a contrast to the instant gardens of so many of the programme makers whose effects seem to depend so much on new turf, decking and a choice selection of the more expensive offering from the Garden Centres.  So our congratulations to Christine who has been a tutor for us for over 20 years.

The University of Bath has won first prize in the Annual Bath in Bloom competition for the new landscaping and planting outside its Sports Training Village and new student residences.  Peter Brown - a long standing tutor for ourselves is the Landscape Manager. 

They also won in 2002 and 2003.

Photos of Oranges

G Ladell a correspondent from London who has a single minded devotion to the idea of a hardy orange has asked me for any coloured photographs of citrus fruits and citrus fruit trees and in particular photos of home made candied citrus fruit, plus recipes. If any one has photos of the hardy orange Citrus trifoliata - for this author he would be glad to have them.  Do email them to this office info@hccollege.co.uk if you care to and I will post them on to him in London

Mr Ladell has this hope of a new tree fruit crop and I suppose it is just about possible.  In London city it is so much warmer.  I was there at the RHS in December and there was no frost damage to the cyclamen bedded outside some London apartments whereas our garden here in Wiltshire is showing severe damage to the few hybrid cyclamen we have under a cedar tree and the Penstemon look as though their end has come!

The Soil Association held their 60th Anniversary Conference in January, the programme was entitled Feeding Our Cities in the 21st Century.  Maybe one should mark ones diary for the 61st presumably on similar dates in early Jan '07. They do get excellent speakers.

Winter Hardiness

Here we are in a frosty winter period and the Horticultural Development Council (of which we are a member) has mailed a factsheet on the Winter Protection of Container Grown Nursery Stock.

The HDC are leaders in supporting research and making their findings available to their members.  In this paper I had not appreciated that Buxus sempervirens has its roots killed at -3°C - this was the most tender of the plants on their list.  Potentilla fruiticosa at -23°C as one of the hardiest!

Woodpeckers or crows in search of a dainty morsel in the lawn have caused these huge holes.

A small competition - I have 5 prizes for members to win for their children.  Each prize consists of a miniature laboratory with lots and lots of simple scientific experiments to do with biology, sound, acids and alkalis, solids, liquids and gases, static electricity, magnestism, gravity and much more.

How to win - entry is free but the invitation is that you offer to send me some well thought through ideas of how I could create a course which could excite children - of various ages - to enjoy gardens and a love of plants.

The best 5 entries to be received by Easter 2006 will each receive a prize.  Please email me Oliver via info@hccollege.co.uk - all entries will be acknowledged and all runners up will be able to choose a new book from our list at the time.

The first primrose of the year under a yew hedge.

Still on the theme of children, Helen the office manager was given a copy of Sam's Soay Sheep book.  What an interesting book full of facts and lots of pictures about the most mysterious and lovable of all sheep. A book for children that grown-ups love. This book is available on amazon or from www.boams.co.uk for £6.00.  Michael & Sophie Darlow can arrange visits to their home in Bradford on Avon, Wilts for children who would like to see the sheep.

What members have said on their course completion responses.

JT from Bucks - The course has been most stimulating and interesting - I am now deep into nightly revision.

AM from Glasgow - I really enjoyed the course.  The course was very helpful.  I would like to praise and thank my tutor for all his encouragement and advice.  He was very prompt in returning my lessons and I loved opening them on their return for his kind words.

CL from London - I am delighted with my overall result and I have really enjoyed the course.

SY from Worcester - ...I have been delighted with the service that I have received...

L F-H of Kent - I would like to thank you for the provision of this correspondence course. I have found it very interesting and useful.

KJ from Norwich - I would just like to say that the support and encouragement from Bob has been helpful and stimulating.  Some of his answers to my questions have challanged (any) simplistic response to problems and directed me towards a more reflective approach.

Chimonanthus praecox - Wintersweet in flower

at 16 Notton.

TW from Okayama City, Japan - I have been using the knowledge gained to start a landscape design company here in Japan ..... and have had an amount of success ...

GA from Usk - I fully intend to start trying to make use of some of the projects next week.

RK from Ireland - of her GLADD course - I enjoyed doing it so much and learned what I hoped to...

JK from Oxon - Once again thank you for the award and I hope to use the Agricultural Correspondence College again in future. (We own the Agricultural Correspondence College)

DS from Notts - ...hearing more about things that you do in the garden, finding out things you didn't know...

CH from Hampshire - My knowledge of soil has expanded greatly.

AF from Essex - If there is any merit in this sample I attribute it to the kind tutelage of GH my personal tutor.  I do not think I could have got this far without his kind instruction.

HV from Cheshire - I found it very comprehensive and well put together and found the ethos welcoming to new members which continued throughout.  I liked the friendly style in which it was written and the way the modules were divided up into manageable sections - I like the questions and checks throughout.

AC from Gateshead - Writes that the most helpful part of the course was putting all the knowledge into a structure with logical progression.

AB from Gloucestershire - Enjoyed the course, it was easy to use and the layout of the questions allowed plenty of scope for researching the answers

.A H-B from North Yorkshire - Excellent. Great back up from start to finish.

A water feature at Plas Newydd, Anglesea - National Trust

Everyone has said their course represented reasonable value for the money paid.

A Gardeners Guide to Holiday Breaks in North Wales

I picked up a useful free leaflet when we stayed for a few days at Beaumaris on Anglesea.  This guide lists specialist nurseries, some lovely gardens and some very choice packages with accomodation up to 30.12.06 with 3 and 4 star farmhouses or guest houses www.gonorthwales.co.uk also their website www.north-wales-events.co.uk has infomation on garden and other events.

We are already enjoying longer days, the spring beckons!

Oliver