By Geoff Fisher 
By Victoria Plum
Dr Ian Bedford really does know everything about the bug world; I always find his talks fascinating.
At this month’s meeting of the Reepham & District Gardening Club he told us about companion planting to help our own gardens obtain the same balance that occurs in the wild, where the mix of plants enables a mix of creatures that in turn enables a natural balance, where insect pests rarely get out of hand.
He asked: “What do you think if you find a greenfly on your salad? Shock and horror?”. If there are no insects and no nibbled leaves on your plate, it is likely that the food items have been treated with insecticides to make them perfect, clean and tidy for you to eat.
The product that kills the bugs that lay eggs, sup the sap and nibble your lettuce is truly nasty; just because you cannot see it do not be beguiled into thinking it is safe for you to eat. Frighteningly, ingestion of these products is now linked with increased occurrences of Parkinson’s disease.
Ian said aphids are really quite sweet and tasty, and on his advice I have sent for some “cricket flour” to try in a cake mix.
He reiterated several times that we must not resort to chemical “magic” answers because the product you use to kill the pest will also be killing the predator you need.
Ian trusts the clever natural products from Green Gardener, Suffolk; I bought the plant invigorator. It safely copes with all the things you might have problems with, such as aphids and scale.
And don’t use liquid detergent to dilute as a spray against aphids as I often have, because it is now too strong for plant life (you may have seen the adverts for cleaning very greasy dishes).
Next month sees the gardening club’s Summer Flower Show and Social Evening. We have been urged to bring our produce and entries even though the year has been difficult.
Everybody has been in the same boat so it will be interesting to see what members have managed to produce (all entries must be home grown!). Bring your entries from 7–7.30 pm on Tuesday 18 August to the Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham.
We like a coach trip
The gardening club went on a comfy and air-conditioned coach all the way to the other side of Norwich (I had to get my passport renewed specially) to Highway Garden & Leisure nursery and garden centre.
I was impressed with the entire place: plants were in good order, the aquatic department was sparkling, the café was excellent with plenty of choice and there were helpful and knowledgeable staff on hand with all the information you needed to know. In fact, just what you would expect from the owners, Roys of Wroxham.
Bargains were bought, lunch enjoyed and we then drove on to Henstead Exotic Garden, just north of Southwold.
The owner gave us a guided tour of his compact, atmospheric, individualistic bamboo forest and unusual plant collection. There were gorgeous cannas; some of these found their way back to Reepham.
It is always interesting to see how owners cultivate their personalities in a garden. The diarist John Evelyn said something along the lines of “Show me the garden and I’ll show you the man”. This amplifies how we put our personalities, inadvertently, into everything we do.
Above: Dr Ian Bedford at the Reepham & District Gardening Club meeting on Tuesday 21 August. Below: Just leaving the jungle at Henstead Exotic Garden. Photos: Tina Sutton
