The GentianISSUE 228 SPRING 2012The Newsletter for the Friends of Ness Gardens

ContentsISSUE 228 SPRING 2012

2 From the Secretary's desk

3 May Bank Holiday plant sale

4 & 5 Letter from the Director

6 Outcomes from the AGM

7 Membership system update and the Friends’ Archive

8 & 9 Volunteers help keep standards high

9 New website for Ness Gardens

10 Botanic Artists' exhibition

11 Shop discount for Friends

12 & 13 Dates for your diary

14 Friends Sunday Lecture Series

15 Mysteries among the Azaleas

16 & 17 Spring/summer courses at Ness

18 Reason to smile when sun comes out

19 & 20 Please support our advertisers

Editor: Keith Cade The Media Centre 7 The Precinct, Bromborough,Wirral CH62 7AD Tel: 0151 343 9100 Fax: 0151 334 0275 kcade@meridian-ltd.net

Editorial Board: Helen Watters, Kevin Reid, Paul Cook, Barry Fowler, John Tallis

Printer:The Print Room Tel 0151 922 8516

Cover picture:A Magnolia sprengeri provides a wonderful foreground to the spring blue sky

The Friends of Ness Gardens is a registered charity No 511294.Views expressed in this publicationare not necessarily those of Ness Botanic Gardens or the Friends of Ness Gardens.

Material for the next issue should reach the Editor by mid-June 2012.

University of Liverpool, Ness Botanic Gardens Tel 0151 353 0123 Fax 0151 353 1004 Website www.nessgardens.org.uk Email friendsofnessgardens@liv.ac.uk

Delightful tulips to be enjoyed in the Gardens

Whilst many members of the Society are, of course,extremely interested in supporting our aims andthereby the ongoing development of the Gardens, aninterest in the 'business' side of the Friends isperhaps not high on the reasons to join.

This was perhaps reflected recently with the AGMattended by 64 members and, although withinquorum in line with the current Constitution, thisrepresented less than 1% of current membership.

This could mean two things: (a) the vast majority ofmembership is entirely satisfied with how the workof the Society is undertaken, or (b) your Committeeis not making the AGM attractive enough for ourFriends to want to attend!

It is your Society and, whilst your Committee arehere to ensure that the business side is undertaken,we do need your input!

As you will read in this issue and be noticing through your visits to the Gardens, which Ihope are often, there are lots of changes taking place over the forthcoming months includingthe new footpath access which has been assisted through a substantial grant by the Friends; anew catering outlet by the Potting Sheds and revamped Shop and Plant Sales areas, includingthe launch of new products, many of them Ness-related. And, even better, the trial period ofFriends offered a 10% discount on full-price purchases has now been extended -permanently!

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee is obviously going to be a significant highlight for the countryin 2012 (along with some small sporting event over the summer) but the Friends of NessGardens are entering our own important anniversary year. Established in 1962, the Friendshave provided over £2.1 million of grants over the last 50 years with many of the majorareas of the Gardens including the Terraces, the original Visitor Centre and significant areas ofplanting made possible through our support. A number of events are being planned tocelebrate this important milestone and further information will be circulated as soon asthese are confirmed.

We look forward to our many Friends helping us to make 2012 a significant phase in theSociety's on-going history.

From the Secretary’s Desk Helen Watters

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Rhododendron blue diamond.

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This year’s plant sale at Ness Gardens will feature, as always, an exciting range of unusual,everyday and exotic plants including bedding, perennial, vegetables, trees and shrubs donatedby you!

If you have any attractive, healthy plants, whatever species or variety, they would be mostwelcome.We know from previous years that the greater the choice, the more successful thesales.All monies raised goes to the Friends of Ness to benefit the Gardens.

We also have interesting plants and advice from expert gardeners such as Peter Foley fromWaddow Lodge Garden and Sion from Station House Dahlias. For many years, DovecoteNurseries has been generous with their wonderful stock and Hugh McAllister will be on handto help with advice or queries.

Plants, unwanted pots or garden tools can be dropped off at Ness anytime during the firstweek of May before the sale day.

If you have any new ideas about what we should sell or would like to volunteer to help on astall for an hour or more on the day between 8am and 2pm please get in touch with me.Anyhelp would be most gratefully received.

It went wonderfully last year and I know thisyear will be just as successful! Don’t forget -there will be refreshments provided during theday as selling is thirsty work!

Some family activity, supported by the Friends,will also be taking place in the Gardens (entrycharge will apply for non-Friends).

Olwen McLaughlin0151 639 7199

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Letter from the Director Kevin F. H. Reid

So far 2012 has been largely mild and dry which has been good for visitor numbers in theGardens and an unseasonal boost for plant sales.

Preparations are underway for the main visitor season with many exciting developmentswhich will improve the visitor and Friends experience at Ness alongside improving accessboth locally and internationally.

The internal refurbishment of the Hulme Room has been completed. It looks fantastic and isready for business with weddings, meetings and family functions – so if you are celebratingsomething special in 2012 then look no further!

Roses will be starting Sunday carvery luncheons in the Hulme Room ahead of the Friendslectures and afternoon tea taken overlooking the garden.

Also new for the 2012 season, Roses will be offering drinks, light refreshments and ice creamin the Garden Kiosk from Easter to enjoy alfresco in the heart of the Gardens.

In addition, the Bulley Room has been refurbished for our Reaseheath, gardening and hobbycourses, while work will start soon on the Mickwell Brow coach toilets and BulleyCourtyard toilets to complete the updating of these much-used facilities.

Ness Gardens is to share in Û 168,000following a successful INTERREG 4C bid forKnowledge Exchange (KE) activities whichwill give the Ness team the opportunity tovisit gardens within the nine Europeanpartner countries to share skills andexperience. Our international guests will beusing Rake Cottage as a base for their timeat the Gardens.

In addition, the funding will enable Ness tohost three international conferences aroundclimate change, conservation and the tourismeconomy.

Saxifraga in Alpine House

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The new Ness website should be live by the time of publication so check it out onwww.nessgardens.org.uk .This is a fantastic asset to the Gardens in enabling Ness to bemore visible to the outside world. It is anticipated that the Phase II development will begin inlate summer.

After some delay, Chester Water and Chester contractors have completed the connectingstretch of path to that installed by Ness in front of Rake and Mickwell Cottages.The pathnow enters the Herb Garden and will continue through the Ness car park before rejoiningthe footpath adjacent to the main entrance.

The path is already being well-used and, once the re-marking of the car park is completed inApril, this new safe access route will serve to reinforce our commitment to sustainability byencouraging visitors to arrive on foot or bicycle. We are indebted to the Friends of NessGardens for the funding support to enable this access upgrade.

Finally, an array of solar panelshas been installed on the VisitorCentre roof and in the gardenadjacent to the global warmingexperiment to help reduce ourenergy costs – I just hope weget a barbeque summer!

We look forward to welcomingyou to Ness throughout 2012(more on page 18).

Caldy open gardensLast year’s 19 June was a glorious sunny day when 10 Caldy village garden enthusiasts openedtheir gates to raise funds for North West Cancer Research. More than 600 visitors arrived in fourhours and helped raise £6000, £1000 more than on the previous year’s record.

The gardens, some open for the first time, showed a good mix of style, size and age, offeringplenty of ideas to inspire the visitors.They are usually clustered around recommended parkingplaces within the village.

A selection of gardens, hopefully including some fresh ones, will open again on Sunday 27 May at2pm. Posters will be displayed locally in advance with details of ticket availability and prices.

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Outcomes from the AGM

Thank you to all Friends who attended and contributed to the Annual General Meeting onSaturday 21 January 2012 which was attended by 64 Members. The key points from theAnnual Report and outcomes from the meeting are detailed below:

■ A detailed overview of the process of the independent examination of the Society’saccounts for the accounting periods 2008-09 and 2009-10 was given by the Secretary andit was agreed that this had answered a number of the queries which had been raised atthe previous AGM.

■ Membership subscription rates had increased on 1 January 2011 (the first time since2007). These will remain unchanged for 2012 but will be reviewed at the autumnCommittee meeting.

■ To 31 July 2011 the Society had 7,397 Members (7,376 the previous reporting period)which is 4,452 memberships (4,433 previously).

■ To 31 July 2011 the Society had confirmed £43,000-worth of grants to the Gardenswhich was in addition to the £114,412 for general support (80% of subscriptionsautomatically being paid). The main additional grants included the following:- An extra £10,000 towards the Ken Hulme Student Bursary- £6,000 for four information monitors to go into the Visitor Centre- £8,000 towards the Ness Footpath Scheme to make access to the Gardens safer for

those visitors travelling there on foot - £3,500 towards the development of a new Gardens website with dedicated

membership pagesHowever, due to the number of projects which had either been reassigned after beingawarded, or came under budget when completed, £46,085 was written back to theSociety’s funds.

■ The total assets for the Society, as at 31 July 2011, were £131,127 which was a substantiallevel to hold but was being built up to await confirmation of projects from the Gardensas well as to fund something significant to mark the forthcoming Golden Anniversary ofthe Friends.

■ The re-election Mrs Ann Hudson and Dr Duncan Shaw was confirmed at the AGM (seepage 10 for full details of the Society’s Committee).

■ In recognition of the long-term support given during his role as Chairman 2000–2011Honorary Membership of the Society was awarded to Dr Anthony (Tony) Mould.

Copies of the Minutes of the 2011 AGM are available on request from the Secretary viaHLWatters@talktalk.net or Lorna Harper, Membership Administrator, at the Gardens orlorna.harper2@liv.ac.uk

Membership system update

An outline of the process on the discussions for the introduction of a new administration systemwhich had taken place over the past months was given at the AGM by Steve Ferguson and BarryFowler, with the outcome that the Committee has taken the decision and informed the University,that the proposed system was not ‘fit for purpose’ for the requirements of the Society and that itwould not be accepted for the administration of its records.

Whilst this was a disappointing situation to be in some 15 months since the start of the project,which had been enthusiastically detailed and received at the last AGM, it was confirmed that nocosts had so far been incurred by the Society. It was also noted that some aspects of theproposed system, ie the new membership cards, could be used with an alternative system.

New proposals were now being looked into with the Director and his team and it is hoped that apositive outcome could be reported back to the membership in the near future.

When the Friends of Ness Gardens was established in 1962 a regular typed four-page Newsletterdetailing seasonal highlights in the Gardens, was an important form of communication for theincreasingly growing membership.

Whilst undertaking the research for this Golden Anniversary year I have spent quite a bit of timein the Special Archive Collection in the Sydney Jones Library at the University of Liverpool, as wellas reading through back issues of Newsletters (in all its various formats) and past Committeepapers.

However, I have not been able to findIssue No 1 of the Newsletter which isrecorded to have been produced inDecember 1962. Do you have a copyof it? In fact, do you have any potentialarchival material (past issues of thenewsletter, photographs, etc) which youthink might be of interest to create ascomplete an archive of the Society aspossible? If so please leave a messagefor me at the Gardens or contact meat HLWatters@talktalk.net.

Hacquetia epipactis

Friends’ archive Helen Watters

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Volunteers help keep standards high Fiona Harrison

A large disparate group of people work on a regular basis to support the permanent staff atNess Botanic Gardens. These teams of volunteers make it possible to maintain the 64 acresof gardens to a high standard for the enjoyment of the wider public and as an educationalresource at many levels.

Who are the people giving their time and energy? Most are local to the Wirral althoughsome travel 30 or more miles from North Wales, Merseyside and Cheshire. Some use theirleisure time from busy working lives to put in a few hours at Ness but many are retired.What all have in common is a love of gardens and an enthusiasm to make Ness a thrivinghorticultural showpiece.

Visitors to the gardens cannot help but be aware of volunteer gardeners, particularly onThursday afternoons when groups can be found undertaking various tasks - pruning, weeding,hoeing, etc. When a bigger job presents itself a team will get together, for example, diggingout an old juniper bush; working on the water features; planting up the potager. Volunteersare also involved in the Wildflower Meadow where they identify the flowers, butterflies andbees. Others collect seeds and carefully sort, clean, pack and label for Friends.

For all roles, there is always an expert on hand to teach new skills and explain horticulturalor environmental aspects of the job.

Visitors may not be so aware of the numerous people who work front-of-house and behindthe scenes as volunteers. The Admissions Desk, and Shop and Plant Sales are all staffed byvolunteers who enjoy welcoming visitors and can help them get the most out of their visit bypointing out current highlights and special features to look out for.

Volunteers also support the office staff by helping with the production of leaflets, preparinginformation for coach parties, answering phones, taking reservations for courses and events,etc.

Ness, as a university botanical garden, plays an important role in education at many levels and covering all ages and abilities. During term-time Ness hosts a number of school visitslooking at trees, plants, the vegetable garden, insects and pond life. At half-term there is aBoredom Buster week with organised children's activities and in the summer holidays achildren's Fun Day. Volunteers helping Becky Ford run these sessions enjoy working with the children.

For the more mature visitor, the Garden Guides provide an invaluable service, particularlyhelpful to the coach tour of garden enthusiasts.

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Behind the scenes there is an enormous amount of work to be done in the BotanyDepartment. Science and plant recording are the lynchpin of all of the work botanic gardensdo. Accurately recording, documenting and labelling plants is the key to this science, andvolunteers help with all the many and varied tasks involved.

One of the main jobs is helping to find, identify and manage the plant collections in thegardens, and lots of work so far has been done on Camellias and Rhododendrons. Othervolunteers help to build up and maintain the database of plants growing at Ness.

This database is available on line (http://ness-gardens.csc.liv.ac.uk). From the informationheld, plant labels are made by volunteers using a photographic process onto metal plate; aprocess that is probably unique to the Gardens.Work is also undertaken mounting plantspecimens for use in the Herbarium at the Liverpool World Musem.

Work in a garden is never finished! So many tasks need so many willing hands! At Nesspeople from all walks of life can find a place whether their skills are in gardening,communicating with people, making people feel at home, specialist plantsmen, working withchildren, books or computers.

Ness offers us all an opportunity not only to enjoy a beautiful place but to be part of theorganisation, making it possible, a place where we can have a pride in achievement of projectswith tangible and often dramatic results.

Bob recently volunteered and threw himself at many tasks, including the Laburnum Arch,which was in need of a severe haircut. Over many weeks Bob turned up on a Thursday andworked methodically through the Arch pruning out dead, diseased or overcrowded branches.

Unfortunately Bob has been unable to volunteer since Christmas due to the changes in the272 Bus route. Is Bob the only volunteer relying on a hit and miss transport system to get toNess? Can we help by organising car shares or lifts? Any thoughts and help would beappreciated. More about volunteers in our next edition.

New website for Ness Gardens! Alison Cliffe

We are delighted to announce the relaunch of the much-awaited Ness website.The newwebsite will be a shop window for our visitors, 87% of whom visit it before going to theGardens.

There will be moving images, on-line bookings for events/courses and functions, an on-line shop, information about Roses Tea Rooms, and a gallery where you can postpictures. In addition, users will be able to access frequently-asked questions onhorticultural subjects while Friends will have special access via their own membershippage to ask questions and advice from Ness experts. Social media users can network viaFacebook/Twitter/You Tube. www.nessgardens.org.uk

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Botanical Artists’ exhibition Ann Hudson

Friends of Ness Gardens Committee Members

Following the AGM, your Committee members are as follows:

Chair Professor Jon Saunders

Secretary Helen Watters

Treasurer Roger Bickerstaff

Appointed by the University Professor Malcolm Bennett

Ordinary Members Steve Ferguson,Ann Hudson, Olwen McLaughlin,Lindsay Price, Dr Duncan Shaw and Dr John Tallis

Co-opted Members Tracey Crich and Barry Fowler

Editor of The Gentian Keith Cade

Ness Botanical Artists celebrate their 21st anniversary with an exhibition on 27 June–10 July.

Founded in January 1991, they have achieved Royal Horticultural Society medals for Ness BotanicGardens. (silver medals for Rhododendron Subsection Maddenia in December 2000) followed bythe exciting exhibition at BBC Gardeners World Live at the Birmingham Exhibition Centre in2002 for exhibiting ‘Rare endangered species’ and for the recent Collection of Ilex grown at Ness.

Individual artists have been awarded RHS Gold and RCHS scientific medals.

The group aims to provide the highest standard of botanical tuition by medal-holders. Courses areoften fully-booked early in January with waiting lists.

Some of the artists are also members of the Society of BotanicalArtists and the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, makingfriendships worldwide in their desire to share, enjoy and inspirewith their paintings.

■ 20-27 June Exhibition of Botanic Art. Josephine Hague and VickiMarsh exhibiting botanical illustrations of birch, alder and plantsfrom the Moss Lake project previously exhibited at the VicoriaGallery Museum, Liverpool.The birch illustrations are for theforthcoming Kew monograph series, Betula by Dr Hugh McAllister.A chance to see high quality botanical illustrations at Ness.

Ann’s painting of Rhododendron dalhousiae var.rhabdotum, grown at Ness

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Ness retail revamp

Changes are underway within the Gift Shop and Plant Sales ahead of the 2012 season with a viewto providing high quality products aimed at an increasingly discerning customer.

The aim is to move towards the higher end garden retail offer in order to raise the Gardens’reputation as a place that sells appropriate Ness souvenirs alongside ‘nice things’ which differfrom local garden centre competitors.

Iain Cowan (Retail Enterprises Manager) said: ‘The Gift Shop will be centred on four themes –Food, Learning,Art and Craft, and Children and Families.The aim is to bring in more appropriategarden merchandise, including seasonal lines, Ness-specific products, and bespoke items, to createa sense of regular change to attract repeat visits.’

Plant Sales is being reorganised to reflect a reduction in lines in favour of more Ness-specificplants which have been grown by Reaseheath students as our plant propagation partner; alongsidelocal Cheshire growers such as Sue Beesley of Bluebell Cottage (former BBC Gardner of theYear) and supporting our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint rather than usingsuppliers from Brighton to Holland.

‘We would ask you to bear with us while we make the transition and please continue to supportthe Gardens through our retail activity,’ said Iain.

New products include a range of RHS-endorsed gardening gloves, Ness-branded lines such aspens, pencils, mugs, jigsaws and fridge magnets, bespoke local arts and crafts including silk scarves,contemporary stained glass and jewellery, along with gardening gifts/toys for younger visitors.The Shop will also stock jams and chutney from the locally renowned Cheshire ChutneyCompany, as well as a selection of cheese from the Cheshire Cheese Company.

Blended tea and a selection of the jams and sauces used in the coffee shop will also be available.

Discount for Friends

The 10% discount for Friends of NessGardens is now permanently available on presentation of your validmembership card in the Shop and Plant Sales areas.

Swam to Ness. A family fun day about thedecline in bees - page 12.

Please see our website at www.nessgardens.org.uk for further information or call us on 0151 353 0123.

To celebrate our 50th anniversary we are planning a range of family activities to takeplace in the Gardens 11-3pm on Sunday afternoons throughout June to September(please see website for more details).

March

Easter Egg Hunt & Big Dig Week 31 March–15 April, 50p per trail

April

Up With Lark - An early morning bird watch with the RSPB followed by a bacon sandwich ora vegetarian sausage and tea/coffee. Spaces are limited so please contact 0151 353 0123 tobook now. £10 adults, £8 Friends 14 April

Rhododendron Society 14th Anniversary Show 14–15 April, Bulley Room,10am–5pm.

May

Friends of Ness Gardens Plant Fair 7 May (see page 3).

Heswall Photographic Society Exhibition 7–13 May

European Fascination of Plants Day18 May – learn about the role plants play in agriculture,horticulture, forestry, and other industries.Will involve sustainability-based practicaldemonstrations, activities, quizzes and tours. Please check website for details

June

Henry V, Illyria Outdoor Theatre 8 June £12.50 (adult), £6 (5-16 yrs) gates open 5.30pm,performance 7pm.

World Environment Day 9 June. Please check website for details.

Swarm to Ness – a family fun day about the decline in bees including guided walks to thebeehives, bee hive demonstrations, talks on bees, advice from bee experts on how to lookafter them in your garden, honey tasting, waggle dancing with Piff Paff, facepainting andchildren’s activities.Admission to gardens applies, all children are FREE of charge. 19 June

Dates for your diary

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After the Dream 21-22 June – A modern sequel to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hand inHand theatre production. £8 per person, gates open at 6pm, performance starts at 7pm.

July

Children’s Fun Day 25 July. 10am–4.30pm.Admission to garden applies. Some activities mayincur a small charge.

The Twits, Illyria Outdoor Theatre 28 July, £12.50 (adult), £6 (5-16 yrs) gates open 5.30pm,performance 6.30pm.

August

Peter Pan, Off the Ground Theatre 3 and 4 August. Allbookings 0151 625 2929 www.offtheground.co.uk

HMS Pinafore, Illyria Outdoor Theatre 26 August. £12.50(adult), £6 (5-16 yrs), gates open 5.30pm, performance7pm.

Macbeth, Lord Chamberlain’s Men 28 August. £12.50(adult), £6 (5-16), gates open 5.30pm performance 7pm.

Secret no moreIt’s the 12th annual opportunity on 13 May (10am-5pm) to view more than 20 hidden gardens inthe pleasant conservation village of Oxton, Birkenhead. You will be charmed by the range ofgardens on display, all within walking distance of each other - from tiny courtyards to spaciousborders and landscaped lawns, these are the creations of everyday gardeners who generouslyopen their gates to raise funds for charity.

The Secret Gardens is organised by The Oxton Society with help from local charities who allbenefit from the profits.

During the day you can also enjoy refreshments in gardens, pubs, cafés and restaurants. There willbe plant advice and sales of local plants, live music, strolling actors and musicians and local arts &crafts for sale. Children’s activities include Punch & Judy, fairground organ, pony rides, horse-drawnomnibus, face painting and more.

Tickets: £6 in advance or £8 on the day, including free car park, eight-page programme with mapof gardens, facilities and events. Accompanied under-18s free. Please see advert on inside front-cover for details of how to buy tickets.

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Autumn 2012 It is a programme of lectures that I hope you will find a little special, with speakers who all comehighly recommended: two talks discussing very different aspects of Ness Gardens by localspeakers (Peter Cunnington and Tim Baxter), two garden-history talks by nationally-renownedspeakers (Sam Youd and Maggie Campbell-Culver), and two talks that should be pure enjoyment(Marian & Chris Goody and Patrick Harding).

16 September Peter Cunnington. Celebrating 50 years of the Friends of Ness Gardens*Former Curator of Ness Gardens, and a regular speaker over several decades,Peter has personal experience of the services rendered to the Gardens by the Friends.

7 October. Tim Baxter. A tree trail around Ness Gardens*Celebrating the heritage of rare and unusual trees planted at Ness Gardens over many decades.

21 October. Sam Youd. Restoration of Kitchen GardensBased on experience at Tatton Park, where Sam was, until recently,Garden Manager.

4 November Marian & Chris Goody. Penguins and Polar BearsAn audio-visual presentation of adventures in the Antarctic and Arctic.

18 November Maggie Campbell-Culver. The 17th century horticultural world of John Evelyn*And especially his 'Sylva, a discourse of Forest Trees', published in 1664.

2 December Patrick Harding. Christmas and its customs What links Christmas and holly, ivy, mistletoe, robins, candles, crackers, mince pies, etc. (* title to be confirmed)

All talks are at 2.30pm but there are special arrangements being planned for Peter Cunnington'stalk on 17 September to mark the 50th anniversary of the Society.

Friends Sunday Lecture Series John Tallis

Emails please for a chance to winWe are gathering Friends' email addresses to keep you better informed and to ultimately reducepaper notifications. To help us please send your email address to friendsofnessgardens@liv.ac.uk .Those who do so by 1 July will be entered into a prize draw and could win two tickets for theIllyria production of The Twits at Ness on 28 July.

Mysteries among the Azaleas Tim Baxter

2011 was a great year for progress on the Ness Holt Azaleas.Theseazaleas are special to Ness as they were named by Peter Cunningtonin the 1990s after towns on the Wirral (such as Spital and Neston).

Much of the work in documenting and recording plants in theGardens is complete, with the final report coming out towards theend of this year. Preliminary results show that Ness still has most ofthe cultivars, although several still remain unaccounted for.

Despite all plants in the Gardens flowering about 3-4 weeks early,many of the ‘late’ flowering azaleas were still in bloom later thanalmost all others, making them quite special.

One exciting development of the year was finding several previously unknown cultivars.These are simply known at the minute by their auditing numbers such as Rhododendron700, but may prove to be excellent new cultivars, if they are distinct enough plants (seephoto).

We are also still on the look out for any gardens that may have a Ness Holt Azalea. If youhave one, please get in contact with me at the Gardens. Many thanks to those of you whohave shown us your plants and brought in photos.

● Thanks to the Friends of Ness Gardens for the grant in support of this project.

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Plants and home-made teas!Between now and the end of May, 10 National Gardens Scheme gardens in Wirral - plus manymore in neighbouring Cheshire - will welcome visitors.Admission averages £4 for adults, childrenare usually free, and most gardens offer home-made afternoon teas.

For a fabulous display of shrubs and bulbs, head to Neston on 15 April for Briarfield with its fourdistinct gardens (open 2-6pm). A few days later, on 21 April, there's Poulton Hall in Bebingtonwith three acres to explore, plus a walled garden with literary connections.

A visit to Willaston on 6 May offers three gardens for the price of one: Change Hey, covering twoacres, the Dutch House with its cottage garden, and the half-acre plantperson's garden ofSilverburn. Open 2-5pm.

In Meols, there are two suburban NGS gardens with a seaside flavour. Each garden (29 and 31Forest Road, open 2-6pm) features a revolving summerhouse, plus imaginative landscaping andspring planting.

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April

RHS Level 1, Designing with Plants. Fridays - 20 April-25 May, 9.30am-12noon, £45

RHS Level 1,Why Do People Need Plants. Fridays - 20 April-25 May, 1-3.30pm, £45

Soils & Composting 21 April, 10am-3pm, £18

Plant ID for Beginners 28 April, 10am-3pm, £18

May

Gardening Club - Practical Guide to Propagating Bulbs 1 May, 10am-12.30pm, £8

Spring Propagation 5 May, 10am-3pm, £18

Beginners Woodcarving with John White 5-6 May, £150

Growing & Cooking with Herbs 12 May, 10am-3pm, £18

RHS Level 1, Right Plant/Right Place 19-20 May, 10am-4pm, £40

Exploring the Plant Kingdom 26 May, 10am-3pm, £18

Herbal Medicine Day with Jesper Launder 27 May, £45

June

RHS Level 1, Designing with Plants 2-3 June, 10am-4pm, £40

Gardening Club - Essential Gardening Jobs for the Summer 5 June, 10am-12.30pm, £8

RHS Level 1, Wildlilfe Friendly Gardens. Fridays - 15 June-20 July, 9.30am-12noon, £45

RHS Level 1,The Secret Life of Trees. Fridays - 15 June-20 July, 1-3.30pm, £45

Herbariums 16 June, 10am-3pm, £18

RHS Level 1,Wildlife Friendly Gardens 23-24 June, 10am-4pm, £40

Bees 30 June, 10am-3pm, £18

July

Gardening Club - Weeds & How to Defeat Them 3 July, 10am-12.30pm, £8

Spring/summer courses at Ness

Please refer to the website at www.nessgardens.org.uk for further information or call us on0151 353 0123. Prices quoted include Friends discount.

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Summer Pruning 7 July, 10am-3pm, £18

Illustrated Guide to Native Wildflowers 14 July, 10am-3pm, £18

Herbaceous Borders 21 July, 10am-3pm, £18

Identifying Trees 4 August, 10am-3pm, £18

Gardening Club - Practical Guide to Ponds 7 August, 10am-12.30pm, £8

Summer Propagation 11 August, 10am-3pm, £18

Help promote the FriendsWe are looking to raise our profile and promote the Friends during our 50th anniversary yearboth within the Gardens and at a variety of garden events, large and small (from local NGS opengardens to the Tatton and Southport Flower Shows).

If you would like to help out at the Gardens over the weekend, act as an external representativeof Friends at events, or are willing to deliver leaflets to a venue, please send your contact detailsto friendsofnessgardens@liv.ac.uk and we will send you a list of local events we would like tocover.

Get the buzz!To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wirral Branch of Cheshire Beekeepers Association,there is a one-day meeting in the Lecture Theatre at Ness Gardens on 16 June.

Eminent beekeeper Clive de Bruyn will give a talk on ‘The importance of pollen to plants, theenvironment, bees and humans’ followed by a more light-hearted lecture by Bill Turnbull, BBCnewsreader and presenter. Bill is the author of The Bad Beekeepers’ Club and has wide experienceof the pleasures and pitfalls of trying to keep bees.

The programme for the day is 10.30am - assemble and coffee, 11am Clive de Bruyn talk, 12.30pmlunch, 2.30pm Bill Turnbull, 4pm finish.

All are welcome.Admission to the two lectures only, including coffee is by ticket only at £7 each.Tickets will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

For tickets please contact C. Brabin, Rosewood, Old Hall Lane, Puddington, Neston CH64 5SP.Tel0151 353 1193. Email angela.brabin@btinternet.com

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Recent visitors to Ness may have noticed the array of 42 solar panels on the Visitor Centreroof and 130 panels in an open area of the Gardens near the weather station.

Why has this been done? The installation looks set to have a significant impact on energyusage at Ness Gardens.The ground solar PV array and roof solar PV array have a combinedforecast annual generation capacity of 47,000 kw hrs; Ness has a total annual consumption ofelectricity of circa 200,000 kw hrs, so the solar panels will supply about 23% of its totalannual consumption.

Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity and, in the case of solar panels, it isdone directly using photovoltaics (PV) which convert light into electric current using aphotoelectric effect (the creation of voltage or electric current in a material from exposureto light).

Assemblies of solar cells are used to make solar modules which capture energy from sunlight.Multiple modules assembled together and oriented in one plane are known as a solar panel.The resulting energy created is known as solar power.

A sustainable future? The Ness installation is part of a wider programme of solar PVinstallation across the University's estate; solar PV arrays have also been installed on theFoundation Building (the University's main administration building) and on the roof of theElectrical Engineering building, both inLiverpool.The total installed capacityacross the University's three solar PVsites (Ness, Foundation, Engineering) iscirca 110,000 kw hrs per annum.

Reason to smile when sun comes out

The Gentian

Tracey Crich

Feeling the heat - solar panelsatop the Visitor Centre and nearthe weather station.

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