Jardinagem em Portugal

December 2011 is the centenary of the death of Joseph Dalton Hooker and this event is being marked by a meeting, organised by the Linnean Society, Kew, the Kew Guild and the University of Sussex, and a special exhibition about his life and work, both at Kew. One of the most influential botanists and scientists of the 19th Century, he was Director of Kew for more than 20 years and was President of the Royal Society from 1873 to 1878.

The joint venture by the Linnean Society and Wiley-Blackwell, making the legacy copy from the Society’s journals available electronically, has allowed us to compile a virtual issue of the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society to celebrate this important anniversary. Here we present five of Hooker’s significant publications published by the Linnean Society. In addition, we also include a collection of 10 papers by other authors, published in the Society’s journals from 1898 to 2009, which reflect the ongoing importance of Hooker’s contribution to botany.

Articles cover the flora of the Galapagos Islands, the Arctic, British India, and the Falkland Islands.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1095-8339/homepage/joseph_dalton_hooker_virtual_issue.htm

Many thanks to Gerald Luckhurst for an inspiring talk on The Gardens of Madeira, when can we come for a visit ? Thanks also to Hapimag Albufeira for hosting our visit on Thursday December 8th. Christmas table decorations expertly demonstrated by John Vellam at the Christmas Market. Very best wishes to everyone for a happy and peaceful Christmas, with lots of good gardening to come in 2012 !

Buying books for gardeners can be a real problem, but a well chosen book makes a great present.

If you want some inspiration, have a look at our page on the right with a list of recommended reading for Mediterranean gardeners. One of the joys of longer winter evenings is definitely the chance to settle down with an absorbing read on our favourite topic, plants and gardens of the mediterranean climate zones of the world.

There are some suitable for beginners looking for help and sound practical advice, like the good original book by Hugo Latymer, The Mediterranean Gardener.

There are some with fascinating insights into the forces which formed our mediterranean landscapes, such as the wonderful book by A T Grove & Oliver Rackham on The Nature of Mediterranean Europe.

If you have some suggestions to add to our list, please let me know by posting a comment below.

On Sunday morning after a very busy day at the Garden Fair, a group of helpers enjoyed a  Garden Visit to Mandihari ,Vivian Hirst´s home near Almancil. Vivian is a new member of the MGS and a very experienced garden designer. We visited this garden in June last year when we focussed on the many Australian plants in the garden.

There was much to see and it was a glorious sunny day to visit this very special garden.  It is a rare treat to see a garden which has matured under the knowledgeable guiding hand of a discerning designer. There were many lessons on use of spaces, planting  appropriate to the conditions and everyone was inspired by the wonderful peaceful atmosphere after our hectic annual fund raising event.

Quinta das Salinas, Almancil

Margaret & Jeffrey Jackson  kindly agreed to open their gravel garden to us. Margaret recently won the ‘Garden of the Year’ award in the competition organised by local garden clubs.

It was a special opportunity to see a well designed garden with a definite bias towards plantsmanship – Margaret’s interest in her garden was demonstrated by the sympathetic use of many rare plants alongside the native and more familiar plants.

Margaret’s talk on Sculpture in the Garden  also provided inspiration, from the grand formal set piece grottoes and temples to the sculpted marble figures of Henry Moore and the small collections of terracotta pots and pebbles that we all seem to accumulate in our travels – or even watering cans ! The examples of land art, with a lovely use of rocks, branches and sculpted sand channels made everyone itch to get home and have a go themselves !