Members' Articles
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- Written by: Pamela Clark
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Tulips at Orchard House, New Buckenham, South Norfolk
It was not possible to include photographs of the tulips mentioned in my article in our Newsletter No 78 (The Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition). As tulips are nicely in flower now and it’s almost time to think about ordering bulbs for planting later this year, here are my photographs of some of the tulips mentioned.
I planted up two tubs of tulips. ‘Princess Irene’ – a single early – to be placed either side of the front door. Its orange petals and purple ‘flames’ are set off by the colour of the house brick. A pot of double late, raspberry-striped tulips. ‘Carnival de Nice’ was planted to act as a later infill and found a home in front of Exochorda x macrantha ‘The Bride’. Orange tulip ‘Ballerina’ was planted to thread its way through a small sheltered border where there is little spring colour.
Pamela Clark
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- Written by: John Metcalf
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I was part of a group that visited Sicily in late spring of 2008 and took lots of pictures of the sites many of which had wild flowers in and around them. John Metcalf
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- Written by: Judy Simms
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I spent Christmas in Morocco, visiting the imperial cities. It was a relief to see the sun which seemed to be having its own holiday far from Britain. Morocco is a colourful and interesting country with plenty of contrasts.
We had been able to see the lights of the cities as we flew south across Spain and north Africa but fog in Casablanca where we were to change planes delayed our arrival in Fes until next morning. We flew over several lakes and maybe reservoirs in the hills and as we neared Fez the earth became dark red.
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- Written by: John Metcalf
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Building began in 1684 for Stadtholder William III and his consort, Mary II of England. For over three hundred years, Het Loo was the summer residence of the House of Orange-Nassau, which became the Dutch royal family.
The Dutch Baroque architecture of Het Loo takes pains to minimize the grand stretch of its construction, so emphatic at Versailles, and presents itself as just a fine gentleman's residence. Het Loo is not a palace but, as the title of its engraved portrait states, a "Lust-hof" (a retreat, or "pleasure house"). Nevertheless, it is situated entre cour et jardin ("between court and garden") as Versailles and its imitators, and even as in fine Parisian private houses.
Read more: Het Loo former royal palace - near Apeldoorn, Netherlands
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- Written by: Jean Dorricott
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Only the hardy and audacious visit Madagascar in the wet season- the roads are impassable. We went during the dry season, and the roads weren’t wonderful then, vehicles veer from side to side trying to avoid potholes, broken verges and ruts. Like the wealthy Malagasy, we took to the air for any long trip. First stop the capital Antananarivo (Tana). An excellent plant exhibition included Darwin’s orchid Angraecum sesquipidale that has a spur up to 35cm long. Darwin predicted, to considerable scepticism, there’d be a pollinating insect with a tongue long enough to reach the nectar at the base. Twenty years after his death he was vindicated, when a moth with such a tongue was discovered in Madagascar.