The choice of container is also very important, in fact the colour and shape of the bowl or vase will often dictate the colour and style of the arrangement.

Bowls or vases of mixed colours can look very charming, but the blending of the colours in an effective manner is not always easy. Probably the easiest and most effective arrangements are those of one tone, that is, variations in shade of the one colour. This can be somewhat loosely interpreted to cover arrangements in autumn shades, for instance, in which blooms ranging from old gold to deep red can be used to create warmth.

An arrangement of shades of yellow, ranging from deep cream to golden yellow, is also most effective, and will impart cheerfulness to the dullest of rooms. The rather cold combinations of lavenders and mauve are not always successful, but can look very lovely in rooms in which the general decor is of somewhat similar colouring.

Pink arrangements are always charming, but it is necessary to choose pinks of the same basic shade as the rose pinks and the salmon pinks do not always mix well. It is better to use either a colour scheme ranging from the soft pink of the wild rose through to the rather hard lilac pinks, or one in which the colour progresses from the palest salmon almost to apricot, rather than to try to combine the two.

If shallow bowls are used for arranging the flowers, it is essential to use a pin holder on to which the stems of the flowers are pressed; these holders are also useful in the rather deeper bowls with wide mouths, although it is an advantage to use a wire grid in addition. Chicken wire of 1 in. mesh is excellent for this purpose, firmly pressed into position inside the bowl, just below the rim.

However a direct contrast is more effective in the majority of cases.

The prime requirements will be a number of sheets of the chosen material, approximately 18 in. by 36 in., which should be trimmed into half circles based on the long side of the material, plus a number of lengths of stout galvanised wire some 36 in. long.

Each half circle of material should be bent round to form a cone approximately 18 in. in diameter at the base, and secured by stitching together at the point of overlap. Two lengths of wire should then be placed side by side, twisted together for the last 4 in. at each end, and then pulled out to form a circle; the two twisted tails should be bent down at right angles from the diameter at the same time. Finally the cones should be stitched on to the wire to form the completed shade, with two wire tails projecting from the base.

The most elaborate method used in this country is a modification of the American system, and, apart from the cost and labour involved in erecting the basic framework, it is certainly one of the best and simplest methods. Stout poles or iron tubes are driven in at intervals on both sides of the rows of plants, projecting some 6 or 7 ft out of the ground. These in turn are connected together at the top by lighter poles or rods, or by straining stout wire from post to post the full length of the row, and the whole is made rigid by straining two stay wires from the end posts in triangular fashion to strong tent pegs driven into the ground.

The shade is secured into position by lashing one of the wire short tails to each of the canes, while the bloom is fixed under the shade by tying the stem to a short cane lashed into position between the two uprights, to form an H.

Any bloom shaded in this fashion is almost completely safe, because, although the whole framework may sway in high winds, unless the canes break there is no independent movement of either shade or bloom.

The majority of the purple and wine coloured dahlias also require shading from an early stage, as they are very liable to sun bleach, noticeable on the back petals which have, of course, been exposed to light for a long period.

The simplest method of securing the shade is by the use of four canes to each bloom. These should be driven in around the bloom in a square with the tops slanting out slightly, the box being dropped into position on the top of the canes and the bloom secured under the shade by tying to a cross piece lashed between two of the canes.

Alternatively two canes may be used, but in this case it is best to cut away one of the sides of the box and to secure the box to the canes with wire to prevent movement, the open side facing away from the direction of the prevailing wind. As with the other method the blooms are secured into position by tying the stem to a cross piece between the supporting uprights.

If deficient it will cause chlorosis of the leaves, that is, yellowing, particularly noticeable along the veins, and a decrease in size and vigour of the plant.

Phosphorus will partially counteract the effects of excessive nitrogenous feeding and, far more important, it also promotes strong root growth and tuber formation, and helps to build up a plant reaction to disease. In excess it will tend to cause yellowing of the foliage and too hard growth, and if deficient it will retard growth.

Although it can be said that on an extremely well balanced, rich and retentive soil, into which an ample supply of mineral rich manure is dug yearly, feeding is probably unnecessary, very few soils come up to this ideal level. Even then heavy manuring may bring other disadvantages in its train, most usually an excess of one or other of the basic minerals essential for plant growth, which in turn will throw the balance of the soil out equally as much as in a poor soil.

If the soil is deficient in potassium, the dahlias will tend to produce rather dwarfed and poor growth, whereas if potassium is contained in excess growth will tend to be extremely hard and the flowers will be produced late. Of the other elements there is sometimes a deficiency of iron, which will cause poor colour in the flowers and yellowing of the leaves, and, much more rarely, an excess which will have much the same effect as excess of potash although to lesser degree.

I have said that it is best to keep to blends of one tone, or of colours very close to each other in the spectrum. It is also possible to make up very spectacular vases and bowls by using colours which are in direct contrast to each other.

It is basically simple and effective, for, although quite elaborate arrangements based on this principle can be devised, the less elaborate and easiest arrangements often look the best.

It would be very wrong to say that because one grows dahlias one must be an exhibitor, but equally certainly it is true to say that every grower of dahlias is a potential exhibitor. An enthusiasm for exhibiting can easily begin once the joy of growing has taken a firm grip.

It is a healthy hobby, an absorbing interest and an open gateway to friendship. It is an interest that both a man and his wife can share; in fact it is fairly safe to say that many an exhibitor owes much more of his success to his wife’s efforts than he perhaps cares to admit. It is not given to every one to be a really successful exhibitor, because great success requires almost unremitting attention to detail and not every gardener is willing to go to that extreme. Still it can be very good fun exhibiting at the local show.

When plants have been grown on exhibition lines and admirable blooms obtained, the problem remains of how to get them from the garden to the show, and having got them there in good condition how to stage them to the best advantage. It sounds simple enough, but like all simple things there are unexpected snags. To start with the dahlia, being rather coarse celled, does not take up water very well after cutting, and has a tendency under certain circumstances to refuse to take up water at all clue to the formation of an air lock at the base of the cut stem. It will be appreciated that sap will continue to rise after cutting and that air will therefore be drawn into the lower cells to take the place of the sap.

Whatever form is used, one basic principle must never be overlooked. The flowers, foliage, berries, in fact all material, must appear to spring from the same point somewhere inside the vase. The curve of foliage and flower, however exaggerated, must always spring from this point, or appear to do so, otherwise the arrangement will appear angular and awkward.

As the plant grows so does its need for water grow, and some attempt must be made to cater for the increasing demand. In a very wet season, it may not he necessary to give water artificially, but as it is seldom wet enough during an average summer to meet the full requirements of such a strong growing plant as a dahlia, it is as well to assume that supplementary water must be given at intervals.

Remember also that it is useless to give a light watering, as this will do no more than encourage the roots to the surface, and ead to the consequent death of such roots as the top soil dries out. Always thoroughly soak the ground.

If liquid feeding is preferred it is a help to sink a tank at a strategic point in the garden, an old water cistern is ideal, so that the watering can may be filled by immersion; there is an immense saving in time as compared with a succession of visits to the water tap. The tank can be kept full with the aid of a hose pipe connected to the mains tap, running at sufficient strength to balance the rate at which water is drawn from the tank.

As an alternative to overhead spraying it is possible to devise quite an effective watering system by punching a series of holes in a length of hose pipe or iron pipe, on one side only, in such a fashion that when connected to the hose and laid on the ground between the plants a series of fine jets are directed over a limited area.

Failing rotating sprays, spray lines or even a hose pipe, it will be necessary to use a watering can, with a rose in the early stages and without a rose once the plants are in bloom. This may be hard work, but the results achieved will still be worth every hour spent trudging up and down the rows.

It is not possible to over-state the value of routine pest control, whether this be by spraying or by dusting. It may seem pointless to spray when the plants are clear of pests, but it is surprising just how quickly a severe infestation will build up if the precautions are relaxed even for a short while. This is definitely a case where prevention is better than cure, because a severe attack by any pest, whether it be that most persistent of all dahlia pests, the earwig, or any of the aphides, may ruin weeks of work. The sucking insects may spread the deadly virus infections which render the plant valueless, besides ruining the chances of really good blooms.

The leaves of sympodial orchids are produced from the pseudobulb. There may be one or several. In cymbidiums, a number of long, narrow leaves come from the basal sheaths that cover the pseudobulb, and fall from the plant at a separation line that prevents any damage when the leaf is shed.

They consist of a thin inner core, with an absorbent outer covering made up of layers of dead cells. This layer, which soaks up water through its surface, is called the velamen, and it progresses behind the green growing tip.

The tips of orchid roots are extremely vulnerable to damage and can be easily broken when they are outside the pot.

Most orchid roots will remain in the container but, being naturally aerial, will often extend over the rim of the pot and continue to grow, suspended in air, or by attaching themselves to any surface they touch. The roots are not permanent structures but are made annually, sprouting from the base some time after the start of the new growth.

The leaves contain chlorophyll, which enables the plant to photosynthesize sunlight into energy. Some of the terrestrial orchids exist for long periods without leaves, producing foliage for only a short time during the growing season. A few orchids, such as Rhizanthella species, are subterranean, without any green parts, relying entirely on the microscopic fungus with which they form a symbiotic relationship. The nutrients that the orchid requires are provided by the fungus.

Some leafless monopodial orchids exist, such as Chilochista species, that are no more than a cluster of roots, and it is the roots that contain the chlorophyll to enable the plants to photosynthesize. A few orchids have thick hairs on both sides of the foliage.

A few orhids, such as gongoras and other species, produce short side roots at angle from the main ones. blur are produced near the base of the sameamid become hard and as sharp as des as they mature.

The glow of light at the end of this hollow pseudobulb indicates the small hole at the bottom of the structure. In the wild, these orchids are infested with huge colonies of ants which live inside the hollow pseudobulb. The ant has a comfortable home, and the plant remains untroubled by parasites.

Water your orchids using a spouted watering can of a size that reflects the size of your collection. As this grows, you will want to convert to a garden hose in your greenhouse connected to the mains water supply. Use an adjustable nozzle to make the job easier and more enjoyable.

The majority of orchids rest during the winter months, which coincides with the dry season in the natural habitats of the species. To ensure the plant’s survival, it stops growing and reduces its need for water. Lycastes, pleiones and some dendrobiums are among those that have a deciduous rest, dramatically dropping their foliage at the end of the growing season.

Dry compost will vary in colour, or you may notice other subtle differences that will only come with experience. If you are still not sure, slip a plant out of its pot, without breaking up the compost ball, and take a quick look underneath to see how wet it is. Take a look also at the plant itself. This will tell you what has been happening over the past weeks.

Many orchids flower while they are resting. In the wild, this would probably ensure a ready supply of pollinating insects on the wing, and it would prevent blooms from being damaged by torrential rain and winds. Odontoglossums complete their season’s pseudobulb and produce their flower spikes at the same time. Only after flowering does the new growth appear, which may be at any time from the early winter onwards.

Orchids that grow all sus round can be watered slightly less at winter than in summer, as the plans take longer to dry out. Much depersm however, upon the size of the plats and the amount of compost (growing medium) around it. A small plant ins large pot will need less water because all that is applied will run into the compost.

The phalaenopsis follow a routine of alternately producing one new leaf, then a flower spike, giving the plant a short rest during flowering. Most monopodial orchids behave in a similar way. Most of the coelogynes bloom at the start of their growing season, with the flower spikes appearing from the centre of the new growth while it is very young. There is no definite month when a particular orchid will go to rest or begin to grow again. Watch each plant individually and you will soon get to know from your own observation whether it is growing or not. Once the season’s pseudobulb has matured, having reached its full size, the growing cycle is complete. The plant is now at rest, and only when you can see a new growth extending upwards from the base is the new season commencing.

Your water may be fit for human consumption, but epiphytic plants do not like water that contains lime or calcium. Artificial water softeners are available, which work by adding salts and various ingredients to soften the water. Again, these may be fine for domestic use but not very good for our orchids. In fact, the salts added can be more harmful than the original lime.

This system is less necessary with indoor growing, and where just a few plants are grown they can be moved individually to the kitchen foe watering and allowed to drain before being returned to their growing area. so surplus water is not a problem.

Growing areas can accommodate from just one to many orchids. However, an orchid plant placed in isolation, with nothing around it to stimulate growth, will not succeed. A barren windowsill can be likened to a desert, until a few adaptations are made to make the area habitable. A narrow windowsill may have to be widened by attaching a wooden shelf to give more space and increase the growing area. This area can be used for humidity trays.

Bedrooms, which are often colder at night, will be suitable for the cooler growing orchids, which need a nighttime drop in order to grow and flower well. Spare bedrooms are perhaps less suitable because such rooms are often left unheated and unvisited on a regular basis, and plants remaining here may be forgotten for days, and, with little rise in the daytime temperature, can become very cold indeed.

These sterile rooms will not provide the stimulating conditions in which orchids grow. The bathroom is often considered an ideal place because of the steam created when the bath or shower is running. However, this creates rapid changes in temperature and humidity, which plants can find hard to tolerate.

Orchids placed on the floor would need to stand on concrete or tiles, which can be wetted without harming any installations, and some means of channelling away surplus water would need to be set up.

Bathroom-grown orchids are often distinguishable by the light coating of talcum powder covering their leaves. This, in itself, is dangerous to orchids, clogging up the leaf pores and preventing them from ventilating in the normal way. In a house, an ideal position can often be found in a window halfway up the stairwell.

The temperature will need to be controlled to prevent the area from over-heating during the day or else becoming too cold at night in winter. If there is no form of heating in the conservatory or sun lounge, it may only be necessary to run an extra radiator from the central heating in the house to the area, at very little extra cost to the heating bill. However, this must be kept on all night in winter to maintain a steady warmth for the plants.

Otherwise, it may be necessary to install an electric fan heater to heat the place in winter. This can double as a cooling fan in summer. As with greenhouses, the smaller the area, the greater the fluctuation of temperature in the shortest time, and in summer it will probably be desirable to leave the door open if that is the only source of fresh air.

This system works well in these colder countries, where the orchids are brought out for the summer and grown in the conventional way. In other situations, however, this system is not worth the cost and effort involved in converting an area, and the plants grown in this manner rely more upon their summer growth to keep them surviving through the winter.

Probably the most distinguished nurseryman of the Victorian era was Frederick Sander, the man they called the Orchid King. His huge nursery was one of the largest in Britain, and he boasted of having orchid collectors in every corner of the world.

Like many ancient civilizations, the Greeks drew on the resources of the natural world, and the tubers and roots of most European terrestrial orchids were valued for various medicinal purposes. They studied the curious orchid flowers and believed that the different shapes revealed the beneficial effects of the plant. For example, the man orchid (Aceras anthropophorum) was thought to be an aphrodisiac because the shape of the lip resembled the figure of a man.

The word orchid is, in fact, derived from the Greek “orchis”, meaning testes, which refers to the tubers found in pairs ill some species.

In the New World, orchids were used by the inhabitants long before the arrival of Europeans.

Started by Frederick Sander, this company Nourished through three generations of Ise same family before finally closing .icw.cn in 1962. In its heyday, the nursery employed over 100 men, whose main activity was to unpack the stream of boses that arrived almost daily and to sort out and pot up the new species. nursery opened a branch in Bruges, Belgium, and later in New York.

The Aztecs grew this vine-like orchid, which they called Tlilxochitl, for the seed capsules, which were ground and mixed with the brown seeds of the cacao plant to produce a bitter drink that is the basis of the chocolate we have today.

This was a condition insisted upon by the natives, who were persuaded to relinquish parts of their valued ancestors only after mirrors, beads and a roll of brass wire had been exchanged. The plants, still attached to the skulls, and the idols were sold as one lot and purchased by the Hon. Walter Rothschild, in whose collection they remained for many years. D. schroderianum was named after Baron Schroeder, who was a patron of Frederick Sander.

At the end of the 18th century, merchant ships returned from the New World laden with newly discovered animals and plants, including orchids. The comet orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale) from Madagascar has an incredibly long spur at the back of the flower. This enables it to be pollinated by the night flying hawk moth, which has a tongue of exactly the same length.

Synonym for Lettuce is Lactuca sativa L.

Common names are Jerusalem Artichoke, Sunroot (Eng.); Girasole, Topinambour (Fr.); Alcochofa de Jerusalem, Aguaturma (Sp.); Erd Topinambur, Erdartischocke (Ger.); Aardpeer, Topinambour (Neth.); Hatichuk, Hathipick (Ind.); Cotufa (Philipp.); Brahmokha (Bangl.); Kiku-imo (Jap.).

Botanical varieties are var. asparagina Bailey, syn. L. angustana Vilm., L. sativa L. var. angustana Irish ex Bremer (Asparagus or Stem Lettuce, Celtuce) Mature leaves coarse and inedible; basal leaves narrow, lanceolate, alternate, sometimes with pointed apex, non-heading; young, thickened stems up to 1 m and young leaves used as a cooked vegetable; mainly grown in China, from where it originated. var. capitata L. ( Cabbage, Butterhead or Head Lettuce ) Compact rosettes of leaves forming a solid head; leaves broad, almost orbicular, midrib branching into small veins. var. crispa L. (Leaf Lettuce, Curled Lettuce) – Leaves in loose rosettes, similar to cabbage lettuce but non-heading; some cultivars with curled or crinkled leaves. var. longifolia Lam., syn. L. romana Gars. (Cos or Romaine Lettuce) Rosettes of leaves cylindrical, upright leaves obovate to oblong, coarse in texture; midrib prominent, terminating near rounded leaf apex; leaves mainly self-folding, forming loose heads.

Native to the Mediterranean or, possibly, eastern India.

Endive was cultivated in Egypt over 2000 years ago and was distributed from there throughout Europe and Asia. It is now cultivated in the Caribbean area, the Philippines, Central and West Africa.

An annual or biennial herb. Roots: fibrous. Stems: condensed, round, rarely more than a few cm in length. Leaves: in dense rosettes, light or dark green; form very variable, being divided, curled or broad; mature leaves have a bitter taste. Flowers: pale blue, rarely seen in tropical areas; flowering stem up to 1 m in height. Seeds: with pappus.

Temperature is an important factor influencing growth, the leaves becoming fibrous in high temperature conditions although endive is, in general, more tolerant to high temperatures than lettuce. Altitude also has an important effect on growth; more satisfactory growth is obtained from plants grown at elevations over 500 m than from those grown in lowland conditions. Flowers are rarely formed in short days, particularly when combined with high temperatures.

Propagation is by tubers; the size of the tuber planted is often related directly to the yield. Tubers, or portions of tuber (setts) with 2-3 buds, weighing approximately 56 g, are planted at a depth of 2.5-5 cm, usually on 300-500 kg/ha of tubers or setts are required. Beds are often mulched directly after planting to conserve soil moisture and plants are sometimes earthed up when tuber development begins. Supplementary applications of both nitrogen and potassium are likely to be required since the crop demand for these minerals is relatively high.

Plants normally mature within 70-85 days from transplanting, depending on factors such as soil fertility and irrigation efficiency. Yield: Yields in the region of 6-12 t/ha may be obtained. Seed production: Seed is rarely formed in the tropics, except at elevations above 1500 m. Most cultivars are almost completely self-pollinated. A 600 m isolation distance is sufficient unless hybrid seed is being produced, when 1000 m is more appropriate. The average seed yield is 200 kg/ha.

The leaves should be fresh and free of discoloration; the leaf colour varies with cultivar. No signs of tip burn should be present, particularly on the inner leaves and seed stalks should be absent. Open-topped polythene bags are used to prevent moisture loss and reduce damage; they also allow for wetting of the heads to retain turgidity. At temperatures of 0-3C, heads may remain in good condition for up to 14 days at a relative humidity of 90-95%; weight loss may be up to 15%.

Normally used in the raw state in salads but also as a cooked vegetable, particularly in Southeast Asia. Loose-headed forms have a higher vitamin A content than heading cultivars.