Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry the troubled and bitter Rasheed, who is thirty years her senior. Nearly two decades later, in a climate of growing unrest, tragedy strikes fifteen-year-old Laila, who must leave her home and join Mariam’s unhappy household.

Laila and Mariam are to find consolation in each other, their friendship to grow as deep as the bond between sisters, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. Then comes Taliban rule, and the women’s endurance is tested beyond their worst imaginings. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways…

The book clubs score 7.5/10

The book clubs review:

“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs

Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls”

……..  Not exactly the media news image that we have had portrayed of Kabul    (Afghanistan) in recent years! Khaled Hosseini sets his novel against the historical backdrop that is late twentieth century Kabul, a city struggling for its identity and survival in the face of Russian dictatorship, followed by the strains and anarchy of internal factional war, and finally the extremism imposed by Taliban rule.

This is a love story in more ways than one. The powerful narrative is focused on the experiences and struggles of two central female characters – Mariam and Laila- whose lives become inextricably entwined. As the author himself points out, he couldn’t think of a more compelling story than that which portrayed the struggle of women – a particular target of Taliban fanaticism – in Afghanistan during this period.

All members of our book club found this novel informative. However personal responses to it were varied – comments ranged from “depressing” to “uplifting” to “overly stereotypical”. One reader said the book made her angry. I personally loved it!  Khaled Hosseini is a riveting and fascinating storyteller.

Walker’s Nurseries, garden centre and garden restaurant, was founded by Lawrence and Vera Walker in 1951 and in 2011 is an award winning success.

The business has come a long way from the plot of land just outside Blaxton, close to Doncaster Sheffield Airport, which had never been ploughed before. Now run by the couple’s daughter Elaine Bodle and her partner Steve, the nurseries have show gardens, exhibit at flower shows around Britain and employ around 24 full and part-time workers.

Elaine said: “Pardon the pun but it is fair to say that we are growing from strength while still keeping hold of the family values.

“Mum and dad started the business which back then was called Walker’s Roses, and today we have beautiful show gardens on that land and have won many awards including a Gold from Chelsea flower show.

“We don’t just sell plants, we are about so much more than that, we want to foster an interest in gardening, whether as an amateur or at advanced level.  Our advice is free and readily available.”

Visitors to Walkers Nurseries can buy shrubs, flowers, bedding plants, grasses, foliage and pines or they can simply enjoy good locally sourced food in the restaurant.

“As a local ethical business it is important to us that we care about where our suppliers come from and that they share the same values as us. We pride ourselves in working with local people to provide fantastic quality food that hasn’t travelled across the globe to get to our tables,” added Elaine.

Walker’s Nurseries plays a key role in the local community and puts on a number of events throughout the year.

“We are looking forward to our first ever Halloween party for children aged four to nine years old. We have arranged an evening of ghoulish delights in our  spooky wood and haunted house,” said Elaine.

Tickets for the Halloween party cost £10 per child and the event will take place on Saturday 29 October from 5.30pm until 7pm. Tickets can be bought from the Garden Centre or online via www.walkersnurseries.tv

Britain in Bloom – Newport’s Pandas

It’s one of Europe’s biggest yearly campaigns – and it puts a smile on everyone’s face. Over 115,000 volunteers in hundreds of village, towns, cities and urban communities give an estimated 1.7 million hours of their time to making the space around them look better and brighter. It is, of course, Britain In Bloom, and this year there are no less than seventy-seven finalists hoping for the Champion Of Champions title…

Download the rest of the article by Phil Penfold

Britain in Bloom Article>>

The prize on offer is a complete bird station normally sold for £25.

All you have to do is answer this simple question,

Who are the acts performing as in the Legends Cabaret Evening?

Hint: check out our Legends Cabaret Evening page>>

Once you think you know the answer please Submit it here >>

Good Luck!

August’s Gardening Tips

Keep your tubs, baskets and flower borders in tip top condition by feeding with a potash fertiliser,  such as Tomorite. By dead heading and feeding with potash you will ensure your plants keep flowering up until the first frost, as you prevent the plant from setting seeds.

Do not dead head those plants which are annual such as Cosmos, Calendula and Candytuft as you need these to go to seed for next year’s blooms.

To encourage a late season show of colour from early flowering perennials, such as delphiniums and lupins begin to cut them back.

August is the month when new bulbs begin to arrive. Plant Daffodils late in the summer to ensure they produce a good root system before sending up shoots in the Spring.

Happy Gardening!

Things to do in August

Take cuttings of shrubby herbs and tender perennials
Water all containers every day and feed regularly
Trim hedges
Treat vine weevil with biological control
Pinch out tomato sideshoots
Prune raspberries and gooseberries
Mow the lawn before going on holiday

Flower Garden

Take cuttings of tender perennial, such as verbenas, argyranthemums, fuchsias, salvias and pelargonium ’ s. Dip the cuttings into a hormone rooting compound before inserting them into small pots of half and half peat and perlite or peat and silver sand. Water in well and keep the cuttings in a cold frame or even on warm windowsill out of direct sunlight. They should root within eight weeks and can then be potted up in Multi-Purpose compost and overwintered in a heated greenhouse or on a bedroom windowsill.

Trim lavender bushes once the flowers are past their best. If you like to attract wildlife to your garden you may prefer to leave the seed heads as goldcrest adore the seeds and may visit in early autumn

If you have camellias, azaleas or rhododendrons water them well in dry weather otherwise the flower buds for next year may not develop properly. To boost growth feed them with Scotts Liquid Ericaceous Feed. If you have lime in your soil you may find that the foliage of these particular plants is turning yellow. The lime in the soil stops the plants taking up trace elements, particularly iron. You can alleviate the condition by applying sulphate of iron. In severe cases it is probably better to grow lime-hating plants in containers using Westland Ericaceous composts.

Late-flowering bulbs such as nerines, agapanthus, schistylis and sternbergia will appreciate watering at this time of year. .The reason is that all these plants come from parts of the world with summer rains. If they go dry they may not flower well
This is the month to plant the lovely, but temperamental madonna lily. It prefers limy soil and should be planted not more than 5 cm (2 inches) deep.

Going Green

Pests and disease are often a problem in the summer months when trying to avoid using chemicals, placing broken egg shells around plants will help prevent damage from slugs and snails.

Placing jam pots at ground level with beer will also attract slugs and snails to a slow but merry death.

Roses

Stop feeding roses now. Feeding will encourage soft growth that won’t have a chance to ripen before the winter. It will then be prone to diseases.

Rambler roses that have finished flowering can be pruned now. Cut the long old stems that flowered this year, but leave non-flowering shoots as these should bloom next year.

Watch out for mildrew and spray at the first sign of trouble. Mildrew is a fungus disease which produces a white powdery coating on leaves, stems and buds.

In the Greenhouse

Vine weevil has become a common pest in greenhouses and containers in recent years. The adult weevil is dull dark grey in colour, slightly mottled. It comes out at night and chomps away at the margins of leaves. But it is the larvae that cause the real damage by burrowing down into the compost and devouring the roots of plants. By the time the gardener spots that the plant is not flourishing it may well be too late. If you see wilting leaves remove the plant from its pot and have a look. The grubs are about 1 cm (1/2 inch) long, curved and creamy white in colour with brown heads. They should be destroyed on sight. Biological control by nematodes is now available and should be used this month. Follow the instructions carefully.

Continue to mist plants and check shading.

Continue to feed tomato plants each weeks with Liquid Tomato Feed.

Containers

Before you go on holiday try and arrange for a friend or neighbour to come round and water your containers. If they can’t come every day, take steps to cut down on watering requirements by moving all containers and hanging baskets out of the sun as far as possible. Clay pots can be stood on trays filled with wet gravel. If you have a very elaborate summer display with window-boxes and hanging baskets, you should consider installing an automatic watering system controlled by a timer.

Lawns

Keep your lawns mowed, but not too short.

Water during dry spells.

Apply a good lawn fertiliser. Remembering to water in the fertiliser to prevent scorching.

Vegetable Garden

Pick courgettes regularly while they are small.

Pinch out the tips of the climbing shoots of runner beans once they reach the tip of their supports.

Sow lettuce, winter spinach, spring cabbage and Chinese cabbage out of doors.

Herb Garden

Continue to take cuttings of woody herbs including hyssop, lavender, rosemary, curry plant, rue and sage. Dip the cuttings into hormone rooting compound before inserting them into small pots of equal parts peat and silver sand or peat and perlite.
It’s a good time of year to divide congested clumps of chives. Dig them up and divide in small clumps of about five or six bulbs. Replant with a handful of multi purpose compost.

Fruit Garden

Plant rooted strawberry runners now to ensure a good crop next year. If you leave this much later the crop will be severely reduced.

Continue to prune raspberries to just above ground level and tie in new shoots.

Prune gooseberries, shortening the main stems and side shoots to five leave.

Take a closer look at Alan Tirchmarsh.

Phil Penfold met up with the Yorkshire gardener to discuss his roots and current projects…

Alan Titchmarsh Interview>>

The prize on offer is this stunning planter normally sold for £30.

All you have to do is answer this simple question,

What is the name of the person who creates our stunning hanging baskets?

Submit your answer here >>

Hint – Check out our hanging basket page >>

Download our free article detailing the National Gardening Scheme and Ray and Anne’s garden >>>

National Gardening Scheme Article

Walker’s Nurseries very own Graham Bodle has designed a garden for the Doncaster Deaf Trust at this years RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Tuesday 24th May (RHS members day) Wednesday 25th to Saturday 28th May

The garden to be shown in the Urban Gardens category has been designed for the students and tutors at the Doncaster School for the Deaf. The garden is designed to be inviting for the schools age range of 11 years to young adults. There are two separate secluded seating areas. Both face opposite each other making it possible to communicate throught the use of sign. The angular floor plan allows for the practical use of the space which is softend through planting.

Deaf and hard of hearing students rely on their remaining senses, which are often heightened. Accommodating this, the garden fetaures a textured sculpture, moving water, fruits and plants with differing shape, texture, colour and scents.

Hard Landscaping

Two perimeter boundaries are made from reclaimed scaffolding poles, alternating with wooden poles similar to tree stakes. The scaffolding poles have been chosen for their urban and construction uses, which emphasise the urban feel of the garden. The tops of the poles have been finished using a decorative steel cap engraved with the trusts logo. A modern take on the plastic cap used in scaffolding.

To reduce flooding a permeable compacted gravel will be used for the floor space. Galvanised steel edging will be used to retain the gravel.

The seating is constructed from reclaimed scaffolding boards using a scaffolding pole frame.

The focal point of the garden is a textured figurative scultpture called touch. Along side the sculpture there is a water feture made from grey stone, carved with ripples echoing the curved steel dish within.

Planting

The planting consists of predominantly green foliage with shades of blue and white herbaceous perennials. Blue is the corporate colour of the school. White flowering plants will help tie the scheme together. Splashes of red are used to catch the eye.

Perennials, grassses, climbers and fruit trees will soften the materials and straight lines of the garden.

Two multi stem Betula Jacquemontil have been selected to add height and maturity in the diagonals of the garden. These are to be underplanted with plants suitable for dappled shade. The grasses and shade planting will add a natural feel to the garden contrasting with the more horticultural elements: the trained fruit trees and square clipped Buxus Semprevirens.

In winter the rectilinear layout of the garden will be revelaed, contrasting with the curved shape of the vertical poles. Seed heads from grasses will give interest throught he winter along with the silhouette of the multi stemed Betula.

Please click below for a copy of the planting plan:

PLanting list – Doncaster Deaf Trust Garden RHW 33

Click on the link below to download this exclusive interview with Charlie.

Charlie Dimmock Interview