By Victoria Plum 
By Victoria Plum
I enjoyed Simon Partridge’s lively and amusing chat about How Hill at this month’s meeting of Reepham & District Gardening Club. The house stands a magnificent 54 feet above sea level!
I visit the grounds and secret garden regularly and the inside story is always interesting. Lockdown allowed this forward-looking organisation to update tired facilities so that smart, en suite accommodation is now on offer when you visit for a field course or activity week.
Sadly, the wild milk parsley, crucial for the swallowtail butterfly that always makes such a grand show at How Hill, has suffered from a fungal disease this difficult, wet year.
But the caterpillars that feed on it have now turned their attention to hemlock (though it didn’t do Socrates any good), which is much more available, so perhaps this versatility will secure a brighter future for these iconic, Broadland butterflies.
Deer problem
Troubled with muntjac in your garden? Hang up Imperial Leather soap and Mr Partridge guarantees that it will deter them.
Personally, I am only troubled by a standard poodle puppy in my garden, keen on excavating. I think it will take more than a bar of soap to stop him.
Repotting succulents
I have been bringing my succulents in for the winter, which involves a bit of tidying and repotting.
Sansevieria is one of my favourites and produces fantastic flowers when root bound. However, there are limits, and as you can see from the photo above, this plant certainly needs repotting.
In fact, there are three different sansevierias growing here together (above). They seem to do well together. One was tiny and didn’t grow at all for about four years until I planted it close to its relative.
Another was a “rescue” from a supermarket where plants seem to be mass produced and sold as expendable interior decor items. Now they have a little more growing space for a year or three.
Next meeting
The gardening club’s next meeting will feature Juliet Collier’s talk on the National Garden Scheme in Norfolk on Tuesday 19 November, at 7.30 pm in Reepham Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham.
All welcome, bring your friends and bring your spare plants for the annual “bag sale”. Just put your surplus plants in a carrier bag so that they can find a new home in someone else’s garden: £1 per bag.
Photos: Tina Sutton
Geoff Fisher