List of articles
- The Article Section
- Allwoods are celebrated and renown for Carnations and Pinks
- Assistance for Non Members and Visitors to the Site.
- A look at soil for Perpetual Carnations in the greenhouse
- In the Beginning
- Keith Mastaglio Living Diary
- Brian Yates Living Diary
- Plant Pots
- 50 years on
- Is this a sport?
- Brian Yates home page
- Cuttings by Brian Yates
- The International Dianthus Register and Checklist
- Look-alike Laced Pinks
- Early Cuttings
- Carnations - Beginners Guide
- Trailing Carnations
- A smell, a fragrance.
- HOW TO GROW PINKS.
- Hotbox Sulfume
- "Letter from Allwoods"
- Daily Sudoku Puzzle
- Alliance, Ohio, The Carnation City
- Wanted Yearbooks
- Wanted Border Carnations
- Members Own Tips
- Christmas Day Pinks
- A Visit to John Barrington’s Nursery
- Request for help from New Zealand
- Favourite Buttonholes
- Dianthus and Climate Change
- Scented Carnations
- Carnations and Capricorns
- Early recollections of dianthus
- Carnations and Beans by Graham R Davis
- Flowers for the Cutting Garden
- Erin Mitchell
- Gary Hammerton in Spain
- John Lewis Store Peterborough
- Carnation Fever Hits Fashion World
- Cake recipes from the AGM
- Brian Yates does it again!
- Garden News
- evergreen4ever
- Christmas Carnations
- Annual Carnations.
- PF Trials report by Peter Booker
- The Story of the Carnation
- Vandalism of the polytunnel
- The Gardening Apprentice
- Above and beyond the call of duty
- A visit to Eileen Galbally
- Blue Carnations in Hastings
- Breeding new pinks by Sue Russell
- Old Crimson Clove Border WANTED
- Profile of Wallace William Manley
- The Legendary Malmaison
- A Brief Overview Carnations and Pinks
- My Trip to Allwoods by Brian Yates
- My Way With Hormone Rooting Powder
- Valentines Day Carnations
- Calling Dianthus Enthusiasts around Evesham
- Labels
- Carnations a Personal Perspective
The Gardening Apprentice
I recently watched a Gardeners World Special on Britain’s Parks and enjoyed a contribution from Alan Titchmarsh relating to carnations. He was emphasising the important role parks play in the training of young gardeners and recounted an incident from early in his training with the Parks department. He was asked to disbud the carnations in the greenhouse and was asked if he knew how to do it. Being over confidant he replied in the affirmative and then proceeded to remove all the buds on the plants leaving bare stems, only to find out on his supervisors return that he should (as we all know) have removed the side shoots leaving the main bud to flower! He did not tell us what his boss said. I am sure it left a lasting impression!
It is an amusing story for us but I felt it was particularly helpful for such a prominent gardener to own up to failings in his youth. We all gain from others experience and asking for advice and admitting when we do not know something is nothing to be ashamed of. It is much better than getting it wrong. Had Alan been a BNCS member he would have had a wealth of expertise to turn to.
