Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children
Number 525
Plant Hunters
Hello Everyone
lt is at this time of the year, that the gardens in Rocky Bay start to bloom and blossom.
Probably nobody in town has a better display in their garden than my Auntie Alice.
Actually, she does not live in town, but some way off from the outskirts of town. She lives on the edge of the Rocky Bay woods in a beautiful, thatched cottage called Rose Cottage.
But if you read my blog regularly, you already know all of this.
lf you don’t have a garden, you probably have a park or even a village green near to you. Otherwise, you might be taken to an enormous, famous garden that is open to the public to explore.
There are many up and down the country and are visited by thousands of people every year.
Some people go to get ideas for their own garden, some just want a lovely day out in the fresh air; they may even buy plants to take home.
Gardening is a national pastime.
We are so very lucky to have very fertile soil to garden in, but the plants we have been growing in private and public gardens for many, many years are not all natives.
The Romans were the first to bring large numbers of new plants to these shores, like: apples, pears, plums, damsons, walnuts, grapes, roses, many types of vegetables like onions, radishes, cucumbers and peas and also herbs like parsley, coriander and dill.
When they left, the plants remained behind, and they have been cultivated and updated ever since.
But the huge selection of trees and flowers that we have in our gardens now is due in part to people importing plants from all over the world – and it started with plant hunters a very long time ago.
Sometimes they brought back plants and sometimes seeds, which were not so bulky and easier to transport.
Some plants made gardens more interesting and beautiful and some plants gave us a greater variety in our diet.
People started exploring across the world in the 1600s when potatoes and tomatoes were famously brought back from America to Europe. Many trees were brought back too. Tudor gardens were becoming bigger and more splendid.
By the 1700s, collecting plants from foreign regions really took off. See Blog Post 208 about Kew Gardens.
The Victorians in the 1800s, and the Edwardians in the early 1900s, had a mania for it.
Many of the public gardens we visit today were established by Victorian landowners. They would fund expeditions and were even in competition with others to find the best plants to fill their gardens.
Botanical paintings were also popular. These were in-depth studies of what a plant looked like. The artists were so skilled that the artwork was almost photographic in detail. Some botanical painting actually show a plant off to better effect than a photograph could.
Plant matter and flowers were also pressed and preserved in order to record and store finds for naturalists to access and study.
These collections still remain in store today.
Sometimes landowners had gardens just for trees. These have a special name. They are called arboretums.
But plant hunting abroad carried on through the 1900s too.
Some of the plant hunters were famous in their day and some are still famous now like: Charles Darwin and the Tradescants. (Blog Posts 218 and 261)
These plant hunters may have risked their lives going into dangerous territories where they might be attacked. They climbed up sheer rock faces, they crossed raging rivers; they trekked into high mountain ranges. They endured storms, earthquakes, landslides, wild animal attack and tropical diseases all for the love of plants.
The Royal Horticultural Society still does and has for many years funded expeditions abroad. These days the plant and seed collecting is done with collaboration with locals, not in spite of them.
The plants that do best here in our gardens are the ones from countries that have a similar climate and often latitude to ours. Otherwise, more exotic species from hotter, tropical countries need to be in a hothouse, or greenhouse to get them through our chilly winters.
Many have become houseplants. Many houseplants are originally from the rainforest.
We have many plants from China like large and showy magnolias, rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas. These were first brought back by missionaries charged with the task of converting the people there to Christianity.
Plants from New Zealand do well by the seaside and on roof gardens because they were often used to being blown by strong and even salt-laden winds.
lf a plant name includes the word japonica, you know it originated from Japan.
We have plants from countries like Burma, lndia, the Americas, Africa and many more besides.
Of course, mistakes were made too. Japanese knotweed was imported in Victorian Times and has now become a menace of an invasive weed. ln its native setting it is kept in check by a beetle that was not brought with the plant when it was brought into this country.
Dutch elm disease (identified by Dutch scientists) which is a fungus spread by elm bark beetles was brought into Europe from Asia by accident too.
lt is stories like this, which show you why we now have bio-security.
You cannot grow plants from abroad that you have brought in yourself; they must be bought from a nursery that follows strict quarantine guidelines.
A modern plant hunting project has been set up by the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst Place. lt is a collection of seeds from all over the world stored for posterity (future generations) in case any plant should become extinct in the wild.
Their seed hunting continues…
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Thank you!
And see you again next Fun Friday!
Love and kisses
Salty Sam
www.christina-sinclair.com
Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week
Bob: Would you say that playing rugby is character building Bob?
Bill: Yes, because when you are playing you have to try, try and try again.
Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.
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Picture Gallery
All pictures of Wakehurst Place
THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK
This week, I am happy to tell you that The Rocky Bay Skills Share Club has got off the ground. I started to tell you about it a month ago. It is called the SSC for short.
The vicar thought it would be interesting to start a club where anyone in town who knew about a hobby or pastime could come and teach it to other people.
He put a call out to the community and got a very good response. All age groups are included so that all the activities should be well-attended. Some people will be teachers in some activities and learners in others!
The Rocky Bay Golf Club said they would give free lessons to people and then they might want to join the club afterwards to become new members and Betty Clutterbuck said she would set up a free tea tasting session in her tearooms. There are lots of different types of teas that people may have never tasted before.
My Auntie Alice said she would teach anyone who wanted to keep bees how to look after them. You can keep a hive of bees in a back garden if it is big enough. You need to wear a suit when you approach hives so it isn’t easy to put a hive in a small garden if there are neighbours in close proximity. They might get stung if the hive is just over the fence from them! But the more people who are interested in keeping bees, the better; bees need all the help they can get.
My best friend Captain Jack has pledged to give a talk on growing monster veg. Who would have thought he would eventually give his secrets away! Huh, I think he will keep a few tricks up his sleeve to keep his competitive edge somehow! Nobody will ever know what exactly goes into the liquid feed he gives to his giant pumpkins.
Farmer Jenkins said he would let anyone who would like to milk one of his goats have a go under his watchful eye and his children said that people could have a ride on their pony around the meadow as well.
The vicar’s wife said she would give a demonstration of how to make teddy bears because she likes making them. She loves seeing their personality appear as they were being completed.
I am too busy training for the Rocky Bay Fun Run to do anything at the moment but I shall probably get more involved after it is over next month. Somebody said something about a badger watching club. I might get involved with that. I already have some binoculars.
After people had stepped forward to volunteer to teach skills, a timetable relating to new clubs and activities was drawn up by the vicar and his wife.
Some activities in the SSC will be a talk or demonstration or class and others will be ongoing clubs that will meet every week.
There is a timetable up on the notice board outside the door of the Village Hall to explain what is happening and people can get e-mails with updates if they are interested in hearing about new activities coming up.
The notice had to be very clear about the venue (the place) where the classes and talks and demonstrations will be held so people don’t go to the wrong place by mistake. Not everything will be held in the Village Hall.
People are very excited about it all. It is nice to do new things and it is nice to meet up with friends for a chat too.
Nobody need ever feel bored or lonely in Rocky Bay!
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Quick Quiz
All houseplants originally only grew outside
A lot of them come from the rainforest or the desert
Can you identify these houseplants?
lt’s the Weekend!
HOW TO MAKE RESTAURANT CHARACTER DOLLS
These dolls are working in a restaurant now!
Here we have uniforms for chefs and waiters but there are plenty of clothes for customers to wear on other blog posts.
The patterns for the dolls are on Blog Post 371 and then there are lots of clothes on posts after that. You can find the list of character dolls’ outfits on the Projects Index on Blog Post One.
Check them out!
You can make as many dolls as you like with any colour skin and hair to be chefs, serving staff and customers. You could also make a manager, delivery drivers and cashiers – as many characters as you like.
CHEF AND WAITER TROUSERS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and (blue for the chef or black for the waiter) dk yarn cast on 15 stitches
Purl 1 row
Purl 1 row
Knit 18 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 6 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Embroider a line of turquoise stitches up the centre of each piece using Swiss darning
Using over-sew stitching and with right sides together sew the front and back seams and then the inside leg seams
Turn right side out
CHEF TUNIC FRONT AND BACK (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and white dk yarn cast on 14 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 14 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
CHEF TUNIC SLEEVES (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and white dk yarn cast on 13 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 8 rows of stocking stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Embroider a line of turquoise stitches up the centre of each sleeve using Swiss darning and also a strip on the front of the tunic along with four French knot buttons (wrap the yarn around the needle twice)
Using over-sew stitching and with right sides together sew the shoulders up for 1cm
Attach the top of the sleeves to the shoulders
Sew the under arm and side seams
Turn right side out
CHEF HAT (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and white dk yarn cast on 8 stitches
Knit 36 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Using over-sew stitching and with right sides together sew the back seam
Turn right side out
WAITER TUNIC FRONT AND BACK (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and black dk yarn cast on 12 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 18 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
WAITER TUNIC SLEEVES (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and black dk yarn cast on 13 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 4 rows of stocking stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Embroider a line of turquoise stitches up the centre of each sleeve using Swiss darning and also a strip on the front of the tunic
Using over-sew stitching and with right sides together sew the shoulders up for 1cm
Attach the top of the sleeves to the shoulders
Sew the under arm and side seams
Turn right side out
WAITRESS SKIRT (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and black dk yarn cast on 24 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 10 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Embroider a line of turquoise stitches up the two sides of the skirt using Swiss darning
Using over-sew stitching and with right sides together sew the back seam
Turn right side out
Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and for use in classrooms only.
It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.
Use of the toys and projects is at your own risk.
©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015
Quick Quiz Answers
Swiss cheese plant
African violet
Air plants
Ficus
Cactus
Jellybean plant
lvy
Aloe
Maidenhair fern
Lemon tree
Remember that you should never eat house plants!
Embroidery Stitches
