Ask Ziggy

Well if Kyle is brave enough to come in here, I will too.
Never believed the rumours about the ghost in here anyway:OUCH:

1. How did you come to join Gardeners Corner?

I had been a regular poster on Anglers Net for many years, fishing is another passion, but after being away for 3 years, I came back to find the forum had crashed and burned It was as busy as this one before with 18,000 members. The Webmaster was too busy and the mod team didn't keep enough control. Fights, bickering and swearing took over. Members that had been there for years left and now its down to 30 odd active members.

I hung out in the fishing and gardening sections of Downsizer Forums for a while but needed something better.

Found Gardeners Corner, started chatting & found there was no better place on the net

2. Name the countries or counties you have lived in â?¦

Born in Surrey, on a clay soil, moved to North Wales, acid soil made of coal ash & slate dust with a bit of glacial morraine, now in Somerset, clay again:DOH:and Dorset, alluvial soil

3. Describe the type of work you do.

Conserving the Nation's Built Heritage. Have worked on 2 Castles, a Royal Palace, a scheduled ancient monument, a Roman City in Turkey, over 30 Churches and Ms Ethel Scroggs Brick Outhouse of 32 Belle View Terrace, Finchley.

4. Describe how you first got into gardening â?¦

Had a 1930s Book on gardening when I was about 7. Started off with radishes, beetroot & grape hyacinths. Discovered native wildflowers about the same time, still got the Ladybird Book "British Wild Flowers" sent to me by a lovely Scots Lady I met on holiday (probably Alice:D)

Later progressed into studying native flora in detail, especially edibles and medicinal plants.

5. What would be your dream type of garden and do you think you will ever be able to achieve it?

One that fed my extended family all year round, had a wild plant area, a biogas tank and lots of Chickens all called Eric.


6. Have you any particular favourites in celebrity gardeners, flowers, shrubs and/or vegetables?

Geoff Hamilton is still my favorite, sadly missed. Quite like Bob Flowerdew (made up name or what?) and his Womble like antics.

I like spring flowers, Cowslips, False Oxlips, Marsh Marigolds, Wild Daffodils and Borage, Vipers Bugloss & Procumbent Pearlwort.

Very fond of Liverworts & Ferns too.

Vegetables, most of them when they are fresh, but particularly Wild leeks, Marsh Samphire, Asparagus & Rose Hip Syrup.


7. Have you ever entered any of your plants into shows?

Every year when I see whats been given a prize, I wish I had:DOH:

Maybe i'll get around to filling the forms in this year Mine would have wiped the table last year:DOH:

8. If you had a garden created in your memory, what plants do you think would most adequately sum up you and your life?

Wow, thats a heavy one:runhills::D

A Corpse Flower immediately springs to mind

Apart from that, a fruit and wild herb & wild vegetables garden that was free for all to pick and enjoy. We've forgotten what flavours we've sacrificed in favour of size and conformity. My Daughter Poppy said the Medlar Jelly I made last year was the best Jelly she had ever tasted.

9. What are the songs you would take to a desert island with you, just to mess up Radio Four ?

Well, I would have to start with this one.



Closely followed by this,

[ame]

 

wow ziggy thats gonna be hard to top fella

 

What did I say wrong Joolz :o

You've not seen the ghost in here have you :OUCH:

We haven't come in here since........

 

I think the ghost likes to mess up the order of the threads and put the new ones at the bottom

 

Its been said that he does that sort of thing

 

i think ur both mad as a box of frogs!:WINK1:

 

Yes I AM ?

 

talking about frogs which with the pond we have few frogs i was making a slow worm home as the kids had seen it on tv today and a frog made me jump again as i was invading his grass space( frogs will be the death of me) but any1 got info on slow worms o r do i need to do another thread x

 

I believe they are sort of like a worm, and not very fast.

 

Brilliant!

P.S. By the way, howdyu put smilies into a message?

 

Ziggy, I suspect 'Heroin' wouldn't be a problem on R4 these days. It's a little more laid back now than in the days when we had to pull 'Golden Brown' at short notice because some old biddy decided it might not be about demerara sugar after all. 'Venus In Furs' might be more of an issue, though ....

 

I thought the Wombles would have canceled them out.