|
Page 4 - Lakin Earl
After departing from Gary's, we meandered through the
winding country lanes, of the Somerset countryside, with a running
commentary from John Chiswell, of the names of villages and places of
interest, towards Lakin's home. Following behind was Gary, accompanied
by Danny Davies as passenger. We phoned ahead to say that we were
approaching.
Awaiting us was Lakin , who stood at the end of the main
road, to guide us to his house, with a very warm welcome. Lakin has two,
twelve by eight Alton glasshouses. In past years, Lakin has used both
his glasshouses , for pot plants, however, this year he decided to grow
cut blooms in one, as he felt that cut blooms were easier to transport
to the Shows, as he gets older.
One of his glasshouses was crammed with pot plants, grown to
a very exceptional high standard. These pots were awarded with Red Cards
in several Shows in the weeks after our visit, including
 the
National. Lakin does not stop his pot plants, which prolongs their
flowering Season. When one bloom goes past it's best, Lakin removes it,
which is then replaced by another younger bloom. If you look in the Show
results of the various Shows, the same pots are recorded as winning,
including Bideford and the National.
In Lakin's other glasshouse were his cut blooms. These were timed
for Bideford, his local Show and the National. Lakin won the Six Board,
at Bideford and was placed third in the Six Board at the National. For
cane tops Lakin uses spent cartridge cases for eye protection. What an
excellent idea for recycling. Also, in both glasshouses Lakin grows his
Rex and Cane type Begonias at the end of his pathway, low down, where it
is shaded and cooler. The quality of the pot plants were also superb.
Lakin also took Red Cards with his foliage plants in all the Shows he
exhibited at. A remarkable achievement. Outside in his garden, Lakin had
a Marquee/ Shade house, which housed the overspill of cut bloom, pot and
foliage plants. Lakin utilises all available space to full capacity.
After a most informative couple of hours at Lakin's, we departed
for home. We joined the motorway and journeyed homeward towards South
Wales. Derek Bonner our Chauffeur, was exhausted after our long day.
Never the less, it had been a most marvellous and enjoyable day and the
topic of conversation was of what we saw during our South West visit and
continued for many hours, before we finally arrived home late into the
night. |
