I hope you’ve had a lovely cosy Christmas and are gearing up to a wonderful New Years. Here are the much anticipated answers to Garden Volunteer Jamie Atwell’s fantastic Christmas Quiz!
1) What do The Dorchester, Westminster Abbey and Fulham Palace have in common? They're all sites of Great Trees of London.
2) Which Fulham Palace Head Gardener was appointed Page of the Backstairs to a queen? George London. As a reward for his part in foiling the kidnap of Princess Anne (as she then was) by her father James II
3) The "Immortal Seven" included which Bishop of London? Bishop Compton. One of the seven who signed a letter to William of Orange imploring him to seize the throne.
4) The two "living fossils" at Fulham Palace are? (Candidates who include me as one of their answers will be disqualified.) Gingko biloba and Metasequoia glyptostroboides
A very snowy Tudor Courtyard at Fulham Palace
5) Who is the only person to have been Bishop of London twice? Bishop Bonner - 1539 to 1549 and then 1553 to 1559.
6) Where in SW6 might you have seen a Tower of Jewels for the first time this year? In the Knot Garden. "Tower of Jewels" is one of the common names of Echium pininana.
7) Colonel Edmund Harvey spent £7,617 8s and 10d in buying what? Fulham Palace. He bought it in 1647 during the Protectorate. Had to give it back on the Restoration of Charles II though.
8) One of the items sold on the Barrow this year was the aptly named "Common Bishop's Weed". It is known to botanists as? Ammi majus
9) Who was the first person in England to grow kidney beans for the table rather than as an ornamental plant? Bishop Compton (again).
10) "Sinistrorse" is an epithet that can be applied to which two notable specimens in the Fulham Palace Garden? The Wisteria on the south side of the Palace and in the Walled Garden. Both are Wisteria sinensis which twine anti-clockwise (or Sinistrorse).
11) The colour scheme in the Knot Garden derives its inspiration from? The coat of arms of Bishop Blomfield - red, blue and yellow.
12) Which important contributor to Fulham Palace Garden met his somewhat mysterious end on the Roanoke River? Rev John Banister. It was he who sent back from Virginia seeds and cuttings first grown at FP by Bishop Compton.
13) Which Bishop of London was honoured for contribution to nursing and midwifery? The Rt Revd & Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DCBE (the current Bishop). Formerly Chief Nursing Officer in the Department of Health, Dame Sarah was made a DCBE in 2005 for her contribution to nursing and midwifery.
14) OFSTED graded what at Fulham Palace as "Good" earlier this year? Fledglings at the Palace Day Nursery (what we all refer to as the Nursery. And site, incidentally, of Metasequoia glyptostroboides).
15) Who was this year's winner of "The Vineyard" trophy? Fulham Palace (or rather Lucy and her full time team) - best grapes at The Fulham Horticultural Society Show.
16) What underground feature at Fulham Palace still exists in an unbroken circuit? The moat.
17) Who featured on "Question Time" held at Sycamore House? Our very own Head Gardener Lucy Hart. Lucy was one of a panel of three at a session held by Hammersmith United Charities on 6th September. Lucy's co-panellists were Christine Walkden (regular on GQT) and Geraldine King (Head Gardener Chiswick House and RHS Britain in Bloom judge). [I offered to appear but, mysteriously, was turned down.]
A frosty morning on the main lawn at Fulham Palace
18) Which Swiss exile introduced the French Tamarisk to Fulham Palace Garden? Bishop Grindal. Went in to voluntary exile (spent partly in Switzerland) during the reign of Queen Mary. On his return, introduced Tamarix gallica.
19) Who has his own separate palace at Fulham Palace? Edmund the cat of course (no-one else would be so presumptuous).
20) Whereabouts in Fulham Palace might you kneel on a wand? The Chapel. One of the kneelers displays the coat of arms of Bishop Wand (Bishop 1945 - 1955)
Tiebreaker: Which side of a tree has the most leaves? THE OUTSIDE! (doh!)
Jamie Atwell,
Garden Volunteer
- A huge thanks to Jamie for this fantastic quiz!!