Autumn Show. September 2016 Newsletter

Transcription

1 September 2016 Newsletter Autumn Show Saturday 3 rd September Parish Hall, Charing 2pm Following the success of the spring and summer shows we look forward to seeing some new exhibitors taking part in our last show of the year and therefore taking part in the new entrants incentive draw. Please see details below and the show schedule in the annual or online at Likewise, if you have never been to one of our shows, are new to the village or are interested in gardens and growing why not come along and see what the gardeners are all about... Everyone is welcome to enter so why not have a go. There are classes for flowers, vegetables, fruit, floral art, cookery, handicraft and children s classes. Committee members will be there to help you display your entries. We have an RHS book with rules, should you want to know more, available to borrow from Aly. So if you have just a couple of items in your garden, you are a good cook, artistic or crafty, give it a go. There are show tips and information in the annual. Exhibits should be staged between 9am and 11.30am for judging and the show opens to the public at 2.00pm with prize giving at 3.30pm. Entrance to the show is free; there are refreshments, tea, and fresh coffee and homemade cakes. Plant Re-homing please bring any plant donations, a raffle, plus an advice desk for your gardening questions. Even if you are not entering do come along and take a look. Show entries - to Aly Pinnock please at alypinnock@btinternet.com. - No later than Thursday 1 st September or can be left with Allan and Sheila Dixon at Charing Stores from the Monday before the show. It is better to be optimistic about what you will enter and then drop some if necessary, this helps us prepare enough space for each class on the show tables. All show inquiries or advice on showing, especially if you are one of our NEW EXHIBITORS, to Aly Pinnock or alypinnock@btinternet.com.

2 New Entrants Prize Draw We have had a good number of new entrants at our shows again this year all of which have gone away with prizes. So congratulations to them. To spur on those of you who have not yet given it a go we will have another new entrants prize draw at the autumn show. For every class you enter you will receive a ticket for the Prize Draw. The more classes you enter, the greater the chances are of winning the prize. The draw will be made during prize giving at the end of the Show. Good luck! If you are not sure what, or how to enter, give Aly Pinnock, Show Secretary, a call or alypinnock@btinternet.com. Show Trophies If you were clever enough to win a trophy last year at the autumn show or one of our annual trophies please remember to bring it to the autumn show all shiny and ready to be presented for this year. If you are unable to bring it to the show please contact Aly Pinnock (712840) to arrange its return. Thank you Spring Show The society will be giving out miniature tulip Guiseppe Verdi bulbs at the autumn show and September talk to be grown and shown at the spring show So come along to the show or the talk, collect your bulbs and take on the challenge. INTER SOCIETY COMPETITION Saturday 3 rd September Can you contribute to our entry? As reported in last month s newsletter we have been invited by Harrietsham Gardeners Society to take part is this year s inter society competition at their annual show. This date does clash with our own show and we appreciate that it is tricky to do both but I m sure between us we can produce an exhibit we can be proud of. As a group we have been asked to exhibit the following: A collection of six kinds of vegetables to be displayed in a box no larger than 600mm x 600mm We have pledged potatoes and onions we need four other high scoring veg to complete the box/tray please see the points list on page 24 of the annual. Three stems of Fushias Who can help with this one? 3 stems to be displayed in a vase A three egg Victoria sandwich Already pledged 6 eclaires Which of our clever bakers can help us with these? 6 meringues Already pledged The above items would need to be with Karen or delivered to the Parish Hall for collation on Friday evening or early Saturday morning so she can deliver our entry to the Harrietsham show first thing Saturday. Please let Karen know as soon as possible if you are able to contribute any of the above. Thank you karen564@btinternet.com A big thank you to those who have already stepped up for this challenge this is a great way, as with the quiz earlier in the year, for the society to build a connection with other local gardening groups.

3 Managing Your Greenhouse A talk by Alan Harvey Wednesday 14 th September, Church Barn, Charing, 7.30pm Alan Harvey, lecturer and programme manager at Hadlow College will talk to us on managing your greenhouse, something many of us struggle to do successfully year on year. He will talk about the use of a greenhouse through the seasons - what you can do each month and how to deal with problems such as weekends away etc. He will also do some demonstrations so we should have a very interesting and informative evening. So please join us - entrance is 2 for members and 3 for non-members, this includes refreshments. Raffle, plant re-homing, seed swap and produce sale - please bring along anything you would like to share and donate. Non- members always welcome as are new members. We look forward to seeing you there. Pruning and Training Fruit Trees Saturday 12 th November Parish Hall, 9.30am 4.30pm 7 per person (members only) Still a few places available This course will give you the knowledge and skills to train and prune a variety of fruit trees to improve their health, growth and fruit production. The course will include both theoretical and practical aspects of pruning and training and will cover apples, pears, plums and cherries from whips to mature trees. These courses are subsidised by the society as part of our skills and development programme. Please contact Hilary or Keith to reserve a place. Beautiful Belmont Society members had a very enjoyable guided tour of the gardens at Belmont house in late July. There were twenty-three members who came along, the weather was warm and pleasant and we had a very good guide in Graham the head gardener. He gave us a short history of the house, its development and owners before taking us around the walled garden, the Pinetum, the wonderful kitchen garden designed by Arabella Lennox-Boyd and the 'mandala' garden. If you have visited an inspiring local garden and think a visit is worthwhile please let us know.

4 Wine and Wander plus something a little more strenuous!? Firstly, we thank Mary, Alan and Kat Hodge for their generous hospitality during our visit to their delightful garden last week. Thirty members joined us on a slightly damp drizzly evening but thoroughly enjoyed strolling around the grounds discovering a wonderful variety of plants. Our weather has been challenging this year as Mary reported the next day when parts of their much loved garden looked a bit different... I ll let Mary tell you what happened in her to Karen. My Dear Karen Thought you would see the funny side to our latest project - one forced on us rather than carefully thought out!!!! Eighteen hours after the wine and wander I heard an horrendous noise outside - bit like a lorry running into a couple of cars at a fast speed... A very rapid look out of the window showed the cars pristine - on my way out to the garden to check which bit of the house had collapsed I asked Alan if he had heard anything - silly question... As I raced through the kitchen door all became clear - the big ash tree which was on our tree man's list of to dos - cranes, team of helpers and much serious discussion for the past few months - was down. Kat was alerted (she hadn't heard the crash either) and our new neighbour joined us and we all stood rather silently contemplating the wreckage. Our neighbour recovered first and went to collect his extending saw and set to work. If anything the mess just extended and expanded. A few hours later with yards high piles of branches, leaves and debris from one end of the grass to the other I suddenly thought what a missed opportunity it had been. Had the nasty blast of wind arrived 18 hours earlier we could have given our garden club guests a real treat - with plenty to talk about and plenty to do - instead of having to stand around making polite conversation! A brilliant opportunity wasted... As a result of the wreckage have come to the conclusion a new design for the long flowerbed is called for - possibly entirely hydrangeas. One has to be positive... Mary We thank Mary for her , wish them all the best with the tidy up and of course look forward to maybe visiting to see a wonderful border of hydrangeas in the future.

5 Gardening Equipment for Sale Society member Anne Bennett-Winograd is off to Canada and has a number of garden implements/tools etc. for sale which she would like to offer to our members. Here is a list of what she has now: 2000W chipper/shredder - 30 Flymo Leaf Vacuum/blower - 25 Tubular Greenhouse heater heated propagators - free to a good home Manual (as in push) aerator - 5 Assorted hand tools and bits and pieces - free Wheelbarrow - free And later, when she knows when she is going: Strimmer Lawnmower Hedgecutter Please contact Anne directly if you are interested. Tel annebwinograd@yahoo.co.uk Plant Donations Please remember to bring along any plants, cuttings etc. for our plant re-homing table at all our events. We ask that you label them clearly and give any helpful advice to the new owner. Thank you. Book recommendation from Marjory Thomas Columbines by Robert Nold Timber Press A book featuring the many species in the aquilegia family which is not only interesting with good photos, but also written by an author with a ready dry humour which adds considerably to the enjoyment of the book. Nold lives in Colorado and grows many species, one of which, coelrulea, is the State Flower of Colorado and a good garden plant. Too hot or too wet to be in the garden here s an idea! Why not write a short article for next year s annual... If you have something interesting to say about your gardening experiences, a topical issue to discuss, some useful tips or advice, or anything you would like to pass on to other members we would be glad to receive it to include in the annual. It doesn t matter how short the articles are so up to around 500 words would be good. We don t require the contributions until late November. This year s annual contains some very informative and amusing contributions. Take another look - maybe you have something similar you would like to share. If you have any queries or have an article please contact Karen who will be glad to know or happy to advise. Please send to Karen Saunders - Editor, karen564@btinternet.com Maybe you re more a photographer than a writer? For the past few years we have invited members to submit photographs suitable for the front cover of our gardeners annual. This has proved very successful, therefore, if you have a garden related photograph you would like to put forward for the 2017 annual please send to Karen Saunders - Editor, karen564@btinternet.com Don t miss out on any of our events please ask for a lift- call Keith Visit our website at