Our March meeting began on a sad note because our former long-standing Chairman, Mr Robert Cook, had recently died suddenly.  He will be sadly missed by many people.   Many of the members of the Horticultural Society had attended Bobby’s funeral at the Methodist Church the same day as our meeting.  

Our speakers were Sheena and Richard Drane on “The care of Cacti and Succulants”.   Mr and Mrs Drane attend many garden shows up and down the country – including Chelsea – and brought along some of their specimen plants for us to admire.   Sheena began the talk with pointing out the differences in the two species and she answered many questions on their care and preferred habitats, etc.  There are more of these plants killed by watering between October to March than by any pests or diseases and Sheena stressed how important it is to keep them dry during the Winter months.   She also talked about propagation and then Richard demonstrated how to pot them on and how to make a lovely arrangement using just five or six of the cacti.  This they kindly donated for our next raffle.  Many of our members bought plants and went home determined to keep them healthy and to even have a go at propagation themselves.  They were warmly thanked by Stan Bates for an entertaining and enlightening talk.

On Saturday 29th March, 36 members and friends attended the annual Social Evening held this year in the W.I. Hall.   The committee had decided to try a different format this year – instead of the usual cooked meal – we had hot soup, followed by a buffet.  As usual this was prepared by Esme and her helpers and was of the usual high standard.  All our members enjoyed the change in format and a convivial evening was had by all.  After the meal Stan Bates had prepared a friendly quiz for us to enjoy and this was followed by a raffle.  

On Monday, 12th May we have our Annual Bring and Buy Sale and members were asked to bear this in mind when they started tidying their own gardens.   Our last two sales have been excellent, but this can only be the case if we have lots of plants, cuttings and seedlings to sell.  As I am typing this it is practically down to freezing outside (the Wednesday before Easter) and there is talk of snow, but surely by the time you are reading this the weather will be much warmer and you will be able to get outside and garden.  I sincerely hope so anyway!!

Then on Monday 16th June we have a talk on “Hardy Bulbs throughout the Year” given by Frances Mount and then coming up on the 12th July there will be our Summer Show.  Free Schedules are now available from the Shop or from Jackie Fieldsend (8 Croft Close), so please pick one up and have a look through it.  Maria Sumner, our Treasurer, has re-designed the Schedules this year and they look very attractive and smart.  As usual there are sections on Flower Arrangements, flowers and vegetables, cookery, handicrafts and sections for the children.  We cannot put on a Show without your help, so go on HAVE A GO.

Our meetings begin at 7.30 pm in the W.I. Hall and new members are always welcome. 

Jackie Fieldsend