Latest News - May 2026
Our Spring Show was a stunning success with an amazing array of entries the ‘standouts’, as always, being the daffodils. The sea of yellow that greeted visitors was a real reminder that Spring had arrived and sunnier days lay ahead. The judges commented on the high standards of the entries with many new participants winning prizes. The coffee and walnut cake and tea bread classes were very hotly contested and the flower arranging classes provided a fantastic backdrop to the show. Our Show Secretary, Christine Stephens, not only put on a very well organised and supported show but also won the overall prize for horticultural entries!
Our April talk was held on Wednesday 15th April at Privett Village Hall when our speaker for the evening was Gillian Taylor, who is always highly entertaining and knowledgeable, as proved on this occasion! Her talk was entitled ‘More colour, less work’, a subject which brings joy to gardeners’ ears! Gillian had lots of lovely photos and she had also cut seasonal flowers from her garden to circulate amongst the audience to illustrate some of the points from her talk. The meeting was very well attended, with quite a few new members, and all in all was a very entertaining evening.
Our next big event is our Open Garden which will be held at Paloma House in Froxfield on Sunday14th June between 2 - 5pm. This is a stunning garden and we will be serving homemade teas and Pimms, and there will be a Plant Stall. Do come and join us to look around a beautiful English country garden!
We have an afternoon visit to The Manor House, Upton Grey on Wednesday 24th June at 2pmat a cost of £12 to include tea and cake. This historic garden was designed by Gertrude Jekyll in 1908 and current owners, John and Rosalind Wallinger, have renovated the derelict house andgarden over the last 40 years. At the time of writing there were a few spaces left for this visit.
Please contact Pippa Chapman on either 07803 906312 or pjmchapman@yahoo.co.uk
On Wednesday 8th July at 6.30 we have our evening visit to Hambledon House in Hambledon. The cost is £15 on booking, but it is at the moment fully subscribed. Pippa (contact details above) is holding a reserve list for this event.