Committee: Stephanie Fiske (chairman), Stewart Cowans (treasurer), Jackie Bowker (assistant treasurer), Rozie Bradley (secretary), Hazel Dean (assistant secretary), Kay Grant (Show manager), Barbara Cowans and Jenny Lacey President: Bud Cooper |
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For further information about the Bosham, Chidham & District Horticultural Society |
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Although we did not have a monthly meeting in January, the Committee got together to discuss both the Annual Show and the year ahead. Preparing for the Annual Show takes a lot of early preparation behind the scenes, starting with the programme for the competitions, getting judges, sponsors and raffle prizes in the first instance. We hope the 2012 Show will be as successful as the one in 2011! So make sure you put the date of 11 th August in your new diary! We also made provisional plans for two outings this year Linda Banting has very kindly agreed to us having an evening get together in her garden on Bosham Hoe (some of you may remember it from the Bosham Gardens Open Day such a beautiful position on the water's edge with a delightful surrounding garden). We thought it would be nice if everyone could bring their own picnic as we have done on previous outings . Date to be arranged later. By popular request we hope to be able to arrange a day's outing by coach to Wisley again. As we are affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society we are entitled to one free visit a year. Date to be arranged but preferabley in June so that we can see the new rose garden in bloom. Brian gave me his topical tips for this month at the Xmas party! Plant your shallots in pots Feed rhubarb, gooseberries, & currants with Blood Fish and Bone fert ilizer sow some lettuce seeds in pots and put on kitchen window sill order from seed catalogue prune autumn bliss raspberries down to 3 or 4 inches to the ground Our treasurer, Stewart, has noticed that some memberships have not been renewed as yet. If you have not paid up and got your new programme, please send your cheque (£5.00 single, £7.00 joint) made out to BCDHS to S.Cowans, Orchard Cottage, Sandy Lane, East Ashling, Chichester, PO18 9AT and he will post you the new programme. Our next meeting is on the 9 th February when Leslie Chamberlain, Assisting County Organiser National Garden Scheme West Sussex, will be giving a talk with slides relating to the Sussex gardens opened under the NGS helping to raise millions for charity. Don't forget to check your programme for the monthly competitions which have a valentine's theme! It would be great to see full competition tables! |
November Meeting - AGM Our next meeting is the Christmas Party on Thursday 8 th December which will be a social affair with a finger buffet, wine and a Quiz. This year (all part of the belt tightening mentioned earlier!) we have asked Members who attend to bring along a dish for the buffet. The Society will provide the wine and soft drinks and while you are enjoying the buffet, Bud has compiled a few quizzes to tax your brain! There will of course be the usual competitions and raffle. Do hope as many members as possible can attend it's always a fun and lighthearted evening - I am hoping you will also be able to pick up your 2012 Programme (hope you have paid your subscription by now??!!). An advance warning that there will be no meeting in January. Our speaker had to postpone this date. It was also decided at the AGM that there would not be any more January meetings as it is so hard to find a speaker and it is never well attended due to the weather. Not too many topical tips from Brian: plant garlic in open ground 3 deep take the outer leaves off the sprout plants to expose the sprouts themselves (getting ready for Xmas dinner!) Pinch the centre growing point out of your wallflowers so they will be nice and bushy- lift your dahlias out of the ground. Finally, a big thank you to all our members who support us at each meeting and make it all worthwhile throughout the year. It's not just the committee who work hard to keep the Society going. Rozie Bradley www.bcdhs.org.uk |
| September Meeting |
Bud, our chairman, welcomed the members to our first meeting after the Annual Show. He thanked everyone present for their support and help on the day, although next year he hopes more strong men will help set up the Village Hall the night before setting up the tables is tough work! We managed to break even which was impressive as our sponsors were not able to be so generous in the present financial climate. We certainly intend to carry on with this very important village event next year. There were not very many competition entries this month after a succession of local shows recently it's hardly surprising but let's hope more members will take part next month. Don Hall won the Lady Allen cup and the Best in Show Domestic was won by Rita Sandy and the Best in Show floral by Pat Carter. Brian's topical tips are not too onerous this time as autumn sets in. You can start harvesting your apples never pull them straight off, twist to the right or left and if they do not come off then they are not ripe enough - dig up your maincrop potatoes, leave in the sun to dry and then store in a brown paper sack - sow your spring onions seeds for overwintering - take penstemon cuttings buy your spring bulbs and plan where you wish to plant them select your runner beans for planting next year select pods that have at least six beans and then put the beans in a seed tray for a month to dry off (Brian puts the tray in the back bedroom - Ivy must be a very tolerant wife!) and then put them in a paper bag for planting next year. Our speaker this month was Jane Kilby, the General Manager of the Apuldram Centre. Although I have visited the Centre several times to buy eggs, cakes or vegetables, I had no idea of the range of their activities. The Centre was started 22 years ago by four families whose aim was to provide meaningful day to day care for adults with learning disabilities with a definite emphasis on working and producing goods for sale to the public. On the site they offer horticultural work, woodwork, craftwork, and cookery. They also undertake contract gardening all over the area. It is a wonderful opportunity for the clients to feel they are achieving something in their life and there is a huge age range from teenagers to seventy year olds. Of course all this work is done under close supervision of staff and volunteers (two of which belong to our Horti!). They also provide accredited training in partnership with Chichester College including vehicle maintenance, life skills, recycling, retail and horticulture. In addition to all this the Centre also provides supported living for 20 clients in the Chichester and Wittering area. As Jane talked to us about the Centre I felt what they achieve is quite amazing so please support the Centre as a shopper or as a volunteer it is so worthwhile. Our next meeting is on the 13th October (7.15 for 7.30 Bosham Village Hall) when Maggie Haynes of the Tuppenny Barn Organics Ltd will be coming to speak to us on the setting up and running of the business how nice to have another local organisation. I do hope lots of our members will attend and also we would welcome visitors/potential new members. The committee is so keen to keep this great Society going and support from the area is greatly appreciated. If you have recently moved to the area and are interested have a look at our new website www.bcdhs.org.uk it will give you all the relevant information you need. Rozie Bradley Secretary. |
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Our chairman, Bud Cooper, welcomed all to the meeting for our midsummer meeting. He was pleased to announce that we had raised nearly £600.00 at our annual Plant Sale & Coffee Morning. A good result considering there were so many other village activities on that morning. He thanked everyone who worked hard to make it a success. This money goes towards the running costs of the Society which like everything else seem to increase year on year.
Our next plea for help is for the Annual Show which will be on the 13th August when once again we shall need all hands on deck. The schedules are available at the normal outlets, or from Bud. Our monthly competition entries were disappointingly low but the ones we had were super – Peter Rogers won the Handover cup and Best in Show Domestic was won by Stephanie Fiske and the Best in Show Floral by Pat Price. |
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The recent beautiful weather brought in some colourful entries to our competition entries this month especially the roses. Best in Show floral was won by Janet Phillips and Best in Show Domestic by Rita Sandy. It's so good to see the summer vegetable produce in the competitions now. The members are gearing up for the Annual Plant Sale and coffee morning which helps fund the Society over the year - as with everything our costs keep mounting. The outings are being well supported. If you are wanting to come to Tillington for the garden viewing and light supper with us, please make sure you have booked and paid by the next Meeting. Brian's topical tips will keep you busy this month quite apart from the lawn mowing and hedge cutting everyone seems so busy with in Bosham! Pinch out your autumn sown broad beans to prevent the blackfly spray the ones planted in the spring Spray the roses and net the strawberries. Sow in open ground French and runner beans, Swedes for those winter stews, January King cabbages. Plant out tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes marrows and sprouts. Our speaker this month was Mrs Jan Mitchell, a retired teacher, who gave us an informative talk on the subject of garlic. I think everyone enjoyed the garlic bread halfway!! Make sure you don't miss the 9 th June meeting when our friend Monica Lucas will be giving us a talk on Garden Perennials her talks are so inspirational and I recommend her highly. If you are not a member please feel free to come and join us for the evening. The meetings are very informal and we are a friendly bunch! After the Bosham Gardens Open Day on the 5 th June, you may feel inspired to add more perennials to your borders! Don't forget to check our new website on www.bcdhs.org.uk to keep abreast of what we are up to! |
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Our April meeting was a very busy one with 36 members and 6 visitors attending. We have changed the lay-out of the meetings with tables to sit at and chat with a cup of tea or coffee and biscuits before the meeting starts. We feel that this makes a more friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Bud, our chairman, welcomed everyone at the start of the meeting and reminded everyone about the Annual Plant Sale and Coffee Morning on the 21 st May (10.00am in the Village Hall). A great way to start the planting of vegetables and plants in your garden. For the members it will be all hands on deck for the morning and the more who can help on the day the better. The competitions were well supported this month and Stephanie Fiske won both best in Show Domestic and Floral!! Stephanie Fiske announced to the members that her husband has set up a fantastic web-site for the Society. If you click on to www.bcdhs.org.uk in your web browser you can find it. We hope to use this medium for members who are on the internet to view the bi-monthly Newsletter and all announcements etc. It will also be a great way for interested people to find out about our Society. If you would like the Newsletter to be emailed you, please contact me via the email on rbrad10308@aol.com and I can do this for you. So you can see that the Society is keeping up with the modern age!! Rozie announced the ideas for two outings this summer one on 25 th May in the early afternoon to the NGS garden at Aldsworth House (entrance £3.50) - to go in members cars. The second one, an evening visit on Friday 17 th June, to another house opened under the NGS at 6 Park Terrace,Tillington, Nr.Petworth. The owner Mrs Isabelle Bowden is very happy to also serve us a light supper for £8.00 each, plus the entrance fee of £3.00. Again, members to share cars. Please contact Rozie (576057 or email!) )if you would like to go to an outing. I will need to know numbers by the May meeting. Brian gave us his topical tips for the month in order to multiply your snowdrops for next season, lift, divide and replant in groups spray your gooseberries plant early spuds plant out overwintered pansies prune established penstemons by half in open ground sow carrots, cornflowers, asters, antirrhinums and lastly dead head those daffs 2 below flower head. Our Speaker for the evening was our old friend Mr Brian Kidd. He did entertain us so well and if anyone thinks pruning is boring they should go to one of his presentations! He gave us details of the best tools to buy and also how and when to prune almost anything, with personal anecdotes on every aspect!! I wish he would write an idiots guide to the subject! The Speaker at our next meeting on then the 12 th May , will be Mrs Jan Garlic - she will be giving us a talk entitled Garlic with hot garlic bread to be served half way through!! Sounds good to me! See you there and of course at the Plant Sale and Coffee Morning. |
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It really feels that the summer of 2010 is finished now that we are back to our monthly meetings after our break in August. Of course not really a break for everyone who helped at our Show! Bud thanked everyone for their hard work and John Fox congratulated the committee who had put in so much time to make the Show such a success. As I am sure everyone in Bosham is aware by now, Dave Smith, a valued member, is in hospital and not able to help with the setting up of nearly all the activities at the Hall. We all wish him a speedy recovery and hope he will be home soon. As you would expect at this time of year the competition tables looked a picture of colour with all the beautiful dahlias on show. Congratulations to the following: Lady Allen Cup: Don Hall, Mrs Barnett Cup: Don Hall, Heaver Cup: Peter Rogers, Jescot Cup: Jackie Bowker, Best in Show Domestic: Rita Sandy, Best in Show Floral: Jackie Bowker. Ah, those topical tips from Brian!! As he said this month is a busy one for gardeners: Lift your maincrop potatoes cut back your lavender , tie up in bunches, put headfirst into paper bags and hang up to dry now is the time to prepare your new strawberry bed with bone meal and plant out the new plants plant out your spring cabbage seedlings take the shading off the greenhouse harvest your runner beans for next year's crop by waiting until the pods, with five beans, or more have gone yellow and put the beans on a seed tray to dry for about a month lift your gladioli and dry them and lastly bring in your Christmas cactus for December flowering. We must apologise for all the members who came hoping to listen to Frances Farrer-Brown with her talk on the Plant Hunters. Unfortunately she was taken ill, and so her place was taken by Mr Steve Taylor who kindly stepped in at two days notice . Steve, as some of you may know, is a herbalist and remedial masseur and has The Medicine Garden in the High Street in Emsworth. Personally I have always been rather sceptical of herbal remedies but his talk was fascinating and certainly made me view the subject in a different light. As he said, before 1948 and the start of the National Health Service, herbal remedies were widely used especially by those who did not have the money for the doctors' bills. I would recommend his excellent and entertaining talk to other societies in the area and I think his shop in Emsworth well worth a visit. For all you flower arrangers, we have a treat in store for you next month with Mrs Dawn Crowe, florist, giving us a demonstration entitled Fun with Flowers'. October 14 th , 7.30 Bosham Village Hall See you there!! Rozie Bradley |
ANNUAL VEGETABLE AND FLOWER SHOW 14 TH AUGUST 2010 Another really successful show! The weather was not as kind as last year and there was a lot of shower dodging not easy early in the morning as the exhibitors were arriving with their beautiful exhibits. However this did not seem to put off the visitors and once the doors opened we had a steady stream all afternoon. The exhibits were magnificent and I am so glad so many came and saw what talent we have in the area. It must have been a hard job for the judges and many thanks go to them from the Society. Many congratulations to the prize winners who won so deservedly. I am sure you will recognise many of the names! It is wonderful to get such great support every year. The afternoon seemed to be enjoyed by young and old alike enjoying the tombola, raffle and taking a rest with a cup of tea and a slice of cake. The Committee members worked so hard to make the afternoon a success and special thanks must go the Bud, our Chairman, and Kay, our Show Secretary, who had put in so much of their time over the last few months. An event like this is a mammoth task as I am sure you will appreciate, and so many members of the Society came and helped both set it up the night before, worked all day , and then helped clear it up once it was all over again many thanks to them all too many to mention by name. Our next monthly meeting is on the 9th September when Mrs Frances Farrer-Brown will be entertaining us with a talk entitled The Plant Hunters'. She is a great speaker and I thoroughly recommend it. If you are not a member you are most welcome to come along as a visitor and you never know you might decide to join us! 7.00 for 7.30 in the Village Hall. Rozie Bradley |
| Cups and Trophies Awarded at the Annual Show 2010
Southwood Cup: Best exhibit Class 1 Children’s Section Woodman Challenge Cup: Best Exhibit in Section 6 |
| The May Meeting The weather at our May meeting felt more like March, which resulted in fewer entries in our competitions as all the flowers and vegetables are so far behind at present. Let's hope by June it all gets back to normal again! However the rhubarb seems to be able cope with the cold and we had some good entries on the table. Best in show floral was won by Pat Price. Bud Cooper, our chairman, welcomed everyone to the meeting, including some new members. Brian Linkhorn gave us his invaluable Topical Tips for the month ahead. Even Brian had to admit that he has lost his French beans to the very late frosts we have been having try and wash the frost off as it is the sun that does the damage if you have planted out your potatoes they should be fine as there should not be any frost by the time they appear through the soil it's a good time to lift and divide polyanthus so you can double your plants now is the time to pot on your marrows and cucumbers and some boring jobs to do like deadheading daffs and tulips, spraying gooseberries for mildew, watering strawberries as it has been so dry, feeding hydrangeas in order to get great blooms later in the year. Lastly, you can start preparing plants for your hanging baskets. Mr Norman Flint was our speaker with a talk entitled The Dahlia Grower's Year. His talk, with some beautiful slides took us through from preparing the beds, storing them in the winter, to getting them ready for showing. My goodness what a dedication to one species. He got hooked on them with his first six plants which he bought for 10/6d in 1958 (about 50p to you younger readers!). He even dug up his lawn, while his wife and sons were out, in order to be able to have more plants!! He is now of course a National Judge even judging as far afield as Australia. I apologise for readers who might have liked a more detailed account of his talk, but it is very difficult to make notes during a slide show when the lights are off!! We have been busy preparing for this month's Coffee Morning and Plant Sale on 15 th May and the preparations for the Annual Flower and Vegetable Show on the 14 th August are well in hand. The Show schedule is now available for all who wish to put in entries. The Committee would like to thank all those who support us at these events. We have our two summer trips planned to Monica Lucas's garden in Sidlesham on the evening of the 11 th June and also our coach trip to RHS Wisley on the 26 th June. If you are not a member and wish to take advantage of the trip to Wisley please contact Rozie Bradley on 01243 576057 as we have a few spare places. Next month's meeting on the 10 th June, will be a talk with hints and tips by Mrs Margaret Borsberry, entitled Cookery & Preserves at the Show' and we look forward to seeing you there and welcoming visitors and new members. Rozie Bradley |
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SATURDAY 15th MAY 10.30AM – 12 NOON |
BOSHAM VILLAGE HALL |
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April Meeting Brian Linkhorn gave us his tips for the coming month including spray gooseberries for mildew prune hydrangeas and feed with fish, blood and bonemeal plant early spuds prune roses if have not already done so plant out onion sets sow: asters, zinnias, sprouts, lettuce, radish, carrots, parsnips and sow runner beans in the greenhouse for planting outside for the 15 th May and if you have not pruned and fed your autumn bliss raspberries do so now! Certainly enough to keep you gardeners busy!! We were so lucky to have as our speaker Mr Brian Kidd talking about his allotment. I would recommend his talk with slides to all societies. He is the most entertaining gentleman and was able to make his talk both informative and very funny! Some of you may have heard him on Radio Solent or read his articles in the local Portsmouth paper. I hope we are able to remember all his handy tips for when (?) Bosham gets some allotments! Next month on May 13 th our speaker will be Mr Norman Flint with a talk and slides entitled The Dahlia Growers Year'. Visitors are always welcome at our meetings - please call Rozie Bradley on 01243 576057 if you need any information about the Society, the meetings and the trips. |
January Meeting Brian Linkhorn gave me the monthly topical tips which he would have normally read out at the meeting shallots can be planted in the cold frame begonias should be pricked out and be in the cold frame sow sweet peas in 5 inch pots and put in the airing cupboard - check dahlias and dust with sulphur if necessary. When the weather gets better prune the apple trees back to this side of three fruit buds - this should be done by the end of February at the latest. Don't forget to feed the birds daily and check their water is ice free. And lastly if the weather is too awful to do any of these tasks, then sit back by the fire and study your seed catalogues and dream of the spring and summer!! Hopefully all this snow and ice will have gone in time for our next meeting (11 th Febnruary 7.30 - in the village Hall as usual) when Mr John Negus will give us a talk with slides and a Quiz entitled Twelve months of Colour' sounds like the tonic we all need at present! Rozie Bradley |
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Our last meeting of 2009 was our annual Christmas Party held on the 10 th December. This was organised by all the Committee members and thanks go to them for an excellent evening and delicious buffet with wine. The evening started off with the usual competitions. Congratulations to the winners who were: Peter Rogers, Brian Linkhorn, Pat Price, Marie Gilby, Anne Davis, Stephanie Fiske, Janet Phillips, and M. Cope. The Miss Scales Cup was awarded to Beryl Cooper and the Lady Allen Cup to Don Hall. Brian Linkhorn gave his Topical Tips: when the weather is dry enough you can plant out shallots, sow onions and sweet peas. Peter Rogers, our youngest Society member, entertained us with his guitar and Beryl Cooper organised some great raffle prizes. So all in all a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The new programme has been printed and it will be issued to members early in the New Year. There are some excellent speakers lined up for the year 2010 and I feel special thanks should go to Barbara Cowans who spends a great deal of her time arranging them - not an easy task. |
| Meeting October 8th 2009: For October’s meeting we had the Halloween theme with some wonderful pumpkins in the competitions. Our chairman, Bud Cooper, opened the meeting with a plea for more of the members to come forward for election on to our committee. Our AGM is on the 12th November and it would be wonderful to have some new blood with new ideas on our team! It really is not too onerous with just a handful of Committee meetings a year and help at the monthly meetings. Please contact Bud (01243 572583) or any of the committee members if you can help. Now a reminder from myself and the Treasurer – Don’t forget that your annual subscription of £4.00 is due NOW!! It is easy for me to report the results of this month’s competitions as Don Hall made an almost clean sweep winning six of them. Best in Show (floral) was Pat Price and Best in Show (domestic) was Stephanie Fiske. Brian Linkhorn gave us his monthly topical tips – plant garlic at least 3 inches deep, plant broad beans - Halve your penstemons down to 18 inches - prepare and plant strawberries – halve your rose stems if they are not still flowering, chip and sow sweet peas – plant autumn onion sets – finish planting your bulbs. Try and have all these jobs done by the end of October! He certainly likes to keep us busy! Mr Peter Gardner kindly stepped in as our speaker at the last minute as the one we had arranged had to cancel. His interesting talk and slides on the ‘Beauties of Hampshire’ covered a wide range of subjects from wildflowers to insects and animals. He quizzed us on the names of each one and I think we did pretty well with our answers! My knowledge was sadly lacking and I just kept quiet at the back! Next month’s meeting (November 12th) is our AGM and Members’ Evening with some entertainment and a glass of wine to liven it up!! We shall of course still have our usual competitions and the Committee hopes as many of our members as possible will be able to attend. Rozie Bradley |
| Meeting September 10th, 2009 Our September meeting indicates the beginning of the autumn, after the summer break. Bud opened the meeting with the sad news of the death of Don Goodall. Don and his wife have been supporters of this Society over many years and our sympathy goes out to his wife and family at this sad time. Our speaker this month was Mr Chris Howkins, an ethnobotantist, who spoke on the subject of Poisonous Plants. I thought it was one of the most informative and entertaining talks I have heard at the meetings. He has researched information on plants over the last forty years and his database is reckoned to be the third largest on the subject in the country. It is amazing how many plants in our gardens are very toxic, a lot of which we eat each day – and he wonders how many of our grandchildren are made aware of this and kept safe from poisoning. It was so interesting to learn how many of these poisonous plants are used in minute doses in modern medicine from eye drops to anaesthetics. And, never, never eat potatoes that have any green on them! There was so much information, that it would take up the whole of this magazine to report on, but Chris does has a very good website (chrishowkins.com) if you want to learn more about his work.
Rozie Bradley |
August 8th, 2009 |
Bosham Village Hall |
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I am sure that everyone who attended our special show this year would agree that it was a resounding success. It is the first time that I have been involved with the setting up and running of the show on the day. It is a huge job for our members and a special debt of gratitude is owed to Marie Gilby, our show secretary, who made all the arrangements from start to finish, and got so many of us involved on the day. To have everything up and running in time for the judges by 10.30am takes great effort both on the night before and from 8am on the day. Not to mention the ladies that provided a delicious lunch for the judges and stewards before the doors opened. |
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Rozie Bradley and Hazel Dean |
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Floral Exhibits |
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| Peter Chivers Judge and Roy Retallick Steward |
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Ann Dove Judge and Margaret Coward Steward |
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Class 47 Exhibit |
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Jean Wren with her winning piece of hand knitting August 2009 |
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Now that the excitement of the Show is over for another year, we can look forward to the monthly meetings resuming after the summer break. On Thursday 10th September we have Mr Chris Howkins coming to give us a talk on poisonous plants (7.30 in the Village Hall). If you enjoyed the Show, why not come along as a visitor to one of our meetings and then maybe you will be inspired to join us!! If you want any further information please call me on 01243 576057. Rozie Bradley |
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July Meeting Report |
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Hard to believe that we are nearly getting to the longest day, giving us plenty of time to get into our gardens. I'm sure all our members are full of ideas for their garden after visiting so many beautiful and varied gardens last Sunday at the Bosham Open Gardens Day. A lot of our members opened their gardens and it was so impressive to see the fruits of all their hardwork - only sorry the weather wasn't as bright as the gardens! Their enthusiasm and love of their work was very evident. We learnt about the history of the woodland in England , the archaeology from Neolithic times to the present day, coppicing etc. and Kester stressed the importance of management. They accompanied the talk with slides of magnificent trees and the ancient woodland plants including rare orchids. Christine spoke to us about which flora, fauna and insects to look for as you walk through woodland. It is obviously a lifetime's work managing their wood, and as Kester informed us the rarest species in any woodland nowadays is a woodland worker! |
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