Winter Meeting Thursday 17th November

Plant Paradise by Derek Leary

Our next meeting will be held on the 17th November in the Burghfield Village Hall, 7:45 for 8 p.m. Derek Leary, our guest speaker, will present a photographer’s view of flowers and plants..

All members of the society and non-members are invited to this event. Entry is free for society members and £2 for non-members.

Our competition this time will be for the best single Chrysanthemum stem, with a £5 shop voucher for the winner. It would add interest if you include a note of the variety and any other interesting information about the entry.

If you have any spare plants, please bring these along to the event for swapping, selling or just giving away and please note that this will be the last chance to buy our spring bulbs.

 
If you’re not able to get to the meeting, this is our last chance to wish you

A Very Happy Christmas and All the Very Best for 2012

Roger Butler on Pelargoniums and Geraniums

About 30 members attended the September meeting at which Roger Butler talked and illustrated the world of Pelargoniums and Geraniums. Roger also gave away several cuttings, the results of which we look forward to next year!

The competition, for the best five-of-a-kind home-grown fruits or vegetables, was judged by Roger and won by John Weller with dessert apples. Congratulations John.

Produce Show 2012 ?

As noted in other newsletters this year, we’d like to re-instate the Annual Produce Show. However, we do need enough people to organise and run it and at the moment, this is not so. We therefore ask that, if you would like to be part of the rejuvenation of such a show, you let us know soon.

Many thanks to the two people who have volunteered so far, but we need at least 10. Please contact either Janice janice.dallison@bdhs.co.uk or Kate kate.tudor@bdhs.co.uk or talk to any of the committee at any of the meetings. Many, many thanks.

The date for the show, if it goes ahead, will be 18th August 2012 but we have to decide by the end of the year.

Membership Notes

If we don’t already have your email address and you would like to receive the newsletter and the occasional other communication from the society, please email Janice at janice.dallison@bdhs.co.uk Please be assured that we will only use your email for society communications – mainly the newsletter, which will save on paper and delivery.

But please also be assured that if you would prefer a paper copy, this is fine – we have no plans to stop producing and delivering them.

Please note that next year’s membership cards will be available from 1st January. We thank Janice for the smart personalised versions which she introduced this year.

Christmas Social Evening

Drinks, nibbles and free raffle
by kind invitation of our president,
Mrs Rosemary Sanders-Rose

on

Friday 16th December 2011 : 6.00 - 8.00pm

If you’ll be there,
please let us know at the members’ meeting
on 17th November 2011
or e-mail Kate at kate.tudor@bdhs.co.uk
 

Some of the things to do in your garden in November

Of course, what needs doing in the garden depends on what you grow and on the weather but here are some prompts that you might find useful:

• In November (and probably December as well) one of the main jobs is clearing up – keeping lawns and just about everywhere else, cleared of leaves which can harbour pests and diseases if left to rot on the ground

• It’s not too late to rake lawns to tease out thatch and moss

• Garlic cloves planted in the autumn seem to do better than those planted in the spring, although I find that onion sets are the opposite. Broad beans, peas and cauliflower seed can also be sown now (so long as the ground isn’t too frosty).

• Ensure that all pots and containers that are to be left out in the winter weather are supported off the ground (e.g. on blocks) to be sure that they drain effectively

• Whenever it’s not too wet, dig over ground that has become compacted and will be used next year for new plants and seeds: this will allow the frost to break down the lumps and you’ll get a head start in the spring.

  
  

The Shop

We are now even more in need of additional people to help out at the shop. As things stand now, we may have to open on only two or three Sundays in the month. Of course, this would be a really retrograde step, but there may be no choice. A couple of hours a month is all that is needed - of convivial chat and a 10% discount into the bargain. Please e-mail Kate at kate.tudor@bdhs.co.uk . Many thanks.

Diary Dates

2011

• 17^th November 2011 : Winter Open Meeting :- Plant Paradise by Derek Leary (a photographer’s view of flowers and plants); Burghfield Common Village Hall, 7:45 for 8 p.m.

• Friday 16^th December 2011 : A Christmas Evening at The President's house 6 - 8 pm.

2012

• Thursday 23rd February 2012 : AGM and Quiz; Burghfield Village Hall, 7:45 for 8 p.m.

• Thursday 19th April 2012 : Spring Open Meeting Burghfield Village Hall, 7:45 for 8 p.m.

• Thursday 21st June 2012 : Social Evening at the President's House, from 6:30pm.

• Thursday 20th September 2012 : Autumn Open Meeting, Burghfield Village Hall, 7:45 for 8 pm.

• Thursday 15th November 2012: Winter Open Meting; Burghfield Village Hall, 7:45 for 8 p.m.

Information Needed

We are trying to assemble a record of the society from its early days.

If you have any historical information or pictures that might help to piece together the history of the society, such as who founded the society, where the first meetings took place and what the society did in those early days, please e-mail Susan at susan.cracknell@bdhs.co.uk - Many thanks.

Gardens in Need of Help

There is a national initiative to encourage land sharing (i.e. someone with more land than they can use lets someone with too little cultivate it). Our scheme would include this option, but we would also like to just help people to maintain their own gardens so that they can continue to enjoy them when they are less able to do all the heavy work themselves.

The first step here is to find out if there would be a demand for such a scheme both from people who need a helping hand and from people who would be prepared to do some gardening work. Assuming that there is the demand we would then decide how best to organise it. Please do give it some thought and let us have some feedback on the idea.

If you would like to be involved, or know people who could help or indeed need help, please let us know: either talk to any of the committee at any of the meetings or email the editor at editor@bdhs.co.uk

Gardening for the Mind

Volunteers are still needed to give a couple of hours on a Friday morning to assist with a gardening project for sufferers of Alzheimer's.

The project has been running for several years and provides a therapeutic social and gardening morning.

If you would like to help, please contact Mick Hall on 0118 983 3653

Discounts

Discounts are available for you at the following places (just show your 2011 membership card)

• Wyevale offer 10% to members of their Garden Club (£10 per year).

• Henry Street, Arborfield offer various benefits for members of their (free) loyalty scheme.

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