OGC News June 2012

Click here for printable version

Thanks toCaroline Seaman and Sara Buckley for preparing the refreshments which will be
served in the Small Hall while the stewards are counting up the points for your show entries.

Welcome to new members, Lynne and Roger Evans from Orleton and Ruth Merrifield from Ludlow, and we also welcome back Gerry Summers who had a 'year out'.

Don’t Forget…

The June meeting on the 19th is The Midsummer Show.  Please remember this is a “Fun” show and you are all the judges. We need entries.  Whilst the voting counters are being counted, help yourselves to tea/coffee and partake in in our amusing quiz (in the small hall).  This is not Chelsea so please enter! The schedule is on the web.

Due to our non-participation in the Orleton Festival would anyone with excess plants please bring them to the Midsummer show. The proceeds from the sales will go to the Orleton Festival as usual.

July 31st Supper Evening and Visit to Gardens in Kingsland

This year members from Kingsland (and some non-members) have kindly volunteered to open their  gardens to us from 6 pm until 8 pm.  The Village Hall at Orleton will be open from 5.30 pm onwards to receive your contributions towards the supper to be held afterwards.  On your arrival at Orleton Village Hall you will be given a map of the gardens in Kingsland. For those of you who are “And District” you can go to Kingsland first and deliver your food afterwards.  Maps for the gardens will be available at the Midsummer show for you ONLY!

For the supper, please bring cutlery, plates, glasses, beverage and a main course dish and pudding that can be shared with others. The Club will provide bread, butter and cheeses and nibbles to stave off hunger pangs while we wait for garden owners  (our guests) to arrive!
We suggest you mark all the items you bring as there is always something left behind.
Tea & coffee will be available in the kitchen; please make your own and remember to wash, dry, and put away.

32nd Annual Show
The Schedule is available on our website with links to printable versions. 

We have once again been awarded the Banksian Medal by the RHS.  This will be presented to the person with the most horticultural points in the show (excluding the winners of the medal from 2010 and 2011).

Trophy holders: Please polish your cups ready for presentation in August.  Please ensure you have had them engraved – the club will re-imburse you for this.  We suggest you wrap them in cling film after cleaning to prevent tarnishing.  These should all be returned to the committee by the weekend of August 7th/8th

Please read the schedule carefully

Club Outing
On Friday 13th July there is an afternoon trip to visit BROOK FARM, Berrington, Tenbury Wells,  Worcester, WRI5 8TJ. This garden, owned by Sarah and Willy Wint and opens for the NGS but they are opening especially for us on this afternoon.  Please arrive between 2.00 – 2.15pm.  The cost of this afternoon is £5.00 per head  and guests are welcome. This cost includes entrance to the garden, talk by Willy, advice from Sarah and Willy and afternoon tea and cakes, so is VERY good value!  Please download the form from the web and return it to Shelley Choat Comberton House, Comberton, Orleton, Ludlow, SY8 4HE (Tel: 01584 831518)  with your payment, by Monday, 9^th July 2012 at the latest. This is to enable them to know how many cakes to make for our afternoon tea!  There is ample parking but please try to share cars if possible.

Things to do, Places to Visit

Benthall Hall

Handsome 16th-century house and restored garden

Situated on a plateau above the gorge of the River Severn, this fine stone house has mullioned and transomed windows and a stunning interior with carved oak staircase,decorated plaster ceilings and oak panelling. There is an intimate and carefully restored plantsman's garden, old kitchen garden and interesting Restoration church

The Great House, Dilwyn
The Great House sits impressively on the edge of the pretty black and white village of Dilwyn, seven miles from Leominster. Set amidst stunning gardens, wisteria and climbing roses cascading from the walls, guests will be bowled over by the comfort and quiet charm of this jewel in the heart of rural Herefordshire. The stunning garden has been lovingly created by owners Tom and Jane Hawksley over the last 14 years and is occasionally open under the National Gardens Scheme.

MonnowValley Arts: Middle Hunt House. Walterstone, Hereford HR2 0DY
'One of Herefordshire's hidden gems'. A modern garden of four acres. All the design for the garden has been done by its owners. A debt is owed to Piet Oudolf, who has inspired the owners to use large swathes of perennial grasses and herbaceous plants.
The garden is also used by Monnow Valley Arts, a charitable arts foundation, so the garden is a backdrop to changing sculpture exhibitions. In the sensory garden, twelve 4 metre square beds are planted with herbs and scented flowers which flower consecutively. Between each bed is a sculpture.
The outlook from the sensory garden is to the Art & Memory field with raised banks and a pond for the display of larger pieces of sculpture and specimen trees.
The garden is a hidden gem, in a surprising place with stunning views over the Black Mountains of Wales. It is well worth the detour if you want to see how the owners have created a truly inspirational modern garden from an old working farm.

Open to the public:Thursday and Friday 11 am – 5 pm. Weekends 2 – 5 pm

Seasonal Tips
    

• Keep deadheading to encourage more flowers
• Sow lettuce every 2 or 3 weeks to get a steady supply
• Cover strawberry plants to protect from birds and remove any mouldy or damaged ones. Add slug pellets if you are so inclined
• Water container grown plants at least once a day in hot weather. Hanging baskets even more so.
• Prune ornamental and fruiting cherry and plum trees