Lydden Vale

Gardening Club

You don't need to have a large garden

to be interested in plants and like

growing them. Window sills, pots and

containers and house plants can

provide year round scope for the

enthusiast. So why don't you come

along and meet us?

Anyone interested in joining, please contact: Antony Parson Lydden Vale Gardening Club on Facebook

At the end of July 32 members and guests visited Ryewater Nursery near Boys Hill. If you haven’t been to this outstanding hidden gem of an estate you might presume that it is a plant nursery, historically it was, but that use ended approximately 40 years ago when the property was bought by the present owners who were at the forefront of the Green Revolution and who over the intervening years have expanded from a couple of acres of rundown glass houses and a nursery to create a mixture of formal gardens and a wildlife paradise extending to around 100 acres.  Our summer programme concluded with a visit to Buckland Newton Place on 10th August.  Saturday 17th September between 1.30 and 4.00pm in Buckland Newton Village Hall.  Apple and Garden Produce Day. This is very much a family day with free entry. If you don’t know your apples from your onions, want to talk to an expert, find out about how to make the best apple juice, the most mouth-watering apple cake, have a surplus of plants and would like to swap them for something else, or simply enter one of your vegetables for the ugliest vegetable competition, come along. There will be child friendly activities, opportunities to buy local honey, hand cream and soap from one of our members, tastings and a Raffle, so bring your purse! The light-hearted competitions will be judged by you, the visitor and one of our local experts. The Classes include, • A Plate of 5 Apples, 5 Potatoes or 5 Tomatoes of the same variety • The longest Runner Bean • The Wonkiest Vegetable • My Prize ???? – this can be any vegetable or fruit that has excelled this year • My best Apple Cake Recipe (with Cake to sample) • We very much look forward to seeing you. Dates for your diary for forthcoming meetings are: Wednesday 12th October, when Eleanor Gallia will give a talk titled ‘Herbs and Horns’ explaining the part that Herbal Medicine and Biodynamic Gardening can play in our lives. Wednesday 9th November, when Steve Fry of Castle Gardens will give a talk titled ‘Steve’s Weeds’, a light hearted talk on the part that weeds can play in our garden. The Lydden Vale Gardening Club meets on the second Wednesday of each month between September and April in the Buckland Newton Village Hall enjoying a mixture of talks from guest speakers, practical sessions where you can learn top tips for all things gardening. During the summer months we visit award winning gardens, garden centres and enjoy Alfresco Social evenings. We welcome all ages and levels of experience and are keen for all generations to benefit from the enjoyment of gardening. If you live in Buckland Newton, Pulham, Glanvilles Wootton, Kings Stag, Alton Pancras or neighbouring parishes and if you’re interested in having a fine garden or rewilding, planting or harvesting the results of your labours, or simply visiting gardens and learning about the history of gardening, we would love you to have you with us. If you are not already a member of the Club and are interested in gardening and think you might like to join, we would love to hear from you. Please do get in touch by emailing Jan at greystonebn@yahoo.co.uk or Antony at Bladeley365@outlook.com All club updates including the dates of future meetings and club visits will be posted on the Buckland Newton Community Facebook page, the Community Website and in the Lydden Vale News.