We need a new treasurer by the Autumn

 

May Newsletter

 Some of my greatest gardening pleasures come at this time of the year. Opening the back door and hearing the birdsong that fills the air is one and it is easy to imagine that they are singing for joy but of course they are not. They are busy finding mates and defending their territory.  Watching them foraging for food and nesting materials uses up more time than I care to imagine. As an untidy gardener I kid myself that I am providing lots of insects for the birds to eat and plenty of hiding, resting and nesting spaces in my slightly overgrown hedges but I will cut the hedges once the nesting season is over.

The emergence of lilac blossom is another pleasure as it takes me back to my childhood and my grandparents garden where their lilac hedge was a profusion of blooms and the heady fragrance filled the air. Scents for me provide a powerful aid to memories. Purple lilacs are supposed to symbolise the first emotions of love whilst the white represents youth. They make excellent cut flowers so you can bring that amazing scent indoors.

At our recent Committee meeting we discussed ways to encourage more of you to our meetings especially the ones in the winter. It is understandable that coming out in the dark on a cold, wet winter’s night is not pleasant, but we still have speakers and the hall costs to pay.

We wondered if for a couple of winter meetings it would help if the time was changed to an afternoon meeting instead of the evening. We need to know your thoughts on this and if you would support the club. We don’t want to go into more detail until we have your views so please get in touch in what ever way you are comfortable with.

As you may know, the plant sale was a success but it does not have to end there because if you have any plants surplus to your requirements you can always bring them along to our monthly meetings and they can be sold on behalf of the club.

  

We are also busy arranging the annual Show which will be held on Saturday September 9th so keep your eyes open for the show schedules which are being distributed locally. Di Barnaby, our Show Organiser, is looking for 15 volunteers to help on the day. It is a good way to get to know people and give help at the same time.

Back to the birds! Our speaker for this month is Stephen Oakes who will introduce us to Birds in Your Garden. He will also be bringing along some bird food for us to buy. I am sure that it will be an interesting talk so do bring along friends and family. we need your support more than ever and any feedback is always welcome.  Please bring something for our club competitions too. Last month I quickly went out to my garden, picked some flowers that were blooming, popped them in a vase and got second place! No flower arranging skills required.     

Happy gardening

Your Committee

 

Birds in your Garden

 

April Newsletter

 Ibsley and District Horticultural Society

April Newsletter

 

Where has this month gone? I am sure that time is speeding up and the list of things to be done grows longer by the day. Thank goodness for the longer evenings and dare I say in the warmth that is felt when the sun breaks through. I am at the shall I / shan’t I moment as to whether to put out my precious plants and seedlings and to get the vegetable plot going.

Thanks to our wonderful plant sale last weekend, I now have a bit more space in my greenhouse although I did buy more plants as I couldn’t resist the amazing variety that our members produced on the day. I wish to thank everyone for their support and especially the committee for all their hard work. Two people who were incredible and who made the day happen were Bren Ings and Di Barnaby. They deserve a huge thank you from all of us.

I love to wander around my garden each morning to see what may have appeared overnight and to listen to the birds singing. I have had a couple of lovely surprises recently which happens to me from time to time as I am not an “organised” gardener. I forget where I have planted things even though I do try to label them. Yesterday I found a clump of arisarum proboscideum or mouse plant. It is a relatively small clump forming gem with glossy arrow shaped dark green leaves. The delight is in the spring if you carefully part the leaves, you find cream and purple flowers that look just like a tiny mouse tucked up with a long curling tail. I also discovered that I had a fritillaria acomopetala flowering which is a tall bell shaped purple and green fritillary which I have never managed to grow before. I love the snakeshead fritillaries that are becoming established in my garden and hope that this different variety will do the same.

 

It was great to see more people at our March meeting so hopefully this trend will continue for our next meeting – this Thursday (27^th)

The talk should be really interesting as our speaker is Kelvin Mason from Sparsholt College on composting and recycling in our gardens. This topic is very much on trend at the moment and could be helpful in making savings in today’s economic climate.      

We would love to see you and also any entries that you may have to take part in our club competition. Bring along a pot plant, single bloom, bunch of flowers or a vegetable or fruit to enter. It all adds to the fun.

You can also get some zinnia seeds from Di Barnaby to grow for our annual show.

Bring a friend along too as we are a friendly bunch and they would be made very welcome.  

Good gardening to you all and we look forward to seeing you soon.

 

From your Committee

Images from the 2023 Plant Sale

 

Composting and recycling - Kelvin Mason

 

 Ibsley & District Horticultural Society

March Newsletter

 

Spring greetings to you all

Isn’t it great that the days are drawing out and we can at least see positive signs that our gardens are coming to life. I have loved going out to see my snowdrops, but the cheerfulness of the daffodils is a pure joy.

Energy is returning to the garden, the pace of growth is quickening, and the greening up is beginning in earnest. I love seeing the fat buds unfurl and the cherry, camellia and magnolia blossoms that fill our gardens and streets.

I have sown some seeds and potted up plants that I have divided and these I will be taking along to our Plant Sale on April 22^nd. I hope that all of you have been doing the same as we need your support to make it a success. If you have a lot of plants to sell, then please book a table or you can share a table with others. Terry Ings (01425 653834) is in charge of booking tables so please get in touch with him to book your spot.

Also get your family and friends to come along as you won’t find better plant bargains this year. The plant sale is also a good place to sell any garden related items so bring them along as well. Please don’t forget to bring bags along for all of those plants that you will be tempted to buy and remember that it is cash only sales as we have no facility to take cards.      I will be raiding my piggy bank on the day so the date to remember is April 22^nd!

Before the plant sale we have both our regular monthly meeting and on April 20^th there is a trip to Hinton Ampner near Arlesford. This is a beautiful National Trust house and a garden that will be full of spring interest. Details will be given at our meeting on March 30^th so do come along and find out what is being organised for you.

The Club has missed some of our regular members during the winter months and we are hoping that with lighter evenings we will be seeing you again.  This month our talk will be on climbers by Martin Young who as well as being able to give advice will also be bringing some plants with him to sell.

This will also be our annual seed swap evening so bring along any seeds that you wish to swap. You may have some special seeds that you have gathered in your garden and that you would like to share. I have some Allium seeds that I hope will grow this year. If you have seeds to swap then bring them along and for a small donation you may find some others that catch your eye. Please try and bring an entry our monthly competition as well.

We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting on March 30^th.

Your Committee

 

Annual seed exchange

Our next meeting is a talk on Climbers 30th March 7.30pm 2023. As part of the evening we will hold our annual seed swap. It is a good chance to try something new or maybe pick up a few seeds that you don't want a full packet of.

 

The wildlife diverse garden

No explanation needed

 

Climbing plants for your garden

Climbing plants bring a new dimension to gardens offering height, flowers and stunning foliage to even the smallest garden.

 

Memberships dues - easily pay by Bank transfer

Your new membership cards for 2023 are ready and you can pay and collect your card at the meeting or should you prefer, we are offering alternatives. The cost this year is £10 per person and can be paid by cash or cheque (payable to IDHS) either at a meeting or sent to Mr Alan Milburn at 65, Parsonage Barn Lane, Ringwood, BH24 1PT

or by online banking using the following details:

Account Name: Ibsley and District Horticultural Society

Sort Code: 30-96-26

Account number: 42436068

Please put your surname in the reference box

'A Wildlife year to remember'

 

PLEASE NOTE - Change of Speaker and topic...

sadly Bryan Pinchen is unwell and will not be able to give the talk booked for Thursday 26th Jan 2023.

Rosemary Legrand has kindly stepped in to offer an uplifting and inspiring talk about Spring blossom in Japan. Rosemary has given talks for us before and has always been greatly applauded by those attending

 

... more strange facts from Brian Pinchen

 

 

IDHS Newsletter Nov/Dec 2022

 Dear Members,

This newsletter will cover both November and December as we see a new committee forming and only a short time between meetings.

 

Finally as I write we have a cold crisp day, a lovely respite from all the rain we have endured for weeks and hopefully it has encouraged you out into the garden to enjoy any remaining blooms!

  

Our December meeting is on Thursday 8^th December at 7.30pm where we will have our Christmas Social. We will have a table garden related quiz (with a prize)  and raffle but no usual members competition. Instead we are asking you to decorate a cracker with natural materials which will be judged and a prize awarded.

We are asking everyone to bring a small plate of finger food, either sweet or savoury which we will all share. This worked well in June and reduced waste, increased variety and was enjoyed by many. We will be serving refreshments to go with this!

 

Your new membership cards for 2023 are ready and you can pay and collect your card at the meeting or should you prefer, we are offering alternatives. The cost this year is £10 per person and can be paid by cash or cheque (payable to IDHS) either at a meeting or sent to Mr Alan Milburn at 65, Parsonage Barn Lane, Ringwood, BH24 1PT 

or by online banking using the following details:

Account Name: Ibsley and District Horticultural Society

Sort Code: 30-96-26

Account number: 42436068

Please put your surname in the reference box

Our next meeting is on:

November 24th, 2022 at 7.30 pm

Ibsley Village Hall BH24 3NL

The topic is 'The WIld Flowers of Crete' - it is preceded by our AGM... BUT, don't let that put you off, we have perfected the brisk AGM it will be very short and sweet. The talk will be colourful and inspiring, just the thing for cheering up a November evening.

 

IDHS Newsletter October 2022

 

Hopefully you are enjoying this mild weather and welcome rain although more is needed to restore streams

back to previous levels.

 

It was lovely to see so many of you at our last meeting with Andy McIndoe and we welcomed a number of new members.

 

Our next meeting is on Thursday 27^th October when we have Wilf Simcox coming to give us a talk on Conservatory Plants.

Please remember to enter the members competition – details on your membership cards

There will be the usual raffle and refreshments at 50p for a tea or coffee.

Julie Cole and Debbie King are doing refreshments this month.

 

The show committee for 2023 is meeting shortly and they are keen to get children entering the show as they are our gardeners of the future. If any of you have ideas of how to attract children please send us an email.

 

Just a reminder that next month is our AGM but it only lasts for about 10 minutes and papers will be sent out to you a week earlier.

 

In December (8^th December) we will be having a members competition to decorate a Christmas cracker with things from your garden, so you may need to start collecting now. We will also have a quiz and the social. We will once again ask you all to bring a small plate of food either savoury or sweet which can be shared. This way definitely reduces waste, keeps club costs down and provides lots of variety.

 

Looking forward to seeing you all on Thursday

 

Your Committee

Talk 27th Oct 2022 - Conservatory Plants

October 27th, 2022 at 7.30 pm

The topic is Conservatory plants given by Wilf Simcox