March 2012 meeting
14/03/12 21:05
KIRTON AND FALKENHAM GARDENERS CLUB
April meeting – Thurs 12th. April 2012 - 7.30pm Village Hall
Guy Barker – ‘ Spring Flowers and Shrubs’
March meeting – Adam Paul ‘Seed Sowing’.
Adam Paul only just made it to our March meeting – a delayed flight back from South Africa meant him only arriving back in the UK the previous night.
We first met Adam during a summer visit to his Parham Hall where his pride and joy is the delightful walled kitchen garden. Adam a former farmer and horticulturalist also lectures at Otley College. He took us through various ways of sowing seeds, some of which would meet the approval of Bob Flowerdew with the use of recycled materials. Non so quirky though as Peter’s method of sterilising his compost by zapping it in the kitchen microwave . Does Pat know this I wonder – she does now!
So thanks to Adam for sharing his knowledge with a full house of 70 members.
Annual General Meeting - the club’s AGM followed on from Adam’s talk and he insisted on staying with probably our largest ever AGM attendance.
Roy presented the club’s audited accounts for 2011 in Dick’s sick bed absence. Another successful year sees the club continuing with a healthy financial position.
Roy gave a report on the club’s activities for 2011. Membership was 112 and there were 8 meetings and 4 summer evening visits. Adrian Bloom was our Christmas meeting speaker with 95 members and guests attending. Average attendance for all meetings was 64, our highest ever.
Our summer outing saw members and guests visit the Old Vicarage gardens at East Ruston – our thanks to Dick for making this possible.
Our latest venture to Euroland saw 49 members and guests touring the fabulous Normandy countryside from their base in Caen.
70 members flocked to our second summer garden party held at Keeper’s Cottage.
Communications with our increasingly wide membership have improved through our pages in the village website and our email database.
The chairman thanked treasurer Dick , secretary Mike and the committee members for their work throughout the year, also Cathie and Joy (treasury), Ralph and Ray for hall preparation and Martin RH for database and website facilities.
The chairman thanked Sheila who stood down after six years on the committee.
The chairman, treasurer, secretary and auditor were re elected and Doreen Kingsland was elected to the committee.
The committee members are now Doreen, Ray, Debbie, Jo, Jenny ( RHS liason officer) and Yvonne. Stop press – 93 members have already enrolled this year!
Rouen 25/28 May 2012 –our trip to Rouen is fully booked with 48 members and guests. As usual a full programme has been arranged and Johan is travelling to the area shortly to make bookings for visits to gardens. The full tour schedule and labels will be distributed around two weeks before departure. Check you have your passport, European health insurance card, and euros. Talking of euros we have arranged for Thos Cook, Felixstowe to offer a VIP exchange rate on production of membership card.
We are staying at the Hotel D’Angleterre, Rives de Seine, Rouen.
April meeting – Thurs. 12th. April, 7.30pm Village Hall
Guy Barker aka The Naked Gardener ‘ Spring Flowers and Shrubs’.
For our April meeting we welcome back Guy Barker who will be talking and demonstrating with Spring flowers and shrubs. Guy is a very popular speaker and at the moment we are getting some large attendances so get there early!
Summer evening visits - Summer evening visits start Thurs. 10th. May with our visit to Bourne Nursery, Wherstead and continue until early September. Keep informed through our Review notes and club pages on the villages website.
RHS Wisley , Sat. 8th. September - Our summer outing to Wisley has proved to be very popular and is now fully subscribed with a waiting list. Our visit also coincides with the annual Wisley flower show.
Open Gardens 2013.
The committee are considering organising a village open gardens on a weekend in June next year.
A final decision will be made at our next committee meeting on Friday 11th. May.
Meantime if you could open your garden, large or small, or help in any way please contact a member of the committee.
Conkers Garden Shop, Felixstowe
For a number of years the club has benefited from a discount on purchases at Conkers.
Unfortunately the shop has now changed hands and our discount facility has ceased. Conkers now offers a loyalty card system to individual customers.
We are endeavouring to arrange a discount facility for members elsewhere – watch this space.
Tales from the Allotments
This is a magical time of the year for gardeners, especially the allotment variety. A few weeks ago there was no sign of life, but then mother nature waves the magic wand and everything is just bursting with green leaves and buds ( does that sound a bit Carol Kleinish?). The soft fruit, just recently dead sticks in the ground, now looking full of life and energy. This is the time of year when the allotment gardener forgets previous year’s failures and looks forward to the best year ever! And how the weather can change at this time of the year. After a mild Dec/Jan the global warmers came out from under their stones only to herald an icy blast with minus 10 degrees. Then Anglia Water warns of imminent hosepipe bans which preceded a week’s steady rain early March,but the gardeners press on optimists to a man/woman.
My neighbour, Bob , is itching to sow his peas, this is his specialist subject and he grows enough to feed a small third world country. But we all have our favourites and I tend to go over board with broad beans, sweet corn and butter nut squash..
So whether you are in the garden or on the plots enjoy the experience.
Roy Mallett
April meeting – Thurs 12th. April 2012 - 7.30pm Village Hall
Guy Barker – ‘ Spring Flowers and Shrubs’
March meeting – Adam Paul ‘Seed Sowing’.
Adam Paul only just made it to our March meeting – a delayed flight back from South Africa meant him only arriving back in the UK the previous night.
We first met Adam during a summer visit to his Parham Hall where his pride and joy is the delightful walled kitchen garden. Adam a former farmer and horticulturalist also lectures at Otley College. He took us through various ways of sowing seeds, some of which would meet the approval of Bob Flowerdew with the use of recycled materials. Non so quirky though as Peter’s method of sterilising his compost by zapping it in the kitchen microwave . Does Pat know this I wonder – she does now!
So thanks to Adam for sharing his knowledge with a full house of 70 members.
Annual General Meeting - the club’s AGM followed on from Adam’s talk and he insisted on staying with probably our largest ever AGM attendance.
Roy presented the club’s audited accounts for 2011 in Dick’s sick bed absence. Another successful year sees the club continuing with a healthy financial position.
Roy gave a report on the club’s activities for 2011. Membership was 112 and there were 8 meetings and 4 summer evening visits. Adrian Bloom was our Christmas meeting speaker with 95 members and guests attending. Average attendance for all meetings was 64, our highest ever.
Our summer outing saw members and guests visit the Old Vicarage gardens at East Ruston – our thanks to Dick for making this possible.
Our latest venture to Euroland saw 49 members and guests touring the fabulous Normandy countryside from their base in Caen.
70 members flocked to our second summer garden party held at Keeper’s Cottage.
Communications with our increasingly wide membership have improved through our pages in the village website and our email database.
The chairman thanked treasurer Dick , secretary Mike and the committee members for their work throughout the year, also Cathie and Joy (treasury), Ralph and Ray for hall preparation and Martin RH for database and website facilities.
The chairman thanked Sheila who stood down after six years on the committee.
The chairman, treasurer, secretary and auditor were re elected and Doreen Kingsland was elected to the committee.
The committee members are now Doreen, Ray, Debbie, Jo, Jenny ( RHS liason officer) and Yvonne. Stop press – 93 members have already enrolled this year!
Rouen 25/28 May 2012 –our trip to Rouen is fully booked with 48 members and guests. As usual a full programme has been arranged and Johan is travelling to the area shortly to make bookings for visits to gardens. The full tour schedule and labels will be distributed around two weeks before departure. Check you have your passport, European health insurance card, and euros. Talking of euros we have arranged for Thos Cook, Felixstowe to offer a VIP exchange rate on production of membership card.
We are staying at the Hotel D’Angleterre, Rives de Seine, Rouen.
April meeting – Thurs. 12th. April, 7.30pm Village Hall
Guy Barker aka The Naked Gardener ‘ Spring Flowers and Shrubs’.
For our April meeting we welcome back Guy Barker who will be talking and demonstrating with Spring flowers and shrubs. Guy is a very popular speaker and at the moment we are getting some large attendances so get there early!
Summer evening visits - Summer evening visits start Thurs. 10th. May with our visit to Bourne Nursery, Wherstead and continue until early September. Keep informed through our Review notes and club pages on the villages website.
RHS Wisley , Sat. 8th. September - Our summer outing to Wisley has proved to be very popular and is now fully subscribed with a waiting list. Our visit also coincides with the annual Wisley flower show.
Open Gardens 2013.
The committee are considering organising a village open gardens on a weekend in June next year.
A final decision will be made at our next committee meeting on Friday 11th. May.
Meantime if you could open your garden, large or small, or help in any way please contact a member of the committee.
Conkers Garden Shop, Felixstowe
For a number of years the club has benefited from a discount on purchases at Conkers.
Unfortunately the shop has now changed hands and our discount facility has ceased. Conkers now offers a loyalty card system to individual customers.
We are endeavouring to arrange a discount facility for members elsewhere – watch this space.
Tales from the Allotments
This is a magical time of the year for gardeners, especially the allotment variety. A few weeks ago there was no sign of life, but then mother nature waves the magic wand and everything is just bursting with green leaves and buds ( does that sound a bit Carol Kleinish?). The soft fruit, just recently dead sticks in the ground, now looking full of life and energy. This is the time of year when the allotment gardener forgets previous year’s failures and looks forward to the best year ever! And how the weather can change at this time of the year. After a mild Dec/Jan the global warmers came out from under their stones only to herald an icy blast with minus 10 degrees. Then Anglia Water warns of imminent hosepipe bans which preceded a week’s steady rain early March,but the gardeners press on optimists to a man/woman.
My neighbour, Bob , is itching to sow his peas, this is his specialist subject and he grows enough to feed a small third world country. But we all have our favourites and I tend to go over board with broad beans, sweet corn and butter nut squash..
So whether you are in the garden or on the plots enjoy the experience.
Roy Mallett
