HUNSDON GARDENING CLUB
(Established 1958)
Who we are and what we
do...
Hunsdon Gardening Club
welcomes anyone interested in gardening, whether beginner or experienced
gardener with the aim of sharing such experience between members. The club
started life as the Village Allotments and Gardens Association on May 21st,
1958. In 1961 the name was changed to Hunsdon Gardening Club and in 1966 the
control of the allotments was handed over to the Parish Council.
Since 1969 we have been
affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society and our autumn show is run
according to RHS rules using one of their approved judges. This affiliation
provides free entry to an RHS garden once a year for a club outing, free advice
on gardening problems and plant identification and the Banksian medal for the
Autumn Show, awarded to the exhibitor with the highest marks in the
horticultural classes.
The club is administered
by a committee of nine members under the direction of the chair person who
arrange outings, the annual plant sale and autumn show. All this has been
provided with the annual subscription of £1 held at this level since 1992 .,
but in keeping with the times raised to £2 in 2009.
So what do members get for
their money?
The club publishes a
booklet each year which is circulated to every house in the village outlining
the programme together with full details of the schedule for the autumn show.
The first event of 2009
was the Annual General Meeting held on 16th April, the formal business
being followed by .an entertaining gardening talk by June Clew.
On June 20th the club
organised a trip jointly with Much Hadham Gardening Club to Glen Chantry
gardens and nursery at Wickham Bishops, Essex. Although the club has paid
previous visits this was the last chance to see it as it was to close down
later in the year. Both lots of members enjoyed the morning there before going
on to pay a visit to Wilkins & Co jam factory at Tiptree. Here they went
round the factory museum before finishing the day with a cream tea.
June 13th saw the club’s plant sale where we had our stall at the village fete. All the plants were, as usual, donated by members and we maintained our usual high standard of quality plants at realistic prices! Thanks to those who gave plants and the members manning the stall we raised £322 towards Village Hall funds The picture shows the plant stall at the fete and gives some idea of the wide range of plants that members contribute for sale.
A further outing was
organised on 3rd August, jointly with the Hunsdon Local History and
Preservation Society, to Copt Hall, near Epping. The largely Georgian house was
destroyed by fire in the 1st world war. A Trust is now in the course of
rebuilding the house but for the club members the highlight was the extensive
gardens in particular the huge walled garden all of which is in the course of
being replanted.
The Autumn Show this year was held on Saturday 5th
September in the village hall. Although slightly down on the number of record
entries in our anniversary year, 43 people submitted 195 entries and the show
was a great success. To see prize winners go to Pictures and list of prize-winners from the 2009 Autumn Show
The last event of 2009 was an evening talk by Mrs
Pennington who is an RHS Show Judge and regularly judges the club’s autumn
show. She spoke on two subjects. How to propagate plants and How to prepare
fruit and vegetables for showing. Members were invited both to try their hands
at propagation and give their opinions on the standards of various potential
fruits and vegetables for showing.
The club continues to hold a spring and summer front
gardens garden competition as well as that for the best allotment
In the autumn of 1999 the club planted 3000 daffodil bulbs in the
village to celebrate the Millennium. These were so popular that we planted 3000
more in 2000, and another 1000 in 2003.
The displays around the War Memorial and Hunsdon
Village Sign are topped up regularly and 250 further bulbs were planted this year
to fill any gaps in the display.
In common with other village organisations the Gardening Club has made
up a specially illustrated hassock for St Dustan’s Church. It was embroidered
by committee member Jackie Carthy and depicts the pump in the centre of the
village with its colourful summer floral display maintained on behalf of the
village by John Ashley, another of our committee members,
A further benefit of club membership is the
arrangement we have for special discounts from Parkers Dutch Bulbs and Thompson
& Morgan Seeds. Members can order bulbs, shrubs, roses and perennials from
Parkers Dutch Bulbs and seeds from Thompson & Morgan. From Parkers,
purchases are at wholesale prices and this year orders were placed for bulbs and plants to the value of £650.
From T&M a 40% discount on the normal catalogue price encouraged members to
order nearly £400 worth of seeds.. There is no minimum order for these
concessions so members can order as little or as much as they like.
So that’s who we are and what we do so why not come and join the club.
If you are just starting in the gardening world this is the place to learn.
Everything we do is on an informal basis with a free exchange of gardening
advice between members.
If you fancy joining contact any of the committee and they will be only
too pleased make arrangements for you to become a member.
Committee Members
2009/10 are: -
|
Chair |
Morag Pummell |
01279 842786 |
|
Treasurer |
Gill Harris |
01279 842789 |
|
Plant Sales, Bulb & Seed
Orders -Web Site |
John Ashley MBE |
01279 843848 |
|
Show Secretary |
Jackie Carthy |
01920 872597 |
|
Show Steward |
David Clayson |
01279 842318 |
|
Minutes Secretary |
Sheila Simons |
01920 871038 |
|
Events Secretary |
Daphne Toll |
01279 842783 |
|
Membership Secretary |
Edith Threadgold |
01279 843702 |
|
Carol Batten |
01279 842815 |