We held our first meeting of the Club year (Sept 2014 – Aug 2015) and were pleased to see new and old members – a total of 41 members and 6 guests. The first meeting consisted of a Speaker followed by the A.G.M. The speaker was Deborah Hart who gave a very informative illustrated talk on Hanging Baskets and Winter Containers, and also a demonstration on creating a hanging basket for the winter, which she kindly donated to our raffle.
At the A.G.M – the committee was re-elected, and Rosemary James who had kindly held the Chair and Secretary Positions for the last year, has handed over the Chair position to David Withnall and still retains the Secretary position. David Draper who has been a committee member for several years stood down and was thanked for all his help over the years. We also welcomed 2 new committee members, giving us a committee of 8.
Our speakers for the remainder of this year are:
- 20th October – Darren Tansley on The Mammals of Essex
- 17th November – Rob Sherriff on Dahlias
- 8th December – Ric Staines – Gardeners Question Time & Xmas Buffet
All are welcome to our meetings – £10 membership or £3 non-members. Meetings are held in the Orpen Hall, West Bergholt CO6 3BW at 7.30 pm and include free Coffee and Tea.
Outings for 2015
June 4th – Cottesbrooke Hall NN6 8PF
Cottesbrooke Hall and the estate in Northamptonshire, England is a Grade I listed country house and estate reputed to be the inspiration for Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, published 1814. Cottesbrooke is a wonderful Queen Anne house dating from 1702, set in delightful award winning gardens in rural Northamptonshire. More details at www.cottesbrooke.co.uk.
July 2nd – Utling Wick Gardens CM9 6QX
Nestling in the conservation area of the Chelmer Valley in rural Essex the eleven acre gardens at Ulting Wick have been redesigned, extended and developed over the past 15 years by Philippa and Bryan Burrough. The garden is centred around three listed black Essex barns and a 17th century farmhouse. The buildings provide structure, shelter and a canvas for exuberant, colourful and vibrant planting of thousands of tulips in box-edged beds followed by an exotic display of dahlias, bananas, grasses, cosmos, sunflowers and other annuals to provide late summer interest.
Refreshments will be included in the ticket price. Transport will be by own transport or sharing.
Tickets and Times will be published at later date and will be available to members and non-members.
For more details and up to date information go on to our web page.