Our May meeting was very enjoyable. Mike Burke, form Castle Gardens gave us an excellent talk on houseplants. He covered all aspects of growing indoor plants in his own amusing yet informative way.

This was our last meeting at the school until September. On June 6th we will be visiting members’ gardens in Elwell Street, Upwey. The first garden will be Batch Cottage, behind no.18. We then cross the road to no.7 where there will be drinks and nibbles. Parking is scarce in Elwell Street so car sharing or walking would be a good idea, if possible.

One of our members recently visited the Old Rectory at Litton Cheney under the NGS open gardens scheme. She was very impressed and thoroughly recommends a visit. The garden will be open on Sunday 19th May from 2pm till 5pm in aid of Weldmar Hospice . Homemade teas will be available.

Reminder; Summer Show, August 17th. Full details on the Shows link.

From our Members’ Gardens

Please send your images to shows@budhs.org.uk  for inclusion

  A member’s garden in Weymouth Bay Avenue

Our A.G.M. was very well attended and the business went smoothly. All Officers remain in their positions and we were very pleased to welcome Sara Warren on to the committee. It is good to have an injection of fresh ideas from time to time.

Hazel Street was presented with the Mary Middlemass Plate for gaining the highest number of points throughout the year in the Flower/Plant of the Month competitions. The Plate is beautifully hand-painted and was presented by the late Mary several years ago.

The Members’ Mini-Show added lovely Spring colour to proceedings and was judged by Mark Read. Winner of the best exhibit was a tub of tulips grown by Terry Gant. All out and of the same height! Quite an achievement.

On 25th April we are visiting Poundbury Garden Centre for a talk and shopping evening. All purchases will attract a 25% discount. Meet in the Engine Room for coffee/tea at 6.45pm prior to the talk. There will be free delivery for any bulky purchases.

Our meeting on May 2nd will be a talk on House Plants given by The Gardens Group Gold Club.

May 11th sees our annual Plant Sale at the Upwey Memorial Hall, Victoria Avenue. The sale starts at 2pm and we are setting up from 1.15pm. If you would like a table or have plants that need collecting, please ring Shaun on 812473 or Ros on 814887. Full details on the Plant Sale link on the home page.

If you enjoy outings, we have been invited to join the Plant Heritage Group on their trip to Wisley on September 14th. Details below.

Wisley-Flyer

From Our Members’ Gardens

Violets

The AGM and Mini-show will take place on April 4th at St. Nicholas and St. Lawrence School. (Change of venue due to the Hall being double booked.)  The meeting starts at 7.30 pm but the school will be open from 7pm to stage exhibits. No need to enter in advance. If you need a schedule, please ring 813942.

We would welcome new committee members, so if you are interested please ring 814887 or just come along.

Members’ Gardens

This will be a new monthly feature, so if you have photos of something special or interesting in your garden, please email the image to shows@budhs.org.uk.

Blossom in Broadwey

New shoots in Nottington

Our February meeting was very well attended. The audience, including several new faces, enjoyed the talk on Wildlife in the Garden, given by Neil Lovesay of Picket Lane Nursery in South Perrott. He gave us a new perspective on garden wildlife with the help of some excellent slides. A superb talk delivered without a single note!

We now look forward to a busy March, with the meeting on the 7th and the Spring Show on the 16th.

The March speaker will be Peter Read talking about vegetables to grow for the coming season. This is sure to be a very enjoyable and informative evening.

Our Spring Show, on 16th March is always worth a visit with plenty of exhibits to see and delicious teas with home-made cakes. Do try to enter a few classes, the schedule can be found on the ‘shows’ link. Entries can be made by email to shows@budhs.org.uk

Wildlife in the Garden

For our first meeting of 2019, Neil Lovesay will give a talk on how to attract wildlife into our gardens. The meeting will start at 7.30 pm with tea and biscuits available from 7.15 pm. There will also be the usual raffle.

New members will be very welcome.

On December 6th  our Christmas meeting went very well. The evening began with a quiz, followed by a lovely supper. There were festive prizes to be won in the raffle and the forty-three members attending had a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

We have a break now until February 7th when Neil Lovesey will give a talk on Wildlife in the Garden.

We wish all of our members a Very Happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

On 1st November Martin Young gave us another very interesting talk.  This time the subject was Hostas, Hellebores and Heucheras.  He brought along several examples and explained about their history and how to look after them, including some interesting ways to deal with slugs!  His talks are always enjoyable and informative.

Martin with some of the plants used in his talk.

During the evening members were able to view the trophies and prize cards won at the D.F.H.S. Inter-Society Show, an impressive display.

The next picture shows some of the members who supplied exhibits for the show.

The evening ended with the raffle which included a lovely cyclamen, donated by Martin.

A very enjoyable evening.

Our next event is the Christmas supper and fun quiz on December 6th. The quiz is not entirely horticultural and should appeal to all. Please phone 814887 to book your place if you have not already done so. The supper will be home-cooked turkey with salad followed by mince pies and cream.

Members may also be interested in the following event;

Saturday 1st December at Broadmayne Village hall. A talk entitled ‘Conserving the Plants of he National Trust’. The speaker will be Simon Toomer, Author and former Director of the National Arboretum at Westonbirt, National Trust Tree Advisor and Member of the Plant Heritage Plant Conservation Committee.
A special pre-Christmas Event organised by Plant Heritage Dorset. Tickets £7.00 including refreshments.
Doors open 1.30pm for 2pm start (finish by 4.30pm?)
Broadmayne Village Hall is easy to find from the A352 . Postcode is DT2 8EW. Disabled access & toilets. Free parking.
Top quality Prize Raffle, Horticultural Book & DVD stall, Cake Stall, Garden Sundries & Gifts.
Tickets available from Plant Heritage meetings at the Dorford Centre, Dorchester and by email from martinyoung100@btinternet.com Tel 01305 814473

Our Harvest Supper was held on Thursday 4th October at St. Nicholas and St. Laurence School.

The evening began with a floral demonstration given by Mark Read, entitled Autumn Colour

Mark preparing the third arrangement.

Ham and cheese ploughman’s suppers ready for collection, to be followed by apple cake and cream.

After the meal, the arrangements were included in the raffle.

This arrangement included vegetables, depicting Harvest Time.

It was a very good evening indeed, enjoyed by all who attended.

Our next meeting, on November 1st, is entitled ‘Hostas, Heucheras and Hellebores’, a talk to be given by Martin Young. There will be the usual raffle, refreshments and Flower and Plant of the Month competitions.