HAPPY CHRISTMAS to all our members, past present and future.

Our year ended with a Christmas supper and quiz on December 5th.

Thirty-seven members and guests attended and enjoyed the evening. Our Chairman, Shaun Vallard was quizmaster, asking twenty questions.

Six teams took part.

The team on the left were the winners.

The Mary Middlemass Plate is awarded annually to the winner of the Flower/Plant of The Month competition. This year it was presented to Eve Morris. We would like more members to take part, just bring along a flower or plant, or both, to each meeting. These will be judged by the speaker and points awarded accordingly.

There is no meeting in January but we look forward to seeing you on February 6th when David Ennals will give us a talk entitled ‘Bonsai for Beginners’.

Spring Show Schedules are available from the Show Secretary or by downloading from the ‘Shows’ link.

Christmas Meal and Quiz, 5th December. Please ring 01305 814887, email join@budhs.org.uk or 01305 813942 email shows @budhs.org.uk by 25th November if you wish to attend and have not already put your name down. £8 payable on the night.

On November 7th Fiona Penny demonstrated seasonal floral arrangements. This was an excellent meeting with Fiona giving plenty of tips on creating displays and information about alternatives to floral foam (oasis). She made 6 different designs, using different methods, including oasis, biodegradable foam, chicken wire and a pin holder. We also learnt how to make a wreath frame.

Next Meeting; October 3rd, Pot Plants, an informative talk by Mark Read.

Our Secretary Neil, had great success at the Dorset County Show. He won the Trophy for highest points in the Homecraft cookery.

We entered the Dorset Federation Inter-Society Show at Tarrant Keynestone on Sunday 15th September. We won three trophies this year, the Harry Dawes Trophy for best pot plant, the Joy Collins Shield for best Cactus/Succulent exhibit and the cup for Highest Points in the Homecraft Section. In all, we achieved 16 firsts, 9 seconds, and 8 thirds. Well worth the very early morning start.

Neil’s Orchid, best Pot Plant

Best Cactus/Succulent Exhibit

Homecraft Collective – 5 items

Other first prize winning exhibits;

You may be interested in visiting the following event.

Dahlia Festival Poster ARK v2

Our September meeting was held on Thursday 5th. Steve, from The Gold Club gave us a fascinating talk on ‘Slightly Naughty Plants’. The talk covered carnivorous, invasive and plants with slightly naughty names and features. Very amusing!

Our Chairman, Shaun exhibited at the Melplash Show in August and was very pleased with the outcome as you will see from the following pictures.

Our Summer Show was held on Saturday 17th August. The Memorial Hall looked splendid when all the entries were in place.

We had plenty of visitors in the afternoon who enjoyed inspecting the 280 exhibits  before tucking in to home-made cakes and cups of tea.

A full report and more photos can be found on the ‘Shows’ link.

Our Autumn programme of Talks begins on September 5th at St.Nicholas and St. Laurence School at 7.30pm. A speaker from the Gold Club will present a talk entitled ‘Slightly Naughty Plants’.

Membership fees £8) will be due at this meeting and don’t forget to bring your fuchsias and geraniums provided by the Gold Club in the Spring. They will be judged by the speaker. Please bring them whatever they look like as the Gold Club like to see how their plants have fared.

New members are always welcome.

On October 3rd Mark Read will give us a talk on Pot Plants.

Our Summer Show takes place on 17th August , full details can be found on the ‘Shows’ link. We are hoping for another successful event so please try to enter , there are lots of options.

Following Stella Knight’s funeral, we have received a lovely letter from her eldest daughter, Caroline. She thanks all members who attended the service and who sent cards and messages. Stella will be missed.

We start our programme of talks on September 5th with a talk entitled ‘Slightly Naughty Plants’ given by The Gold Club. This sounds very interesting. We look forward to seeing members new and current. 7.30pm at St.Nicholas and St. Laurence School.

Members’ Gardens.

Clematis are at their best now.

On 6th June members enjoyed a sunny afternoon in Sue and Dave Mountjoy’s garden in Elwell Street. It looked lovely in the sunshine with large lawns and plenty of colour in the borders. The patio was very welcoming with more colour in the pots.

After a good look around the garden we sat in the sunshine. Sue very kindly appeared with cups of tea and and cake. Many thanks to Sue and Dave for their hospitality.

Our Chairman, Shaun, has been busy in his garden using recycled materials to make a potting shed, pot store and wildlife ‘hotel’.

Wrens have decided to nest in the structure.

What a delightful sight.

Next Meeting April 18th. We have decided to hold a short A.G.M. at this meeting, prior to Shaun’s talk on his trip  to the Galapagos Islands. The A.G.M. has traditionally been held in April but was moved to the Autumn because of Covid. In order to keep the Society going, we need new committee members. Please give this some thought.

May Meeting (2nd) The talk has had to be changed. It will now be ‘Water in the Garden’ by Alan Eason.

Don’t forget the visit to Poundbury Gardens on 25th April at 6pm.