On Wednesday April 25^th the well-known botanist and garden pest/disease expert Pippa Greenwood from Radio 4′s Gardeners’ Question Time gave a talk entitled ‘Something Nasty in the Garden’.

Pippa turned out to be as warm and bubbly as she sounds on air. Not a hint of the ‘Great Celebrity’ about her. The talk was a sell-out and the questions at the end fast flowing. It was a real pleasure to hear from someone who knew their subject so well.

Thank you to Jenny Harding, whose birthday it was that day, for organising it.

A really great evening.

Jenny O.

P.S. Did you know that slugs spend 90% of their time underground? No? Well neither did I until I hear it from Pippa.

… and enjoy the festive atmosphere in Lyme at the same time.

The fifth Christmas Tree Festival will be held in the Baptist Church from Tuesday 13th to Saturday 17th December. Local organisations (including ours) have been invited to decorate a Christmas Tree to reflect their organisation.

The Festival will be open between 10.30 – 18.00 each day with an extension until 20.00 on Friday 16th. On Saturday the Festival will be open between 10.30 and 14.00. There will be over 25 decorated trees. Come and see this festive sight in the special atmosphere of the Baptist Church.

Dear Friends and Members,

Firstly, may I welcome you all to the 2012 Summer Show and wish you good luck with your entries. Last year we had a record number of entrants and visitors so are hoping for an even bigger response this year. Over 1,000 folk supported us and enjoyed the exhibits, dancing, train rides and River Cottage filming.

Gardening seems to be uppermost in everyone’s minds these days. You only have to look at the newspapers. There are sections on gardening, articles on gardens to visit and advertisements for all manner of plants, shrubs and garden tools.

So, why, if we use the term ‘gardening’ to describe these activities, do we call ourselves a ‘Horticultural’ Society? The reason is simple. Horticulture is defined as ‘The science or art of cultivating fruits, vegetables or flowers’. Anyone who loves growing things, be it in a window box, on a patio or an allotment can be a ‘Horticulturalist’ and we want to include all kinds of growers in our Society, not just those lucky enough to have a garden. We want to make it as open and flexible as we can. That could account for the fact that we have over 200 members.

So, if you are not already a member, why not join us? Look at all the benefits. For just £5 per year or £8 for a whole family you will be entitled to:

• Good friendly advice and like-minded company.
• A programme of visits to special gardens and places of interest.
• Free entrance to our monthly talks (normally £2 each).
• Free Summer Show Programme & Schedule (normally £1).
• Discount on RHS Chelsea Show.
• Reduced price compost.
• Discount on trees and shrubs.

To find out more talk to any Committee member listed in the Schedule or phone me on 01297 444034. Alternatively, look at our website ww.lois.co.uk/hortsoc.

With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics this year we have tried to include a range of classes that will appeal to all ages and abilities whilst celebrating both events. We hope we have succeeded. Occasionally a competitor feels that they haven’t much chance of winning but will have a go anyway, and then they find the confidence to attempt more and more. After all, you’ve got to start somewhere, haven’t you?

Happy gardening (or even happy Horticulture-ing).

Jenny Harding

If you haven’t rejoined the Society yet at one of our events, please consider doing so soon.

We rely on member subscriptions to fund our shows, talks and events. Remember that members get advance copies of the schedules so they can plan what to put into the Summer Show. Art and craft entries will particularly benefit from plenty of time to prepare, and photographers may want to take time to look for that special photo for the show.

The schedules are printed now, so look out for our intrepid team of membership collectors in the village soon!

Celebrating the Apple

On Wednesday 26th October, Uplyme Village Hall was packed for an evening celebration of that most English of fruits, the apple. John Wood, Pam Corbin, and Henriette Wood treated us to an informative and fun evening all about apples: we learnt how to make apple curd and apple pastries, tried our hands at a quiz, guessing the variety of delicious freshly-pressed apple juice (my favourite was the warm orange Ribston Pippin – but I guessed at a russet!), and making the longest apple peel (would you believe 54″ from Henriette?). One whole side of the hall was taken up with a fantastic display of apple varieties, all grown by John in Uplyme – cider, dessert and cooking apples in abundance.

Gill Meller, from River Cottage, had the difficult task of judging the apple pie competition, which attracted an amazing 26 entries. After a heroic tasting session, he eventually declared the winner to be Gavin Tyte – the Vicar at Uplyme. Gavin now has something of a reputation to defend, having beaten Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in the tasty veg class at our Summer Show.