PUMPKINS, PIES AND PICKLES is the name of our Autumn Show and Harvest Supper evening to be held on Wednesday October 25th at 7.30pm in Uplyme Village Hall. Please enter as many show classes as you can by bringing your entries to the hall by 7pm on the evening. Download the show schedule HERE.

The HARVEST SUPPER is a bring-and-share event, so it would be much appreciated if you could contribute a plate of something. Teas, coffees and soft drinks will be available.

DATE Tuesday September 12th 2017
DEPART by coach from Uplyme Village Hall at 9.00am

Two venues, first to University of Bristol Botanic Garden which is celebrating it’s ‘Year of the Pollinator’. Our visit includes a guided tour of its huge diversity of plants, many exotic, telling the story of plant evolution. See the Botanic Garden website HERE.

Second stop is Jekka McVicar’s Herbetum with a guided tour of her 300 varieties of culinary herbs, then refreshments. Plants, seeds and herbal teas are for sale. See Jekka McVicar’s website HERE.

Total cost including transport and entry to both venues £25. Bookings: please phone Jenny Harding 01297 444034.

DATE Wednesday August 23rd
TIME 7.30pm
TALK ‘Keeping Chickens in the Garden’ by Blackdown Poultry
VENUE Uplyme Village Hall

Blackdown Poultry of Buckland St Mary, near Chard, will give a practical guide to setting up and basic care of keeping chickens in your garden – and an insight into why hens make such good pets. Blackdown Poultry keep 35 different breeds and will bring along some of them to this talk if possible. Orders can be taken on the night.

More information about Blackdown Poultry HERE and HERE

The Hot Garden in August

VISIT to RHS Rosemoor, Torrington, North Devon
DATE Sunday August 20th 2017
DEPART by coach from Uplyme Village Hall at 9.15am

Our visit to Rosemoor, the Royal Horticultural Society’s garden in the South West, is on the weekend of its first ever RHS Flower Show. There will be:

• Quality plants from 20 nurseries from the West Country and beyond, including hard-to-find plants.
• Expert talks by nurseries, Rosemoor staff and RHS advisors. Topics include alpines and late summer shade plants.
• Floral displays by the Atlantic Flower Club in Rosemoor’s new Garden Room.
• Selected trade stands on Stream Garden Field, including a local artisan blacksmith and Twool, producers of Devon-made garden twine.
• A delicious range of food and drink.
• Inspiring seasonal interest around the garden, especially the stunning Hot Garden, filled with waves of late-season colour.

Total cost £16 includes transport and entrance. To book your place, please telephone Rose Mock 01297 34733.

See Rosemoor’s website HERE for more information on its first flower show.

VISIT and guided tour: Bishop’s Palace & Gardens, Wells Cathedral 
DATE Tuesday August 8th, 2017
DEPARTING by coach Uplyme Village Hall, 9.15am

Home to the Bishops of Bath and Wells for over 800 years, the palace is surrounded by 14 acres of landscaped, RHS-partner gardens with a variety of planting styles from picturesque to romantic, including a wildflower arboretum and a contemporary Garden of Reflection. The site is surrounded by a moat which is home to the swans of Wells, famous for ringing a bell at the gatehouse for food!

Lunch and lighter refreshments are available at The Bishop’s Table cafe and there is a shop. Total cost £16 for transport, admission and a guided tour of the palace and gardens. Please call Brian Cursley to book: 07831 533580.

See The Bishop’s Palace website HERE for pictures, videos and more information.

A falcon capable of flying at 150mph

DATE Wednesday July 26th
TIME 7.30pm
TALK & DISPLAY of birds of prey from Xtreme Falconry
VENUE Uplyme Village Hall

Meet real live owls, falcons, hawks and a magnificent eagle. Entrance proceeds to Royal National Lifeboat Institution: adults £3, under-16s £1.50. Tickets: Brian Cursley 07831 533580; Uplyme Post Office; RNLI shop; lottery kiosk.

VISIT to Marwood Hill Gardens, near Barnstaple
DATE Sunday July 2nd 2017
DEPART by coach from Uplyme Village Hall at 9.15am

This 20-acre garden in north Devon is a peaceful haven with spectacular views. It is home to the National Collections of Astilbes (above), Tulbaghia and Japanese Iris, which should all be flowering. There is a tearoom and plant sales. Total cost for coach and admission £18. To book your place please call  Gill Williams 01297 444927.

Find out more about Marwood Hill Gardens HERE.

DATE Wednesday June 28th
TIME 7.30pm
TALK ‘Bishop’s Palace and Gardens, Wells: Past, Present and Future’ by James Cross
VENUE Uplyme Village Hall

As Head Gardener at the Bishop’s Palace, James Cross (above) oversaw the development of the gardens and illustrates his talk with pictures, plans and plant schemes. These 14 acres of tranquil gardens in the heart of Wells were featured on TV Gardeners’ World last October and will be the destination for a Horticultural Society outing on August 8th. See the Bishop’s Palace website HERE.

James has been Head Gardener there since 2004 and before that worked for the National Trust at The Courts in Wiltshire, Sissinghurst and Sheffield Park.

Refreshments will be served before and after the talk.

Bunny Guinness, Anne Swithinbank and Bob Flowerdew, the Gardeners’ Question Time panel above, recorded TWO episodes of this much-loved gardening programme at Uplyme Village Hall on 31st May. As guests of the Uplyme and Lyme Regis Horticultural Society they answered questions from a full-house audience with their usual expertise and wit.

Giving an air of celebration to the evening, sparkling wine and sandwiches were served by Annie Kobus’s dedicated kitchen team of Horticultural Society members.

The two shows recorded that evening will be broadcast on Radio 4 as follows:

• 3pm Friday 9th June, repeated 2pm Sunday 11th June
• 3pm Friday 21st July, repeated 2pm Sunday 23rd July