Upton-by-Chester Horticultural Society Affiliated to: The Royal Horticultural Society 41 Upton Lane www.uptonhortsoc.org.uk NEWSLETTER – OCTOBER/DECEMBER 2011 Dear Member Autumn is here again and a little earlier than normal! We have had quite a mixed summer this year with less rain then normal which meant the plants didn't seem to last quite as long and then Autumn suddenly appeared! We had a very good Show in August with a lot of entries and it was also very well attended. Again thank you very much to everyone who made such a huge effort and to all the helpers, you all helped to make it an excellent Show. Also I just wanted to let you know that we sent a whopping £765 to Claire House Children's Hospice after the Garden Trail from the sales of teas, plants and tombola. So thank you very much to everyone. Also a very big welcome to all our new members who have joined over the summer. Autumn Show While I am on the subject of shows our next one is the Autumn show which is on the 22nd October. Entries are to be in by the 19th October. If you have misplaced your show schedule let me know or go to our website and you can find it there. If there are any new entrants who are not sure what to do let us know and we can help you. Don't forget there are the novice classes if you haven't entered before.
December Meeting The tickets for the December meeting – Christmas Festivity with the Chester Ladies Choir followed by a 'Festive Feast' are on sale now. It promises to be a very enjoyable evening. The tickets cost £8.50 and you can buy them at the hut or at the October and November meetings. If you can't get to any of these please give me a call 01244 379976 to buy your ticket. They are going very fast so if you would like to come to the Christmas meeting please buy a ticket soon to avoid disappointment.
News from the Hut The last Saturday for the Hut this season is 8th October. Don't forget to pop down and stock up on compost and all the other things you will need before the Hut opens again in February. We will be having bowls of hyacinths for sale at the November meeting so bear them in mind while you are thinking about your Christmas presents – if you would like to pre-order any please let me know. Don't forget if you have any free time to help at the Hut next year please let us know, volunteers are always appreciated. We have a lot of fun on a Saturday morning or Monday night so if you are interested in joining us please let us know. The Hut team have had a very busy year and have worked really hard, so a big thank you to them for all their hard work. Janet is taking orders for bird seed so if you would like to stock up put your name on the list, you can do this at the Hut, and up to the 27th September by ringing Janet on 01244 300342. The order is going to be placed on the 28th September. Janet will let you know when the bird seed is ready for collection.
Seed Catalogues The seed catalogues will be available at the Autumn Show. We will be having Dobies and DT Brown again this year. We get 20% discount so it is well worth ordering whatever amount you buy. Any queries or questions regarding the seeds please contact Wendy on 01244 379976. Orders need to be in by the 18th December.
Christmas Floristry Workshop Judith has very kindly agreed yet again to put on a Floristry Workshop for us. It will be held at the Guide Hut as normal on the 17th December. Again it is going to be based on a Christmas theme – probably a lovely Christmas table decoration. If you are interested in attending please call Judith on 01244 375123 or myself on 01244 379976. There are limited spaces so book early to make sure you are included.
October and November Meetings Our October meeting is on 5th October the talk is 'Apples and their history and other facts' Glyn Smith, Head Gardener from Erddig is coming to give us the talk. The competition is 'Fruit of the Hedgerow' and the visiting sales table is the 'Guide Dogs'. If you have any old towels the Guide Dog Association would be very grateful for them – you can bring them along on the night! The November meeting talk is by Damian Harris about 'The Winter Garden at Dunham Massey'. The competition is 'Exhibits which don't make it to the Show' which is a popular competition because if you are like me you have a number of these!! The visiting sales table is 'The Hospice', as usual they will be selling their lovely Christmas cards. Website
Don't forget to visit our website (address is at the top of the newsletter). I keep adding a few more pages of information and if anyone has anything they would like to add to it please let me know. It is there for us all to use and to find out what is happening in the Society.
And finally I hope you have a good Autumn in your gardens and you can find plenty to put in the Autumn Show. If you have any queries on any of the above please let me know. I look forward to seeing you soon. Happy gardening
Wendy Carman |