Meetings are held in the Kingston Rooms at 7.30pm on the first Tuesday of most months.
The Gardening Club began 2012 in February with a talk by Victoria Ennion on planning allotments for ease of cultivation and to avoid produce gluts. Pests would inevitably want to help themselves to well presented plants unless their attention could be diverted. An interactive audience ensured a lively discussion with many varied views expressed. However, all agreed that onions (white, red and shallots) had harvested well last season but suffered badly from 'neck rot'.
The next meeting will be on 6th March when Kelvin Mason will talk about successfully growing vegetables - for human consumption!
The November meeting enjoyed a welcome return visit from Lois Philipps who gave an interesting and informative talk on 'Green Manuring'. Lois's detailed knowledge of soil structure and ways to improve it included advising members to plant tares, vetches, clovers, rye grasses, mustard and phacelia to enrich the soil and provide aeration. Next time you see a garden which looks green and weedy don't shout about neglected or untidy gardens, it may be GREEN MANURE!
The next meeting will be the Christmas gathering held on the 6th December in the Kingston Hall when Rod Close will entertain members (ably assisted by Diane). Wine will be provided but please bring a plate of food to share.
JB
At the October meeting Fred Swift, the Wiltshire Beekeeper, gave another fascinating talk. I wonder if we will ever get to the end of one of his talks? The members were interested and entertained, questions abounded and we ran well over our normal finishing time. Fred's enthusiasm for his bees is infectious, and I am sure we will all be looking with interest in our gardens to see if we can spot the 'precious' black bees, furry or otherwise, which he is trying to re-establish. With wonderful honey products for sale many of us trooped home heavily laden, well ahead with the Christmas shopping. Details are available to encourage absent members to buy online and you can be assured of excellent service from Fred at www.thewiltshirebeekeeper.com JB
At the September meeting Andrew McIndoe, MD of Hilliers Garden Centres, gave an entertaining and informative talk on spring flower bulbs. The results of autumn plantings, shown in his many slides, will hopefully have inspired members to try new species.
At the July meeting, Brian Davis gave a talk entitled 'The Secrets of Gardening'.
Friendly and definitely not foes - that was his message when speaking about slugs in the garden. I am not sure that many members were convinced that their prized Hostas etc. were just plants which got in the way of the slugs’ progress from one patch of rotted vegetable material to another.
Brian went on to highlight the importance of the root system of plants and of using good quality compost – “don’t buy the rubbish from garden centres” was his mantra.
As the author of many books about gardening and with over fifty years of practical experience Brian gave us many tips; so we have no excuse for not producing wonderful plants and a healthy growing medium in Shalbourne gardens.
For free monthly gardening newsletters contact Brian at briandavishort@aol.com
At the June meeting, Mike Hill gave a fascinating talk and introduced us to some of his owls and birds of prey, including a 2 week old American Kestrel and a pair of fluffy Barn Owl chicks (only 7 & 8 weeks old) that particularly entertained his audience by wandering amongst them. For more pictures of his birds visit Hilltop Birds of Prey.
At the May meeting speaker Gwen Barton gave us an illustrated talk entitled 'Astride the Tropic of Capricorn', covering her trek across Namibia.
At the April meeting members were delighted to welcome Ray Broughton of Sparsholt College as our speaker. Ray, an old friend, never fails to instruct and guide our gardening endeavours with expertise and fun. This time his talk was on Plants of Distinction - a wide variety of plants for all sorts of conditions and soils. So we now have no excuse for dull gardens.
Victoria Ennion set off ‘fireworks’ in the garden at the March meeting. Her feast of colour, shape and design possible from planting bulbs gave members some stunning ideas. There were lots of tips and bags of enthusiasm from Victoria who was brought up in Shalbourne. So members now have no excuse for having dull, lifeless corners in their gardens.
At our February meeting, Molecatcher Jeff Nicholls gave a highly entertaining show dispelling the many myths about moles and how to catch them. It included his companion Wart who answered questions and flirted with some of our lady members.