This month we welcomed Justin Harrison who was last with us a couple of years ago. He brought a good supply of plants to show how we can achieve year-round colour in our gardens with different types of compact evergreen shrubs and perennials that work well together, very much a “hands-on” demonstration also explaining which conditions each plant preferred. Justin is an enthusiastic advocate of complementary foliage and flower colours, for example compact new variety of Phormium ‘Back to Black’ with Coprosma ‘Lemon and lime’, not forgetting Gaura ‘Butterfly white’ and a new compact wallflower ‘Sugar Rush’. Osmanthus, Nandina domestica and dwarf Myrtle were included amongst others. After his talk he drew our reinstated raffle then we were able to browse and make purchases – for anybody who missed the opportunity Justin can be found at Burton outdoor market every Thursday to Saturday

Members also brought along poppies that they had made to contribute to the village collection for remembrance day, and we congratulated Anna on her excellent performance in the London Marathon raising funds for the Saxon Hill Academy School Pond Project. Ticket sales for our Christmas Social Evening continued apace too! The last two photos are of Judy’s Selinum wallichianum grown from seed given to her by Sylvia and one from Rosalie’s recent visit to RHS Bridgewater – perhaps a future coach trip?!?

For our September meeting, the second of this new season, we were entranced by Christine Maughan’s photographs of butterflies and she has kindly given us two examples to include here. Her husband Max explained that they & moths are sensitive indicators of the health of our environment, and how we can all manage our gardens, patios and allotments to attract more of them. This includes trying to provide sources of nectar throughout the season, especially for butterflies coming out of hibernation, and creating breeding habitats. They gave their talk on behalf of https://butterfly-conservation.org/ which is full of useful information. 

It was also lovely to see even more members returning and putting their names down for our newly announced Christmas Social Evening! After general discussions we agreed to continue bringing our own refreshments to the monthly meetings and as we will not collect annual subscriptions until next year’s usual renewal date, we have asked members who come along to pay £3 on arrival towards costs, which will include entry into our reinstated monthly raffle. And finally, as the seasons change, Sylvia has shared with us some lovely photographs of her autumn garden. 

Our March meeting was a bit different from normal when our speaker Ken Marshall brought samples of wines that he had made from produce in his new garden, sometimes with added hedgerow blackberries, dried fruit & the odd banana! He thought that his wine-making hobby was finished when he & his wife Barbara moved house a few years ago,but he came to see it as an opportunity which has clearly worked out well, judging by everybody’s enjoyment of the evening.

Ken guided us through how the experts taste wine (drinking it all was not compulsory & spittoons were provided!) and there were four different ones to sample – white, rose, red & a fortifiedsherry/dessert-type. We were encouraged to identify the source fruit and other ingredients, and it was apparent that his previous career as a science teacher had enabled him to become an expert winemaker. Recipes and advice were available!   

The winner of our monthly competition was Ros with her lovely vase of daffodils. All the spaces on our coach trip to Chomondeley Castle are now taken but things are changing rapidly and as the health & safety of our members and guests is very important to us, we will stay vigilant and follow government advice concerning Coronavirus. If our April meeting cannot go ahead we will post a notice on this blog, ditto the coach trip. Hoping everybody stays well! N.B. STOP PRESS – The SAGG Spring Show & AGM at Walton on Saturday 21st March is cancelled.  

We had a very enjoyable evening on 11^th February when our doughty speaker Helen Harrison from Stone fortunately persevered in finding us after somebody had turned round a signpost in the lanes, sending her in the wrong direction! She explained how her passion had transferred from dahlias & chrysanthemums originally to snowdrops, and that their accompanying “friends” tonight were an onion, a shallot & an amaryllis (artificial but looked real!) – all part of the same plant family. She had brought many delightful snowdrop specimens with her in pots & vases, which she passed round the hall as she chatted to us. This enabled us all to see closely the different flower types & markings, and to experience the wonderful honeyed perfume of many – although interestingly there was great variation within our audience as to who could smell which ones! She explained the particular botanical aspects of snowdrops in an easily understandable way and gave advice on how to grow them, where best to buy if not propagating our own, plus good gardens to visit for the best displays.

After giving her talk and answering questions, Helen drew the raffle then judged our monthly competition – this time snowdrops! There were plenty of entries and she was impressed with the quality & selection, choosing Rosalie as her winner with Ros 2nd and Val 3rd. 

We also announced our first coach trip of the year on Sunday 26th April (see events page for details) to Cholmondeley Castle Gardens including entrance to their spring Plant Hunters’ Fair, with names quickly going onto the list, but spaces still available. 

Our first meeting of 2020 was well supported by members & visitors even though the weather was rather inclement again, to say the least! Robin Spencer of Shropshire Lavender near Newport explained how he & his wife Joanna’s farm began in 2002 with a trial plot of 200 lavender plug plants, and despite some setbacks became a thriving enterprise based on their sunny & (mostly) sandy slopes. They have been selling fresh & dried lavender with an extensive range of products & gifts such as essential oils, bags & sachets, hand cream & shower gel, complete with tearoom and of course lavender scones. He also gave some very useful advice on the most suitable varieties to grow in this part of the country, and which ones are best for colour, fragrance or oil, also how to care for them. He brought some products along for us to buy, and the colour of his dried lavender bunches was stunning (down to choosing the right variety & picking at the correct time!). 

We were fortunate to have this talk as he & Joanna are now selling up & moving to Scotland, so we wished him well for their future. He hopes that the new owners will keep opening the farm to the public so maybe one for a future coach trip! After his presentation Robin drew our raffle and judged the monthly competition of “A vase of winter-flowering shrubs from your garden”, won this time by Sylvia, with Blodwen second.

We held our Christmas social evening on a very wet & windy Tuesday 10^th December, and despite the weather it was a well-attended event with only a few unfortunate absences due to illness. There was a welcoming atmosphere as all the tables were decorated with beautiful wine bottle lights & evergreen sprays made by committee members Ann & Brenda with help from Judith (the photo doesn’t do them justice – they looked particularly effective when the lights were dimmed), plus colourful reindeer napkins and salads.

First our members & guests were reinvigorated with piping hot jacket potatoes & fillings. Then after our desserts we were entertained by the popular duo Eternity, with a good selection of songs from several different decades plus Christmas tunes. Nicky & Cliff encouraged everybody to join in with the singing – how did we know the all the words to such old songs?!?

In the break we drew the raffle, which included a number of generously donated prizes, then enjoyed a second set from Eternity and tapped our glasses & bottles for the grand finale of Jingle Bells. Thank you to everybody who helped us tidy up at the end of the evening, and we also wish members who couldn’t attend and all visitors to this site a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Our November meeting saw the welcome return of Phil Colclough & Colin Henshall who were last with us in May 2018. These cheerful & talented chaps take beautiful photographs on their travels around the country then add a musical soundtrack to suit. They started with a fireworks display set to Vivaldi Four Seasons followed by gardens such as Consall, Hopton, Kiftsgate, Ness & Lea, then equally stunning landscape views from all around the UK, with a bonus of Picton’s national collection of Michaelmas Daisies. Next was a glorious display of autumn colours and finally a winter wonderland, all showing the best that our country has to offer.

Everybody had their personal favourites with some of the autumn shots being particularly breathtaking. The music was very varied and included pieces by Birmingham-born Stephen Rhodes and Mexican composer Pablo Arellano, plus a touching vignette of American poet George Cooper’s “Come little leaves”.

After the presentation they drew both the usual monthly raffle plus the special one for a timber garden storage box, which was won by Wendy Skelding. Pam Collins took first place in the monthly competition for a table decoration with a fireworks theme, the only entry but a well-deserved winner nevertheless. Tickets for our Christmas social evening were all sold and our paper 2020 speaker programmes were available, so we’re raring to go for next month & year!