AGM and Christmas Celebration

The AGM went smoothly and we decided  to adopt a new working title as an experiment for a year. From the start of 2013 we shall call ourselves  "The Grow With Us Club". We shall
still use the old title for business purposes.

We are also pleased to introduce our new President, Roy Eaton, and a new member of the Committee, Julie Simpson. We are sure they will add some exciting dynamics to the club.

In the meantime our best wishes for a very happy

CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR

Chalara dieback of ash (Chalara fraxinea)

We thought this video may be of interest to help identify the problem. It is prepared by the Forestry Commission, and the link with further details can be found here:
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/chalara

November Change of Speaker

It is regretted that Bill Bosom is indisposed and is unable to speak at our meeting on Wednesday 7 November. He is replaced by an LODHS regular
HILARY NEWMAN and his topical topic is
"ABC of Pruning" 
Do come and join us 
Here is something to get you in the mood:
Tom Cole from Capel Manor College in London shows you how to prune apple trees between late Autumn and early Spring. A great video on how you can prune apples for maximum taste.

 

OFFICIAL FAREWELL TO LEN

At our monthly meeting on Wednesday 3 October we were able to say our formal farewell to our President Len Stebbings, as he is soon to move from Oxted to a new home in East Anglia. He was presented with an engraved silver salver.

Below he is seen with his wife Pearl.

We wish them well  in their new home, and are sure that the gardeners of Suffolk will be delighted by his arrival.

OCTOBER MONTHLY MEETING

Wednesday 3 October at 8pm

Red Cross Hall, Oxted

JIM BUTTRESS gives his talk on

London Parks

Jim Buttress who was the superintendent of the Royal Parks for 25 years. He also had responsibility for ensuring all the flags and decorations for royal occasions were in place and the floral displays were colour coordinated. The Royal Parks are Green Park, Kensington Place Park, St James’s Park, and Hyde Park. Others were also included such as Buckingham Palace and Clarence House.

As well as this very important job in London, Jim, who was trained at Wisley as an apprentice, is an Associate of Honour of the RHS and was awarded the Victorian Medal of Honour in 2006 amongst other awards. He is still very involved with many aspects of horticulture.

He is also involved with the creation of the world garden at Lullingstone Castle since 2005.

WE WILL ALSO BE SAYING OUR FAREWELLS TO

PRESIDENT LEN 

Do come and join us

 

BARRY NEWMAN

We were given an entertaining, not to say enlightening talk by Barry Newman on Wednesday 3 September. He is National Chairman of the Vegetable Society and was introduced by our President Len Stebbings.

Len also had some news for members. He is moving later this year to Suffolk, and we hope to mark his departure and thank him at our October meeting.

They are seen together casting a professional eye at a vegetable entry to the monthly competition. 

ANNUAL SHOW 2012

Here are some pictures to show a little of our Annual Show at St Peters Hall, Limpsfield on 21 July. Our thanks to all those who put it together, the exhibitors and those who came to support us. we were delighted that Linda kindly agreed to present the prizes. 

Special thanks to Rick for the pictures.

Look what Fay has got!

What an amazing plant Fay has in her garden in Old Oxted. She is not sure what it is, but we are trying to find out.

JUBILEE CELEBRATION 3 JUNE 2012

Our thanks go to Alan and Sandra Essex for providing the wonderful facilities for our celebration. Everyone enjoyed the occasion despite the rather inclement weather. Here are a few pics of the event.

PLANT SALES ON 12 MAY 2012

Saturday 12 May was the day for our Annual Plant Sale at the Red Cross Hall, Oxted.
We were delighted with the crowd that greeted us at the 9am opening time.
Our thanks to those members who provided the stock and assisted with the sales. Here are a few pictures of the event.

 

David wows the crowd!

David
Jones

and his talk is 
MY WONDERFUL 
LIFE IN FLOWERS  proved to be a hit at our meeting on Wednesday 4 April. The floral arrangement seemed to develop almost by magic. 

David says "My work has always been in the decorating side of flowers rather than in a shop or demonstrating, so I tell of my experiences in that field , the disasters and mishaps during the build of a job , that most people are not aware of and just see the final product, the nightmare clients and generally the work/ parties I have been involved with. I will bring along some photos of work I have produced over the years too."
(photo by Rick Meakin)

DAFFODIL COMPETITION 2012

Here is the winner of our St Patrick's Day daffodil competition, Margaret Hacker. Despite all the problems created by the spring weather we received seven entries.
Second was Christine Kirk, and third Sandra Essex. Each received a small prize.
The judge was our speaker for the 4 April, David Jones.

May sees the return our popular home made compost competition.

Wednesday 7 March

Our March speaker Geoff Peach attracted an excellent attendance at our March Meeting. He is seen here with LODHS Vice Chairman, Karen.

Sunday 26 Febuary

Sandra and fellow members at Wisley on Sunday 26 February making their way to the Butterfly House

2012 Shedule Available Now

Our 2012 Schedule with the full programme for the year is now available.

Please contact the Membership Secretary for a copy (email: LODHSgardens@gmail.com)