January

Our speaker in January was Alison Davis who talked about 'Herbal medicines' and the many uses of some of the plants we grow in our gardens. She illustrated her talk with slides followed by an explanation of the herbal products that she supplies. Her garden in Comberton is open to the public on the first Sunday in July.

Dates for your Diary

We hope to have gardens open again this year during the Village Festival, on Sunday afternoon, 24th May. Last year's 'Gardens Open' proved popular despite the showers and thunderstorm. Let's hope the weather will be kinder to us this year.

The Village Gardeners are planning a coach trip to Beth Chatto's garden at Elmstead Market on Saturday, 13th June. The cost will be £2.50 entrance to garden plus £5 for the coach. If you would like to join us please ring me on 741221 or Tricia Franklin on 01223 812360.

February

Geoff Peck spoke on garden ponds and bog gardens at the Village Gardeners meeting in Reach on 17th February. His view was that ponds, other than formal ones, should look as natural as possible and need not be very deep. Ideally 2/3rds of the surface should be covered with oxygenating plants.

He was particularly informative about fish, especially Koi carp, and we were surprised to learn that they do not need feeding between the end of September and early April. His talk was illustrated with slides of ponds, bog gardens and unusual water features.

The Village Gardeners are planning a coach trip to Beth Chatto's garden at Elmstead Market, just south of Colchester, on Saturday, 13th June.

Beth Chatto has a large garden full of unusual and interesting plants, with attractive lakes. She is also experimenting with plants for drought conditions. There is a well stocked area with plants available for sale.

We expect the coach to leave Swaffham Prior between 11 and 11.30 am, arriving at the garden at 1 o'clock. We shall then picnic (there is no restaurant) and spend the afternoon touring the garden, leaving for home at 4.30. The cost will be £7.50.

If you would like to join us please contact me on 01638 741221 or Tricia Franklin on 01223 812360 to book your seat on the coach.