 May’s AGM is the last formal meeting of our programme and an opportunity to review the past year.
It is also a chance to thank everyone who made the programme so enjoyable and successful and this year in particular to thank Sheila Maddocks. Sheila has been a member of the gardening club for over 40 years, but has decided to stand down from her role as chairperson which she has successfully held for many years. In addition, we have welcomed many new members to the club, so have increased our membership considerably. We have had a good variety of speakers whose talks were enjoyable, informative and at times good fun. In October we travelled ‘Coast to Coast by Gardens’ with Jill and Alun Whitehead, giving us plenty of ideas of gardens to visit. Katie Briggs Thomas from Monkhopton talked in November about her career change from ‘Lady Gardner to Flower Farmer’, a fascinating journey! An old favourite, Nancy Lowe returned to our club in February to tell us about the ‘Secret Life of the Soil. I think we all gained much inspiration from Nancy. March’s speaker was Samantha Hopes, who spoke about ‘Plants with a Story’. She was so dynamic that we have booked her again for next year. This year’s programme of events included our usual Christmas afternoon tea with a member’s talk from Tricia John, a quiz, a Christmas decoration competition and a new item ‘Desert Island Gardening Tools’ which was a great success. We changed venue this year for our post Christmas luncheon to The Swan at Aston Munslow which served a very good meal. The Spring Show with quiz and photograph competition all took place as usual and again it was a most enjoyable afternoon. All in all, it has been a very successful and enjoyable year. The AGM was followed by the plant sale. It is interesting to see what other members bring along. It gives an insight into what members grow in their gardens and greenhouses and it is an opportunity to grab a bargain. I like to find something new and this year it was four sweet box seedlings. I have no idea what I am going to do with them, but they looked so tempting, I couldn’t resist. The AGM is the final meeting, but there is still much more to come. On Thursday 18th June, we are visiting Aulden Farm which is the home and gardens of October’s speakers, Jill and Alun Whitehead. Their tree acre plot has many fascinating features and there will be tea and cake of course. July is our final meeting, so we end with a garden picnic. This year, we are off to Stockton Bury Gardens in Kimbolton to explore the gardens and have afternoon tea. If you would like to join our small, friendly and very active gardening club, please get in touch. We are always pleased to welcome new members, who bring new ideas to our exciting programme of events. Bev Harris Secretary 07933724728 [email protected] www.stokestmilborough.info/burwarton-gardening-club.htm
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April’s meeting of the gardening club is traditionally our Spring Show and what a show it was! The challenge each year is to see what is in bloom in our gardens and to find flowers that have not been either battered by wind and rain or scorched by sunshine.
Many varieties of daffodils had come and gone quite early this year, but tulips seemed to be in their element, just in time for the show. Blossom too seemed to be in abundance and so the village hall was filled with wonderful floral displays. Elsie Jordan was again our judge this year and as always she carried out her duties with care and professionalism. Elsie commented on the quality of the entries and how difficult her job had been choosing from so many worthy entries. She said it had been the best standard she had seen at the club and Elsie has been judging for many many years. The Jack Brazier shield which is given for ‘best in show’, was awarded to Tricia John for a pot of stunning tulips. Tricia had won the tulip bulbs in the gardening club raffle at the October meeting and planted them up in the autumn. What a super story! Tricia was also awarded first prize in the ‘Pot of Spring bulbs’ class, so well done Tricia. Other entries worthy of a mention were Judy Robertson’s single daffodils, Glenys Allen’s small vase of mixed flowers, Ruth Henley’s vase of blossom, Laura Jones’ large flowered double daffodils, Sue Johnson’s bowl of succulents, Molly Jones’ hellebores and Margaret Link’s mixed daffodils. Finally, the much coveted prize for the longest stick of rhubarb went to Ruth Henley and I believe it was two feet long! We must find out Ruth’s secrets of success. The ‘overall show winner’ prize this was was a draw between Laura Jones and myself, so we were each awarded a trophy and therefore there was no runner up this year. Whilst the judging took place, members enjoyed a cuppa and home bakes, kindly served by Sharon again this month, and a catch-up with friends before beginning the challenge of the gardening quiz. Our experienced Chair, Sheila Maddocks set the questions, using her extensive knowledge, to produce a very tricky quiz. This year’s winners were Tricia John, David Wall and Sally Harris. Well done to them! Laura Jones once again took on the coordination of the entries to the photograph competition and did an excellent job of displaying them to great effect. The winning entry was from a new member, Sue Johnson, who had captured a beautiful image of a bee pollinating a flower. This will be used as the cover image on the gardening club’s printed programme for 2026-27. The next meeting of the gardening club is on Thursday 14th May which will be our AGM followed by the annual plant sale. This is the final meeting on this year’s programme at the village hall until October. We will be holding our annual garden visit in June, when we will be going to Aulden Farm near Leominster. The final gathering of the club is the member’s picnic which we will be holding at Stockton Bury Gardens, Kimbolton in July. If you would like more information about our gardening club and its activities, please contact me. Bev Harris [email protected]  Our speaker, Samantha Hopes, began her career as a geologist until she realised that she preferred plants to rocks. She became a student at Birmingham Botanical Gardens then moved her training to the RHS Garden Wisley, where she specialised in Rock and Alpine plants. After graduating she went to work alongside John Massey, helping to look after his Hepatica collection at Ashwood Nurseries. Samantha holds the national collection of Roscoea, hardy gingers, in her own garden. She explained that many plants have a story which was the focus of the talk, from where they were collected, how they are pollinated to folk law and old wives tales. She began by telling us about Stromatalites which look like rocks; the first plants to photosynthesise around 3.2 billion years ago. Next an amusing explanation of Mare’s tail, a plant unchanged for 400 million years, and how to defeat it. Samatha talked about Ginko Biloba and about Wollemia nobilis, a tree which is critically endangered in New South Wales, Australia and is so protected that not even David Attenborough is allowed to visit it. In the next section of Samantha’s talk, she introduced us to three plant hunters; Frank Wingdon Ward, Reginald John Farrar and Ernest Henry Wilson. We heard the amazing and at times amusing stories of their adventures and their contributions to horticulture in the UK. We heard about plants that grow in dangerous places, like the Gladiolus flanaganii, the suicide lily, so names because of the steep cliff sides on which it grows. Samantha talked about pollination to seedlings and plants which ‘come at a cost’. This included the 800 year old bonsai which sold for £1.3 million and Galanthus ‘Elizabeth Harrison’ sold on ebay for £725 to Thompson and Morgan, who subsequently killed it. It is now possible to buy one single bulb for just £70. In the section of the talk, ’Plants with interesting names’ sempervivum or Welcome - home -husband -however -drunk-you -be, was my favourite plant. Samantha finished the talk with examples of deadly poisonous plants; Aconites, Ageratina and Nicotiana. This was a fascinating, funny and informative talk and I have already booked Samantha to visit us again next year. If you would like to join us, please come along to Stoke St Milborough Village Hall where the door opens at 2.00pm and the meeting begins at 2.30pm. You are guaranteed a warm welcome, a nice cuppa and some delicious home bakes. If you would like more information about the gardening club, then please get in touch with me. Bev Harris, Secretary, [email protected]  arch’s meeting began with one minute silence for personal reflection following the sad news that Dr John Bell had passed away. John and his wife Pam, were members of the club for over 30 years and John had held club officers roles since 1993. John and Pam were keen gardeners and had a large garden in Clee St Margaret which they often opened to raise money for charity. The club’s condolences have been sent to Pam and the family.  This was the starting statement from our speaker Nancy Lowe. Nancy’s talk ‘The Secret Life of the Soil’ was fascinating and very informative. She began by explaining the Gaia Theory proposed by James Lovelock who suggests that all organisms on earth are closely integrated to form a single, self-regulating system, maintaining the conditions for life on the planet. Nancy described these earth’s systems using analogies with the human body; Lungs of the Earth, the oceans produce most of the oxygen on earth, Earth’s Kidneys, how wetlands cleans the system and a Vascular system, how migrating animals and birds carry nutrients around the system. Nancy focused on the composition of soil and stated that in one teaspoon there are over one billion organisms with around twenty to thirty thousand different species. Each organism has a function, shredding material, breaking down leaves and helping to improve soil structure. Many organisms produce nutrients e.g protozoa eat bacteria and excrete nutrients. Fungi in the soil can break down tough pollutants. With this knowledge, gardeners can play an important role in maintaining healthy soil for increased drought tolerance and for plants that are self-sufficient. Nancy gave us useful advice about no dig gardening, gentle weeding and using mulch wisely to maintain healthy soil. Nancy supported her ideas with scientific research and the whole talk was enhanced by some amazing graphics which demonstrated her concepts. The talk generated much discussion afterwards and many of us agreed that we have been ‘doing it wrong’! I think we have all taken some ideas that we intend to implement in our own gardens this year and hope to see the benefits. This was the second visit by Nancy to the gardening club and we are already looking at her list of talks to invite her back next year. Nancy's website is www.thenaturalgardener.org.uk see also https://advancingecoag.com/plant-health-pyramid/ The first meeting of 2026 for the gardening club is our annual luncheon which is always a
joyous occasion. It is lovely to have something to look forward to after the Christmas decorations have been taken down and the days are still short and this year’s event is being held at a new location; The Swan in Aston Munslow. Around twenty five members and their guests will be gathering on 22nd January for what promises to be a delicious three course meal. This is a lovely occasion and a chance to relax and catch up with friends and fellow gardeners. It is also the start of an exciting new year for our gardening club with lots to look forward to. The next club meeting at Stoke St Milborough village hall is on February 12th when Nancy Lowe will be talking about ‘The Secret Life of the Soil’. We first met Nancy last February, when she gave her talk on ‘Gardening with Wildflowers’. We enjoyed it so much that we are looking forward to welcoming her back again this year. January and February are difficult months for the gardener, but you might, like me, have been eagerly searching the borders for the first signs of spring. I am always delighted by the first snowdrops of the year, which this year I spotted two days before Christmas. I also adore the wonderful spidery, bright yellow blossoms of the witch hazel (Hamamelis) with its wonderful fragrance. Do remember, if you are not fortunate enough to have snowdrops in your own garden, there are stunning displays that can be seen at the National Trust gardens at Attingham Park and Dudmaston Hall. If you have never been to St Peter’s Church in Stanton Lacy, I can highly recommend a visit as the magnificent display of snowdrops throughout the churchyard during February is guaranteed to lift your spirits. This year the snowdrop weekend is the 7th and 8th February at 2.00 until 4.30, where a nice cup of tea and a slice of homemade cake is also on offer. If you would like to join us at our next gardening club meeting, then please come along to Stoke St Milborough Village Hall on Thursday 12 th February. Nancy’s talk will begin at 2.30pm, but there is tea, coffee cake and biscuits available beforehand and a chance to chat with other gardeners, so do come early. The hall is open at 2.00pm. If you would like more information about our gardening club please contact me. Bev Harris Secretary [email protected] Having set up the village hall for the last meeting of 2025, I felt a sense of excitement for what is always a super social occasion for the gardening club. We have a more relaxed format which began with a talk by Tricia Johns who told us the ‘Story of Three Gardens’. Tricia and David’s first garden project was at their London home. Their small front garden with its window boxes was delightful and the rear garden was transformed from a bare patch with its clay soil into a plant filled south facing haven backing onto a park. They also skilfully created interest on the house wall using trellis and a stunning clematis and a gravel garden filled with pots and structural plants. It must have been difficult to leave their lovely garden when Tricia and David moved north to Yorkshire. They once again took on a rear garden which was overgrown and full of rubbish, but facing south and backing onto a large open community space. They created borders, a wildlife pond, a brick-paved seating area and areas of gravel garden. The planting was superb and done under the watchful and approving eye of Harriet the cat, who didn’t lift a paw to help. Tricia and David’s garden appeared in Gardener’s world magazine in the Reader’s Makeover’ section 2001. We had no idea that we had celebrities in our midst! When Tricia and David moved to Suffolk they inherited a much larger garden, backing onto arable farmland, on clay soil again with a stunning large wildlife pond. They set about stripping back the garden and redesigning it with gravel pathways through contoured mounds and seating areas to take in the beautiful countryside views. Here they also created a vegetable garden, compost bays and built a greenhouse onto the garage. They were able to showcase their hard work when they opened their stunning garden to the public from 2010 to 2013. Tricia and David now live in Shropshire and have once again taken on a garden in need of some TLC, so we wait with anticipation for the final chapter in their garden renovation story. Tricia’s story was followed by ‘Desert Island Gardening Tools’ , a new feature at the December meeting. Members were asked, “If you were marooned on a desert island, which gardening tool would you want to have with you?”  Laura Jones' reply was her Japanese Hori-Hori, described by some as the swiss army knife of gardening tools. Laura uses it for weeding, particularly those with long roots, bulb planting, as well as general planting, for cutting turf or dividing plants. A good all round tool which had the distinct look of a Samurai sword about it! Helen Sharp brought along her ‘Speed Weeder’ a hook shaped tool which Helen has found useful for working in clay soil. Sally Harris had forgotten her ‘Very Versatile Tool’ but managed to describe its 30 degree angled blade with a sharp inside edge, ideal for loosening soil and weeding. It sounds like another lethal weapon for the gardener. Our very own Ruth Henley also brought along a Japanese tool, a hand held hoe. Although this cost a lot of money, Ruth says it is worth every penny as its sharp pointed blade is ideal for weeding and digging holes for planting. Finally, Judy Robertson showed us her tool, similar to the Hori-Hori, but a little less intimidating, again expensive but ideal for planting bulbs.
Talks were followed by afternoon tea with a delicious selection of sandwiches, savouries and cakes, during which we did Jill Perk’s quiz. Not as difficult as last year’s quiz, but still a few tricky questions to trip us up! The Christmas decoration competition was a great success this year, with nine fabulous and varied entries. Well done to all who entered and particularly to Laura Jones who won the most member’s votes for her stunning door wreath.
If you have ever journeyed along the B4368 through the village of Monkhopton and been delighted by the view of a field of glorious blooms, then you have almost certainly passed Katie Briggs Thomas’ business; The Petal Passion Flower Farm. Katie came to our November meeting to tell us how she set up her business and went from beautician to flower farmer. When COVID shut down Katie’s beauty business in March 2020, like many of us she spent time in her garden and found that she was rather good at growing flowers. An unlikely flower farmer, Katie had suffered debilitating hayfever until the wonders of modern medicine made working with flowers a possibility. So to develop her passion, Katie bought one and a half acres of the field behind her home and a polytunnel. She began creating flower beds and planting 1000 bare root roses, dahlias, peonies and many other varieties of perennial flowers as well as annuals like cosmos and zinnas, to create stunning floral arrangements. It is Katie’s mission to help reduce the carbon footprint of cut flowers by offering beautiful blooms locally and sourcing other materials as close to home as possible. She provides seasonal flowers for funerals, weddings, birthdays and other occasions, beautifully arranged in her casual, unique style. In addition Katie supplies florists & shops with seasonal, sustainably & locally grown flowers, with no added chemicals or pesticides. Katie is extremely keen on protecting the environment and only uses peat free compost and natural fertilizers. She uses sustainable materials in her floral arrangements and made a plea to us to stop using oasis because it is made of plastic which does not biodegrade, but breaks down into microplastics that can harm wildlife . Katie suggested using moss in compostable bags wrapped in twine which I am definitely going to try. Katie has plans to further develop her business and has planning permission for one more polytunnel and a large workshop from where she can run events. If you are interested in Katie’s work or events then visit her website; www.thepetalpassionflowerfarm.com or facebook page to find out more. During the Q and A session which followed Katie’s talk, she prepared a stunning bouquet of mixed flowers which was given as a raffle prize. Our next meeting of the gardening club on 11th December has a slightly different format. We will be listening to talks by members about projects that they have undertaken in their own gardens and this year we will hold a Desert Island gardening tool demonstration. We also have Christmas afternoon tea, a quiz and a Christmas decoration competition. If you would like to join us then do come along to Stoke St Milborough village hall at 2.00pm to join in the fun.
 If you wish to join us, our next speaker will be Katie Briggs Thomas who will be telling us how she went from ‘Lady Gardener to Flower Farmer’.
https://www.thepetalpassionflowerfarm.com The meeting will be held at Stoke St Milborough Village Hall at 2.00pm on 13th November. If you would like more information about our gardening club, then contact BevHarris on [email protected] or 07933724728. What a wonderful start to the gardening club year. The village hall was warm and welcoming with an air of excitement, the speakers were very entertaining and it was lovely to have new members joining us. Coast to coast by gardens...by car, with Jill and Alun Whitehead was the first of our visiting speakers' talks. The virtual trip began in Tenby, South Wales in Manobier Castle with its small garden benefitting from the castle walls as its backdrop. We then moved on to Dryffen Fernant, a most inspiring garden and one that I noted as a must visit next time we are in South Wales. Moving east, the next garden was Aberglasney which has a restored Elizabethan Cloister Garden that is the only example of its kind in the UK today. It also has an impressive yew tunnel and a 250 year old woodland with stunning ferns and meconopsis. It became clear at this point in the talk that Jill, in particular, was also interested in the sculptures that can be seen in many of the gardens on this tour. This was evident in our next garden in Abergavenny; The Pant which had an enormous stone turtle and rusted metal fish swimming through lavender   We then hopped over the border into Herefordshire, to Lyndalls Garden near Ross on Wye. This two acre garden was created from bare fields and is now renowned for its displays of over six hundred types of snowdrops. We then visited Bryan Gound before stopping off at Aulden Farm, Jill and Alun’ home and garden with its many sculptures and impressive displays of irises for which they are well known. Moving on into Worcestershire, we came to Stone House Cottage Garden, a beautiful, romantic walled garden with numerous brick built follies. It is apparently home to one of the largest collections of rare plants in the country, so another garden for that list of places to visit on a Saturday afternoon! Along the way we stopped off (virtually) at Packwood House, Broughton Grange and Upton House, before reaching Thenford Arboretum, a four acre walled garden owned by Micheal and Ann Hesseltine. This is a stunning garden which surprisingly houses a 7.5 tonne statue of Lenin! Continuing our journey eastwards we visited Rousham, Coton Manor, The Manor at Hemmingford Grey, Chippenham Park Gardens, Fuller’s Mill, East and Ruston, Benton End, before finishing our garden tour at The Beth Chatto Gardens, one of the loveliest gardens in the UK. As the talk was coast to coast, our final place was not a garden but Aldeburgh on the east coast which has many fascinating gardens and is a lovely seaside town in which to take in the sea air after an exhausting three hundred and fifty mile tour. If you wish to join us, our next speaker will be Katie Briggs Thomas who will be telling us how she went from ‘Lady Gardener to Flower Falmer’. The meeting will be held at Stoke St Milborough Village Hall at 2.00pm on 13th November. If you would like more information about our gardening club, then contact Bev Harris on [email protected] or 07933724728.  |
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