Clatford Valley Gardening Club

Affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society Meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7.45pm Upper Clatford Village Hall www.clatfordvalleygardeningclub.co.uk July 2016 Parking Permits

Please remember to display your parking permit when attending club functions.

Dear Member,

The weather is not doing the gardens much good, is it? Where is the hot summer they forecast earlier in the year? However in spite of the weather we have had two successful garden visits. Unfortunately I was not able to go to Dean House but I have heard that the garden was good and the Cream Tea excellent. Broughton Grange was a real surprise. I think that most of us had slight misgivings as we approached it down a narrow track, parked in a field and had coffee in a tent. However the gardens were magnificent with Parkland, a Wildflower Meadow, a Victorian sunken garden and a rare Peat Wall Garden and many other beautiful features. It was well worth a visit. The garden at Upton House I thought was a little disappointing, but the house itself was very interesting. If anybody has any suggestions for future visits, please let a committee member know.

Our next event is the Pimms, Plants and Pastries afternoon on 30th July and maybe we will get some sun to perk up the gardens before then. Please come along and support it.

The Annual Show is not far away now, it’s good fun, so if you have not entered anything before, have a go.

As most of you probably know, the gardening club looks after the Village Hall garden and we have applied for a Maye Fayre grant to buy some more alpines for the gravel, and we also hope to plant some bulbs somewhere in Anna Valley. In the autumn we have a garden clear up day and we will be looking for volunteers to help with this task. More details later.

Enjoy the next meetings,

Jenny Chris Beardshaw

Chris Beardshaw is formally trained, and holds an M.A. in Landscape Architecture from the University of Gloucestershire. He has won several prestigious gardening awards, including, in 1999, a Gold Medal for his "Dig For Victory" garden and then again in 2012 working with a learning disability team from the Minstead Training Trust Chelsea Flower Show, and, in 2008, a Gold Medal at R.H.S. Tatton Park. His first TV appearance was in 1999 as the expert on 'Surprise Gardeners' for Carlton TV. After this, he moved to the BBC TV and Real Rakeovers as the expert contributor. His first show as sole presenter was Weekend Gardener for UKTV Style in 2000. Also in 2000, he co-presented Gardening Neighbours for BBC 2. This was followed by three series of Housecall. After this, he joined Gardeners' World Live as a specialist presenter, and then soon moved on to become a presenter on Gardeners' World, alongside Monty Don and Rachel De Thame. Beardshaw presented Get Up and Grow along with Irish landscape gardener Colin Donaldson. He is also a regular panel member on BBC Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time. In 2013 he joined The Beechgrove Garden, BBC Scotland's long-running gardening programme, where he still presents a segment on most episodes either from the Beechgrove Garden itself, or out on the road. Also In 2013, he presented two episodes of Great British Garden Revival.

The Chris Beardshaw Rose was launched at the Hampton Court Flower show in July 2007. Beautifully scented with soft pink blooms, the new rose was produced by international rose specialist C&K Jones. Chris Beardshaw specifically asked for a donation (£2.50) to be made to the Royal Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) for every rose sold. Following his success at Chelsea in 2012 with the Minstead Training Project learning disability team, Chris agreed to become a Patron of the charity.

At this year’s Chelsea Flower show he was sponsored by Morgan Stanley to produce a Show garden. He designed a Courtyard style garden which won a gold medal and it will become a permanent garden at Great Ormond street hospital, providing a private space for parents and children. Altogether he has won 5 gold medals and 3 silver gilt.

Chris lives in the Cotswolds with his wife and three children. PIMM’S TRIFLE Made with The Original No.1 Heat the milk and cream with the vanilla pod until almost boiling. Remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 5-10 mins. Remove the vanilla and scrape the seeds from the pod into the milk and cream. Whisk the eggs with the cornflour and sugar, then strain the milk and cream through a fine sieve into the egg mix, whisking all the time. Pour the mixture into a clean pan and heat gently, stirring until the custard has thickened. Chill in the fridge. Arrange the trifle sponges in the bottom of a large serving bowl, drizzle over half the PIMM’S, then spoon over the jam, 150g strawberries (keeping 100g for the topping) and the orange segments. Pour over the cooled custard and top with whipped cream. Leave in the fridge until ready to serve. Boil the remaining PIMM’S with the orange juice until it’s thickened, and then add the remaining strawberries to infuse. Top the trifle with the strawberries, some of the syrupy juices and mint leaves. INGREDIENTS 300ml whole milk 300ml double cream 1 vanilla pod, split in half 3 free-range eggs 20g cornflour 75g golden caster sugar 8 trifle sponges 100ml Pimm’s No.1 4 tablespoon strawberry jam 250g strawberries, hulled and sliced 2 oranges, 1 peeled and cut into segments and 1 juiced 300ml whipped double cream Mint leaves, to garnish Garden Show

At last the weather is warmer so everything in the garden will be growing a pace (don’t mention the weeds!) so I hope your plans for the garden show are well under way.

This is a great opportunity for everyone to try their hand at something whether its growing flowers, vegetables or making one of the delicious items in the produce section. Remember this is a FUN day for all club members including children.

If you haven’t already a copy of the schedule you’ll find it on the club website and the entry form is attached to this newsletter.

Happy growing. Sue Stuart

If you are on the chair or tea rota please arrive at the hall no earlier than 7pm.

Tea Rota Chair Rota

July Elaine Rigby Kevin O’Leary Pat Mason Aug Carol O’Leary Pam Finlay Sept Val Halliwell Lesley Heslop

Pimms, Plants and Pastries.

Programme.

1.30 – 3.30 Garden Visits. (collect map and instructions from the Village Hall.)

3.30 – 4.30 Pimms and Pastries.

4.30 Raffle draw CLATFORD VALLEY GARDENING CLUB SHOW ENTRY FORM RULES

1. All exhibits must have been grown or produced by the exhibitor. 2. Entries must be made on the official entry form and submitted by mid-day THURSDAY 18TH AUGUST 2016. 3. Late entries will only be accepted in exceptional cases subject to available space. 4. No exhibitor may enter more than one exhibit in each class. 5. Entries are open only to Clatford Valley Garden Club members and residents of Upper Clatford, Anna Valley and Abbotts Ann

Any enquiries to Lesley Heslop on 359268

------

Name ------Address ------Telephone ------

Please enter the classes below by letter and number as given in the schedule

Vegetables Fruit Flowers Children Produce

Please give or send your completed entry form to a member of the Show committee: Sue Stuart, Lesley Heslop, ,Kevin O’Leary or Jenny Llewellyn.