Amateur Gardening – 24 August 2019

10 AMATEUR GARDENING24 AUGUST 2019

G

ARDENINGandcultivating

plantsbringustworewards.

First,wehavethepleasureand

satisfactionof seeingplants

flower,harvestingcropsandeating

grow-your-ownfreshproduce.Then,we

getadditionalrewardsbysharingour

successeswithothers:whodoesn’t

smilewhengivena bunchof freshcut

flowersora bagof fruitsandvegetables?

Wecanalsosharebyopeningplots

forcharity,joininggardenclubsand

exhibitingat theirlocalflowershows.

Sadly,thelatterarein steadydecline,

andrecruitingmemberswhowillserve

oncommitteesis provingverydifficult.

Severalhorticulturalandgarden

societiesin mylocalityhaveclosed

becausepeoplecouldnotbepersuaded

tojointhecommittee.Theywerenot

short of funds, just short of people.

Local garden societies can beusefulandfun,saysPeter

“Pleasegivesome

thought tojoining

your local society”

Recently,I visitedthe114thRoyal

WindsorRoseandHorticulturalSociety

Showheldona Saturdayin thegrounds

of StGeorge’sSchoolGardensand

shadowof WindsorCastle.They

currentlyhavea verystrongandactive

committeewhoareactivelyrevitalising

thislong-establishedevent.

TenschoolshadenteredTheWindsor

CastleWheelBarrowChallenge,with

wheelbarrowsgrowingfloweringplants

thatsupportpollinators.Thereweresome

excellententriesof barrowsoverflowing

withflowers.Gettingchildreninvolvedis

vitalforthefutureof suchevents.The

WindsorandSloughChrysanthemum,

FuchsiaandPelargoniumSocietystaged

aneye-catchingdisplayof fuchsiasin

theGardenProduceMarquee,andtheir

membershipis nowdowntolessthan

40.Thisis typicalof somanyspecialist

andlocalgardeningclubs,which

desperatelyneednewblood and an

inputof youthfulenergy.

If youareinterestedin growing

plants,pleasegivesomethoughtto

joiningyourlocalsocietywhereuseful

adviceis abundantandfriendships

oftenbuilt.It couldreallyenhance your

enjoyment of gardening.

Peter’s tips

All photography Peter Seabrook / TI Media, unless otherwise credited

with Peter Seabrook, AG’s classic gardening expert

Listento

Peter’sfree

podcastevery

Thursday.Searchfor

‘ThisWeekInThe

GardenwithPeter

Seabrook’on

iTunes

RichardBatesandRayBirtoftheWindsorand

SloughChrysanthemum,FuchsiaandPelargonium

SocietyflankPeterSeabrook,whois holdingthe

Ray Bird-bred Fuchsia ‘Windsor Castle’

Alamy

TheBishopsgateSchool

winning barrel

4

Aclassto‘Makeananimal

sculpturefromfruitsand

vegetables’is funforchildren

and attracts new entrants.

2

Aclassforthe‘PrettiestRose’

or‘MostFragrantRose’is easy

formosthomegardenersto enter

and a good entry point.

3

SocietiesaffiliatedtotheRHS

cantakea coachtooneof the

RHSGardensandget free entry

for all on board.

1

Somelocalallotmentsocieties

haveonsiteshopsthatsell

gardening goods at discount prices.

Alamy