Stourton
Caundle Garden Club We meet once a month, 2nd Wednesday
of the month, October to May, to discuss all things gardening in a friendly
and informal atmosphere. The January supper is always a huge success,
whilst the Annual Show brings the whole village together and looks
wonderful. Membership Current annual subscription is £7.50.
This allows entry to the talks; the ‘club night’ at Castle Gardens when a
25% discount is offered on all plants and bulbs; and visits to outstanding
local gardens. New members are
always welcome – just turn up at the Village Hall. Committee: Chairman – Howard ffitch Secretary – Maureen Villiers Treasurer – Linda Walters Others – Melanie Lillie, Christine Peters, Marjo Walker, Win Gillard, Sally-Anne Barrett
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Meetings
are at 7.15pm except the Discount Night at Castle Gardens which is at 6.30pm 4th
September Annual
Flower & Produce Show
at the Village Hall followed by Tea Party. 13th
October "Vegetable Growing and Heritage Varieties" Sally Nex Journalist, author, qualified professional gardener and planting designer with special interests in fruit and vegetable growing, wildlife and organic gardening. 10th
November "The Newt" plus Annual General Meeting Arthur Cole Professional since aged 19, Arthur has been a head gardener in Scotland, a permaculturist in New York, a kitchen gardener in Suffolk, and a specialist bulb grower in the Cotswolds. 8th
December "More Gardening Myths" Mike Burks Founder in 1987, with his wife Louise, of Castle Gardens Sherborne, Brimsmore Gardens in 1992, and Poundbury in 2006. Mike will give a follow-on talk and hopefully judge the Wreath Competition cancelled last year. 12th
January Annual
Supper at the
Village Hall. 9th
February "Accidental Flower Grower" Charlie Ryrie A journalist and passionate gardener for 25 years plus, in 2004 Charlie traded the pen for the trowel and began The Real Cut Flower Garden, growing traditional and interesting varieties of flowers for cutting. 9th
March "The Winter Garden" Andy McIndoe Andy has over 40 years’ experience in horticulture, responsible for the chain of 26 Hilliers Nurseries and 26 consecutive Gold medals at Chelsea. Author and contributes to magazines, media and blogs. 13th
April "Gravel Gardening - Low maintenance drought-resistant plants" Derry Watkins Author of two books on greenhouse gardening has introduced many new plants from her plant collecting trips to South Africa and elsewhere. She teaches one-day gardening courses at the Special Plants Nursery and lectures extensively. 11th
May Discount
Evening at Castle Gardens, Sherborne
with 25% discount on all purchases and free delivery to the village and surrounding area. |
History The inaugural meeting of the Stourton
Caundle Garden Club was held in May 1974. Committee members were F
Barnes, S Burch, Mrs Bond, Miss Spickenwell and
the Misses Helen and Rosemary Julius. They also had the power to
co-opt two more members. The Annual Show was scheduled for September
and monthly meetings were to be held on the 2nd Friday of the
month from October to April. Subscriptions were set at 50 pence per
year. Membership was, and still is, open to
residents from Stourton Caundle, Stalbridge
Weston, Purse Caundle, Bishops Caundle, Bishops Down and Holwell. A later committee meeting agreed the
schedule for the Show, which consisted of 38 classes with sections in
Vegetables, Fruit, Flowers, Domestic, Handicrafts and Children’s section. Meetings moved to Wednesdays in 1975
and the first Constitution of the club was drawn up. Mr Ron Baillie
became a horticultural judge in 1982, and since then has provided judging
at the Show. His wife, Mrs Sylvia Baillie, acted as a secretary of
the club for a number of years before becoming Chair in 1992. They
retired from active committee work in 1995 but Ron Baillie continues to do
a sterling job in his capacity as horticultural judge. Mrs Prue Seddon served on the committee from 1994 to 2010, when
she was elected as President following the death of Miss Rosemary
Julius. The Julius sisters took it in turns to be Chair, Secretary or
President of the club for almost 20 years. Jane Yandell
was elected as Chair in 1995 and held the post for 12 years until Nikki
Hale took over in 2007, succeeded in November 2012 by Howard ffitch. Win Gillard served as Chairman during 2017 and 2018 before handing back the role to Howard. Annual Flower and Produce Show Each year in early September the Stourton
Caundle Garden Club holds their annual show when entries are invited for a wide variety of different categories including Horticulture, Vegetables, Fruit, Flowers, Floral Art, Domestic, Arts and Handicrafts, as well as a couple of special categories only open to children from the village. This year's show will take place on Saturday, 4th September 2021. Details as per the links below:
