History of the Herne Rose & Gardening Club 

In 1945 when life was getting back to normal after the Second World War the Herne and District Village Produce Association was formed under the Chairmanship of Mr Laws, Secretary Mr Letts and Treasurer Mr Harrison. In 1951, which was Festival of Britain Year, the Association sponsored a competition for the most effective garden display in Herne.

By 1961 a vote was taken at the Annual General Meeting and the new name became The Herne Horticultural Society. The 30th year of the Society was celebrated in 1975. Around this time the Society was asked to start judging the front gardens of the newly built Mill View and Woodrow Chase estates by the builders who thought that well-kept gardens would be an incentive to prospective buyers. The last year that these were judged was 2008 and the Johnson & Ratford and Woodrow Cups were donated to Herne and Broomfield Parish Council.

In 2000 the Society participated in the Greenfingers 2000 exhibition together with about 10 other gardening clubs and organisations from the local East Kent area held in the Central Bandstand Herne Bay.This was organised by the late Bryan Cover,Chairman of the Herne Rose Society,who had obtained a grant from Heritage Lottery Millennium Fund and it proved a very successful event.

The next milestone in the Society's history was 2003 when it was agreed at the AGM that a merger would take place with the much older Herne Rose Society ( founded in 1875 by the Vicar of  Herne. the Reverend James Buchanan a celebrated national rosarian in his own right) which was finding it difficult to continue because of lack of support and the ageing of members of their committee.