Annual Newsletter 2025

The Courtyard Garden at 'Wildside' in Devon, created by Keith & Ros Wiley

CHAIRMAN'S ANNUAL REVIEW 2025

It has been another excellent year for our Garden Society, marked by a lively programme of talks, good attendance at events, and growing enthusiasm among members.

Our Spring Bulb and Bloom Show was held alongside the March meeting and provided a colourful foretaste of the growing season. Many thanks to Tom for judging the entries and all those who helped stage the event.

Our annual Plant Sale, once again organised by Sue Davis, was another success. Although sales were slightly lower than last year, it was still a very good result, thanks to the hard work of Sue and all who contributed plants, time, and enthusiasm.

Our Summer Show returned for a second year and proved to be an even greater success than in 2024, with many more entries and a wonderful display of flowers, produce, and crafts filling the Mac Hall. The atmosphere was buzzing throughout the day as participants eagerly awaited the results. My sincere thanks once again go to Sally Secrett and Mary Harris, whose energy and organisation made the event such a triumph. We are delighted that they have agreed to lead the Show again next year.

This year’s programme of talks offered a rich and varied selection of topics:

 January – Dylan: Hedgehog Aware: Dylan, a sixth form pupil from Haberdashers Monmouth School, shared his inspiring story of discovering hedgehogs in his garden during the 2020 lockdown, and how, since the age of 13, he has worked to help them not only survive but thrive.

February - Marion Stainton: The Spring Garden. Marion guided us through her favourite spring plants and seasonal tasks, covering soil management, propagation, pruning, and pest control with her usual engaging enthusiasm.

March – Philip Aubrey: Practical Propagation. A retired Director of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Philip combined theory and demonstration to show how propagation can be rewarding and successful for every gardener.

April – Megan Firth (Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust): Severn Treescapes. Megan outlined the ambitious three-county initiative to improve woodland connectivity through hedgerows, orchards and agroforestry - an inspiring example of collaboration for biodiversity and climate action

June – Chris Whitelock: Pruning Trees and Shrubs. With over thirty years’ horticultural experience, Chris explained the principles and practice of pruning clearly and practically, helping many of us feel more confident about our own efforts at home.

September – Kevin Alviti: Preserving the Harvest. Kevin’s lively talk explored the many ways to make the most of garden produce - fermenting, dehydrating, canning and more. His enthusiasm was infectious, and few of us left without ideas to try.

October – Professor Clive Staunton: Making a Sustainable Garden. Clive shared the story of transforming a rundown farmhouse garden into a model of sustainability, combining practical ingenuity with honesty about the challenges along the way.

Still to come, we look forward to Caroline Cooper’s flower arranging demonstration in November, which promises to round off the year on a creative and festive note.

In August we enjoyed a visit to Chagos, the delightful garden of Sue and John Gore which houses a national collection of Brugmansia as well as many exotic and rare plants and a magnificent lavender bed with over 30 different varieties.

We also enjoyed a delightful Members’ Afternoon Tea at Eileen’s house, which was well attended and much appreciated as a relaxed social occasion.

This year we sponsored St. Briavel’s School’s entry into the Malvern Show, as well as helping with some weeding of the flower borders in the school grounds.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all our Committee members for their hard work and support throughout the year. I’d like to make a special mention of Charlotte who originally agreed to take over Christine’s programme secretary role but has also managed some of Christine’s other tasks such as email updates to members and our Village News page. 

All your committee have agreed to stand for re-election, except for Gill, who is stepping down after several years of excellent service. On behalf of everyone, I thank Gill warmly for her contribution to the Society and her enthusiastic commitment to its success.

Finally, thank you to all our members for your continued interest and participation. It is your enthusiasm that keeps our Society vibrant and enjoyable. To help ensure we are still meeting your needs we recently undertook a survey of members' views. We are now in the process of reviewing the results of this survey and will let you know the outcome in the near future.

Here’s to another successful year of gardening, learning and friendship in 2026!

Mike Weeks. Chairman