Horticultural Society

Bury, West Burton & District Horticultural Society

The Horticultural Society hold two shows a year, Spring and Autumn, and two Coffee Mornings with Plant Sales, May and October.

The Shows cover classes in Flowers, Vegetables, Flower Arrangements, Cookery, Craft including Photography and Handiwork, we also have a section just for Children divided into two groups – under 8 and 8 to 15 years old. One section in the show is solely for new entrants and any points gained will go towards an annual prize. The shows are generally well attended with a lot of friendly banter between the entrants. Judges are encouraged to make comments on the various cards regarding each entry, in order to help people improve the items in future years. The annual programme for the shows is delivered around the village, normally in January.

The Coffee Mornings / Plant Sales form part of the Village Coffee Morning schedule, which are held on the first Saturday of each month. Our May Coffee Morning includes a number of bedding plants and vegetables as well as other plants donated by various village residents. The October Coffee Morning also has a number of plants, but we also try and obtain a very good selection of bulbs at bargain prices.

A letter from the Show Secretary

It is my pleasure to be writing to you as Show Secretary. Taking over from Richard Mattey is a job not possible without a fantastic team. Our committee is a mixture of long serving members and newly appointed volunteers.

I am delighted to say that our Spring Show 2019 was a huge success with almost 200 entries, the hall was beautifully scented with narcissus and stunning flower arrangements. Our cookery judge was impressed with the Victoria Sponge class particularly as our 1st and 2nd prize winners were first time bakers, moreover, the ANZAC biscuits were a challenge but our undeterred cooks rose to the challenge. The children under 8 categories proved to be popular. We would love to see more children enter the 8 to 15 years classes. It might be worth pointing out that every child’s entry wins a prize.

Earlier in March we held a Judges evening where our speakers shared useful information with the exhibitors. If you are considering an entry for the Autumn or Spring shows next year here are a few tips:

  1. When entering your home-grown narcissi your stems should be sturdy and all the same length and preferably displayed in an open necked clear glass vase. For extra marks the pollen should be intact. This applies to all the other flower exhibits.
  2. All fruit and veg must be the same length or size and the correct number required for that class. Fruit should not be polished. Roots can remain but should be washed.
  3. The cookery judge is looking for a good flavour, texture and presentation as well as the correct size and number of bakes required for that class. Jams, marmalades and chutneys should be filled up to the top and labelled with the year it was made. No branding should be visible.
  4. Floral arrangements should be the correct size and you must stick to the brief. Cover your oasis, the judge does look at the back. You can use shop bought flowers.

There are many more facts about the show, take a look at the programme below (to follow).

Give it a go, it is always a fun day. We are so lucky to have a friendly local community who don’t take winning too seriously. In fact, there is a variety of winners at every show. Who knows maybe you will get your name engraved on one of the cups!

Please note on 4th May 2019 and 5th October 2019th we will host plant sales/coffee morning. In May you will be able to purchase young tomato and courgette plants as well as geraniums, nemesia, osteospermum and many more.

If you feel like sharing your garden plants, you can donate them in October’s bring and buy plant sale.

If you have any queries, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Warmest regards,

Jenny Wain

Show Secretary

01798 831046

Spring Show 2019


Spring Show 2019