Regular meetings first Thursday of the month
7.00pm Skipsea Village Hall
Special Events 2024
​
07 March Our very own PETER SAMPSON has kindly volunteered to host this QUESTION and ANSWER session. I hope you will all give some forethought to any questions you may have, as I’m sure we must all have a problem or technique that we need help with. Following on from this, we will have a photo-based QUIZ, with a selection of house and garden plants to identify, with a small prize to the winner.
04 April Presentation by Ann and Angela from the WOLDS HEDGEHOG RESCUE. They will also be bringing a selection of their volunteer made crafts for purchase. If you further wish to help our prickly friends, edible donations for the Hedgehog Rescue would be gratefully received, specifically cat/kitten biscuits (not fish flavours) and pouches of dog/cat meat in jelly, but again not fish flavours.
02 May NO MEETING, the Village Hall is NOT AVAILABLE DUE TO LOCAL ELECTIONS. Suggest a visit to Vertigrow Plant Nursery, Lawnswood House, Malton Rd, York YO32 9TL. Just off the A64.
Saturday 01 Jun, 9am Plant Swap (members only) followed by the Plant Sale, in conjunction with Skipsea Village Hall Brunch. Any donations of plants, both indoor and outdoor will be very welcome.
04 July Presentation by TONY CHALCROFT and JANE THURLOW on "Easy cut flowers to grow in your garden". Jane and Tony own and cultivate “The Nursery”, and have also invited us for a visit there. Please see notes below.
01 Aug Presentation by that ever-popular gentleman, PETER WILLIAMS on “Propagation for grown up gardeners”. The talk covers growing from seed, cuttings, grafting and other techniques e.g. magnolias, rhododendrons, acers, roses, and lilies, snowdrops and many other choice plants.
03 Oct Presentation with the engaging DOUG STEWART on “New ways to garden”, in which Doug focuses on how we can apply the latest thinking and research to help us create gardens that do-good things: sustainable gardens that benefit our soil, our plants, wildlife and the environment. Not to mention our own wellbeing.
Plus, participants in the “grow the biggest sunflower” competition should bring their specimens (stem and seed head) for judging.
07 Nov Planning Meeting. As dry and potentially boring as this might sound, this is your opportunity to put forward your ideas and requests. We use these suggestions as the basis for next year’s events and visits and would appreciate your help and input.
Donations
As you know, on the evenings we have guest speakers, we usually hold a raffle. These raffles help the club with the extra costs associated with these evenings, so your donations for the raffles are very welcome. Also as mentioned at the end of last year, can we also ask for plant donations for the annual plant sales, in June, especially House plants, as these were the quickest selling plants last year. Maybe you have a spider plant with lots of runners, or a succulent with offshoots you could pot up, or even an African violet leaf to propagate. And let us not forget the annual or perennial plants that everyone loves as well.
Private Garden Visits
The following garden visits have already been arranged. As these gardens are comparatively local, I hope you will all be able to attend and take advantage of these private invitations.
Thwaite Hall Botanic Gardens, Cottingham, HU16 4QX. 10.30am on 20th August
Covering an area of approximately one and a half acres, this garden has been owned by the University of Hull since 1948. However, it is now maintained by a volunteer group of friends. The garden comprises lawned areas, and small themed beds, including an herbaceous border, alpine bed, a sub-tropical bed, a Salvia bed, Mediterranean and Antipodean beds. The glasshouses contain an evolution-themed display, a cacti collection, tree ferns, two fern houses, two Southern Hemisphere Houses, a carnivorous bed, an Agave bed and a South African bed. This is not a garden of vast herbaceous borders, but small intimate grouping of unusual plants, and whilst some of the plants in the glasshouses suffered during the covid lockdown as no one was allowed to tend them, the volunteers are working hard to restore and further enhance the collections. If the weather is nice, you could bring a picnic and a blanket, and soak up the sun on the lawn.
Cost £5 each including a hot drink and biscuits.
The Nursery, 15 Knapton Lane, Acomb, York YO26 5PX. 11am on Thursday 25th July.
A former suburban commercial nursery, now an attractive and productive one acre organic, private garden. Over 100 fruit trees, many in trained form. Many different vegetables are grown both outside and under cover. Productive areas interspersed with informal ornamental plantings and cut flower areas to provide colour and habitat for wildlife.