Gardening Group
The Group began in 2002 with the aims of helping and encouraging people in Alstonefield and the surrounding area to enjoy their gardening more and to enjoy time together with other gardeners.
Group members meet monthly in members’ gardens (or indoors if wet) to share lunch and good conversation, some of it about gardening! Dates and venues are always to be found in the village newsletter, but for more information please ring Brian and Lorraine (telephone number below). We hold an Annual General Meeting in April and from time to time arrange speakers, outings, events and exchanges of seeds, plants, etc.
Last year was a terrible year for gardening – and for Gardening Group lunches ‘in the garden’ – but at last, we were able to eat lunch in the garden in May, when two parasols and the straw hats provided were not enough to keep some of us cool, so hot was the sun! A couple of weeks later it was back to heavy rain for the procession of floats round the village to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, for which the Gardening Group float was a car trailer loaded with plants, lawnmower, watering can, garden tools, bucket of weeds, deckchair, gardening magazines, empty wine bottles…. and a sunhat, which was definitely not needed!
Our summer outing to two private gardens in Hognaston and Kirk Ireton (rain again in the morning, but it didn’t dampen our spirits) was so enjoyable that in 2013 we are having TWO outings to private gardens. On 11th July we will visit a highly-recommended garden at Barton-under-Needwood, with a stop at Byrkley Park Garden World on the way. Then on 9th September we will visit two quite different private gardens in Bakewell and Ashford-in-the-Water. We are looking forward to two very interesting days, being shown round the gardens by their owners/gardeners who will, no doubt, be very happy to explain all their problems, failures and successes. There will also, of course, be plenty of nice food! Transport will be by shared cars, so if you don’t have your own transport, don’t worry. We will need to know numbers in advance for both visits.
We are always delighted to welcome new people to our shared lunches and/our outings – please contact Brian and Lorraine Hawkins for more information on 310353.
Photographs: Top to bottom: Visit to garden at Kirk Ireton. Lunch in the garden. Gardening Group float. Visit to garden at Hognaston.
Nature Friendly Award
St Peter’s Church has been awarded a Nature Friendly Certificate by the Diocese of Lichfield’s Churchyard Award Scheme, in recognition of the wildflower area. This area was created and is tended by members of Alstonefield Gardening Group in part of the churchyard which could not be mown because of exposed tree roots. In contrast to the rest of the churchyard, which is always beautifully neat, this area frequently looks untidy – but then nature is untidy – the list in the church porch shows thirty-nine different wild flowers/plants which are doing their own thing, attracting insects and birds.
This page is maintained by Lorraine Hawkins
