The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
The popular Holbeach Horticultural Society is keen to welcome more members after celebrating its 20th anniversary.
The group – which held its first meeting on January 9, 1997 – was the brainchild of Heather Beedle, aided by Betty Humphries and Ann Wellington among others.
Whether a novice or experienced gardener, or just interested in seeing the beautiful efforts of others, visitors and new members are assured of a warm welcome.
Although affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society, the group is in fact enthusiastic amateurs.
It meets monthly from February to December to listen to speakers, watch demonstrators or visit gardens, nurseries and garden centres.
Talks cover a variety of gardening topics. And for those less enthusiastic about practical gardening, there are speakers who share the history of gardens which are open to visitors, or places they have visited.
One of the highlights of the society’s history was in 2006 when it was successful in inviting BBC Radio’s Gardeners’ Question Time to Holbeach.
Speakers have ranged from celebrities Barry Gayton (BBC Radio Norfolk and Cambridgeshire), Stuart Dixon (BBC Radio Nottinghamshire), and Daphne Ledward-Hands, to local enthusiasts and business people including Grahame Richards (one of the inaugural year’s speakers and who has agreed to return this year), Johnny Walkers and Nicholas Watts.
This year’s line-up includes Sandra Bright from The Big Allotment Challenge.
Each year there are a couple of trips, which in the past have taken in Kew, Harlow Carr, and Renishaw Hall, near Sheffield, and – locally – Barnsdale, Jersey Cottage Nursery and Swinesmeadow Nursery. This year’s trips are into Norfolk and to the Skegness area.
The group works in partnership with Peter Day, of Battleford Hall, to produce Fleet Country Show.
Find out more about the society at www.holbeachhorticultural.co.uk.
