We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

We held the last Garden Club event of 2012 on the evening of Thursday 20th December - incidentally the last time that our meetings will start at 7pm. Thirty members and friends turned out on a cold, wet evening to eat, drink and socialise. Tony had prepared a Christmas Quiz and there was also a raffle. A splendid time was had by all.
Copies of next year's programme were distributed and will also be available at the January meeting on the 17th. The programme is also available on this blog.
We wish all our members and friends A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2013 Programme

Please note - all meetings at the new time of 7:30pm at Bicker Village Hall

January 17th
"Gardens & More: 4 short films"   Tony Boughen

February 21st
"Conservation on the Farm"   George Danby

March 21st
"Woodland Gems"   Andrew Ward

April 18th
"Primula Auriculas"  Trevor Rogers

May16th
Bring & Buy Cakes and Plants plus seed swap
"Herbal Remedies of the Fens"   Chris Renn

June 20th
"Companion Planting"   Andrew Sankey

July 18th
Members' Evening

August 15th
Flower and Produce Show

September 19th
"English Roses and the Like: A History of Garden Roses"
Brian Schofield

October 17th
AGM and Pumpkin Surprise!

November 21st
"Heckington Windmill"   Jim Bailey

December 19th
Christmas Event

Donington in Bloom

For our November meeting, on Thursday 8th, we were pleased to welcome Jenny Bailey and Michael Short from Donington in Bloom.We heard about the setting up of the organisation and its development over the past seven years: from tentative beginnings to award-winning participation in the national section of the competition. Jenny and Michael told us about their fund raising activities, how the wider community is involved, the process by which they get plants ready for planting out in baskets, tubs and beds, and the development of the Community Herb Garden and allotments. Of particular interest were the measures they have taken to harvest and store water and the small fleet of bowsers they use to water the flowers. The accompanying photograph shows a crashed car outside Donington Fire Station, an inventive "planter" that featured in the village's display a couple of years ago.

The winner of the Flower of the Month competition was Sue with a hydrangea.

Change of Date of Next Meeting

Since the Village Hall will be used on 15th November for voting for the new Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner our November meeting will now be held on Thursday 8th.

Fifth AGM plus Strawberry Glass

Bicker and District Garden Club held their fifth Annual General Meeting on the evening of Thursday 18th October. Terry Hill, who was instrumental in setting up the club and who has been chairman since it began in 2007, stepped down from the post. Terry has worked tirelessly on behalf of the club and members expressed their gratitude  for his contribution to its success.
At the start of the meeting David Webster told the members about the "Wednesday Group" who meet to improve and beautify Bicker. They have been litter picking, clearing footpaths, clearing undergrowth and pruning trees. They have tea and cake mid-morning, sometimes at the Village Hall. David extended an invitation to anyone who would like to join in and help the group.
We all enjoyed cheese and wine followed by a presentation by David Wing of Strawberry Glass Studios of Spalding. David had brought many examples of their work in stained glass and also demonstrated basic techniques.

The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Fien with a penstemon.

Winter Hanging Baskets

Our September meeting was on the evening of Thursday 20th September. Pauline Harley demonstrated how to plant up various sorts of containers for winter, including hanging baskets. She suggested types of plants, compost and feed as well as giving us tips on watering. Her arrangements looked very attractive and she kindly donated one of them for our raffle. The others were for sale and some were snapped up by members.
The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Pat Blackburn with a bedding dahlia.

Fourth Annual Flower and Produce Show

Bicker and District Garden Club held their fourth annual Flower and Produce Show on the evening of Thursday 16th August. The event was well attended with a good number of entries in each category. There were plenty of delicious cakes for us to sample, including a new category of vegetable cakes. Recipes for these have been in the newsletter throughout the year. We were also able to try sweet and savoury preserves.The winners were awarded small cash prizes and we had a very enjoyable evening.

Visit to Cambridge University Botanical Gardens

On the 30^th July we had an excellent visit to the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens The forty seven members of the Bicker and Wigtoft Garden Clubs together with family and friends were rewarded by the extensive gardens looking spectacular with so much vibrant colour. This was especially true of the multitude of lavenders which cut endless swathes throughout the central garden areas. There was certainly something for everyone, not the least being the scented garden with its mix of fragrances. The glasshouses provided additional interest and surprises, in particular hanging rows of Jade Vine and their fruits plus the many tropical and intriguing plants. This was another very enjoyable and memorable day out.

Report and photos by Terry Hill

Members' Evening

Bicker & District Garden Club held their first Members' Evening on Thursday 19th July. We had a good turnout of 31 members and 3 visitors. The evening consisted of four short talks, given by members, with a break half-way through for food and wine plus the drawing of the raffle.The four talks were entertaining and all very different. Fabienne Best talked about dowsing. Alan Bycraft told us how to make a chair out of a log. Winnie Hierons spoke about her time working as a nurse in the 1950s. Finally John Stainton gave us an account of his work with the Army in the Falklands Conflict.We had a really lively and enjoyable evening.
The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Winnie with an attractive but unidentified plant (see the above photo). It may be a shrimp plant.

What a Washout!

Bicker Garden Club were very disappointed to have to call off their Summer Event on Saturday 7th July. We were to have held a Garden Safari in the gardens of some of our members. However the continuing unsettled and cool weather interspersed with hours of torrential rain made it impossible.The fact that we are not alone is of little comfort - many organisers of outdoor events have been thwarted during the dreadful spring and summer this year.

A Visit to Harrington Hall

Sixteen members of the Garden Club had an outing to Harrington Hall and its gardens on the afternoon of Thursday 14th June. We were welcomed and then shown round the ground-floor of the Hall by Philip Madison, who is the Head Gardener. Philip told us some of the history of the Hall and of the devastating fire of 1991 and subsequent rebuilding and restoration,  After the tour of the Hall we were able to wander round the beautifully kept gardens. A number of us bought plants there. It was good to be able to see flowers and shrubs in the borders and then find similar ones for sale. Some people also visited the church, which is right next to the Hall. The weather was very kind to us. The sun shone all afternoon, which added to our enjoyment. Many of us finished the afternoon with refreshments at the nearby Stockwith Mill.

Dreaming Spires

Photograph (c) KENPEI. Used with permission

The Garden Club met on the evening of Thursday 17th May, welcoming Stuart Dixon as our speaker. He entertained us with an illustrated talk entitled "Dreaming Spires". This was not about Oxford, as he said to us, but all about plants with tall flower spikes such as delphiniums and hollyhocks. The evening was very busy as we were also arranging two outings and our Summer Event.
The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Wendy with a red peony.

Re-thinking your Garden

We were pleased to welcome back Andrew Sankey to speak to us at our April meeting on Thursday 19th. It was a particularly wet and windy evening but that did not deter people. Indeed we had a very good turnout, including three new members. Andrew was entertaining and informative, giving us all plenty of ideas for our gardens. He also brought plants for us to buy. A number of people also bought booklets that he has written, one of which was about planting 'companion plants'.

The Flower of the Month competition was won by Fien, with a tulip.

Soft Fruit Growing

We were pleased to welcome back Trevor Rogers, as our speaker, for our March meeting on Thursday 15th.The talk was entitled "Soft Fruit Growing" and Trevor gave us a very informative and enjoyable presentation. He discussed all types of fruit, from apples and plums to raspberries and strawberries. We were given guidance on pruning, spacing and feeding as well as positioning and watering. Those of us who wanted more information were able to buy a booklet, written by Trevor.
Our club gained two more members that evening. The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Pat Blackburn with some white hellebores.

Iron in the Blood

Our speaker for our February meeting, on the evening of Thursday 16th, was Bob Oakes, who is a blacksmith at Cold Hanworth Forge. We were interested to hear about how his work had developed and the people who he had worked with. He showed us photographs of work that had been commissioned by English Heritage, that had to be carried out in a correct historical manner.We were also shown photos of gates, screens and garden sculptures. Bob also brought along a garden sculpture for us to look at.
We were pleased to welcome two new members to the Club, that evening, and four visitors.
The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Kathleen, with some snowdrops.

Visit to Anglesey Abbey

 

The first Garden Club joint outing of 2012 was to Anglesey Abbey and Gardens and took place on Feb 13th.  Despite the snowy conditions members and friends were delighted to see so many Snowdrops (and 'drops of snow' - pun intended) and Winter Aconites on show.. The snow covered landscape had a particular beauty with the Winter Walk looking very picturesque against the white backdrop. The new nature trail, principally for younger visitors, nonetheless proved fascinating for all ages. It was a very enjoyable day and everyone returned home well contented.

Report and photographs by Terry Hill

Foraging

We were pleased to welcome Alan Bycraft as our speaker, on the evening of Thursday 19th January. Alan stepped in, at short notice, because of the sad death of David Hopkins, who had been booked for the evening. A good number of our club members turned out  on a cold, wet night and were entertained and informed by Alan, who is enthusiastic about the subject of foraging. He told us about the plants, fruits and vegetables that he collects and how he preserves them. We were treated to samples of dried fruits and vegetables, such as pears and carrots. Alan also offered us samples of elderberry wine and apple and crab-apple juice.

The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Fien, with a white hellebore.