Springfields Gardens

We were pleased to welcome Andy Boyton, Head Gardener of Springfields Gardens, as speaker at our November meeting on Thursday 19th. Andy told us some of the history of the gardens, including how a lot of the land had been compulsorily purchased for the building of the by-pass road. The gardens are run as a charity and are funded by the car-parking charge and by a levy from the shops and other businesses there. We were told about the considerable number of bulbs, particularly daffodils and tulips, that are planted each year to give such stunning displays.
The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Tony with a red penstemon.

AGM 2015

Bicker & District Garden Club held their 2015 Annual General Meeting on the evening of Thursday 15th October. It was a well attended meeting and all four officers were re-elected unopposed. After the oficial business there was a presentation by Sally Grant about the National Gardens Scheme.

Peonies:Origins and Cultivation

We were pleased to welcome Jo Bennison of Bennison Peonies for our September meeting on the 17th. Jo specialises in peonies. She gave us a very interesting talk about the places in the world  where peonies grow wild and how these plants have been developed by plant breeders over the years. Jo gave us plenty of information about growing peonies in our own gardens, including their preferred positions. She suggested that it is possible, with the right varieties, to have peonies flowering for about eight weeks continuously.
The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Kathleen B. with a begonia - from one of the begonia plants given to members of the club by David Staines in June.

Annual Flower and Produce Show

We held our annual Flower and Produce Show on Thursday 20th August. The event was well attended and there were a good number of entries in each of the categories. There were six vegetable categories and four flower categories. We also had two cake categories as well as sweet and savoury preserves. Members are encouraged to taste the cakes and preserves. The judging process is entirely democratic and is done by the members of the club. We had a very enjoyable evening.
We were also pleased to welcome three new members : Mick, Kathleen and Di.

SP Falconry

There was a change to our usual programme for our July meeting. Peter arranged for Shane Pearson, of SP Falconry, to bring a number of his birds. Shane is completely dedicated to the welfare of his birds and his mutually trusting relationship with them is lovely to see. Shane brought an eagle owl, a white barn owl, a little owl, a tawny owl and a Harris Hawk. The audience were able to view the birds close up, and in some cases, to stroke their feathers. Shane flew the Harris Hawk from one end of the village hall to the other. It was a very enjoyable evening.
The Flower of the Month competition was won by Carl with a hydrangea.

Begonias

Our speaker for June should have been John Taylor. Unfortunately John is no longer well enough to give talks. David Staines stepped in and gave us an illustrated talk about the cultivation of begonias. David is an ex-member of the National Begonia Society East Anglian Area. His talk was informative and entertaining and he brought us free samples of begonias that he had grown from seed. David grows begonias to show and told us that this year's  area show will be at Baytree Garden Centre on August 8th and 9th.
We had a large number of attractive entries for the Flower of the Month Competition. The winner was Carl with a mauve delphinium.

Colour in the Garden

Andrew Sankey made a welcome return to the club for our May meeting on the 21st. The subject of Andrew's talk was "Colour in the Garden". He told us about how fashions and tastes have changed since the days of the great landscape architects when the only colour was green - the green of grass and trees. Then the Victorians loved to use bright colours in their gardens. Andrew suggested ways of having colour in parts of our gardens at different times of year. He also suggested which plants would go well together in groups and illustrated his ideas with slides at the end of his talk.
The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Carl with some wisteria.

Gravel Gardening

Public domain photo

Our speaker for our April meeting, on Thursday 16th, was Ken Rawson. Ken is a garden designer who lives near Stamford. He gave us a very interesting and entertaining talk which he illustrated with "before" and "after" photos of various projects he had undertaken for clients. He told us about the effects that he tries to achieve and the types of planting that help with this. Ken also brought plants for the members to buy.
We again  had a good attendance and also welcomed another new member - Tricia - who has recently moved to Bicker.
The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Carl with a camellia.

Victorian Violas

Rob Chapman, of Victorian Violas in Lincoln, which he runs with his wife, Sue, was our speaker for our March meeting. They brought a wide selection of violas, which they had grown, and which were for sale. Rob is a Chelsea medal winner and has bred new varieties of violas. He gave us a short history of the cultivation of violas, illustrating his talk with various examples that he had brought. Rob also explained the procedures for growing violas, including recommended potting composts, planting positions and dead-heading.
We again had a very good turnout of members. The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Chris with a grape hyacinth.

Organic Fruit & Vegetables : Myth or Reality?

Our February meeting saw the welcome return of one of our most popular speakers - Trevor Rogers. We had a very interesting and entertaining talk about fruit and vegetable growing. Trevor told us about the best ways to obtain successful results. He discussed choosing the best varieties of fruit trees and bushes, taking into account our growing conditions. Trevor also stressed that choosing varieties of vegetable seed was critical for achieving good results. He explained the differences between organic and non-organic gardening and told us about his gardening practices.Trevor illustrated his talk with photographs, particularly ones of a garden that he had started from scratch.
We again had a good turnout and also welcomed Eileen, a new member who lives in Donington.
The Flower of the Month Competition was won by Pauline with some Garrya Elliptica.

Sir Joseph Banks

Bicker and District Garden Club held their first meeting of 2015 on 15th January. We had a very good attendance for an interesting and entertaining talk given by one of our members - Michael Teasdale. The subject of the talk was Sir Joseph Banks, who was born in London but whose family home was in Lincolnshire, at Revesby Abbey. Banks had a great influence on the study and classification of plants. He went on Captain Cook's first voyage of exploration. Banks was a founder member of the Royal Horticultural Society and was instrumental in the founding of Kew Gardens. Banks is much better known in Australia, where Michael was born, than in this country.
We were pleased to welcome three new members - Rebecca, Kate and Pat. The Flower of the Month competition was won by Carl with two snowdrops.

2015 Programme

All meetings are at 7:30pm at Bicker Village Hall

January 15th
"Sir Joseph Banks"   Michael Teasdale

February 19th
"Organic Fruit and Vegetables : Myth or Reality?"    Trevor Rogers

March 19th
"Victorian Violas"   Rob Chapman

April 16th
"The Gravel Garden"   Ken Rawson

May 21st
"Colour in the Garden"   Andrew Sankey

June 18th
"Begonias"   John Taylor

July 16th
Members' Evening

August 20th
Flower and Produce Show

September 17th
"Peonies : Origins and Cultivation"   Jo Bennison

October 15th
AGM  plus  "National Gardens Scheme"   Sally Grant

November 19th
"Springfield Gardens"   Andy Boynton, Head Gardener

December17th
Christmas Party

Additional outings and events - to be arranged

Christmas and New Year Greetings!

We held our Christmas Party on Thursday 18th December. Over thirty members attended and it was a very enjoyable evening. Tony had compiled a Christmas quiz for us and the raffle raised well over £40 for our funds.