Denton, Norfolk

Denton Gardening Club

Introduction

Denton Gardening Club normally meets on the 3rd Tuesday most months (though there are occasional exceptions, like the month of the Annual Show). Between October and April meetings with guest speakers are held in the village hall and in the summer meetings include evening outings locally, perhaps a visit to a garden or nursery, as well as meetings in our own members' gardens.

We also hold an Annual Show, summer outings, plant sales and other events. New members are most welcome so do come along and join us. Details of the current programme appear below.

Contact: Adele Godsmark: 01986 788352, Email

Information about the history of the Club appear on the Club History Page.

Meetings

Between October and April meetings with guest speakers are held in the Village Hall, starting at 7.30 pm. Previous meetings have been on subjects such as Garden Design, Perennials, Orchids and Container Gardening. Whatever you are interested in, there will be something for you!

The summer schedule includes evening outings locally, perhaps a visit to a garden or nursery, as well as meetings in our own members' gardens.

Club Programmes 2025/26

Autumn-Winter Programme 2025/6

NB - No meeting in September.

October 21st Pelargoniums Explained by Ken Abel.

This will be an opportunity to revisit a popular and reliable garden favourite - Pelargoniums.
Ken has been growing Pelargoniums since the 1990's and in 1999 began exhibiting at the two national society shows, winning "Best In Show" as a novice at both.
He went on to win 16 National Titles and over 70 "Best In Show" at affiliated societies. Since which time he has become known as PelarKen.
Since 2014 He has been writing articles as the Pelargonium Expert for The Garden News.
His talk will be titled "Pelargoniums Explained" which will cover all the groups that make up this genus, such as Species, Regals and Angels. There will be lots of helpful growing tips along the way, including how to take cuttings.

November 18th An A-Z of Bulbs by Johnny Walkers.

You could say that with two Dutch parents Johnny Walkers has bulbs in his blood.
After 2 years at Horticultural College and 2 years working with his father, Johnny went to work for a Bulb Co-operative as Quality and Technical Manager. This involved advising 100 growers stretching from Yorkshire down to Cornwall on bulb growing techniques, pest and disease control, and quality control.
In 1986 Johnny set up a mail order company specialising in new and unusual daffodils and started exhibiting at Chelsea and Harrogate flower show. In 1992 he sold the company to Taylors Bulbs but continued to run the company.
By the time Johnny retired in 2019 he had amassed 29 Chelsea Gold Medals (25 in succession) and 34 Harrogate Gold plus 3 Best in Shows.
Johnny’s talk, The A-Z of Bulbs, will cover a range of bulbs from Anemones to Zantedeschia and will cover everything you want to know about planting, post flowering care and suitable sites.
He will bring bulbs for sale.

December 16th Christmas Social Evening.

Details to be confirmed.

January 20th The Story of a Chelsea Garden - Jane Bastow.

Lots of us visited Jane’s garden in St James in May 2024 to discover that Jane had been part of a Chelsea Gold Medal winning team.
Her talk for us is “The Story Behind a Chelsea Garden”. Jane and her fellow gardeners didn't ever imagine they would get a medal of any colour and seeing people’s reaction to it is always amusing, because although she puts the medal on a display table with a few other bits and pieces on her garden open days people don't seem to take on board what it is!!
Jane grew up with parents and other relatives who enjoyed gardening, but it wasn't until she left home that she caught the bug.
It was a good antidote to a stressful job, but it wasn't until she lost her husband and needed something to fill her time that she undertook training in it by first going to Otley College (one of her tutors being Matt Tanton-Brown) and then to Easton college and loved it. That then opened the door to all the other things she now does.

February 17th Propagation by Luci Skinner.

Luci has been a speaker for us before, when she was previously involved in Woottens Nursery at Wenhaston.
This time her visit will take us through the subject of propagation, hopefully encouraging us to increase our plant stock by our own efforts rather than by a trip to the nursery.
Luci will be looking at basic propagation methods including types of cuttings, division and seed. She will discuss the best time of year to propagate a variety of plants and how to prepare plants to ensure success.
Where feasible she hopes to include some small demonstrations throughout the presentation.

March 17th Magical Houseplants – Holly White.

Holly, a direct descendant of the Spider and Rubber plant generation but also a qualified horticulturist has found her love of plants move indoors particularly post Covid, where social media helped fuel the first real houseplant boom since the Victorian era.
This helped introduce a whole new catalogue of tropical and sub-tropical plants to the nation that we could, for the first time, affordably keep in our homes. However, whilst the choice has never been greater, we have seen little change in the care advice, espoused by Dr Hessayon, over 40 years ago.
Holly will be exploring the origin of our houseplants in order to give the best care advice possible, addressing the fears and concerns she comes across both in the online shop she owns and runs, and at the Plant Fairs she attends.

April 21st Wildflowers of the Norfolk Coast – Simon Harrap.

The Norfolk Coast is one of the last unspoilt wildernesses in Britain. The beach, dunes, shingle ridge, salt marsh and soft, easily eroded cliffs are all the product of natural processes, demonstrating the power of wind and wave.
The coast is home to a wealth of wild flowers, some are widespread, but many are specialists that have adapted over time to cope with a harsh environment, and quite a few are only found on the coast.
Simon has been searching out wild flowers for many years and has written several books, including his photographic field guide, Harrap’s Wild Flowers, and Flowers of the Norfolk Coast, now in its second edition.
He also manages, together with his wife Anne, ‘Natural Surroundings’, gardens and a small nursery situated on the Bayfield Estate near Holt and just a couple of miles from the coast, with a wide variety of hardy plants set in wildlife-friendly gardens.

Our summer programme begins in May where we visit local gardens. Details to follow.

Summer Programme 2025

All summer meetings are held on the third Tuesday of the month. See timings below for each meeting. Please try to car share where possible and park considerately to neighbours. As always wear footwear suitable for uneven ground!

Tuesday May 20th.
A visit to Flint Vineyard, 7pm
No charge.
Flint Vineyard, Camphill Farm, Earsham, NR35 2AH.
We begin our summer programme with a tour of Flint Vineyard. Established in 2016 the winemaker Ben Witchell has kindly agreed to show us around.
With 35,000+ vines, a cutting-edge winery, and a reputation for making some of the UK’s most exciting wines, Flint is firmly on the map.
Our visit will come at an exciting time with more recent vines planted and exciting plans for the future.
We will wander amongst the vines to gain a better understanding of how they are managed and then get a chance to see where the magic of wine making happens in the recently expanded winery. We will have the chance to taste some wine and you can buy a glass later if you feel like it.
Park in the car park below the farm where we will assemble to meet Ben.

Tuesday June 17th.
A private visit to Squires Barn, St Cross, 6.45pm
Cost £6.00 per person to include home-made refreshments. (This will be subsidised £1 per member by the club).
Squires Barn, St Cross South Elmham, Harleston, IP20 0PA (Directions to follow).
Parking in front of the house so please car share and park as directed in front of the house.
Stephen and Ann Mulligan open their garden for the National Garden Scheme and have kindly invited us to visit.
Developed from a small garden and paddock over the last 13 years this 3 acre garden is full of interest.
There is imaginative mixed planting for interest all year round. There are 2 ponds – one ornamental and one more natural as well as thoughtfully planted island beds with stands of interesting trees.
The current owners have spent the past few years turning a paddock into a garden with many differing aspects. On slightly sloping ground there are views around the garden and across the surrounding countryside. Mixed beds have been created with shrubs and herbaceous planting, whilst trees and spring bulbs have been planted throughout to encourage the visitor to wander at leisure, providing interest across the seasons. Seating throughout the garden encourages the visitor to view the garden from different angles. An existing orchard and raised vegetable beds and fruit cage provide crops throughout the year.
A large ornamental pond with waterfall features water lilies and fish with mixed planting edges. A wildflower mound has been created in one corner of the garden.
An existing horse pond features some native planting and mature ash trees but does dry out in recent years.
During 2022 a swimming pool was installed with grassed surround and potted shrubs.

Tuesday July 15th.
A visit to Bungay.
47 Beccles Road, Bungay NR35 1HT. Time to be notified.
Cost – donations to a charity of the Warnes' choice.
John and Betty Warnes have been keen gardeners for many years. They have kindly invited us to visit their garden which is at its best mid to late summer.
There is a courtyard garden with containers as well as flowerbeds plus another lawned area, with trees and more beds overlooking the Waveney marshes.
We may go on to visit another garden, to be confirmed nearer the date.

Tuesday August 19th. Meet at 7pm. A private visit to The Southwold Flower Company just off the Wangford Rd (B1126) in Reydon, Southwold. For sat-nav use IP18 6SJ.
Cost - £7.00 per person to include a small bunch of cut your own flowers. (This will be subsidised £1 per member by the club).
The Southwold Flower Company began life in March 2013, working out of a small second-hand greenhouse in Cratfield.
As demand for their blooms grew they expanded and were soon using the full one-acre site to grow their flowers.
After four years they moved to their current location in Reydon, where their new home has allowed them to expand the farm to four acres.
With an emphasis on seasonal blooms they operate a pick your own bouquet service where you can enjoy the whole experience of being surrounded by beautiful scented blooms in the Suffolk countryside.
They supply fresh flowers for delivery and dried flowers. The farm is also hosts workshops.

The Annual Show

An Annual Open Show is held either in July or, more commonly, at the beginning of September, or even at the end of August!

The 2025 Show was held on Saturday 30th August
Full details, the entry form etc. can be seen on the Show Page.

Details of this year's winners and those from previous Shows appear on the Show History Page.

Christmas Tree Competition 22

Following on last year's triumph, the Club again decided to enter a tree in the Alburgh competition.
There were more entries this year, including one from the Art Group, but the Club won again -

The tree was then proudly displayed at the Club's very successful Christmas Social Event on December 29th.

Christmas Tree Competition 21

A group of Club members joined together to create an entry in the 2021 Alburgh Church Christmas Tree Festival. To their great delight, following a poll of those attending, they were rewarded with First Prize.
The pictures below, thanks to Peter Wiltshire, show:
The winning entry -

The trophy and certificate -

And the plaque on the trophy -