Denton, Norfolk

Denton Gardening Club

Introduction

Denton Gardening Club normally meets on the 3rd Tuesday most months (though there are occasional exceptions). 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.

Chairman: Allan Henderson: 01986 788730, Email

Meetings

Between October and April meetings with guest speakers are held in the village hall. 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.

Winter Programme 2019/20

Tuesday, 15th October

George Gillespie, will talk about 'George’s Gorgeous Gardens'.
George has recently opened a Plant Shop at Earsham Hall, specialising in unusual plants and shrubs. He is also a landscape gardener and holistic garden designer. The subject for his talk is 'Understanding the Sentience of Plant Life'. He believes that plants have the capacity to feel.
He will be bringing along some plants for sale.
Tuesday, 19th November

Norfolk Wildlife Trust
Caroline Spinks works as a volunteer with the Trust. She has been involved with various projects. The title of her talk is 'Wildlife in Common'. This is a project tasked with re-engaging people with their local common, and also includes the recording of various species.
This meeting also includes a brief AGM and is the one when annual memberships are due.
Tuesday, 17th December
Christmas Social
We plan to continue with an informal format similar to last year.
Tuesday, 21st January

Our Speaker is Martyn Davey who is the Landbased Curriculum Manager at Easton College.
Currently, Martyn writes a weekly column for the EDP and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio Norfolk's 'Garden Party'.
He gives talks on many different subjects but tonight he will deliver a new talk on 'Edible Flowers and Herbs'.
Tuesday, 18th February

Jody Lidgard – Bespoke Outdoor Spaces
You may have read about Jody in the local Press. He is a local landscape consultant, who scooped a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show, for a special garden marking the centenary of education charity Montessori.
His talk is entitled 'Lifting the Veil on the Greatest Flower Show in the World'.
Tuesday, 17th March CANCELLED

Dr. Ian Bedford
We do not usually invite a speaker back quite so soon, but after his very enjoyable talk last year on Garden Bugs, we were inundated with requests to have him back. Ian manages the entomology team at the John Innes Centre.
His new talk is entitled 'Companion Planting for a Balanced Garden'.
Tuesday, 21st April

Jenni Baker
Jenni is based locally in Harleston. She will talk about Flower Arranging and Judging and will give a short flower arranging Demonstration (Three arrangements).
The arrangements will be raffled afterwards.

Summer Programme 2019

This is what happened last time!

Tuesday 21st May at 7.30 pm - Our first visit of the summer is to Gabriel’s Garden, 4 Common Road, Gissing, IP22 5UR.
This is a ‘cut flowers’ enterprise, where they grow, gather and arrange seasonal British flowers, wild flowers, grasses, herbs and foliage for gifts and special events.
Their flowers reflect the changing colours and scents of our seasons, from the first delicate notes of spring to the heady heights of summer through to the rich, vibrant colours of autumn.
There is a charge of £4 for this visit.
Tuesday 18th June at 7.00 pm - A visit to Glebe Farm Denton, IP20 0BB.

One of our founder members, Janet Skinner, has kindly offered to host our Club this evening.
Glebe Farm has a well-established garden that wraps around the farmhouse with borders, shrubbery and vegetable gardens, also including a wildlife pond.
You will no doubt be aware that the Church has organised a Denton Open Gardens event for Sunday 16th June and Janet’s garden is one of those which will be on show on that day.
However, it can be quite difficult and tiring to visit all the open gardens on one day and do them justice. May we therefore suggest that you savour Janet’s beautiful garden in a more leisurely fashion on Tuesday 18th.
Tuesday 16th July at 7.00 pm - Our July visit will see us visiting the gardens of two of our Alburgh members.
We will begin the evening at the home of Gill and Richard Gedge at Pied Bridge Cottage, Burntoak Lane, Alburgh, IP20 0DT.
Members can park at the top of the meadow (there will be a sign up) and see the trees planted in the last 8 years, walk down past the fruit trees and then into the vegetable garden with greenhouse and fruit cage.
The garden around the house is 'work in progress' but Gill and Richard do have a plan which will be available for people to see. The borders in front of the house will be planted up in March so by July there should be some early growth to see.

To continue our evening we will progress to Greenfields, Station Road, Alburgh, IP20 0BT the home of Maureen and Bernard Coe.
Parking will through the yard gate adjacent to the property and will be signed.
Greenfields’ garden is still in its infancy. Six years ago the gardens at the rear were nothing but large patches of nettles and brambles. Today the highlights of the garden are the views over the Waveney Valley and the vegetable patch.
There are some flower and shrub borders, a large greenhouse housing the more delicate vegetables and a net tunnel to keep off the pigeons and pests.
Over 700 native hedging have been planted over the last three years, the intention is to let some grow to full maturity thereby enhancing the area for the many birds which can be seen in the garden.
The summer house is the focal point where many summer evenings are enjoyed. It is a lovely place to relax after a hard day’s work in the garden and to enjoy refreshments at the end of our evening.
Tuesday 20th August at 7.30 pm - Ditchingham Hall Gardens, NR35 2JX.
The Hall Gardens are occasionally open to the public and indeed some of you may have had the good fortune to have visited them in the past.
As they have very kindly agreed to open their garden for a private visit, in order to make it worth their while, we have decided to extend the visit to our wider Denton community.
This magnificent garden consists of an old two-acre walled garden with colour-themed borders, a rose garden and a pergola. There is also a woodland garden, an arboretum of rare and interesting trees and a parterre.
Please feel free to invite friends who are not members of Gardening Club
We assume members are happy to make their own way to our summer meetings and will arrange to car share with others. If you have any questions or need a lift please telephone:
- Allan Henderson 01986 788730
- Andrea Fitzgerald 01986 788766
- Adele Godsmark 01986 788352
Saturday 7th September - Open Show
Denton Gardening Club’s 2019 Open September Show was held at Denton Village Hall. As always, this was our September fixture.
Further details can be found on the Show Page.

RESULTS The results from this and previous shows are available on the Show History Page.

Seed Buying

Every year the Club organises a bulk-buying scheme for seed purchases and obtains a substantial discount on most prices.
Catalogues are provided for members who pass their individual orders, by the deadline - normally the end of November, to the scheme organiser, John Chapman.
The seeds etc. are then delivered to John and distributed to members early in the New Year.
The company involved, Fothergills of Suffolk, add a delivery charge to each individual order so for small quantities it may be worth members combining their orders.

For further details contact John Chapman: 01986 788955 - Email.