Edington Garden Club

Edington & District Gardening Club Annual Flower & Produce Show will take place at 2:30pm on Saturday 6th September in the Parish Hall. There are categories for everyone to try their hand at: Flowers, Fruit, Veg, Cakes, Handicrafts, Art or Photography. Details can be found at: Poster, Village Shield Competition, Schedule & Entry Form. More information can be found here.

Summer Outings 2025 Report:

We were lucky, 13 of us, with the weather! We had a visit to Cortington Manor, which is one of the gardens open for charity under the National Garden Scheme. We were shown around the garden by the owner, Simon Berry. A beautiful garden of 4 acres, built up over the years from being stables and yards to a wonderful peaceful haven. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening which was finished off with a glass of bubbly, and nibbles, served to us by Simon’s wife. Well worth a visit.

For our afternoon visit to Forest Lodge, Somerset, we were not deterred by the rain, and we were warmly welcomed by Lucy Newman, the owner, armed with brollies we were shown around this beautiful garden. There was no garden at all when the owners took over the property in 1996. Starting with a blank canvass, all the hard landscaping was done around the house first, with paving and steps and pond all with curved features, and circular lawns. The sloping vista took the eye down to large pond below. Being in a valley it was very sheltered. This green sand site gave plenty of scope for an abundance of flowers (all year round) and there were many specialist trees and shrubs. The sheltered vegetable area and greenhouse at the side of the house, again with lots of pots of flowers everywhere acting as pollinators, was wonderful. The rain stopped before the end of the tour, which was followed by tea and cake.

On a beautifully sunny evening the wonderful views down across to Wells Abbey at Milton Lodge made this very memorable. Simon Tudway Quilter, whose family have been on the estate since the 11^th century, introduced us to the history of the property and then David the gardener, who has been head gardener there for the past 28 years, showed us around the beautiful, well stocked garden. His knowledge of the plants and trees was exemplary. Simon’s great grandfather relocated the family home further up the hill from the original large family mansion, in about 1900. We finished the evening with tea and cakes and of course a few plants were purchased! Milton Lodge has been in the NGS garden scheme for 60 years. It is open under this scheme 3 times a year, so do pay a visit if you can, it is well worth it.

Simpson Seeds at Keepers Yard, Horningsham finished off our summer trips. Matt Simpson moved to his new site in 2023, and work is still in progress, 2 polytunnels and several greenhouses housed a variety of tomatoes and chillies amongst other things. He showed us the hydroponic systems in use and then we had a tomato tasting session, of at least a dozen varieties, all very tasty! Matt sells his seeds and plants by mail order but is also open at certain times. He attends the various Chillie festivals, including Westbury, and has a variety of bottled chilli sauces, some very hot!  He is very well respected in his field.

Jacky

8th May 2025 AGM Report:

Two new members joined us for the AGM and meeting. We welcome Shelagh and Donna, we hope you enjoy our meetings. There were no pertinent items to be brought up by members for the AGM, so the meeting quickly dealt with the items on the agenda. The Treasurers report and the existing committee members were all approved, and a report of the past year was read out. Thanks were given to the hardworking committee and the members who are always willing to help. Roses of Devizes and Bratton Plant Centre were also thanked for their support, and Lisa Parmley was thanked for sponsoring the village tubs for her 3^rd year. A special thanks go to the Village Squad for helping with the damaged village box and to those who plant them up.

Jacky

May 2025 Meeting Report:

Charlotte Howard – Capability Charlotte Gardens gave us a fascinating insight into her move from retail and sales into garden design! Following a very mixed and eccentric life she entered Lackham as a Mature student, especially enjoying the garden design module. Her first Show Garden was at the Bath & West in 2005, which won a gold medal! Charlotte completed a RHS Master’s degree in 2016-2019. The main essence of garden design has 5 areas of interest – People, Space, Garden elements, Plants, and Sense of place. Charlotte then went on to explain each of these areas in more detail. The talk finished with a case study of one of her clients.

Jacky

April 2025 Meeting Report:

The 3rd April meeting welcomed Marcel Floyd A Specialist in Clematis and Climbing Plants since 1992.

Marcel commenced with an open forum followed by a slide show. He first fell ‘in love’ with clematis at the 1984 Chelsea Flower Show when he was 17 / 18! By the end of that year he had between 80 and 90 growing in his parents’ garden. First clematis in the UK was in the 1500s! They are divided into 3 main groups:

Group 1: Spring flowering. These only require pruning to keep them in their allocated space. Prune after flowering.

Group 2: Repeat flowering. Prune at the end of February / early March.

Group 3: Autumn flowering. Chop off at the base at the end of February. If one chooses not to prune all the flowers will be at the very top of the plant.

If a condition called ‘slime flux’ affects clematis, clear it off as soon as possible. It is commonly pink in colour and as the name implies, slimy! Clematis should be planted in a hole 18” x 18” at least 18” from fence. Lean the support back to the fence. Fill the hold with water and wait until all drained away then part fill with a layer of compost and grit then water again. Once planted surround with a good layer of grit to provide shade. Plants in green sand will require frequent feeding. If planting in clay soil, dig as big a hole as possible and part fill with several layers of compost and grit.

Feed plants with a good quality feed or Tomorite once per fortnight and there is no need to deadhead.

Containers: if planting in containers aim to use Fibre clay or terracotta frost free pots. Use plenty of crocks, John Innes 3 compost, add some Fish, Blood and Bone Meal and grit. Feed once a week.

Growing up Trees: always plant on the North side ie: away from the sun. Cut the end of a plastic water bottle and sink by the roots of the plant to ensure the clematis receives the water and to prevent the host tree taking the water! The Viticella group of plants are good for this type of growing.

Problems: Mildew, often caused by dryness at the base. Spray with diluted semi-skimmed milk!

Wilt, when the whole plant collapses, cut down completely for 2 – 3 years. If no success by 3rd year throw onto the compost heap. You never know you may end up with a very pretty compost heap just like my friend! It is acceptable to plant a new clematis where one has previously been grown.

Slugs and Snails, one remedy is to form a circle around the plant taking care not to go too near the main stem, with porridge oats, yes porridge oats!

Cuttings: take intermodal cuttings, place in a mix of 50% each of perlite and peat and place a plastic bag over the top.

The above was followed by a slide show of a large variety of clematis.

Jacky