TROWEL & ERROR

MINUTES OF MEETINGS 2017/2018

Minutes 2016/2017

25th Sep 2017

23rd Oct 2017

27th Nov 2017

26th Feb 2018

26th Mar 2018

23rd April 2018

24th Sep 2018

22nd Oct 2018

26th Nov 2018

Meeting at 8.00pm on 26th November 2018 in The Methodist Hall. Minutes of meeting. Liz announced that the Christmas Social – Skittles at The Beaufort Arms on 17th December – will be free to members and will include sandwiches and chips. Our speaker was Alison Barnes who regaled us with the fascinating story of The History and Practice of Botanical Art. The meeting was well attended and all were sad that this will be the end of an enjoyable club.

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Meeting at 8.00pm on 22nd October 2018 in The Methodist Hall. Minutes of meeting. Liz announced that the Christmas Social – Skittles at The Beaufort Arms on 17th December – will be free to members and will include sandwiches and chips. Our speaker was Katherine Kear who described how what we now look upon as Christmas came about. After the speaker had finished there was a discussion about how to dispose of residual funds once the club is dissolved after the Christmas Social. It is expected that there will be £1000.00+ in assets and the AGM on 24th September 2018 proposed the following :- 1. Bench, with a plaque, to be possibly sited at the Skate Park. 2. Retain the money in case the club was to be reformed. 3. Give it to a charity. 4. Free trip. 5. Purchase some trees. At the committee meeting on 15th October it was agreed that proposal no. 1 was the best option but it was suggested that the bench would be better placed in the cemetery at St Marys church. If there is enough money to buy 2 seats then the 2nd one could be put in the Recreation grounds but the Parish Hall committee and the Parish Council will need to be consulted. Any monies remaining will be given to PROPS through Mark Steeds, landlord of The Beaufort Arms. The members decided that that the committee’s proposal for a bench in the cemetery at St Marys church (complete with a plaque noting our donation) was acceptable. However, the meeting felt that putting a bench in the Rec could be problematic – grass cutting, show marquee, vandalism etc. - and suggested that it would be better for the Parish Hall committee to be able to use the money as they saw fit provided that it was used for a specific purpose e.g. new water boiler, rather than for general funding. Money remaining after purchase of the bench to be divided :- • 2/3 for the Parish Hall. • 1/3 for PROPS. The committee agreed to stay in place to carry out the above tasks and will report to the members once everything is completed – probably in the New Year.

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AGM at 8.00pm on 24th September 2018 in The Methodist Hall. Minutes of meeting. Apologies came from Liz Howard, Terry Truebody and Lin Robinson. Members were welcomed by Pat Sherry. An outline for the evening was given. With Terry absent Carol Blaken was appointed “minute taker”. Alan Hemingway then read out The Chair’s report from Liz Howard. This will be attached. She is happy to stay on the committee, but as she intends to travel quite a bit next year she would not be standing as Chair. Alan then read out the secretary’s report. This will be attached. Terry would not be staying on the committee. Thanks were given to Lucy K. for arranging the trips. Also thanks were given to “Kemps Plants” for supplying plants for the Gardening club’s plant sale. Alan then gave his report. This will be attached. As the Chair and Secretary are “stepping down” from the committee and as no new members have come forward the future of the Gardening Club was then discussed. The club will continue in its present form until December. Speakers have been booked for October and November. Membership fees will be waived until a decision has been reached. During a committee meeting two options were discussed: 1. To continue the Gardening club in a reduced form (e.g. fewer speakers - say March, April and September - and paying to attend rather than an annual subscription and continue with trips and plant sale) but ONLY if we can have at least 3 people willing to organize finances, speakers, trips and plant sale. 2. Dissolve the Gardening Club. This would entail, as per the constitution, agreement by at least half the membership to do this. A committee would be set up (the present committee probably) to oversee the disposal of the club’s assets. Members would be asked to give a clear indication as to the use of the assets. At the committee meeting the present committee agreed that unless 3 or 4 new people willing to take on this role (chair, secretary, treasurer, speaker organizer and trip organizer) the club cannot continue and should be dissolved. A discussion then took place. Four members (Liz Howard, Lin Robinson, Di Deacon and Alan Hemingway) would be willing to remain on the committee but as no new people were willing to join them Alan proposed that due to long term lack of support a vote on the 2 proposals was taken. This was able to take place as there were just enough people for this to be done. After considering both proposals the vote went to disband the Gardening Club. There followed a discussion on how to dispose of the assets which after covering the estimated future expenditure, which could be approximately £1000.00. 1. Bench, with a plaque, to be possibly sited at the Skate Park, Alan & Liz Hemingway to look into this i.e. Quotes. 2. Retain the money in case the club was to be reformed. 3. Give it to a charity. 4. Free trip. 5. Purchase some trees. It was suggested to email members to get any feed- back from those who had not attended the meeting. It was suggested that it could be brought up for discussion at the October meeting. General Club Business: 1. Hawkesbury Show: with 6 entries, Pat Sherry being successful. 2. Christmas Social: Date booked as Monday 17th December @ The Beaufort Skittle Alley. The Gardening Club to pay for the food. 3. October speaker: Katherine Kear “A Victorian Christmas”. This will be an illustrated visit to the sentimentality of Christmas past—carols, cards, crackers and of course Father Christmas (according to her web page).

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Meeting at 8.00pm on 23rd April 2018 in The Methodist Hall. Minutes of meeting. Plant Sale on Saturday 12th May. Members were reminded to prepare stuff for sale and to notify anyone they may know about hiring a table. Also to make and donate cakes for refreshments. GFGS AGM at Kiftsgate at 2.00pm on Thursday 17th May 2018. Any member interested in going should inform the secretary by phone or email. 2018 Trips. • Dyffren on Saturday 16th June 2018 – cancelled. We may possibly do an ‘Open Gardens’ evening on Monday   25th June, which would have been our normal club meeting date. • Miserden near Stroud – Sunday 8thJuly – Leave HU at 1.45pm, Arrive there at 2.30pm. Group cost = £7.50pp. • Trench Hill, Sheepscombe. – Monday 23rd July – Leave HU at 5.15pm, Arrive there at 6.00pm. Group cost = £4.00pp. Tea/coffee and cake £2.50. Our speaker for the evening was Ian McGuire from WildOwl who gave a very amusing and informative talk about Attracting Wildlife to Your Garden. Ian lives on the Ridge estate in Yate and is well known in this area as ‘The Owl Man’. He has turned his back garden into a veritable safari park for British wildlife. He documents his work on his website - wildowl.co.uk, on Facebook - facebook.com/wildowltv and on his YouTube channel - youtube.com/user/WildOwlTV. Have a look. They are good.

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Meeting at 8.00pm on 26th March 2018 in The Methodist Hall. Minutes of meeting. Plant Sale on Saturday 12th May. Members were reminded to prepare stuff for sale and to notify anyone they may know about hiring a table. GFGS AGM at Kiftsgate at 2.00pm on Thursday 17th May 2018. Any member interested in going should inform the secretary at the April meeting 2018 Trips. Lucy outlined the trips and asked members to indicate on the lists whether they intend to come. • Dyffren on Saturday 16th June 2018. Coach = £13 for members and £15 for non-members. Entry fee to Dyffren is free for NT & RHS members, £9 if not NT or RHS. • Miserden near Stroud – Sunday 8thJuly – Leave HU at 1.45pm, Arrive there at 2.30pm. Group cost = £7.50pp. • Trench Hill, Sheepscombe. – Monday 23rd July – Leave HU at 5.15pm, Arrive there at 6.00pm. Group cost = £4.00pp. Tea/coffee and cake £2.50. Lucy gave a heartfelt farewell from the club and from Hawkesbury Upton because this was her last meeting as she and Andrew will soon be moving to Cornwall. Our speaker for the evening was Paul Green from Green’s Leaves Nursery near Newent who gave a very amusing talk about Rare and Unusual Plants. Paul, like our previous speaker Jon Mason, recommends giving plants a good hacking after flowering – even perennials – which will result in a new flush of foliage and often a second bloom. (This is the way! Just do it!) Paul brought along a large selection of dark, twisted, spikey plants which, he said, were his favourites, and which his wife reckons says a lot about him. When asked to choose between Phormiums and Cordylines he would always opt for Phormiums because they are interesting all the way from ground to tip, whereas Cordylines always have bare bottoms - and bare bottoms are not a good thing in a garden. Ooo! Matron! He markets Agave and other spikey plants as ‘good with grandchildren’ because they, the plants, can fight back. Plants that are good for hedging – winter flowering (or Sweetest) honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) and Silver hedgehog holly (Ilex aquifolium 'Ferox Argentea'). Again, hack it all back to make it bush out and form an impenetrable barrier. Another good speaker whom it would be nice to have back.

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Meeting at 8.00pm on  26th February 2018 in The Methodist Hall. Minutes of meeting. 2018 Trips. Lucy outlined the trips and asked members to indicate on the lists whether they intend to come. • Dyffren on Saturday 16th June 2018. Coach = £13 for members and £15 for non-members. Entry fee to Dyffren is free for NT & RHS members, £9 if not NT or RHS. • Miserden near Stroud – Sunday 8thJuly – Leave HU at 1.45pm, Arrive there at 2.30pm. Group cost = £7.50pp. • Trench Hill, Sheepscombe. – Monday 23rd July – Leave HU at 5.15pm, Arrive there at 6.00pm. Group cost = £4.00pp. Tea/coffee and cake £2.50. Treasurer Update – Alan Hemingway is happy to take over from Lucy. GFGS 100 year Celebration at the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester at 2.00pm on Saturday 22nd September 2018. Any member interested in going should inform the secretary. Our speaker for the evening was John Mason from Highfield Garden World who taught us all about Pruning. John first outlined how garden centres have changed since the Highfield Centre was first set up. It is clear that today few people are actually gardeners in the classic sense – they are now mostly shoppers who happen to buy a plant now and then. They have, for instance, no idea what a bare-rooted plant is – everything must come in a pot. Even then nothing is fool-proof. One customer complained that a pot of raspberry canes he had bought weren’t growing many months after being planted. John told him to bring them back, which he did. There were 10 canes in the pot and they were still tied together in a bundle just as the guy had bought them. I’m saying nothing! Furthermore, hardly anyone one gardens for 12 months of the year anymore, hence the need to provide shopping and eating and quaffing facilities at garden centres in order to keep the business alive. Johns approach to pruning is very refreshing, particularly when compared to the kind of dross we are bombarded with by TV ‘experts’. Simply put - prune like the grim reaper. Cut it short. Sometimes even down to ground level. Show no mercy. The plant will love it. If it flowers in the Spring then prune after the flowers are finished. If it flowers in the Summer then prune in the Spring. Some plants can take any treatment but if you manage to prune a Euonymus to death then it’s time to give up gardening altogether. There are exceptions of course e.g. do not prune box until after Derby Day. Let it grow strongly until then. Just like Granny told you.

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Meeting at 8.00pm on  27th November 2017 in The Methodist Hall. Minutes of meeting. Christmas social is on Monday 18th December at The Beaufort Arms. 2017 Plant Sale is on 12th May 2017 which will avoid the Badminton Horse Trials. 2018 Trips – Lucy asked members to indicate their preferences between Wisley, Hidcote Park and Dyffren. Our speaker for the evening was Nathalie Mignotte who gave a very interesting talk entitled Islamic Gardens during which she described the meaning and symbolism of the various aspects of the structure and colour of Islamic gardens.

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Meeting at 8.00pm on  23rd October 2017 in The Methodist Hall. Minutes of meeting. Christmas social is on Monday 18th December at The Beaufort Arms. 2017 Plant Sale is on 12th May 2017 which will avoid the Badminton Horse Trials. 2018 Trips – Lucy asked members to indicate their preferences between Wisley, Hidcote Park and Dyffren. Future of the Gardening Club – Liz mentioned that most committee members have been in office since the club began in 2008 and many feel that it is time to step down. This does not mean that the club is in danger of folding but that we need to find new committee members and/or a different way of operating. Our speaker for the evening was Brian Skeys who gave a very interesting talk entitled Inspirational Gardens of East Anglia during which he described various gardens in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk including Houghton Hall, Bressingham, Hyde Hall, East Ruston and Beth Chatto’s gardens.

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Meeting at 8.00pm on  25th September 2017 in The Methodist Hall. Minutes of meeting. AGM. The committee was re-elected en-masse for another year. Main duties will be:- • Chair - Liz Howard • Secretary – Terry Truebody • Treasurer – Lucy Kantaris. • Speakers – Lucy Kantaris and Linda Robinson • Trips – Lucy Kantaris. • Raffles and teas - Diana Deacon. • PR – Liz Howard and Terry Truebody. • General duties – Pat Sherry. General Business. The winner of the club class – A Vase of Mixed Herbs - at this years Hawkesbury Show was Val Hurston-Gardener. The date for the Christmas social is Monday 18th December at The Beaufort Arms. The date for 2018 Plant Sale is 12th May which will avoid the Badminton Horse Trials. To conclude the evening we had wine and nibbles and some fun quizzes.

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