2015 EVENTS
Spring 2015 report Jim Buttress evening
Autumn Show 12th September 2015
The 12th September was a lovely sunny day which always helps to set the tone for a horticultural
get together.
Because of the time of the year, the vegetable section of the show was brimming over with entries. There were some beautiful large onions weighing nearly 1.5kg, spotless white and coloured potatoes, cabbages, tomatoes and so the list went on and on (see photo gallery). Large and small exhibits were all appreciated and admired.
The floral art section had some lovely displays and the homecraft (cookery) classes with the cakes and jams, discovered some new talents from our male and female members.
The best part of our shows is the non competitive, friendly attitude of the members.
Join our society if you like gardening and interacting with like minded people.
To see the full photo gallery click here.
Cream Tea in the Garden
– Monday 17th August 2015Horticultural Society Charity event for St. Luke’s Hospice
This was a very well supported event and thanks to all who came along.
Held at Ramsden Park, the Ramsden Bellhouse Horticultural Society members welcomed a group from the Maldon Cottage Garden Society as well as members from surrounding horticultural societies. Many other friends and neighbours came too, making a very happy afternoon.
Numbers did take us a little by surprise and the offer of a refill ‘cuppa’ was, perhaps a little ambitious as our tea-makers were almost run into the ground trying to keep up!! The scones nearly held up, but hopefully everyone received either a cream tea or one of the range of cakes on offer.
Representatives from St. Luke’s Hospice visited briefly but, due to a heavy schedule of commitments, were sadly unable to stay and talk about the care the Hospice offers to the community.
Altogether a sunny, happy and successful event, with nearly 200 supporting us and £1,100 raised for the Village Hall Charity.
A huge ‘Thank You’ to all the helpers and supporters.
To see the full photo gallery click here.
Summer Show 13th June 2015
The Summer Show held on 13th June was quite successful from the point of view relating to the roses and garden flowers exhibited.
The slight disappointment was a lack of vegetable exhibits brought on by the unusual British Summer this year. The cooler conditions obviously helped the flowers to flourish but not the vegetables.
There were a total of 135 entries from members and a further 30 entries from children (mainly in the under 5 year age grouping) The visitor numbers were considerably up on recent Shows.
Well done to all who participated in this communal event.
Click here to see the photo gallery.
Musical Moments 30th May 2015
The Village Hall was full to capacity for the concert given by Billericay Operatic Society and organised by the Ramsden Bellhouse Horticultural Society.
The range of musicals covered was remarkable, with songs chosen from a variety of popular musicals along with some less well known shows.
The proceeds for the evening of over £600 were shared between the Horticultural Society and the Billericay Operatic Society.
To read a full account of the evening click here.
To see more about the Billericay Operatic Society click www.billericayoperaticsociety.co.uk
Spring 2015 Report
I hope all your gardens are looking better than mine. I missed the last lawn cut in autumn, it's so wet I
cannot get to the flower beds,
but I am told it's good for wildlife.
Last year's meeting season ended with the AGM. We welcome Philippa onto the committee and look
forward to some new ideas
Our January talk was given by Leo Smith from the Italian Cookery School. It ended with a bowl of
vegetable soup and bread. This was enjoyed by all.
'Gardeners of Impressionism' was the February
talk by Martin Heard.
In March we welcomed Jim Buttress who also judged our daffodil show.(See full report below).
On May 30th we are holding a musical evening 'Songs from the Shows' (click on the link in 'Upcoming Events' for more details). Our Shows will be held on June 13th and September 12th.
We have some good speakers to come, also the garden visit. Don't forget members can buy from the
Hut on Sunday mornings.
The meetings are held on the third Monday each month at 8pm, why not join us?
March meeting
Jim Buttress. The Royal Parks
The March monthly meeting of the Society was a great success.
We started with a Daffodil mini show where we had 53 entries. This in itself was a pleasant surprise,
as the third Monday of the month (our usual meeting date each month)
was very early in in the season
and not many daffodils were out.
We sold tickets to non-members for the talk given by Jim Buttress.
For those not familiar with Jim, here is a short intro:
Victoria Medal Holder; Associate of Honour of RHS;
Fellow of the Institute of Horticulture;
Superintendent of the Royal Parks for 25 years;
Head Judge for “Britain in Bloom”;
Judge on TV Show – “The Big Allotment Challenge”
His talk was entitled “The Central Royal Parks”. A most entertaining and informative talk
For all his associations with Royalty etc. Jim is a very down to earth person with a great knowledge of horticulture. As you will see from the photo gallery, we were sold out !!
To see the evening's photo gallery pictures, click here.