Welcome to Church Crookham Garden Society

16th December 2016

Church Crookham Garden Society, Fleet, Hampshire UKA vibrant garden society active in Church Crookham, FLEET, Hampshire. We hold several annual events and shows and run a comprehensively stocked stores hut with discounts for members.

HISTORY

Church Crookham Garden Society was formed in 1954 as the Ryelaw Garden Society. It was founded by residents of Ryelaw Road as an outlet for their interest in gardening.

At some time in its early stages, the Society began marketing garden supplies and until 1997 traded from sheds located in Moore Close.

The name of the Society was changed to Church Crookham Garden Society to reflect the wider residential location of its members.

Shows were organised and now two shows per year are held, one in the spring and one in late summer.

In 1997 the ground occupied by the Society’s sheds was subject to planning consent for residential building and the Society moved to a purpose built concrete structure located in the car park of the Crookham Memorial Hall in Sandy Lane, Church Crookham.

The Society is run by two committees:

  • Main committee
  • Show committee

Each committee is made up of elected members, and is chaired by the Society Chairman.

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June Hints and Tips

3rd June 2019

Talk about blowing hot and cold! This Spring has been so changeable, that it has made planning crops or splitting clumps of perennials very difficult to do successfully.

In spite of last Summer’s drought, rhododendrons and azaleas are performing well in my garden, apart from the victims of salty spray from the road during the snow.

There are still jobs that must be done in hope of kind weather continuing… here are some suggestions:

Ornamental garden

  • Gently remove spent flowers from Camellia and rhododendrons to make room for the leaf buds emerging behind. You can also trim back overgrown shoots to make the shrubs more compact;

    June roses

    next year’s flower buds will form on the new growth of side shoots that this stimulates.

  • Divide bearded irises after flowering; plant with the rhizomes facing south.
  • Sow biennials like sweet William, viola and wallflowers
  • Divide spring-flowering bulbs.
  • Remove spent flower heads of Euphorbia by cutting flowered stems to ground level. Wear gloves for this, the sap causes skin irritation.

Lawns

  • Mow regularly but, if it is hot and dry, raise the cutting height.
  • Apply a high-nitrogen lawn feed (again not when dry)
  • Add clippings to the compost heap in small amounts; mix them with dry material to stop it all going slimy.

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Gardening in May

1st May 2019

29th April – 5th May is National Gardening Week

There is nothing more rewarding to most gardeners than to see healthy, vigorous plants in their garden. BUT there are some plants that thrive too well and start to ‘take over’.  In my garden, primroses have been a joy, but when they are seeding into the vegetable plot and into the lawn, they become weeds; similarly, Japanese anemones, the yellow flowered, variegated Lamium galeobdolon and even Camassia quamash can take over and squash less vigorous plants.  I even have Dutch irises and tulips which are proliferating to an embarrassing extent.  These all love a light, well-drained soil.

There is a perfect answer. Share and swap with other gardeners who may be populating a new garden or have less success…. The Church Crookham Garden Society has plant sales and swaps each Saturday morning at their trading shed, and Helen Baker has her plant stall at the Crondall Open Gardens event 2018 & 2020, and this year at ‘Bumpers’ {Long Sutton) open garden on July 7th.

Here are some jobs for you..

Kitchen garden

  • Earth up potatoes when the foliage reaches 23cm/9in to prevent green tubers or, if frost is expected, cover smaller sprouts with soil for protection.
  • Sow carrots, radishes, beetroot, lettuce and spring onions for successional harvesting.
  • Harden off courgettes and squashes that were started under glass and protect with cloches or fleece if cold nights are forecast
  • Start to harvest asparagus spears
  • Direct sow French beans and sweet corn.

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Archive
Tel: 07801 714662 Email: chairman@ccgsoc.org.uk