Welcome to Church Crookham Garden Society

27th April 2021

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. A potted history about the success story by founding members to cultivate the local sand can be found here…

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 Gardening Hints and Tips

1st June 2021

We have had a late Spring this year, with drought and frost holding plants back.  I note that last year, at this time, I remarked on the good set of apples and pears; whereas, this year, the apple blossom is barely out yet.  I did spot a woodpecker (spotted) tearing some blossom off…such a help; but I was pleased to see it, as they do not seem as common as they were!

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, 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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April Gardening Tips

26th April 2021

We wait, with keen anticipation, through January and February, the blooming of daffodils, the signals of Spring.  First, the dwarf varieties like Narcissus jonquilla and bulbocodium and then the full-sized plants.  All too soon, by April, we are dead- heading spent flowers and leaving the leaves to feed the bulbs for next year. Pheasant’s eye narcissi flower later, into April, and extend the season with their delicate, pale, scented blooms.

My favourite flowers this Winter have been irises; Iris unguiculata (shown below) has been flowering since November and will continue until April; February and March bring on the dwarf irises like I.reticulata.  In April, Dutch irises, bearded irises (shown at the end) and the tall elegant I.sibirica put on a show.  They all like a light soil and to be baked in the Summer sun. All except the dwarf varieties make good cut flowers and have a delicate scent.

 

It is the time to get the kitchen garden going, now the soil is warming up.

  • You can sow beans, carrots, chard, brassicas, beetroot and peas outside, and pumpkins, courgettes and sweetcorn under glass.
  • In preparation for the beans, dig a deep trench and line it with newspaper and fill it with compost to hold moisture. Then erect a bean frame of hazel poles or bamboos for support.  Twiggier pea sticks will help the peas.
  • At the beginning of April, plant early potatoes and work through to main crop by the end of the month. But watch the weather forecasts for frost warnings – my potatoes and beans were caught out last year!

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