Archive

• Gardening Tips for March 24 February 2020

  Items obtainable from the trading shed are highlighted.   We have reached March and spring flowers are at their stunning best to cheer us through, perhaps, the busiest part of the gardening year. Jobs to do All beds need a mulch both to retain moisture and to suppress those annoying annual weeds that need light […]

• Gardening Hints and Tips February 2020 16 January 2020

  by Liz Kirton. Welcome to the start of the growing year, when seeds can be sown, potatoes prepared by chitting and the first flowers: daffodils, snowdrops, primroses, winter aconites and pulmonarias show some colour. February involves pruning many late flowering shrubs to encourage new flowering shoots, for example: A useful tip for Wisteria – 7 […]

• December and January Gardening 1 December 2019

    “In the bleak midwinter….ground as hard as iron, water like a stone”. This is a difficult time for plants:  when water freezes in the ground they cannot replace water lost from the leaves.  They have adapted by losing their leaves and becoming dormant, or by having waxy, waterproof leaves. In December Prune birches, Japanese […]

• Hints and Tips for October 2019 24 October 2019

  October will probably bring the first frosts and they will precipitate colour change, leaf fall and the sound of blowers that will reverberate in the neighbourhood!  So long as the leaves are disease-free, they can be collected, and will decay to form leaf mould.  Your heap of dead leaves may make a home for hedgehogs, […]

• September gardening 9 September 2019

  It has been a very changeable Summer weather-wise, but crops, on the whole, have been early to ripen and reasonably heavy in my patch.  Summer flowers have put on a wonderful show and if you keep dead-heading, will go on for a few weeks more.  Day lilies in my garden have flowered very well despite […]

• Hints and tips for July and August 9 September 2019

  All that planning and preparation is worth it in July and August.  Now you can harvest raspberries, currants, gooseberries and freeze any surplus to cheer up winter menus.  By the end of August, the apple and pear harvest can begin; these fruits can be stored on trays in newspaper. Thanks to the rain in June, […]

• June Hints and Tips 3 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 […]

• Gardening in May 1 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 […]

• Appletree Grafting and Free Lunch 24 April 2019

  An apple-tree grafting workshop, available for Garden Society members and guests, is being held on Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th April 2019. Spaces are available at these events being held at the Church Crookham Memorial Orchard, FLEET, Hampshire. 10:00 – 15:30. This community initiative is free of charge and a light lunch will be provided […]

• Spring Show 2019 18 April 2019

  Awards Ian Watson Cup Gillian Rose Richard Constantine Cup Gillian Rose Daffodil Rosette Roger Greenhalgh Narcissus Rosette Sue Meek Floral Exhibit Rosette Liz Kirton Novice Rosette Gillian Rose Junior Cup (miniature garden) Jake Howard Photography and art Carolyn Greenhalgh

• April Hints and Tips 1 April 2019

  April is the month that inspires optimism in gardeners, I think. Plants that have been dormant for months start to show new growth, seeds are germinating and the risk of frost is minimal. Some of the most spectacular shrubs put on their show in April, including magnolias, azaleas, rhododendrons and Forsythia – they will all […]

• March Hints and Tips 17 March 2019

  March is a month full of hope for gardeners; spring bulbs are out and you can get onto the soil on good days.  The days reach equinox and the extended daylight stimulates growth of buds and seeds. The temperature is unreliable, so it is a good thing to have fleece or cloches ready for when […]

• February Hints and Tips 2019 31 January 2019

  In January, my garden is in a muddle.  At least 17 different plant types are flowering: leftovers from last year, like Fuchsia, Abutilon and Hederantha, genuine winter flowerers like Helleborus, Rhododendron ‘Christmas Cheer’, Iris unguiculata, winter jasmine and witchhazel, and Pulmonaria and primroses that think it is spring! It is difficult to predict how things […]

• January Hints and Tips 9 January 2019

  Reasons to be Cheerful The shortest day has been and gone and the daily period of light has, almost imperceptibly, increased.  The infra-red wavelengths penetrate the soil and activate enzymes, via chemicals called phytochromes, that start seeds and dormant plants growing. Witch hazel, Sarcococca, Daphne odora and Mahonia are just some of the scented flowers […]

• Chairman’s Message 2019 6 January 2019

  CHURCH CROOKHAM GARDEN SOCIETY I am constantly amazed at just how quickly the months fly past albeit that is probably a symptom of getting older. Last year we had a record-matching heatwave that sucked much of the life out of the ground through to October bringing low yields in the vegetable garden but did wonders […]

• Events 2019 6 January 2019

  Trading Hut Open Saturdays 10:00 – 11:30h 9th February to 21st September 2019 Memorial Hall Car Park, Sandy Lane, Church Crookham GU52 8LD AGM, SOCIAL EVENING & QUIZ – free to members / £3 non-members FRIDAY 22nd February 2019 at 19:30h at The Willis Hall SPRING SHOW SATURDAY 6th APRIL 2019 Set Up 09:00 – […]

• December Gardening 1 December 2018

  December Gardening 2018 by Ewshot Gardener Most leaves of deciduous trees have fallen by now and you tidy gardeners will have swept them up and started the leaf mould process – you cannot buy leaf mould. Beech hedges will retain their dead leaves until Spring. Oak trees will continue to lose leaves and you can […]

• Dates for 2019 24 November 2018

  Trading Hut Open Saturdays 10 -11.30 am 9th February to 21st September – Memorial Hall Car Park, Sandy Lane GU52 8LD AGM, SOCIAL EVENING & QUIZ – free to members / £3 non-members FRIDAY 22nd February 2019 at 7.30pm at The Willis Hall SPRING SHOW – Saturday 6th APRIL 2019    Set Up 9.00 – 10.30am, Trophies at 12pm […]

• November Gardening Tips 1 November 2018

  The colour of trees in the garden and wider countryside turns to gold, red and bronze, quite lovely on a sunny day. The ground beneath looks gold plated. I am not fastidious about raking leaves up immediately – they will do no harm for several weeks and will provide food for worms.  Left too long, […]

• October Hints and Tips 30 September 2018

    2018 has produced an extraordinary crop of top fruits and they have been ready to harvest from late August. o you have probably already stored the sound fruit in newspaper in a cool shed or garage. However, it has been too dry for autumn raspberries to thrive. I am so disappointed. Other jobs you […]

• September Gardening Tips 14 September 2018

  Here are your tips for September gardening. After a cold Spring, we have had a hot dry June and July 2018 and now a cool damp week.  By the time you read this, we might be under water or in a desert!  The hot weather hastened the ripening of apples and brought forward the harvesting […]

• Harvest Supper 28th September 14 September 2018

  Church Crookham Garden Society           7:30 Friday 28th September 2018 Crookham Memorial Hall Sandy Lane Church Crookham Bring a Plate of Food to Share Free to Members Non Members Adult £3 or Family £5

• August Gardening Tips 31 July 2018

  August Gardening By Ewshot Gardener In the vegetable garden, carrots, lettuce, spinach can still be sown and harvesting soft fruit, early potatoes, peas, broad beans and courgettes gives me great pleasure.  However, the prolonged hot, dry spell has prevented soft fruit from swelling, so I shall have to wait for the autumn-fruiting raspberries. The other […]

• July Gardening Tips 30 June 2018

  In July, I mourn the end of the glorious riot of rambling roses on the pergola and get on with pruning out shoots that have flowered and tying in the vigorous new growth.  The climbing roses will keep flowering if you keep dead-heading them. All is not lost, though.  July is the month when herbaceous […]

• June Gardening Tips 27 May 2018

  June Gardening by Ewshot Gardener It has been a relief to have some exceptional warmth in early May, but the cold wet Spring has made germination patchy. Azaleas and rhododendrons are having a good year and primroses and Pulmonaria have been spectacular for weeks. These are jobs you could be doing in June, among others: […]

• May Gardening Tips 27 April 2018

  The advantage of the cold spring has been a much longer display of daffodils and primroses.  The brief spell of warmth in mid April has finally brought tulips into flower.  There were very few ready for the show on 7th April. BUT May is the month for bluebells, azaleas, apple blossom and all sorts of floral […]

• Seed Offer 24 April 2018

    Dobies catalogue is available to members at the trading shed.  On production of your membership card, you will receive a catalogue containing an order form with a code you can use to get a discount on your order. The more people use the code, the larger the discount can be.  – up to 50%!

• April Gardening 28 March 2018

  April Gardening by Ewshot Gardener After such a cold spell in February and the snow in March, it is reassuring to find that Spring flowers were not held back much and the slugs and snails were comatose for a bit longer! April sees the best of tulips, wallflowers and polyanthus; elegant magnolias, lush camellias and […]

• March Gardening Tips 1 March 2018

  We have reached March and spring flowers are at their stunning best to cheer us through, perhaps, the busiest part of the gardening year. Jobs to do • All beds need a mulch both to retain moisture and to suppress those annoying annual weeds that need light to germinate. • Remove the top 1 to […]

• Dates for 2018 1 February 2018

  Dates for 2018   Trading shed open on Saturday mornings from 10am to 11.30am from 10th February – 15th September. Annual General Meeting and quiz 9th March 7.30pm Spring Show 7th April Summer Show 8th September Harvest Supper 28th September, 7.30pm

• February Gardening Tips 1 February 2018

  Now the days are noticeably longer and in my garden, I can see bulbs and autumn-sown broad beans putting on a growth spurt in response to the day-length change.  Shrubs and climbers are starting to grow new shoots, so now is the time to…. Thin out bamboo clumps by removing thin and overcrowded canes – […]

• October Gardening 2 January 2018

  by Ewshot Gardener in association with Church Crookham Garden Society Here we are, at the beginning of Autumn, the roar of leaf blowers and the scratch of rakes filling the air. I do hope those leaves will be composted to make leaf mould! Most of the harvesting is done: potatoes lifted and stored cool and […]

• September Gardening 1 January 2018

  by Ewshot Gardener in association with Church Crookham Garden Society September is a good time to look around your garden, taking photographs to remind you of both the triumphs and the disasters; for example, the Crocosmias and Erigerons in my herbaceous border fell over in July and crushed all beneath, so I need to move […]

• January Gardening Tips 1 January 2018

  Reasons to be Cheerful The shortest day has been and gone and the daily period of light has, almost imperceptibly, increased.  The infra-red wavelengths penetrate the soil and activate enzymes, via chemicals called phytochromes, that start seeds and dormant plants growing. Witch hazel, Sarcococca, Daphne odora and mahonia are just some of the scented lowers […]

• November Gardening 16 October 2017

  November Gardening by Ewshot Gardener The colour of trees in the garden and wider countryside turns to gold, red and bronze, quite lovely on a sunny day. The ground beneath looks gold plated. I like to rustle through the colourful fallen leaves, so I am not fastidious about raking them up immediately – they will […]

• Free RHS Wisley Visit 17th August 2017 6 July 2017

  This year’s trip to the RHS Wisley is booked for Thursday 17th August. We plan to meet there, outside the cafe at the main entrance at 10.30am. This trip is free for Church Crookham Garden Society members. Cost of entry for non-members is £14 for adults and £7 for children (so it would be worth […]

• Andy McIndoe’s Garden Visit 15 May 2017

  Fleet Flower Club are running a coach to Andy McIndoe’s garden at Sherfield English about 4 miles from Romsey.  He is the director of Hillier Garden Centres and has designed the Hillier Chelsea exhibit since 1989 with an unbroken record of Gold medals.  Andrew writes and broadcasts regularly as well as lecturing throughout the UK […]

• 2017 Spring Show 7 April 2017

  A good start to the year in weather terms saw an increase in entries for this year’s spring show and in particular, a greater number of entries in the Tulip Class was well represented due to the mild winter; writes Alec Grant. There was also a very good standard of entry across all classes and in particular […]

• Summer Show Junior Sunflower Competition 4 April 2017

  Calling all YOUNG GARDENERS. Church Crookham Garden Society is encouraging children to compete in their summer show for the Ryelaw Junior Cup (U17) and the Ryelaw Children’s Rosette (U7). This is an open class and can be entered free of charge by anyone. FREE Sunflower Seeds now available at our trading shed at the memorial […]

• Day Visit to Hellebore Specialist March 2017 31 March 2017

  Day Visit to Kapunda Plants, Hellebore Specialist Bath Church Crookham Garden Society organised a very interesting visit for members to Kapunda Plants, just south of Bath. The visit took place on Friday 31st March, 2017 with the group arriving just before 11:00h. The visit lasted about 1 and a half hours, and refreshments were provided […]

• Spring Show 2017 29 March 2017

  Church Crookham Garden Society Spring Show Saturday April 1st at The Memorial Hall, Sandy Lane Set up 9 -10.30 am Free entry for all from 11.15 am Trophies 12 noon Please see the handbook detailing which classes you can enter – members only. Click here to to view or download the members’ handbook detailing all […]

• Events 2017 8 March 2017

  Day Visit to Kapunda Plants, Hellebore Specialist Bath – 31st March 2017. There are two spare places for this visit, due to a cancellation. Church Crookham Garden Society is organising a visit to Kapunda Plants, just south of Bath. The visit is planned for Friday 31st March, 2017 arriving before 11:00h. The visit lasts about […]

• Trading Hut Open 4 March 2017

  There was a feeling in the air that Spring 2017 can’t be far away. The trading hut was back in business on a cool Saturday morning in March. But there was an occasional ray of sunshine and a queue of people lining up to purchase supplies for the new season. We were greeted by a […]

• 2017 Member’s Handbook 8 February 2017

  The Church Crookham Garden Society is pleased to announce the publication of its 2017 Member’s Handbook. It includes all the information you need to know about the society and its many activities for 2017. To view or download the handbook, please visit the “About” section. CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE 2017 It only seems like yesterday since I […]

• Welcome to Church Crookham Garden Society 16 December 2016

  A 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 […]

• BBC Gardener’s Question Time 16 July 2016

  As part of Aldershot and District Allotment Association’s 2017 Centenary celebrations they announce the BBC Gardener’s Question Time team will be recording a session at the Princes Hall in Aldershot on January 16th. Starting at 17:30h. the event is, of course, open to all. Committee member Helen Williams has extended a special welcome to Church […]