NEWSLETTER – January 2026
From our Chair and the Committee

Our talks coming up:

New Year Message from Mellie, our Chair

Happy New Year!

December and the festivities are behind us, and the light is slowly returning, and yet we are still in winter’s grip!

At this time of the year, many people feel very down or even depressed. Three of my family members suffer from SAD syndrome (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and dread the onset of Autumn. Thankfully I’m quite the opposite and love our changing seasons. For me Climate Collapse is what I fear most. The exceptionally wet weather that causes flooding and the scorching heatwaves that seem to be blighting us, I find deeply disturbing, perhaps a topic of discussion for another time.  What brings me calm, a sense of being and a feeling of peace, is an early morning walk as dawn begins to break and the Robin starts to sing, when I find myself studying the silhouetted tree shapes.  I love how the stars shine through the twigs even as the light begins to shine. The Robin’s song is soon joined by others, Song Thrush, Redwing, Wren, the calling of the Corvid family and the cooing of Collared Doves and Wood Pigeons.

Best of all is a cold dry morning with a red sunrise, the glow hits the twiggy hedgerows and trees, and suddenly it’s like the world is on fire! Dog woods always look terrific at this time of year with their blazing twigs. In the garden, the burgeoning of bulbs is evident and the Hellebores nodding heads in an array of colours, capture my attention. Who can resist the beauty of a Snowdrop especially if a bee is foraging for nectar.  Aconites are another favourite of mine, their happy yellow faces defying the bleakest of weather to shine a bit of sunshine on the garden border.

I also love Daphnes I cannot believe that such a plant can bloom at this time and deliver such fragrance, I grow my Daphnes near the back door so that they can be admired and sniffed even in the most fowl of weather. My most favoured Daphne is Transatlantica Eternal Fragrance which blooms all year round and the perfume is delicious, it is hardy and forms a lovely mound. I also really like Daphne Bholua Jacqueline postille AGM with its clusters of small sweetly fragranced pink flowers that open in January and February, followed by purple/ black berries. Oh, and then there is Daphne Mezereum Rubra with its gorgeous pink flowers. During the colder months the magnificent blossoms sprout straight from the bare stem the scent fills the air.

Indoors, I love to have Hyacinths which are easy to grow but it is the perfume that does it for me as they remind me of my childhood as my father has always loved a few Hyacinths. A vase a supermarket Daffodils can be an uplifting treat especially if they have come from Cornwall or the Channel Islands. And finally, feeding the birds is my favourite waste of time on a miserable day when you feel stuck indoors by bad weather, I can happily kill a couple of hours watching my feathered friends feast on the seeds, kitchen waste, apples that fell in autumn and the berries. I recently watched a Blackbird swallowing fruits of the crab apple, I watched in amazement as it made light work of the seemingly too large for its size fruits swallowed whole! A good source of food for many birds, bees butterflies and invertebrates, Crab apples have to be a top garden tree, with beautiful blossoms in Spring, followed by fruits of all colours shapes and sizes, or you can make good old fashioned Crab Apple Jelly! 

This year we will be looking at sustainability, and please don’t be shy if you have any tips you can share with us ! 

Soon the Committee will meet to discuss our plans for this year, which will include how we proceed not having anyone in charge of ‘publicity’ or ‘speaker bookings’. Please if you can help us, we would love to hear from you. The publicity officer does not necessarily need to be on the Committee, it is more of a case of making sure posters are printed and distributed, contacting media with updates of our speakers, meetings and events…and a few other smaller tasks like updating Facebook.  Not having these two officers is putting a strain on our Committee who are working hard to make sure our Club keeps a high-profile and is valued by its members. We are all having to multi-task.

We will be looking at suitable places for our summer outing and starting with the organisation of that.

We hope you will enjoy bringing in unwanted or surplus plants, seeds or garden related items for the ‘swap table’. Please bear in mind if your item/s is not taken you must take home at the end of evening.

Please remember January is also an EGM which shouldn’t take long or be too onerous. The new constitution is available on website, and this just needs voting in plus two other officers missed in our AGM. 

I look forward to seeing you at our meetings and events over the year.

Mellie

December’s talk and Christmas festivities 

What a fascinating talk in December given by Steve Knight about the lives of bees and how we can best encourage them into our gardens.  Absolutely packed with information and Steve has shared his three slides about what plants we should be having in our gardens to encourage pollinators, which are available on our website.  Also, some brilliant bee products were available on the night to purchase. 

Christmas Robin Redbreast Arrangement Winner
Mellie Lewis won the Christmas competition with her beautiful arrangement and Helen Brown and Debbie were joint second.  Well done to them all.  There were many beautiful arrangements for Steve to choose from so thank you to all who participated.  See Mellie’s arrangement below.

Tea Rota at meetings
Just a reminder, do sign up to help with the teas and you can find the tea rota on the desk as you arrive in the Hall.  If lots of people take a turn, it means you only need to help every now and then.  You can find the rota on the desk as you come into the Hall at the next meeting.

January talk

Sadly, we had to postpone Adam Kirtland’s talk – Garden DIY using just a wooden Pallet -last year at the last minute but we are delighted that he is now coming to give us his much-anticipated talk on 28^th January at 7.30 pm.

Adam Kirtland, otherwise known online as View from the Potting Bench, is a gardener, professional writer (Amateur Gardening Magazine, Garden News and Garden Answers) and podcaster with a passion for budget gardening, but on a big scale. Budget doesn’t always mean boring! In this talk he’ll be showing you just what you can make yourself and exactly how you can do it

See our website for the topics and speakers coming up in 2026.

Jobs to do in January
Now is a great time to prune soft fruit buses such as currants and gooseberries – especially new bushes or cordons.  It is also the season to winter prune apples and pears and plant bare-root trees and bushes as long as the soil isn’t frozen.
You can sow broad beans in pots in mild areas placing them in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse.  Crops to sow indoors include lettuce, summer brassicas, spinach, salad onions and turnips.  You can also sow onion seed in a heated propagator.  And don’t forget the sweet peas.  By planting them this early, will guarantee some early blooms.

Year of Sustainability

During 2026 the Committee have decided that this will be our Year of Sustainability which covers a multitude of subjects – growing our own, gardening without chemicals, recycling and resusing,growing the right plants for pollinators, the list goes on.  Some of our talks coming up this year (a flower farmer from Ledbury, growing your own and making produce from your produce –  do reflect sustainability and we will be coming up with all sorts of ideas throughout the year to promote a kinder to the planet and all who live on it way of working in our gardens, allotments and in our lives generally.  We would welcome any ideas that any of you have to promote this to the Club.  

We hope that you enjoyed last year – Our Year of the Bee – we certainly did our best to highlight this amazing insect that is so important to every living species.

Seed Order
The seed order from D T Brown has arrived so Elly will be distributing them at the next meeting, and sending out invoices ahead of time to those who have ordered.

Wormery
We still have one small wormery that needs a new home for a small donation.  This wormery was given to us by someone living in Craven Arms who had no use for it anymore.  Please contact Mandy bonnilass@hotmail.com if you would like to find out more about it.

Members’ much-loved plants
Committee member, Cerys, tells us about her favourite narcissi:

December is my favourite time to hunt for bargain spring bulbs. Whilst I love all bulbs, I do have a sweet spot for Jonquils. Welsh people generally love daffodils, however, Jonquils, (Narcissus jonquila) are a special type of daffodil. I love them because they are more dainty than a typical daffodil, having thinner leaves and smaller flowers with some having multiple flowers on one stem which is a happy bonus.  All of them also have a wonderful scent unlike normal daffs.
I discovered Jonquils many years ago in a ‘Wilko’ bulb sale when I hastily potted up some ‘miniature daffodils’ called ‘Martinette’, ‘Sweet Love’ and ‘Sundisk’ in pots up some steps to my garden. I hadn’t paid attention to the labels, just thought that they looked cute, but I kept noticing the lovely smell as I passed and was thrilled to realise that it was these special little Jonquils and I have been a fan ever since.

They originate from Mediterranean meadow and woodland habitats and are versatile in our Shropshire gardens as they are hardy plants that thrive in varied conditions, though well drained fully sunny sites show them off at their best which includes pots. They naturalise well and suit rockeries. Once established they need very little fuss. They also make great cut flowers and in Victorian floriography they mean optimism and enduring love.

RHS Affiliation
Don’t forget that our club is affiliated to the RHS so I can lend you a discount card which offers 50% off entry for two people, to any RHS Garden (Bridgewater, Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall, Rosemoor and Wisley). It is not accepted for visits during Flower Shows and Glow Illumination events.

Membership
DUE ! Membership costs £20 to cover attendance at all our meetings for a year (from October); early access to trips and events with subsidised tickets; seed offers and plant sales. We are affiliated to the RHS so you can borrow our discount card which provides 50% discount for two people to any RHS garden. Such a bargain! Payment can be made with cash, cheque or card at our meetings or by transfer to: South West Shropshire Gardening Club sort code 20-53-22 account number 80754803. Please add your name as reference and email our Treasurer, Tina, to let her know: swsgcbookings@gmail.com

Plant Heritage
We also belong to Plant Heritage and have two cards which enable members to attend local meetings and events.   Please contact Mellie if you would like to use the cards.

The Club’s Social Media
Don’t forget that we have an active website and Facebook page, which are regularly updated. You can post on the FB page, and this will be loaded up once it has been approved by the Administrator.  It is a great way of sharing news about all things gardening.

A bit of health and safety
As we are now well into the season for coughs and sneezes, please, if you feel unwell, reconsider whether you should be coming to an indoor event.  Covid still is around as is flu and we do have several vulnerable people who do attend the meetings.

Events coming up in our local area and beyond:

NEWSLETTER – December 2025
From our Chair and the Committee

Our talks coming up:

November’s talk – Hellebores
What a brilliant talk, given by Samantha Hopes, telling us all about hellebores covering every aspect.  There is no excuse now not to have a fantastic display in the Spring in our gardens.  Her knowledge on the species is incredible, and you could tell that these plants are very special to her.  Samantha brought some beautiful plants for us to buy and her own made cards.  We will definitely be inviting Samantha back in the future to share more of her knowledge about plants.

She also reminded the meeting that Ashwoods, in the Spring, have special hellebore tours so please do check on Ashwoods website to find out more details and the dates when these tours will take place.  Combined Garden and Hellebore Tours – Ashwood Nurseries 

If you missed Gardener’s World on Friday 5^th December, do find it on the BBC iplayer as Ashwoods and Samantha’s husband, Nigel, were featured.  What a beautiful piece so please do find it and enjoy.

Thank you to Rosie from Craft Creations for bringing such wonderful items from the shop for us to purchase.  All the items having been made by local residents. 

Thank you also to Karen and Jo for making sure that we all had tea and coffee when we arrived.  Thank you to Ruth for organising the tea rota.  Do sign up to help and you can find the tea rota on the desk as you arrive in the Hall. 

December talk – Bee Curious
As our Year of the Bee comes to an end, we will enjoy a talk by Clun resident, Steve Knight, a professional forester, ecologist and beekeeper, for a fascinating look into the world of bees and the plants that sustain them. Discover how different bee species live and work, which garden plants provide the best nectar and pollen, and how the hive produces honey, wax, and other remarkable gifts. A perfect pre-Christmas evening — with local honey and candles available to purchase.

We will also have our usual Christmas special raffle, mulled wine and nibbles.  We won’t be serving tea and coffee at this meeting.

Flower of the Month in November and December
Dorothy with her beautiful Kaffir Lily.  Thank you to Helen who has taken over running the Flower of the Month from Mellie.

A reminder there will be no Flower of the Month at the December meeting but instead please bring a small table arrangement on the theme of the Robin Redbreast for which there will be a prize on the night.

Wreath and table decoration workshop
A group of 15 gardening club members and friends enjoyed a festive afternoon making Christmas wreaths and table decorations at Lydbury North Village Hall under the expert guidance of retired florist, Claire Labrum, and artist, Alison Schofield. Music and delicious refreshments added to the amazing abundance of foliage, seedheads and ornaments provided, to make this an event to be repeated!  Thank you to our Committee members, Elly and Cerys who worked so hard to make the afternoon run smoothy.  The choice of foliage and decorations including lights to include, was amazing.

January meeting – EGM at the start

At this meeting, at the start, there will be a brief Extraordinary General Meeting called to vote on three items.  Our new Data Protection Policy, an updated Constitution and to vote in the Vice Chair and the Secretary which did not happen at the AGM back in October.   More information below. Please also take a few minutes to look at the Draft Data Protection Policy and Procedures and the updated Constitution on our website. Links below.

Data Protection Policy
As a Club, we collect personal information about our members, and we have a duty to protect your privacy. We are aware that we should not be collecting or storing any information about you unless it is for a legitimate purpose (e.g. to inform you of meetings, trips, events etc.) We have recently looked at what is collected and why, and how it is stored or deleted, and have drawn up a draft Data Protection Policy and Procedures for the Club to follow.

We intend to keep members’ details on record for up to one year after membership expires, in case people wish to rejoin, but will delete records of any lapsed members beyond that time period.

We would like to continue to send an email reminder each month to notify you that the latest Newsletter is live on the website. This email only goes to people who have agreed for their email addresses to be used in this way, and recipients can unsubscribe at any time. Lapsed members will be deleted from that mailing list 12 months after their memberships expires.

If, on the other hand, you have not been receiving the Newsletter notification, but would like to, please contact our Membership Secretary, Sara by email and you can be added to the mailing list. spsararoberts@btopenworld.com

Please take a few minutes to look at the Draft Data Protection Policy and Procedures on our website. We will have an opportunity to discuss this at our Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) session within the Club meeting in January.  draft-data-protection-policy.pdf

Draft Constitution update
At the EGM in January, we will also look at the proposed Draft Constitution as the old Constitution is now outdated and with the lack of Committee members, we no longer complied. The proposed Constitution means that we can still run with fewer committee members.  This can be viewed on our website Club Policies – South West Shropshire Gardening Club

On the subject of Committee members, we would love to welcome some more people to join the Committee.  We meet about four times a year and enjoy tea, coffee and cake!  It would be great to have some more help as we are down four members. 

Plant of the Month – The poinsettia plant 
From the family of Euphorbiaceae, indigenous to Mexico and Central America, how did this rather un-British plant become a symbol of our Yuletide celebration? In Mexico, the plant is a symbol of folklore with the association beginning with a Mexican child named Pepita who was poor, with no gift to take to church, so she picked some wildflowers and weeds as an offering for Christmas Eve gathering at Church. The bouquet she so carefully selected did miraculously turn into the beautiful blooms of the poinsettia, and was then presented at the altar, thereafter, being known as ‘Flowers of the Holy Night’ meaning ‘any gift of love is a beautiful gift’.  The star-shaped bright red leaves, which are not flowers but bracts or modified leaves, are seen as a symbol of the star of Bethlehem. The bright red leaves are a symbol of the blood of Christ.  The white leaves, when present, symbolise the purity of Christ.  The Franciscan friars in the17th Century, gathered the plant to decorate churches and nativity scenes during Christmastide.

International introductions are credited to Joel R Poinsett, to whom the plant is named after, although previously, it was called the ‘Mexican Flame Flower ‘. During 1820s, Mr Poinsett was an Ambassador for the United States in Mexico where he became interested in the plant and saw an opportunity to market it in America. Much work was done by the Ecke horticulturalist family who heavily promoted the plant in the US during the 20^th Century leading to the Congress declaring 12th December as ‘National Poinsettia Day’. It is believed that the family produces 70% of the market in the US.  The poinsettia was described as a new species by the German scientist Johann F Klotzsch in 1834. It was introduced to the UK by James McNab, a curator for the Royal Botanical Garden in Edinburgh in 1834 and was much admired with the story captivating the hearts of the British public.

Excess Plants/Plant Swap

We will be having a table at the back of the hall at our meetings for you to bring any surplus plants so that others can have them.  The only thing we ask is if your plants have not been taken by the end of the talk, please take them away with you. 

Seed Order
The D T Brown seed order has been sent and that orders exceeded the threshold necessary to qualify for 50% discount which is excellent news. The seeds will be delivered to Elly in January hopefully in time for the January meeting which is late in the month but if not, they will be available at the February meeting.

Wormery
We still have one small wormery that needs a new home for a small donation.  This wormery was given to us by someone living in Craven Arms who had no use for it anymore.  Please contact Mandy bonnilass@hotmali.com if you would like to find out more about it.

Members’ much-loved plants

Abutilon Red Tiger (Family: Malvaceae) (Atn Rt5) is a semi-evergreen
shrub which grows to around 2m with upright, slightly arching branches and soft maple-like leaves.  Nodding, bell-shaped flowers are yellow but heavily veined in red and produced from Spring to Autumn. The RHS recommended places to grow this plant are city and courtyard gardens, flower borders and against walls.  Mandy, our Vice-Chair, tells us how she came to have this exotic plant:

“I bought this Abutilon at the Hergest Croft Autumn Plant event.  It was love at first sight and I knew I was not going home without it.  £10 well spent.  And thankfully it is still thriving three years later.  However, it doesn’t start to flower until end of September with me when I bring it into the house (not central-heated).  It seems to love being in my hallway and everyone comments on what a lovely flower it has and how exotic.  I think next year I will try and find the sunniest part of my garden to see if I can get some flowers earlier in the year.”

RHS Affiliation
Don’t forget that our club is affiliated to the RHS so I can lend you a discount card which offers 50% off entry for two people, to any RHS Garden (Bridgewater, Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall, Rosemoor and Wisley). It is not accepted for visits during Flower Shows and Glow Illumination events.

Membership
DUE ! Membership costs £20 to cover attendance at all our meetings for a year (from October); early access to trips and events with subsidised tickets; seed offers and plant sales. We are affiliated to the RHS so you can borrow our discount card which provides 50% discount for two people to any RHS garden. Such a bargain! Payment can be made with cash, cheque or card at our meetings or by transfer to: South West Shropshire Gardening Club sort code 20-53-22 account number 80754803. Please add your name as reference and email our Treasurer, Tina, to let her know: swsgcbookings@gmail.com

Plant Heritage
We also belong to Plant Heritage and have two cards which enable members to attend local meetings and events.   Please contact Mellie if you would like to use the cards.

The Club’s Social Media
Don’t forget that we have an active website and Facebook page, which are regularly updated. You can post on the FB page, and this will be loaded up once it has been approved by the Administrator.  It is a great way of sharing news about all things gardening.

A bit of health and safety
As we are now well into the season for coughs and sneezes, please, if you feel unwell, reconsider whether you should be coming to an indoor event.  Covid still is around as is flu and we do have several vulnerable people who do attend the meetings.

Talks booked for 2026

28th Jan
Adam Kirtland – Garden DIY Using Just a Wooden Pallet

25th Feb
Gavin Stoneystreet – The Gardens of William Morris 25th March Pete Carty – Minsterley Meadows

22nd April
Philip Aubery – Propagation – New plants from seeds, cuttings and division

27th May
Matt Wright – Bonsai

June
No talk – Garden trip this month

22nd July
Sam Shepherd – Self-sufficiency in 2026 – The good life – Part 1

August
No talk this month

23rd Sept
Paul Green – Grasses

28th Oct
Rozanne Delamore – The Ledbury Flower Farmer, growing seasonal sustainable cut flowers

25th Nov
Jill Cawthray – Not all Nettles – Wildlife Gardening without the Wilderness

6th Dec
Sam Shepherd – Storing and preserving your fruit and vegetables – Part 2

The Committee would like to wish all our members a very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year and we hope to see you at the December meeting

November 2025
From our Chair and the Committee

We remember David Pittwood

We have learnt of the sad passing of one of our long-standing members, David Pittwood.  We are hugely sorry to hear this news and will miss David who regularly attended our Club talks and came on our outings with his wife Pam over many years.  As many of you know, Pam and David hold regular plant stalls in Clun outside the Methodist Church to raise funds for local and humanitarian charities and we all look forward to the Saturday sales throughout the season.  David will be very much missed by us all.  We send our love to Pam and we are here to help in any way we can throughout this sad period of time for her.  

Our talks coming up:

November talk
We will be joined by Samantha Hopes who has been to talk to us before.  This time she will be talking to us about Hellebores which, as we all know, are so important for the pollinators out early in the year.  Samantha has a wealth of experience working at various gardens.  

After graduating, Samantha went to work alongside John Massey looking after his Hepatica collection. This became one of her passions, alongside specialist alpines and a new breeding program with Roscoeas.  Samantha, with her husband Nigel, has thrown herself into creating and building their own garden, propagating and growing unusual plants to sell at talks, as well as looking after their family.

Also at the November meeting, we are thrilled that Craft Creations from Clun will be bringing a selection of their handmade items, specifically with a Christmas theme so don’t forget to bring some extra money to purchase all those Christmas presents.  It is great to be supporting local crafts people.

Looking back at our October talk
What a thought-provoking talk given last month to the Club by Jack Willgoss from Wildegoose Nursery in the Corvedale!   There was so much to take in and to consider how we should be gardening in this now unpredictable climate.  It is all quite frightening.

There were many take-homes from the evening, and here are some, hopefully most of us are doing some of these already:

• Avoid chemicals
• No dig – why put the topsoil under the subsoil!
• Do not cut back until late winter and use the stems to mulch
• Use peat-free compost – (Ransfords in Bishops Castle do stock Melcourt which is a compost that Jack recommends.  Please ring them to check they have this in stock.)
• Avoid watering unless there is no rain for two weeks after fresh planting
• Wherever possible, buy organic bulbs – less is more as the saying goes
• Buy small plants for better results rather than larger specimens
• Save your own seed wherever possible rather than buying in seed

Jack gave out to us a lists of plants that he would recommend people to consider planting and you can find this on our resource page (www.gardeningshropshire.co.uk).  Their nursery will open again in the Spring so do please check their website for their opening date www.wildegoosenursery.co.uk

AGM last month
Farewell and thank you to Angie Salmon – Prior to Jack’s talk, there was a short AGM and we were sad to say farewell to Angie Salmon who has guided us in her role as Chair over the last three years.  In total, Angie has given twelve years to the Club and so she feels it is time for her to take her place in the audience now.  Thank you, Angie for all your years.  We hope that you enjoy the tree that you will buy as the Club’s gift to you.

The New Committee – Mellie Lewis, known to many of you as Aeonium Mellie!, has now stepped up to the role of Chair, with Mandy Ford taking on the role of Vice-Chair and who will continue to assist with booking speakers.  Tina McAra will be taking on the Treasurer’s role, looking after the website and booking the speakers, Sara Roberts will be taking over as Membership Secretary and Elly Bibby will continue in her role as Secretary which she has done brilliantly, Pauline Owens will continue with the raffle.  Sadly, we lost Caroline Hughes, Alleyne Copestake and David O’Neil from the Committee. Thank you for your help during your participation.

We were delighted that Helen Brown has offered to help run the Flower of the Month competition and Ruth Webb has offered to run the Tea Rota and make sure that teas and coffees are served on the night.  And that Caroline Hughes will continue to help us whenever she can on the night.  Thank you all.

Please do consider offering to help – you don’t need to be on the Committee – Just let one of the Committee members know if you would like to know more about the help we need either on the night or during the year.

Flower of the Month in October and the Annual Prize for most points
Well done to Pauline Edie with her winning Café Au Lait dahlia that won the October competition, starting off our new year with a zing.

Also, congratulations to Dorothy Morris who took the overall 1^st prize for the Flower of the Month Year, with Rosemary Morris 2^nd and Sara Roberts 3^rd.  You have got to be in it to win!  Remember, bring a single bloom or spray from your garden to participate. Points are given each month and then the overall winner will be announced at our AGM in October. Please note that, to be fair, we can only accept one entry from each participant.

Year of the Bee
As our Year of the Bee is almost over, here are some interesting names that bumblebees are, and have been, called over the years:

It wasn’t until the 1950s that the name bumblebee stuck. They are also known as:

Dumbledore (18th century) – yes, the inspiration for J.K. Rowling’s wizard!

Humblebee (Until 1910)

Drumbledrone (Devon)

Foggy Bummer (NE Scotland)

Cacynen (Welsh)

Bumbóg (Irish)

Seillan (Gaelic)

What name do you like to call them by?

Plant of the Month

We thought it would be fun to talk about a Plant of the Month.  Here is our first one for our new Membership year which runs from October to September. This has been submitted by Mellie.  If you would like to tell us about a special plant, email aeonium.mellie@gmail.com

Thanksgiving cactus, botanical name Schlumbergera truncata. This is a tropical, epiphytic cactus that blooms during the autumn. Below is one of mine in shades of pink! There are two other similar plants in the genus, Christmas flowering and Easter flowering, see diagram below showing the differences. At a time of the year when little else is flowering their cheerful blooms always make me smile, and if you have one of each variety then you can rest assured you will have beautiful blooming houseplants all through the dark cold seasons. To care for it, provide bright, indirect light, water when the top of the soil is dry, and ensure well-draining soil. It also appreciates cooler temperatures.

Excess Plants/Plant Swap
After the success of Ed and Mary’s day lilies that we were able to have as they had too many, at each meeting from now on, we will have a table for members to bring in any excess plants that they would like to pass on.  The only condition is that if they are still left at the end of the meeting you need to take them home with you.  A great idea as plants are so expensive to buy now – the prices have rocketed!

Members’ plants
Anne Shepherdson, one of the Founding Members of the Gardening Club, bought this Trumpet Brugmansia just before start of Covid from a jumble sale, very cheaply.  Since then, it sulked but Anne’s message is never give up because this year (maybe due to the warm weather) it has excelled as you can see.   Anne’s message is never give up hope.

Seed Order
The D T Brown seed order catalogues are available. The discounts offered to Club members this year include 50% on seed, 20% off grow your own products and 10% off Darlac tools and birdseed. Order forms need to be returned at the next meeting in November so if you want a catalogue or cannot return your order form at the November meeting (and can’t find a friend to do it for you!) then please contact Elly Bibby on 0780 2497780. As usual, no payment is required up front and is due once you have received the seeds in January.

Christmas Workshop – 27^th November – 2 pm – 4.30 pm

Lydbury North Village Hall 
A few places left so don’t delay.  Led by Alison Schofield, a retired art teacher and silversmith, and Claire Labrum, retired florist.  All materials including a generous quality of foliage, seed heads and Christmas style decorations will be provided but you are welcome to bring any of your own favourites. Please choose between wreath making or a table decoration when booking.  To reserve your place, please contact Elly Bibby 07802497780 or ellisonbibby05gmail.com

RHS Affiliation
Don’t forget that our club is affiliated to the RHS so I can lend you a discount card which offers 50% off entry for two people, to any RHS Garden (Bridgewater, Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall, Rosemoor and Wisley). It is not accepted for visits during Flower Shows and Glow Illumination events.

Membership
DUE LAST MONTH! Membership costs £20 to cover attendance at all our meetings for a year (from October); early access to trips and events with subsidised tickets; seed offers and plant sales. We are affiliated to the RHS so you can borrow our discount card which provides 50% discount for two people to any RHS garden. Such a bargain!

Payment can be made with cash, cheque or card at our meetings or by bank transfer to: South West Shropshire Gardening Club sort code 20-53-22 account number 80754803. Please add your name as reference and email our Treasurer Tina McAra to let her know: swsgcbookings@gmail.com

Plant Heritage
We also belong to Plant Heritage and have two cards which enable members to attend local meetings and events.

Social media
Love it or loath it, remember that we have a packed website (www.gardeningshropshire.co.uk) and a Facebook page, both of which are great ways of sharing information.  Please do visit them both as we regularly post updates and information about events in our local area.  If you have anything that you would like to share, please email bonnilass@hotmail.com or on Facebook you can post directly and this will be posted once approved by the Administrator.

A bit of health and safety
As we are now well into the season for coughs and sneezes, please, if you feel unwell, reconsider whether you should be coming to an indoor event.  Covid still is around, as is flu, and we do have several vulnerable people who do attend the meetings.

See you all on Wednesday 26^th November for the Hellebore talk