October News
Next Meeting
Our next meeting is on Thursday 1st October, 7.30pm at Harewood House. The talk is Trewithen Plants by Gary Long and we have all the usual attractions.
Coffee Bar
Thank you to everyone who has signed up for helping at our coffee bar week commencing the12th October. We currently have enough people for Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, but have only 2 people signed up for Tuesday and we could do with one more person on Friday. If you are able to help at all, even for a couple of hours it would be really appreciated. Please contact Lloyd Hills at lloydhills10@gmail.com or by phone at 07579 767124. He'll also be at our next meeting on the 1st October if you would like to speak to him in person.Also, at that meeting, we would be very glad of any coffee bar donations, such as biscuits, tins of tuna and corned beef, sugar coffee and tea.
Your support for these coffee bars is very much appreciated as it does provide funds to help PGA run their events and helps us to make our annual charity donation at our Christmas Party.
Onion Competition
For those members who are taking part in the heaviest onion competition, please bring your entries to Thursday’s meeting for the Weigh-In.
Helen McCall
For those that knew Helen, her funeral will be held on Monday 5th October at 1.30pm (please note revised time) at the Park Crematorium, Room 2.
Suttons and Dobies Discount Codes
The code for ordering from Dobies is SUGD354A
The code for ordering from Suttons is SUGS191A
The discount for each supplier is:
50% off seed packets & 20% off live products.
Asian Hornets
From a recent BBC article:
People are being urged to report sightings of Asian hornets in a bid to stop them spreading.
The non-native invasive species, which was recently spotted in Somerset for the first time, is a predator of other insects including honeybees, butterflies and beetles.
The sighting in Somerset has raised concerns the hornets could be heading towards Devon and Cornwall and South West Water has asked people to report any sightings.
Officials in the Channel Islands reported a record number of Asian hornet queens and nests last year and said this year would be a critical indicator since queens had been caught earlier than ever before.
For more information see: Widespread concern about spread of Asian hornets - BBC News
An app (ASIAN HORNET WATCH) can be downloaded to smartphones, to identify and report sightings.
Annual Charity Quiz
Plympton and District Civic Society are holding a quiz on FRIDAY 9th OCTOBER at Harewood House. Doors open at 7.00pm with quiz getting underway at 7.30. The cost is £8 for a team of up to 4 people. Bring your own refreshments (and glasses).
Entries to Mrs N Chinner, 29 Moorland Drive, Plympton PL7 1QY or email n.chinner@sky.com
Christmas Meeting
There will be a Christmas Social evening on Thursday 3rd December which will include a buffet, raffle, bingo, quizzes and music. The cost of the evening is £5 per member. Previous Christmas events have proved very popular and therefore the event is for members only and is payable in advance at our October or November meeting (cash or card).
2027 Speaker Programme
Next year’s programme is shown below. The cost will remain at £1 per meeting. Anyone wishing to pay in advance for all 10 meetings may do so by contacting Phil Warren.(It will not be possible to refund monies for any meetings missed). It is felt that this may help reduce queuing time on entry to the hall. Please contact Phil on 07892 623991 or by email plymptonga@gmail.com
A £15 payment will, therefore, give you a year’s membership and entry to ten meetings (February – November inc.)
JAN 7th NO MEETING
FEB 4th AGM followed by a talk on Seed Saving by
Becky Searle
MAR 4th Burgh Island – where wild things grow
MEMBERS DAFFODIL COMPETITION
MAR 20th SPRING SHOW
APRIL 1st Miniature narcissus – David Carver
MAY 6th To catch the eye of the judge – Francis Burroughs
JUNE 3rd National Gardens – Julia Tremlett
JULY 1st “milk bottles & more” – Caroline Crocker
AUG 5th The history of tea – Jeremy Wilson
AUG 21st SUMMER SHOW
SEPT 2nd “Weed” – Caroline Stone
OCT 7th The ups and downs of exhibiting – Stella Exley
MEMBERS ONION COMPETITION
NOV 4th Dazzling Dahlias – Bella Given
DEC 2nd Members Christmas Evening
September News
Our next regular meeting is on Thursday 3rd September, 7.30pm at Harewood House – doors open at 7.00pm.
The talk this month is entitled “Incredible Vegetables” by Mandy Barber. Free tea and coffee, raffle, sales & swap table and informal competition.
The Annual Show
Given the very adverse growing conditions over the preceding months, the standard and quantity of exhibits was quite impressive. We sincerely thank everyone who contributed, in whatever capacity. It was an excellent team effort and demonstrated exactly why our association is so successful. The show sub-committee will very soon start planning for next March’s Spring Show, and now is a good time to buy bulbs etc ready to plant in the coming weeks/months. There are some excellent suppliers of flowering bulbs that can be found online.
Coffee Bar
Once again, we are manning the Coffee Bar - w/c 12th October. Donations of sandwich material etc are always appreciated as well as is good quality bric-a-brac. Please see Lloyd on Thursday evening. If you can help out during the week, even if it’s just for an hour or two, we would like to hear from you.
Plymouth Honey Show
We have a table at the upcoming Honey Show being hosted by The P & D Beekeepers Assn. The event is being held at Harewood House on Saturday 19th September from 10.00am – 4.00pm. We will be selling bulbs and plants as well as promoting Plympton Gardeners. We would be very grateful for any donations of plants that we can sell. Please bring any contributions to Thursday’s meeting or bring them along on the 19th.
Onion Competition
The weigh-in for the heaviest onion will take place at the October monthly meeting. Remember you do not need to tidy your onion, leave roots and leaves attached. It’s the weight that counts not the appearance!
Daffodil Competition
At Thursday’s meeting we will be issuing daffodils, complete with plant pot and compost. Plant your bulbs in the compost provided and nurture them in your own way during the winter, ready to display the flowering bulbs at next year’s March meeting. They will be judged on the evening with a small prize to the winner. There is no charge to enter this year but a small donation to our charity would be appreciated.
Member Information
It is our sad duty to inform you of the recent passing of two of our members.
Dave Bone, husband of Sue, died on 8th August following a short illness. His funeral will be held on Thursday 3rd September at 11.00am at the Park Crematorium, room 1.
Helen McCall passed away recently and unfortunately at this time we have no further information.
August News
Monthly Meeting – Thursday 6th August
This month’s talk is Herbaceous Peonies by Caroline Stone. Caroline is the holder of the
peony and double primrose national collection so I’m sure this will be a very informative
talk. It’s a 7.30pm start and doors open at 7.
Please take note …… that owing to major refurbishment to the kitchen it is highly likely that
we will have no facilities to provide tea and coffee this month. Please bring your own
drinks. We will however have the sales/swap table, the informal competition and the raffle.
Annual Show – Saturday 15th August
The weather has been challenging this year and keeping plants at their best has not been
easy. Bear in mind that if you’ve found it difficult so has everyone else! We are still hoping
for a good number of entries for the show. Remember, there are plenty of categories to
choose from, so why not try something new this year? The various classes are shown at the
end of this newsletter. There are no charges to enter.
We will be selling plants and good quality second-hand goods, so if anyone is able to donate
anything please bring them along to the meeting or, ideally, on the morning of the show, or
on the Friday evening prior to show day.
We could use a few more people on the day of the show to act as runners to the stewards.
If anyone would like to help, please contact John, Carol or Phil. Full instruction will be given.
Hamper Draw
As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, we are holding a draw to help offset some of the
cost of putting on the show. Firstly, a sincere thanks to all those that have already bought
draw tickets – the response has been excellent. If you’ve not bought yours yet they will be
on a sale at Thursday’s meeting and on the day of the show. The draw will take place after
the presentation. Tickets are just £1 and you don’t need to be present to win.
Honey Fair
Plymouth and District Beekeepers are holding another event at Harewood House on
Saturday 19th September. We will be selling spring bulbs at very competitive prices, and in
manageable quantities. This was a popular show last year so it’s worth putting it in your
diary.
Pig Race Evening
Although not a PGA event, the evening was well supported by Plympton Gardeners.
Everyone had an enjoyable time and the compare/hill-billy farmer stole the show – he had
us all in stitches from the moment he walked in the door. The actual racing was quite good
fun and a few people came away from the evening with a few extra quid in their pockets.
Well worth trying if you get the opportunity. Lloyd raised over £485 for his nominated
charity The Ocean Conservation Trust.
Taunton Flower Show
The trip is now full. However, if anyone wishes to go on a reserve list, to replace any last- minute drop-outs, then please let me know.
September’s Meeting
September’s guest speaker is Mandy Barber talking about Incredible Vegetables.
Coffee Bar
Plympton Gardeners will be running the Community Council coffee bar week commencing
12th October. We will be collecting coffee bar items and bric-a-brac at the September and October
meetings. Any donations will be gratefully received.
For Show Schedule please see our Events page.
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