Tintern Garden Club

Annual and Monthly Reports

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Garden Club Report, November 2023

“Trees, a veritable feast for fungi” was the title of the talk at the Garden Club's November meeting. This fascinating talk, which was accompanied by slides, was given by Lynne Boddy, a local fungi expert. Judging by the number of questions following the talk, everyone found it an extremely interesting topic. The competition was for “Something with fungi on it” and was won by Colin Dudley.

The next Garden Club meeting is the Christmas party. This will be held in the Village Hall on Friday 15th December and will start at the earlier time of 6.30pm. Please bring a plate of food and a drink and there will be a quiz, a raffle and lots of fun!

If you would like to join the Garden Club, please come along to one of our meetings or ring Dave Tuffery on 01291 689909 or Liz Greatorex-Davies on 01291 689861.
Garden Club Report, October 2023

At the garden club meeting this month, Justine Scouller of Far Hill Flowers gave a fascinating talk about how she started a business at her property at Llanishen growing flowers. Although most florists in this country rely on the numerous Dutch importers for their displays, Justine sows and grows fresh and scented local flowers for weddings, funerals and other events.
While working on a display in a pot with foliage and flowers that are in season now, she explained how she discovered that there is a network of commercial growers in this country producing local flowers. All her plants are grown without chemicals and include more unusual varieties. She also described how she makes her compost and gave us a recipe for compost tea that can be watered on any beds.

Our talk next month is about “Trees – a veritable feast for fungi“ by Lynne Boddy. The competition is something with fungi on. The date will be Friday 17th November at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Visitors are always welcome at a cost of £2.00.

If you would like to join the Garden Club, please come along to one of our meetings or ring Dave Tuffery on 01291 689909 or Liz Greatorex-Davies on 01291 689861.
Garden Club Report, September 2023

The Garden Club met on Friday 15th September for the first indoor meeting for some time. 18 members gathered for a talk entitled “The Dean, why is it so special”. This was given by Jan who is one of the Forest of Dean's Tour Guides and so has a great knowledge about the area. Most of us know the Forest fairly well as it is so close but we all learned some things which we had not known before and everyone agreed it was a most interesting talk.

The competition was for a sheep (not a live one) and was won by Judith Dudley. Jim Langdon brought along some packets of seeds which he had collected from plants in his garden and these were taken by members to try out in their own plots.

Our talk next month is about “Growing and arranging flowers” and is being given by Justine Sculler of Far Hill Flowers. The competition is for a limerick starting with the words “There was a young lady from Wales....”. The date will be Friday 20th October at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Visitors are always welcome at a cost of £2.00.

If you would like to join the Garden Club, please come along to one of our meetings or ring Dave Tuffery on 01291 689909 or Liz Greatorex-Davies on 01291 689861.
48th Annual Show Report
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The annual village show, which is organised and run by Tintern Garden Club, was held in the Village Hall on Saturday 5th August. This coincided with Storm Antoni, the first named Storm of the Year this year! With the poor July weather, entry numbers were expected to be lower than usual and it was feared that no one would brave the torrential rain to bring their produce to the Hall that morning. However, Garden Club members and other village residents showed their determination and came along with all their entries to put on a lovely show of flowers, fruit, vegetables, cookery and handicrafts. This was really appreciated by all the visitors to the show in the afternoon (when the rain stopped and the sun actually put in a appearance). Surprisingly, considering the weather we have had this year, fruit, flowers and vegetables were mostly high quality though entries were lacking in a couple of classes due to the lateness of the season. The cookery judge commented that the standard of baking was high and it was good to see entries in every class.

At the end of the afternoon, Dave Tuffery, our chairman, presented the trophies and thanked everyone who had entered for making it such a successful day. The trophies awarded were as follows :-

Rosaline Wiggins Cup for most points in the flower section- Judith Dudley
Sid Jones Memorial Cup for “Best in Show- Flowers”- Judith Dudley
Jane McCorquodale Trophy for most points in the fruit & vegetable sections- Colin Dudley
Members Challenge Cup for “Best in Show- Fruit & vegetables”- Colin Dudley
Perpetual Challenge Cup for most points in the cookery section- Christine Bradshaw
W.J. Wiggins Memorial Cup for “Best in Show- Cookery” - Marina Wynne
B.E. Young Cup for most points gained in the art & handicraft sections- Stephanie Shewell
Judy Bartholomew Trophy for “Best in Show-Art & Handicraft” - Vicky Staniforth
Junior Perpetual Shield for the most points gained in the children's section -
Megan Carruthers 2nd Saskia Binley 3rd Myla Rastall
People's Choice for the entry which received the most votes from visitors to the show- Lindsay Cobb

The Garden Club will meet again on Friday September 15th at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. We will be having a talk about the Forest of Dean entitled “The Dean- why is it so special”- verderers, sheep, free mines and more- its history and traditions. Visitors are welcome to our meetings at a cost of £2.00. If you would like to become a member, please contact Dave Tuffery on 01291689919 or Liz Greatorex-Davies on 01291689861 or just come along to one of our meetings.

Judith Dudley
Garden Club Report, July 2023

As I look out of my window the rain is pouring down and I am thankful that the Garden Club's final outdoor meeting for 2023 was yesterday and not today! Members met at “Clouds Rest”, Brockweir for an evening garden visit on Friday 21st and it was a beautiful evening for strolling around a spectacular garden. We all wondered how people can keep their gardens as tidy as that! One of our members commented that it was like the Chelsea Flower Show! After admiring the plantings and various garden features we enjoyed tea and cake and discussed the forthcoming Tintern Show.
This year the show will be held on Saturday 5th August in the Village Hall. An entry form was printed in the July edition of the Tintern News but if you missed it, forms can obtained from Lindsay Cobb, lindsaycobb1@btopenworld.com or phone 07717496369. Any village resident can enter and there are special children's classes.
IF YOU CAN GROW IT, SHOW IT!

There are classes for flowers, plants, fruit & vegetables, cookery and handicrafts and the more entries we have, the better the show. Entries are free and entry forms need to be with Lindsay by Wednesday 2nd August.

The next meeting of the Garden Club will be on Friday 15th September in the Village hall at 7.30pm when we will be enjoying a talk entitled “The Dean, why it is so Special” all about the Forest of Dean and it's traditions. Visitors are welcome at a cost of £2.00 which includes tea & biscuits. If you would like to become a member, please contact Dave Tuffery on 01291689919 or Liz Greatorex-davies on 01291689861.
Garden Club Report, May 2023

The weather was beautiful for the Garden Club's first garden visit of the year which was to “Ramblers” at Lower Common, Aylburton. We strolled around admiring the flower beds and investigated the extensive vegetable plot and greenhouses full of tomato plants before taking a look at the orchard. This was followed by tea/coffee and cake in a sheltered alcove under some overhanging, climbing plants. After the business announcements, Dave, our chairman, thanked our hosts for a lovely evening and we made our way back to our cars to collect the geranium plugs for this summer's forthcoming show. As we got into our cars, a few spots of rain were felt and on the way home, the heavens opened with torrential rain- we felt we had been very lucky!
Members were reminded that we will be having a plant stall at the Village Fete on June 24th so we will be needing plenty of plants to sell and also help to man the stall. If any members still need geraniums to grow for the Village Show on Saturday 5th August, they are available from Parva Farm Vineyard so please contact Colin or Judith on 01291689636.

Our next meeting will be on Friday 16th June at 6.30pm. It is our annual garden party and will be held at Dol Wen (Turning opposite the Old Station) where Matt & Freyja will show us what they have achieved towards setting up their “One Planet Development”. Please can all members bring along some food and drink so that the party goes with a swing.

If anyone has any queries about forthcoming events or membership, please contact Liz Greatorex-Davies on 01291689861 or Dave Tuffery on 01291689919.
Garden Club Report, April 2023

We had a very interesting talk at the Garden Club this month but unfortunately several members were not able to attend so our numbers were lower than usual. Gemma Bode from the Gwent Wildlife Trust gave us a talk about “Invasive, non-native plants”. Most of us knew and understood about Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam being a nuisance along the Wye but were surprised by some of the others, especially plants that we have in our gardens and can be purchased from garden centres. Many of these plants were brought back by plant hunters in the 1800s and presented to Kew Gardens. From there they were distributed to interested people but have since got out of hand and grow and spread so well that they are killing our native plants. Gemma finished off by telling us about a few animal species that have done the same thing, such as the American mink which is decimating the native water vole.

The competition was for a vase of spring flowers and was won by Judith Dudley. There will not be a competition next month as we are going on a garden visit.
Our next meeting is a garden visit to “Ramblers”, Lower Aylburton Common, GL156DS. We have been asked to arrive at 6pm to start at 6.30pm.
The cost is £5.00. It will be nice to get outside again and we will pray for a fine evening! If anyone needs a lift please ring Dave Tuffery on 01291689919.

If anyone would like to join the Garden Club, we meet on the 3rd Friday of the month in the evening. For more details please contact Liz Greatorex-davies on 01291689861 or email her at greatorexdavies@aol.com

Judith Dudley
Garden Club Report, March 2023

Roger Umpelby was our speaker at the Garden Club meeting on 17th March in the Village Hall. His talk was about fruit growing and he had many interesting facts and useful advice for those of our members who grow any sort of fruit in their garden. This ranged from top fruit such as apples & pears to bush and cane fruits such as gooseberries and raspberries to fruits which can be grown in a greenhouse like strawberries. We all learned something helpful.

The competition was for a piece of pottery with fruit decoration which Roger judged for us. His first place choice was a mug decorated with illustrations of apples, brought by Colin Dudley.

Our next meeting is on Friday April 21st at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. It is a talk on “Invasive & non- invasive plants” by Gwent Wildlife Trust. The competition is for a vase of spring flowers.

Anyone interested is welcome to come along to our meetings at a cost of £2.00 per person. If you would like to become a member, the annual subscription is £10.00. Please contact Liz Greatorex-Davies on 01291689861 or Dave Tuffery on 01291689919 for details.

Judith Dudley
Garden Club Report, February 2023

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The Tintern Garden Club's first speaker of 2023 was Tintern resident Nick Day talking about the work of “The Friends of the Lower Wye”. Nick showed us slides and told us about the pollution problems of the River Wye from its source in Plynlimon to the sea. The main cause of pollution (60%) is listed as “agriculture”. However, this is not caused by ordinary farms, it is industrial sized chicken units and the spreading of manure from these huge sheds. 30% of the pollution is from outflows from outdated sewage works, unable to cope with the quantities being produced. All this pollution causes algae blooms which choke the river, rendering it unable to support the wildlife (both large and small) which inhabits the river. For example, 90% of the Water Crowfoot, which used to grow so prolifically in our river, is gone.

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The Friends of the Lower Wye and other organisations further up the Wye are working hard to alter this situation by lobbying Natural Resources Wales, Defra and other government bodies to get them to take action. They are also taking weekly water samples up & down the river which are tested to show the amount of pollution at any one time. This was a thought provoking talk and very relevant to all Tintern residents as we live so close to this beautiful but ailing waterway.

After a break for tea & biscuits, our chairman Dave Tuffrey was presented with a prize for accumulating the most points in the monthly competitions in 2022.

The Garden Club meet every 3rd Friday of the month and new members are always welcome. Our next meeting is in Tintern Village Hall on Friday 17th March at 7.30pm when our talk will be about “Fruit growing” with speaker Roger Umpelby. The competition is for a piece of pottery with fruit decoration.

For any queries, please contact Liz Greatorex-Davies on 01291 689861 or Dave Tuffrey on 689919.

Judith Dudley
Garden Club Report, January 2023

Thirteen Garden Club members ventured out on a cold Friday 19th January to Tintern Village Hall for the most unpopular meeting of the Year- the AGM! Actually at the end, everyone said it had been an enjoyable meeting as it was nice to get together again and catch up on everyone's news.

The meeting was chaired by Colin Dudley who has been our chairman for the last four years. After noting apologies and signing off the minutes of the last meeting, Colin gave his chairman's report. He spoke about all the interesting speakers and garden visits we had during the year and he thanked everyone for all the work they had put in to make sure the Garden Club was a success. In particular he thanked our treasurer, Bernard Bradshaw, our social secretary, Liz Greatorex-Davies and our show secretary Lindsay Cobb. A special mention was made of Carolynn Blythe & John Haverway from Robin Cottage for hosting our Garden Party in their beautiful garden. Colin then gave the expected news that he would be retiring from the Chairmanship this year.

Colin's report was followed by Bernard giving the treasurers's report. This showed that the club is going along well, with no financial worries.

Lindsay talked about the Village Show and how successful it had been despite the very hot weather last summer.

Officers were then elected. Dave Tuffrey was elected as Chairman (in his absence, as he had covid but he had agreed previously!). Colin Dudley is to be Vice Chair, Liz Greatorex-Davies will continue as Social Secretary and Lindsay Cobb as Show secretary. Judith Dudley will take over as Minutes secretary as well as Press Officer.

The programme for the year was handed out and the results of the monthly competition in 2022 was announced with a win for Dave Tuffrey. There was no other business so the meeting closed and tea & biscuits were served.

If anyone is interested in joining us, we meet on the third Friday of the month at 7.30pm in the village Hall and we will be happy to welcome you. For details please contact Liz on 01291689861.

Judith Dudley
Garden Club Report, October 2022

At the beginning of October, Garden Club members heard the sad news that Jane McCorquodale, a long standing and popular member and former chairperson, had passed away. We will all miss her.

Members who attended the October meeting should now all have beautiful winter hanging baskets as our speaker was Alexandra Luker from Chepstow Garden Centre who demonstrated how to make these and talked about suitable plants to use. The talk was well attended and enjoyed by all.

November's meeting will be on Friday 18th at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Paul Bennell will be giving a photographic presentation of bridges and other local places of interest. Non members are welcome to come along at a charge of £2.00 (which includes tea and biscuits).

We are always happy to welcome new members so if you would like to join us, either come along to the next meeting or ring Colin on 01291689636 or Liz on 01291689861.

Judith Dudley
Garden Club Report, September 2022

It was yet another lovely evening for the third Garden Club garden visit this year. Seventeen members met at Wyndcliffe Court, St Arvans. Many of us had visited the garden in the past but the present owners, who moved in in 2017, have worked hard to improve it, especially the old kitchen garden which had fallen into disuse. We were shown around by owner Sarah Clay and learned some history of the house as well as the garden. The beautiful, grade 2 listed, stone built house appeared to be really old but was actually built in 1922 and it looked lovely in the evening sunshine. The garden was designed in the Italianate Arts & Crafts style by Henry Avray Tipping and has yew topiary, stone walls and formal terracing as well as a pond and stone summer house. The kitchen garden has now been replanted with fruit trees and formal plantings of lavender and other low growing shrubs. After the garden walk, we enjoyed tea/ coffee and cakes in the dining hall. It was a very pleasant way to spend our last garden visit of 2022.

Our next meeting will be back in the Village Hall on Friday 21st October at 7.30pm when we will have a demonstration on planting winter tubs and hanging baskets by Alexandra Luker. The competition is for an autumn leaf.

New members are always welcome. To find out more about the Garden Club, please contact Colin Dudley on 01291689636 or Liz Greatorex-Davies
on 01291689861.1.

Judith Dudley
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Garden Club Report, July 2022

On Friday 15th July, on a beautiful summer evening, 19 members of Tintern Garden Club visited “Green Fields”, Brockweir for a garden visit. This was a beautifully maintained, colourful garden with a wealth of unusual and interesting plants. Some of them were so unusual that even the plant experts amongst us did not recognise them! After spending time exploring the many different areas of the garden, the evening was rounded off with tea (or coffee) and delicious home made cakes served in the garden. This is a NGS garden but also caters for private parties and is well worth a visit.

The Garden Club does not have an August meeting. Instead, they organise the Tintern Village Show which is held in the Village Hall and will be on Saturday 13th August. Entry forms should be with Lindsay Cobb by Wednesday 10th August. Entries can be staged from 9.00am until 11.45am on the day of the show after which the judging will take place. Viewing of entries takes place from 2.30pm. There will be a raffle and tea and cakes will be on sale. If you would like to enter but do not have a schedule, please email Lindsay lindsaycobb1@btopenworld.com

If you are interested in joining the Garden Club, please call Colin Dudley on 01291689636 or Liz Greatorex-davies on 01291689861.

Judith Dudley
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Garden Club Report, May 2022

Eighteen members of the Garden Club travelled to “The Alma” at Bully Hole Bottom for the May meeting. Garden Club summer meetings are usually visits to local gardens and these, like The Alma, are often National Garden Scheme gardens. This can guarantee the garden will be well kept and interesting and The Alma was no exception. A large lawned area had plantings of many interesting trees and shrubs, including a tulip tree, a Cornus Kousa and some unusual Magnolias and Acers. The wisteria on the garden fence was looking beautiful and the herbaceous bed was just coming into bloom. There was a “no dig “ vegetable plot which was a point of interest for the veg. growers amongst us and some lovely blueberry bushes, a peach tree and other soft fruit in the kitchen garden. After the tour of the garden we were served tea and delicious home made cakes which we enjoyed while sitting on the patio overlooking the garden. Our hosts were thanked by Colin, our chairman, for a lovely visit.

Our June meeting is a visit to a member's garden for our annual Garden party. This will be hosted by Carolynn Blythe at Robin Cottage, Trellech Road, starting at 6.30pm. Everyone should bring a plate of food and a bottle which we will share during the evening. Fingers crossed for good weather!

The schedule is now available for the Village Show which will be on Saturday 13th August. Please contact Colin Dudley on 01291689636 if you would like a schedule. Anyone who lives in Tintern may enter and entries are free. There are special classes for the children too.

If there are any members who have not yet got their geranium, please contact Colin for these.

Judith Dudley
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Garden Club Report, March 2022

Tintern Garden Club met on Friday 18th March in the Village Hall for a talk, with slides, about Drystone Walling by Chris Hodges. The 23 members who attended found this a very interesting subject and many had questions for Chris after his talk. Although drystone walls are found all over Britain, they do vary from place to place mainly because of the different types of stone available in different areas. The Wye Valley has many drystone walls, quite a number of which are very old and formed parish boundaries. Chris showed us slides of walls he had repaired as well as some lovely ones he had built with new stone.

The competition was for a decorated stone and was won by Judith Dudley with Colin Dudley second and Dave Tuffrey third.

Next month's talk is entitled “River Trade” and is by Heather Hurley. The April meeting will be on April 22nd (a week later than usual as the third Friday is Good Friday). The competition is for “Something with a boat on it or a model of a boat”.

New members are always welcome- just come along to the meeting at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. For more information about the Garden Club, contact Colin Dudley on 01291689636 or Liz Greatorix-Davies on 01291689861.

Judith Dudley
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Garden Club Report, September 2021

On a beautiful late summer evening with the sun still shining but low in the sky, fifteen members of the Garden Club visited a lovely garden in Brockweir. It is called “Clouds Rest” which seems to suit it well and there are beautiful views from there over the valley. The garden is open to the public at certain times of the year with the National Gardens Scheme and is well worth a visit.

The garden is very well maintained and members were surprised to see so many plants still flowering. Roses, Michaelmas daisies, hydrangeas, dahlias, Japanese anemones, rudbeckias, sedums and some more unusual flowers along with many different grasses were bathed in the evening sunlight. After strolling amongst the flowers and admiring the views, members were treated to lovely cakes with their cup of tea (or coffee). It was a fitting end to our garden visits this year.

Our next meeting is back in the Village Hall on Friday 15th October at 7.30pm and is about the more autumnal subject of fungi. New members are always welcome as are visitors for the evening at a charge of £2.00 per person.

For more details please contact Liz on 01291689861 or Colin on 01291689636.
Garden Club update, August 2021

In August the Garden Club does not have a meeting, instead they organise and run the Village Show. This was held on Saturday 14th August on a very pleasant day and was well attended by visitors to the village as well as local residents.

Despite the difficult weather conditions this year, there were plenty of exhibits in most classes and in all sections. The flowers looked lovely and the vegetables of good quality. The handicraft section had more entries this year – possibly because of lock down- but it shows what a talented crowd live in Tintern! The cookery classes were mostly well entered – cakes, preserves, bread, eggs -but no quiches this year! The children's classes suffered from the lack of Brigade entries as they are not meeting at the moment because of Covid.

The trophies were awarded to the following
  • Flower section Judith Dudley
  • Vegetable section Colin Dudley
  • Handicraft section Carolynn Blythe
  • Cookery section Sue Hassell
  • Childrens' classes Eden Wheeler
  • Best in classes for flowers, fruit & vegetables Judith Dudley
  • Best in classes for handicraft & cookery Christine Bradshaw
  • Peoples Choice was equal first for Christine Bradshaw, Carolynn Blythe & Marion Derrett

The Garden Club says a huge thank you to Lindsay Cobb for organising the show this year. Also to be thanked are all the members who helped out in any way to make the show such a success. Not to be forgotten are the many people, both members and others, who put in entries as without these the show would not happen!

The next meeting of the Garden Club is a garden visit to Clouds Rest at Brockweir on Friday 17th September. We will be meeting at the garden at 6.00pm. (earlier than usual because the nights are drawing in). For more details please contact Liz Greatorix-Davies on 012910689861 or Colin Dudley on 01291689636.

For details of the Garden Club, please contact Colin Dudley, Parva Farm Vineyard. 02191689636 parvafarm@hotmail.com

Judith Dudley
Garden Club update, July 2021

At long last we have been able to have a proper monthly meeting in the Village Hall! As expected, the weather on the evening was beautiful but that meant we could open all the windows and with everyone wearing their masks and socially distanced, we felt safe as well as happy that we could get together once more.

Our speaker was Dino who gave us a fascinating talk about the history of orchids' rise to fame in the Victorian era but also spoke about the destruction caused by plant hunters then and also now as “orchidmania” has taken off in Asia and collectors are still paying huge prices for rare species. These orchids are being collected by local forest dwellers for the plant hunters and of course, they are not being paid much for them. The plants' habitat is also being destroyed in the process- much food for thought. The talk was accompanied by some very interesting slides.

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The next big Garden Club event is of course the Village Show. This is being held on Sat. August 14th in the Village Hall. It is open for all village residents to enter. Schedules are available from Lindsay Cobb, Quay House, Tintern. email lindsaycobb1@btopenworld.com

Entry forms need to be with Lindsay by Wed.11th August. We are hoping some of the covid rules will have been relaxed by then and that we will be able to serve teas in the afternoon. Viewing of the entries is from 2.30pm.

For details of the Garden Club, please contact Colin Dudley, Parva Farm Vineyard. 02191689636 parvafarm@hotmail.com

Judith Dudley

Garden Club update, June 2021

The Garden Club seems to have been dogged by bad weather recently! The May garden visit to Pilstone House had to be postponed because of the rain and then, when it was held the following week, the weather was dull and cloudy most of the evening with a shower at the end of the visit. However, everyone enjoyed the visit to what was a lovely garden with an interesting history.

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Our June meeting was the annual Garden Party held in a member's garden. This year it was hosted by Liz Greatorex-Davies at The Poplars, Whitelye. After a week of beautiful weather, the Friday dawned cold and dull but fortunately the rain held off and the party went ahead with 17 members attending. Liz showed us around her garden and wild flower meadow which had a profusion of flowers, particularly orchids which were lovely to see. We all admired the vegetable garden which was already producing plenty of peas and broad beans with other crops well advanced. Everything was very neat and tidy, making many of us think that we must try harder! Our thanks go to Liz for her hard work in organising the visit.

For our July meeting we are back in the Village Hall so it will probably be hot and dry! Our speaker for the evening will be Dino Zelenika talking about orchids. Liz will be sending out the details nearer the time and collecting names of those who would like to attend.

The show schedule for our Village Show on August 14th has been circulated. If anyone (garden club member or village resident) would like a copy, please contact Colin Dudley on 01291689636.

Judith Dudley
Garden Club update, April 2020

As reported last month, our meetings have unfortunately been cancelled until further notice. However as many of our members have gardens and the weather has been so good, we are guessing that they are taking advantage of the current situation and growing as much as they can this year. Colin, our Chairman has a few tips to help, especially those who do not usually make much use of their gardens.

1/The first is to remember that it is still only April and it is quite possible for us to have frosty nights well into May so don't be in a hurry to plant out anything that is susceptible to frost.

2/If you are growing vegetables, sow a few at a time over a few weeks so that they don't all mature together.

3/The soil has warmed up well now but may also be rather dry for seed sowing so water the furrow where you are going to plant, before you put the seeds in and keep it moist.

4/Keep an eye out for slugs, especially if it rains as they will be delighted to chew off all your lovely, new, green seedlings! Look out for slug hiding places such as under stones or pieces of wood or long grass at the edge of the bed.

5/ Things like bean and courgette seeds can be planted in pots on a windowsill or other protected place and planted out once the danger of frost has passed. The plants are then large enough to stand some chill and also are less likely to be eaten by slugs.

6/ Rabbits seem to be making a come back this year so it may be necessary to protect your plants from them.

Plant Swap Shop
It quite often happens that when we grow plants, we end up with more than we need. If this happens to you, please bring the excess up to the vineyard and we will organise a swap shop - with proper social distancing of course. To find out what is here, ring Judith on 07484 670302 and arrange a time to visit.

We hope everyone is enjoying their gardens at this lovely time of year. Home grown vegetables are the best and they save you from going shopping!
Report on February 2020 Meeting

The February meeting was held in the Village Hall and despite the unpleasant weather was well attended. Our speaker, Mr. Den Bannister, fought his way over the Severn Bridge from Slimbridge to give us an excellent and moving talk entitled “Slimbridge Remembers”.

This was nothing to do with the wildfowl wetlands but was about the way the village of Slimbridge commemorated 100 years since the Armistice. He told us how the idea of some sort of memorial developed over time to involve the whole community and ended up with being on National television and having the village roads gridlocked because so many people came to see the “Wire Soldiers” which had been created by a local artist and displayed in the graveyard. (Can be found on the internet at “Wire soldiers”.)

Following the talk, Colin, our chairman announced the winners of the evening's competition which was for “Something made of wire”. This was won by Carolyn Blythe who had made a lovely group of guinea fowl. Lindsay Cobb was second and Christine Bradshaw third.

The next meeting will be on Friday 20th March in the Village Hall at 7.30pm.The advertised talk about “Unusual Gadgets” has unfortunately been cancelled and replaced by a talk by Phil Ashford about the involvement of Gloucester in the tobacco trade in the 17th century. The competition will remain the same which is “An old or useful gadget”.

Non members are always welcome to attend the meetings at a charge of £2.00. Please contact Colin Dudley on 01291689636 if you require any information.

Judith Dudley
Report on The Annual General Meeting 2019

The AGM of the Garden Club was held on January 17th at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.

Colin Dudley, our chairman, spoke of the interesting and varied speakers and events we had had during the last year.

Bernard Bradshaw (treasurer) then gave his report of the finances which apparently are in good order and the club membership has risen to 37 so things are looking bright for 2020.

The show secretary's report was also very upbeat as he reported that there had been 300 entries in the Village show last August and several of these were from non-members. The show this year will be on August 15th so as not to clash with Chepstow show. Dave Tuffrey who has been doing a sterling job as Show secretary for the last few years is retiring.

The following officers were elected :- Colin Dudley (Chairman), Sue Hassell (Vice chair), Bernard Bradshaw (Treasurer), Liz Greatorex-Davies (Programme secretary), Lindsay Cobb (Show secretary), Judith Dudley (Publicity officer).

The programme for 2020 was handed out and it looks as though Terry Morrison has done a great job finding some interesting speakers and gardens to visit. Terry has been programme secretary for the last five years and is now retiring so a small presentation was made to her to thank her for all her hard work.

The competition results for the monthly competitions were announced. The overall winner with 14 points was Judith Dudley and she was presented with a Portmerion photo frame.

Colin announced that the Nurtons (Wye Valley Sculpture Garden) will be opening in February to show their snowdrops. It was decided that Garden Club members would visit on Wednesday 5th February at 2.00pm so any members who are interested in seeing the snowdrops can meet there.

There being no more business, the meeting closed at 8.30pm and was followed by tea, biscuits and a chat.
Report on November 2019 Meeting
For our November meeting of Tintern Garden Club, we were joined by Bob Train to teach us all about ‘Garden Photography’. By showing us a fabulous collection of his photographic work, we learned all about composition, focus, cropping and combinations. Bob explained the importance of encouraging the viewer’s eye to go on a journey through the photograph and the joy of experimenting to find the right balance from different levels and and angles around the garden. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing his photos showing the changing seasons of the glorious gardens he had visited. So if you see lots of Garden Club members laying down in the muddy leaves this month to capture that special autumnal shot from a hedgehog-eye view, you’ll know where they got the idea!

This month’s competition was to bring a photograph of flowers with our guest speaker acting as judge. The winner was Jackie Langdon with a beautiful picture of roses, followed by Carolynn Blythe in second place and Christine Bradshaw in third. Many thanks to all our competitors!

Our next meeting is our Christmas Party at 6.30pm on Friday 20 December in Tintern Village Hall. Join us for a festive get-together!
Report on October 2019 Meeting
On a terrible wet and windy night in October, with the rain lashing down, the intrepid members of Garden Club convened for a spooky talk about ‘Gargoyles’ by John Putley just in time for Halloween. A range of strange, twisted and gurning creatures were gathered in the Village Hall - but that’s enough about the Garden Club members, let’s turn to the gargoyles brought along by our speaker instead. John really knew his stuff and kept us thoroughly entertained with tales of gargoyles through the ages and the many different types of creatures we might see and the locations we might find them. Garden Club members will soon be seen peering up at every old church and historic building looking for gargoyles hidden in the stonework. And expect some curious looking garden sculptures appearing around Tintern next spring.

This month’s competition was to bring an ‘amusing mug’ with our guest speaker acting as judge. The winner was Sue Hassell, followed by Judith Dudley in second place and Jackie Langdon in third. Many thanks to all our competitors!
Report on September 2019 Meeting
Our meeting in September saw the start of our autumn/winter programme of talks for this year, after our summer escapades visiting gardens throughout Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire. The leaves on the trees are beginning to turn their glorious autumnal shades, the evenings are becoming darker and we knew the wind and rain was about to set in, so we huddled into Tintern Village Hall for a lesson in how to deal with ‘The Autumn Garden’ by Catherine Williams. Catherine spoke to us about this changeable season and reminded us of the list of ‘jobs to do’ to keep the garden looking its best for the autumn months, before settling it to bed for the winter! Many helpful tips and ideas were shared, many jobs were added to our lists – so expect to see the gardeners of Tintern still busy and bustling in their gardens for months to come. Don’t forget the birds, hedgehogs and small creatures who need our help to get through the autumn and winter!

This month’s competition was to bring an interesting leaf, with our guest speaker acting as judge. A real range of leaf sizes, shapes and colours were seen! The winner was Dave Tuffery, followed by Judith Dudley in second place and Carol Ostler in third. Many thanks to all our competitors!
Report on July 2019 Meeting
Our July meeting was our Garden Club summer party! We ventured out to Chepstow to be well entertained by our lovely hosts Jim and Jackie Langdon. Our intrepid members braved the forecasted rain and happily the storms held off for most of the evening whilst we were treated to a tour of Jim and Jackie’s new garden. A lovely garden with a gloriously colourful selection of planting! We then retreated to the house to tuck into our tasty summer feast of food and drink brought along by all the members. A very convivial evening was had by all. Many thanks to Jim and Jackie for hosting a great party!

Thank you to everyone who supported our Garden Club stall at the Village Fete on 29 June. We had a lovely day in the gorgeous weather, meeting lots of garden enthusiasts - hope you are all enjoying your new plants.

Our next event is our Annual Show on Saturday 10th August in Tintern Village Hall. Remember that all residents of the Tintern area are welcome to enter (not only members!) and children can join in with any category not just the children’s categories. The show covers all sorts of fruit, veg, eggs, flowers, crafts, arts, photography and homemade produce. Come and show us your makes! Show programmes have been handed out to all members, along with geraniums for the club competition - if you don't yet have yours, please contact Dave Tuffery. Please let Dave know your entries by Wednesday 7th August.
Open for public viewing from 2.30pm - 4.30pm. Everyone welcome! Lots of tea and cake and treats on sale!
Report on June 2019 Meeting
For our June meeting, the rainclouds stayed away just long enough for a gloriously sunny evening visit to Woodhaven garden. We were smitten with this colourful garden in Itton. It was surprising to discover that the garden had been developed singlehandedly by our hosts just in the past 13 years, having previously been part of a sawmill and then a breaker’s yard full of old buses and vehicles! The lovely front garden was filled with swathes of purple and white combinations of early summer flowers and a collection of cloud-like acer trees. Our knowledgable hosts then showed us round their main garden, which was bursting with rambling roses, colourful clematis climbing over arches, hidden sculptures, and huge flower beds leading down to a wildflower meadow. We ended our visit with tasty cake and bara brith on the sun terrace, whilst enjoying spectacular views across the valley.

Our next meeting is our Summer Party at 6.30pm on Friday 19th July! Come along to Jim & Jackie’s house at Ty-Melyn, Ruffets Close, Chepstow NP16 5BP. Bring food and drink to share. It should be a lovely evening!

Hopefully you are all getting on well with your own growing plans and preparing some spectacular entries for the Annual Show on 10th August. Remember that all residents of the Tintern area are welcome to enter (not only members!) and children can join in with any category not just the children’s categories. The show covers all sorts of fruit, veg, flowers, crafts, arts, photography and homemade produce. Come and show us your makes! Show programmes have been handed out to all members, along with geraniums for the club competition - if you don't yet have yours, please contact Dave.

We are always happy to see new members (the subscription is great value at just £10 per year) and non-members are also always welcome to come along to speaker meetings for a charge of £2. For more information about Garden Club, contact Colin Dudley on parvafarm@hotmail.com or 07899 980826, or come along to the next meeting to become our newest member.
Report on May 2019 Meeting
Our meeting in May saw the first garden visit of this year. Our intrepid members ventured to Whitchurch for an an evening exploration of the garden at Woodview. We enjoyed a lovely spring evening (with plenty of rain!) viewing the interesting array of hostas and wild orchids. The garden was full of intriguing sculptures and we enjoyed the collection of vintage garden tools, before tucking into some scrummy cakes from our knowledgable hosts. It was a joy to see the owl nesting boxes with young owlets tucked away inside, and the wren nesting pots being well used. A lovely start to our garden visits this year!
Report on April 2019 Meeting
After a sun-drenched and chocolate-filled Easter break, the members of Tintern Garden Club bravely struggled through the wet and windy wilds of Tintern to attend our April meeting. Gardening guru Marion Stainton spoke to us about ‘Colour & Companion Planting’ to wet our appetites for a new season of digging, sowing and planting in our gardens. Marion had some very bright and colourful ideas for contrasting and complementary combinations, using a whole range of shrubs, bulbs, climbers, foliage and perennials. She stressed the importance of planning for a garden to deliver a whole year’s worth of interest. Taking photos of the garden every few months as different plants pop up means that at the end of the year you can look back to work out where all your boring and empty bits are - and make amends by treating yourself to a shopping spree to buy lots more plants! Marion looked at spring and summer gardens, borders with winter interest, cool and hot palettes, and gave some thoughts on pictures of our own gardens. If every members’ garden has a verbena bonariensis appearing this year, it will be Marion’s influence!

This month’s competition was to bring a picture of companion planting, with our guest speaker acting as judge. The winner was Jim Langdon, with his stunning colour combination of rudbeckia and virginia creeper, followed by Judith Dudley in second place and Colin Dudley in third. Many thanks to all our competitors!
Report on March 2019 Meeting
For our March meeting, a last minute hiccup saw our new Chairman step into the breach and save the day with an impromptu talk all about Tintern’s very own vineyard. With lots of interactive props and some very sharp secateurs, Colin Dudley taught us all about his jobs through the year. From pruning vines and directing new shoots, to dealing with constant battles to save the grapes from rabbits and deer and birds and badgers and mould, to yet more pruning and tying, to finally harvesting the crop and choosing the blends for bottling. Judith Dudley gave us a very knowledgable talk about the development of vineyards through the ages, the way the spread of wine-making followed the expansion of the Roman Empire, and the resurgence of Welsh and British vineyards since the 1970s. Maybe the current vineyard really is on the site of the Abbey’s vineyard and maybe Colin and Judith are following in the footsteps of those monks tending their vines 900 years ago? After hearing about so much hard work, we all deserved to sample some of Parva Farm Vineyard’s latest batch of sparkling wine. A very merry end to a very fun talk!

This month’s competition was to bring an item decorated with birds to be judged by our speakers. The winner was Carol Ostler, with Dave Tuffery in second place and Diane Parker in third. Many thanks to all our competitors!
Report on February 2019 Meeting
Our Garden Club members were buzzing with anticipation for our February meeting. The village’s own Master Beekeeper Adam Parker gave us a fascinating talk on the life of bees, the history of beekeeping and why bees are so important for pollination and for the survival of the human race. We saw some incredible video clips of bees gathering pollen, doing their waggle dance and collecting water from ponds. With the help of a bee-flight-cam we even saw that the queen bee mates in flight with up to 13 males (who then all immediately die after their ‘bits’ fall off!). After that gruesome revelation, we sweetened the atmosphere with a tasting session of honeys from all over the world - including Indian, Finnish, Romanian, lavender, chocolate buckwheat and coffee honeys, and, of course, our very own local Tintern honey from the Parker family.

The monthly competition was to bring along something decorated with bees, judged by our speaker. The sweet taste of success went to our winner Judith Dudley for a lovely honey-spoon, with Colin Dudley in second place and Lindsay Cobb in third. Thank you to all competitors.
Report on January 2019 Meeting (AGM)
The January meeting of Garden Club was our AGM. It was great to see so many members attending to discuss the successes of 2018 and to get ready for a brand new programme this year.

Our Chairman, Jane, reminded us of highlights over the past year, including the wide range of speakers organised by Terry, the lovely summer party at the Vineyard and the great support for our garden stall selling plants and produce at the village hall table sales and the village fete. Jane has stepped down as Chairman after a great three years and we all thanked her for her hard work over the years. Dave reviewed the successful annual show last summer and inspired us to start planning our plantings, veg growing and crafting for this summer! Bernard, our Treasurer, reassured us that our finances are in sound shape and that membership levels are hearty. The new 2019 programme will be handed out soon to all members.

Each month we hold a competition and, as they say, points win prizes! The overall winner with the most points for 2018 was Lindsay Cobb, who won a lovely scarf with a beautiful hare design. The runners up were Dave Tuffery and Judith Dudley.

The committee for 2019 is Colin Dudley (Chairman), Sue Hassell (Vice Chairman), Bernard Bradshaw (Treasurer), Terry Morrison (Programme Secretary), Dave Tuffrey (Show Secretary), Carole Ostler (Minutes Secretary) and Lindsay Cobb (Publicity Officer).

Chairman’s Annual Report for 2018

2018 kicked off with the talk & demonstration by Clyde Hoare on Basket Making. This talk prompted us to book Clyde for a half day course later in the year to make a forage basket. In March Henry Hodge gave an interesting talk about hidden Chepstow, encouraging us all to pay more attention to our local buildings and heritage. In April Marion Stainton explained how raised beds can work in gardens and we now have a couple of these that Dave constructed on the ground by the Filling Station Café. Last year tomatoes, chard, beetroot and leeks were grown and there is also a herb wheel please do help yourself to the herbs. In May we went to Coleford to look around Meadow Cottage Garden. The evening was delightfully warm so we were able to have our tea and cake sitting outside. For the Garden visit in June we went to Rockfield Park where I was amazed by their vegetables - much further advanced than mine. Also in June we had the plant stall at the village fete this was very popular with the buyers. However we do rely on donations of plants and garden related items so if you are planting up any seeds or dividing plants grow a few extra for the fete. It is a great opportunity to promote the club to the villagers and visitors and makes us a bit of money as well which goes towards the cost of the speakers.
July’s Garden Party was held at the Vineyard, many thanks to Colin and Judith for hosting this. August we had the Annual Show which Dave will talk about later. September the talk was about Fred Hando and although I was not there I gather it was good. October saw Wendy Conway come back and talk about their latest photographic trip to South Africa. We rounded off the talks for the year with Alan Parker telling us how sundials work I did not realise how decorative and varied they can be. Then in December we had our usual Christmas party.
Many thanks to Terry Morrison for providing us with such a varied & enjoyable programme, and to all of you for coming to the meetings, entering the competitions and providing the teas.
The new Garden at the hall is coming along courtesy of funding from TAP and volunteers from the village hall and garden club. We do need to work on the next phase this Spring and cut back quite a few more of the shrubs and honeysuckle so look out for dates in the newsletter.
January 2019

Show Secretary’s Report for 2018

This year’s show had a record number of entries and entrants. There were a total of 348 confirmed entries, up on last year’s figure of 295. The breakdown was:-

Show secretary's report for 2018

Only two classes did not have any entries being Ball dahlias and Short carrots.
A total of 60 people put in entries of which 21 were members of the garden club, 9 were adult non-members from the village and 30 were children. This shows that opening up the show to non-members in the rest of the village has been worthwhile as there has been a steady increase in entries in the last six years.
The room was quite full of entries with the new hall stage units being successfully used as additional table space. We also had a good number of people, both local and passing tourists who came through the door to have a look and have some tea and cake. Thanks to those that helped on the day and before with stewarding, baking cakes to sell and serving teas etc. All in all a good team effort. It was an excellent show case for the village and the talents of the residents.
The long standing judge for the cookery section, Mary Cook, has finally decided to hang up her apron and retire from judging. Apparently it was only our show that she still judged. A card of thanks signed by the members has been sent to her.
I am prepared to do another year as show secretary, if there are no other takers, but I hope that someone else will step into the breach the following year.

Dave Tuffery, Show Secretary