Yapton and District
Cottage Gardeners Society
Yapton and District
Cottage Gardeners Society
Dear member.
Its now official. Yapton And District Cottage Gardeners' Society has moved into the 21st Century, we have a website
address of www. yaptongardeners.co.uk. What does it mean, well for those of you with access to the
internet it means no excuses for missing any of the Society's shows or members meeting, or misplacing
the Newsletter that will continue to drop through your door, because all these details will be on our site.
Ken Rippengale, who is a member, has been co-opted onto the Committee as our IT Guru. Whilst I have
to admit I do not possess a computer from what I have seen and heard at our committee meetings it is all
fascinating stuff. There is loads of information to be obtained and Ken has put in links to other sites of
interest, and not all gardening. Placing orders with Amazon by using the link on our website is one area
where the Society can benefit. To enable us to enhance the website we would be interested to hear from
anyone who may have any good recipes we could circulate, or interesting stories to tell, in fact anything
that may be of interest to other members.
I am pleased to report the Annual Show went exceeding well and a big thanks to you all. I am not going
to list or name people as I am bound to forget someone or an organization and I do not wish to cause any
upset. I do hope those of you who came along took time to admire the beautiful display of gladiolus
staged by The British Gladiolus Society (Sussex) Branch. In the evening we were treated to a spectacular
performance from the Yetties, and with the assistance of the good-humoured hecklers from the back of the
hall, the evening was enjoyed by all who attended. August the 14th was a fan filled day and nicely rounded
off the year's planning.
There are a few important dates for your diary, the first being the Society's Autumn Show on Saturday
2nd October 2004, so lets make our Show Secretary a very, very happy man by putting in lots of exhibits,
who knows we may even give him a headache. Areas where there has been a decline in entries are in the
Wine and Beer, Floral Art and Children's sections, so please if you can or you know someone who is keen
in wine making or floral art please encourage them to enter. When clearing the vegetable garden keep
your eyes peeled for five long runner beans, just right for the runner bean race in the Autumn Show. Also
if you have potatoes still to dig, pick out the biggest you can find, only one is required for the heaviest
potato class these are just two easy classes to enter in the Autumn Show. Don't forget your fruit trees, one
apple, one pear also appear in the autumn show schedule.
The evening of Saturday, 23rd October 2004 at 8.00 p.m. sees the return of one of Tricia Ford's popular
Barn Dances. ‘The Crooked Stove Band’ will perform the music for this event, and the caller will be Peter
North. For further details and tickets (£7.50 each) , which will be shortly available, please contact Tricia
via this web site contact@yaptongardeners.co.uk
Another note in your diary is for the Member's Meeting. On Wednesday 3rd
November 2004, at 7.30 p.m. we welcome Mr. John Knight, a Countryside Ranger from Yapton, who
will give an illustrated talk entitled Gardens for Wildlife , a subject I am sure we will all enjoy. The
evening is free but it is hoped you will participate in the raffle and refreshments will be available.
Whilst in Tescos the other day, the Christmas goods, such as puddings, sweets, fancy biscuits, etc. are
gradually being placed out, so the next Bank Holiday cannot be far away! Are you stuck as to what to buy
someone, or perhaps you are looking for the unusual gift for Christmas - I have a possible answer. The
Society does have a few Commemorative Plates left, and they will be on sale at all the above events,
subject to them not all being sold on the 2nd October.
Finally, the last date for your diary in this newsletter is the Society's Annual General
Meeting which takes place on Wednesday 1st December 2004 , and whilst we are fortunate and truly grateful that
many members are willing to assist the committee on show days etc. we do need a few more members to
join our somewhat stretched committee. The Committee meetings are becoming more regular and we
usually meet once a month at 7.30 p.m. and last approximately 2 hours, finishing around 9.30 p.m. Our
host and hostess Mike and Vicky Millis truly welcome us. The Society does need to have fresh faces on
the Committee, as they can come in with new ideas, etc. So if you can spare approximately 2 hours per
month Carol or I would love to hear from you.
And finally ........ a couple of tips as autumn fast approaches. Lets not dwell on the winter but think of
spring and of course the Spring Show. Why not visit some of the local garden centres and shop around for
spring bulbs, don't always go for the cheapest or even the dearest, go on the size and condition of the
bulbs. When planting bulbs as a rough guide the depth of the soil above the top of the bulb should be at
least twice the height of the bulb its self, in other words the depth of the hole must be three times the
height of the bulb. By following this tip hopefully you will have sufficient stems to enter some of the
classes in the Spring Show.
As the leaves take on their autumn colours they will eventually fall, and it is important that they are
cleared and consigned to the compost heap on a regular basis. If they are left on the lawn or even worse
on a pond they will start to decompose and kill the grass or the fish in the pond. Stretching a fine net
across the pond at this time of the year will make it easier to collect the leaves - but don't fall in the water
will not only be wet but chilly.
The Committee and I will be more than happy to hear your news and views, so please stay in touch.
I must come to a close now, the cat needs feeding, and I need to hunt for the seed catalogues. Hope to see
you all at the Autumn Show and don't forget www.yaptongardeners.co.uk
Best Wishes
Chairman
© Copyright 2004 Kaysare. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Ken Rippengale (aka -kaysare-) (rippengale@hotmail.com)