EATON BISHOP VILLAGE SHOW
SUNDAY 20th AUGUST
EATON BISHOP VILLAGE HALL
This month, we set out below points that need to be considered for those entering the “Cookery and Preserves Section” of the Show:
Baking.
Judges are looking for:
External appearance…..colour, shape and uniformity.
Internal appearance…..texture and even distribution of ingredients.
Flavour….. flavour and aroma. Must be good to eat.
- First impressions count, so arrange neatly on plate.
- Cover with cling film to keep clean and hygienic.
- Cakes should be well risen, of a good shape and a moist fluffy texture.
- No large air holes when cut open.
- Cakes should have a flat or slightly rounded top. Slight cracking on the top is acceptable.
- Wire rack lines should not be visible.
Always read the Schedule carefully, check weight, size or number.
Chose a suitable plate.
Give yourself time to set up
Jam Chutney and Pickle.
Judges are looking for:
External standard…..container, cover, label and appearance.
Internal standard…..colour, clarity, flavour, consistency, texture of fruit or vegetable.
- Should be in a 375 ml or 1lb clear glass jar filled to within 1cm of the top.
- There should be no air bubbles or Scum.
- Labels should show main fruit or vegetable, with the day, month and year of making.
- Labels should be straight between the seams of the jar.
- Chutney and pickle should be 2-3 months old, to allow flavour to mature.
- Preserves should be covered with a wax disc.
Marmalade.
- Any peel should be tender and evenly cut.
- Colour should be bright.
- Consistency should not be too runny or too firm.
- No air bubbles or scum.
- Slightly bitter flavour.
At our Meeting on Wednesday 21st June, we were pleased to welcome Catherine Beale, a local historian, who has carried out a lot of research into stately homes and country mansions in the Herefordshire area. We first met Catherine, when following some research on country homes in the Presteign area, she soon realised that this was an important part of the Country, horticulturally, for the “Hybridising” of Narcissi. Hence, we arranged for Catherine to give a talk on this subject at one of our Club Meetings.
At the time, Catherine advised us that she had carried out a lot of research into Hampton Court Castle and their historic gardens and this was the subject matter of her recent talk.
In view of the historical nature of the talk we invited our colleagues from the Eaton Camp Historical Society to join us for the Meeting.
Catherine told us that Hampton Court Castle has been through an immense journey over the centuries. The oldest parts including the Chapel, date back to 1427, making the building almost 100 years older than Hampton Court Palace, in Surrey.
Difficult times and changing circumstances led to the Castle going through various transformations, which are reflected in how it looks today.
Catherine, in her talk gave an extensive account of the various families and their back ground who had occupied the Castle over the centuries, together with changes they made to the Castle, its grounds and surrounding areas.
The Castle is now fully restored and has retained a truly special atmosphere, which visitors can enjoy today.
Following her Talk, Catherine, who leads guided tours at Hampton Court Castle, suggested this could be arranged and is due to take place early in August.
Also, at our June Meeting we held our Mid – Summer Flower Show. This was well supported by Members and the results were as follows:
- Rose, one specimen bloom: 1st Annie Dayson. 2nd Charlotte Marshall. 3rd Mandy Saunders.
- Roses, three stems of any one type:1st Charlotte Marshall. 2nd Mandy Saunders. 3rd Chris Morris.
- Trees and/or shrubs in flower, one or more kinds: 1st Chris Morris. 2nd Janice Goy. 3rd Charlotte Marshall
- Trees and/or shrubs, foliage, one or more kinds: 1st Chris Morris. 2nd Jean Wise. 3rd Charlotte Marshall.
- Any flowers not listed above, three stems of one variety: 1st Charlotte Marshall. 2nd Janice Goy. 3rd Jean Wise.
- Any flowers not listed above, five stems of more than one variety: 1st Mandy Saunders. 2nd Chris Morris. 3rd Charlotte Marshall.
- A plate of soft fruit: 1st Charlotte Marshall. 2nd Chris Morris.
Final Results:
1st Charlotte Marshall 63 points. 2nd Chris Morris 48 points 3rd Mandy Saunders 27points
4th Janice Goy 18points
The overall winner of the Gardening Club Mid – Summer Flower Show Trophy was Charlotte Marshall.
For our Meeting on the Wednesday 19th July we are visiting Sue Maberley’s Garden at FForest Coal Pitt in the Black Mountains. A report on this event will be given in the next edition of Tracking the News.
As stated above Gardening Club Members are visiting the Hampton Park Castle and Gardens on Tuesday 8th August and again a report on this visit will be given in the next edition of Tracking the News.
Arrangements are now well underway for the Eaton Bishop Village Show, being held in the Village Hall on Sunday 20th August. This event is run by the Village Hall Committee, ably assisted by Gardening Club Members. The organisers are looking to maintain the success of our Show held in 2021 and hoping parents and grandparents can persuade more Children to enter the Children’s Classes at the Show. Their contribution in 2022 was rather disappointing.
Show Schedules have been printed and are available at Clehonger Village Stores; Madley Plants; Locke’s Garage; Madley Post office and Committee Members from Eaton Bishop Village Hall Committee and Eaton Bishop Gardening Club Committee.
Our Meeting in April was very well attended by Members and Guests to hear the Talk by Helen Picton on “The Cultivation of Clematis”.
At this Meeting, we were the first organisation using the Hall, to test the latest equipment, installed at Eaton Bishop Village Hall by the Village Hall Committee, consisting of the new Screen and Projector. This new equipment will certainly enhance our Meetings from now on and was very much appreciated by our Members. So, our thanks for this additional equipment must certainly go to the Village Hall Committee.
The occasion was certainly marked with an excellent talk, when Helen took us through the Gardening Year showing the varieties of Clematis, that could be grown in each Season. Many of us were certainly not aware that by combining varieties of Clematis you can have colour throughout the year. Helen gave us a selection of plants for each season, advising on the best growing conditions and the best planting combinations, with other trees and shrubs in the garden.
Regular pruning of Clematis encourages strong growth and flowering and keeps the growth in check. If left unpruned, Clematis can turn into a mass of tangled stems with bare base and flowers well above eye level. Helen explained that although there are numerous Clematis species, hybrids and cultivars, for pruning purposes, they are split into three distinct pruning groups, based on the time of flowering and the age of the pruning wood.
- Pruning Group 1 comprising of early blooming clematis should be pruned in mid-to late spring after flowering and once the risk of frost has passed.
- Pruning Group 2 comprising of the large-flowered cultivars that flower in May to June and possibly again later in the year, prune in February and after the first flush of flowers in early summer.
- Pruning Group 3, this group comprises clematis that flower from mid-late summer are best pruned back hard in February each year to the lowest pair of buds.
Helen will be visiting us again in June 2024 to give a talk on Michaelmas Daisies. Her Picton Garden and Nursery at Colwall hold the “National Collection” of Michaelmas Daisies.
Also, in April, members of Gardening Club were invited to visit the local Madley Plants Nursery by owners Simon and Michele. They spoke to us about what they had managed to achieved, since they took over the Nursery some eight years ago and their plans for the future.
Their range of plants has been significantly increased since they have been at the Nursery and Michele made a point of stating, that where possible they get their supply of plants, trees and shrubs from local growers. Their range of summer bedding plants is now quite extensive and can cope with most of their customers’ needs.
Michele then gave a demonstration on planting up containers, to give lasting summer colour.
We were then invited to view the Nursery and Shop and to make any purchases.
We rounded off the evening with tea/coffee and of course cake, and we made ourselves comfortable in the Nursery Coffee Shop, one of the Nursery polytunnels, which was rather cosy, on a rather chilly evening.
In May we did not hold a Meeting as during the third week of the month, it would have clashed with the Gardening Club Holiday. This year we visited gardens in the Cumbria Area and a report on this will feature in the next edition of Tracking the News.
For our Meeting in June, we are pleased to welcome back to Gardening Club, Catherine Beale, a well-known local historian, who is going to give a talk on the Herefordshire Hampton Court House and Gardens.
We are hoping to follow the talk, with a visit to Hampton Court, when Catherine will take us on a guided tour of the House, which we are hoping to arrange, for some time in July or August.
We are looking to invite the Eaton Bishop Historical Society to this meeting as we feel the subject matter will also be of interest to them.
A report on the Meeting and Visit will feature in a later edition of Tracking the News.
Also, at the June Meeting we will hold our Mid-Summer Flower Show. Can Members please do their best to support this event with plenty of exhibits.
Schedule is as follows:
- Rose, one specimen bloom.
- Roses, three stems of any one type, in one vase.
- Trees and/or shrubs in flower, one or more kinds, in one vase.
- Trees and/or shrubs, foliage of one or more kinds, in one vase.
- Any flowers not listed above, three stems of one variety, in one vase.
- Any flowers not listed above, five stems of more than one kind, in one vase.
- A plate of soft fruit.
For our Meeting on Wednesday 15th March, we were pleased to welcome Julian Reeves, the Charity Manager for Herefordshire Growing Point, who gave a very interesting talk and presentation on the work carried out by this Charity.
Julian explained that they are a registered Charity, based at Headway House, Credenhill, Hereford and have been established for over 30 years.
Their aim is to give disabled and vulnerable people of all ages the chance to enjoy Gardening and get the benefits of Social and Horticultural Therapy.
He explained that Horticultural Therapy involves being outside amongst plants, trees and shrubs and carrying out various gardening activities in relation to them, which has been shown to improve mental and physical health, build confidence and make people happier.
Their Sessions usually last one or two hours and normally take place in the garden at Credenhill, where people are divided into groups that suit their abilities and interests.
Julian explained that they also offer outreach sessions to care homes, sheltered housing locations and lunch clubs throughout the county.
Julian also brought along several common gardening tools which had been adapted to assist people with physical disabilities.
This was a very enlightening talk and presentation to promote this valuable charity and Julian has offered us the chance to visit their Garden at Headway House, to view their work, which we are arranging to do later in the year.
Also, at the March Meeting we held our “Spring Bulb Competition”.
Due to the adverse weather in the days prior to our Meeting, the support for our Competition was not as good as in previous years, so many thanks to those that were able to provide exhibits for this event.
The results were as follows:
Dwarf Narcissi – 5 or more stems of one kind in pot or vase: 1st.Chris Morris. 2nd Janice Goy.
3rd.Carol Ealy.
Daffodils or Narcissi Long Trumpets – 5 or more stems of one kind in pot or cut in vase:
1st.Chris Morris.
Daffodils or Narcissi Short Trumpets – 5 or more stems of one kind in pot or cut in vase:
1st Jenny Crisp. 2nd Lynne Jones Rodgers.
Polyanthus or Primula – 1 plant in pot and in flower: 1st Jean Wise. 2nd Victoria Seymour.
Vase of mixed spring flowers: 1st Janice Goy. 2nd Chris Morris. 3rd Jenny Crisp.
Any other bulb or plant in pot or vase, in flower: 1st Lynne Jones Rodgers. 2nd Jean Wise.
3rd Jenny Crisp.
Once again, the overall winner of the Spring Bulb Competition was Chris Morris. Second Place was tied between Lynne Jones Rodgers, Janice Goy and Jenny Crisp.
Third Place went to Jean Wise.
Well done to all those who submitted entries for the Competition.
For our Meeting on Wednesday 19th April, we are very much looking forward to a visit from Helen Picton, the Proprietor of the Picton Garden and Old Court Nursery, based at Colwall.
Helen is a very knowledgeable horticulturalist and an excellent speaker.
She will be giving a talk on “The Cultivation of Clematis”.
Also in April, members of gardening Club have been invited to the local Madley Plants Nursery, by Simon and Michelle.
They will talk to us about their future plans for the Nursery and the new plants they are now growing. Michele will also give a demonstration on planting containers for some beautiful summer colour.
A full report on these two events will be given in the next edition of Tracking the News.
Our Gardening Club Meeting for May, normally held on the third Wednesday of the month has been cancelled, as we will be away that week on our Gardening Club Holiday, to visit Gardens in the Cumbria area.
We are hoping to arrange a trip to view the “Bluebells” and other Spring Flowers in the Wye Valley and details of this will be given to Members in due course.
- Cutting back foliage of Hellebores will ensure that emerging flowers are not obscured by old leaves and will help to control Hellebore leaf spot disease. Flowers of Hellebores provide forage to some early pollinators, including bees.
- Start tender Fuchsias into growth, by plunging the pots in water for a few minutes and pruning them back quite hard, cutting out spindly lifeless shoots completely and shortening all other shoots and side shoots to about 2.5-5cm long.
- Hardy shrubs that flower on new wood in summer can be pruned this month.
- This is an ideal time for repairing damage to lawns by reseeding or with turf.
- Lift, divide and replant flowering Snowdrops, as their foliage starts to yellow.
- Continue to prune Roses, although Rambler Roses are normally cut back after flowering. Prune back all growth from the previous season by 30-50 percent, aiming to create a rounded open shape bush.
- Feed with well-rotted horse manure or blood fish and bone fertiliser.
- As soon as winter flowering heathers are past their best, clip them lightly to ensure they remain compact and sturdy.
Kitchen Garden
- Early carrots and parsnips can be sown towards the end of this month, unless the ground remains water logged.
- Plant out seedling onions, also plant out onion sets.
- Sprout or “chit” seed potatoes indoors before planting. This leads to earlier and higher yields.
- Planting of fruit trees and bushes should be completed before the end of this month.
- Sow brussels sprouts and plant out hardened cauliflowers.
Under Glass.
- This is an excellent time to take cuttings of many greenhouse and tender bedding plants.
- Start sowing hardy and half-hardy annuals.
- Pot corms of tuberous begonias.
- Pot up Lily Bulbs for glorious summer colour, keeping an eye out for the red coloured Lily Beetle as the shoots emerge, which can soon devastate your plants if not destroyed quickly.
- French and Runner beans can be sown in pots.
Gardening for Wildlife.
- This month is the start of the main breeding season for garden birds. Putting out nesting material, such as hair and wool, will help to encourage birds to nest in your garden.
- Put up nesting boxes for birds
- Continue providing food for birds. They greatly benefit from additional provisions, when the conditions are freezing. At this time avoid whole nuts and large chunky pieces of bird food that can choke fledglings.
- This is the best time to add new plants to your pond, so they have the whole growing season to establish, as the temperature rises
There will be many jobs that will need to be done in the garden in the weeks ahead, as we come into Spring, but this is just a few that you might like to consider.