2021
We normally hold meetings in Wells Town Hall during the cooler months of the year. Unfortunately, the event that was planned for the 9th of September 2021 has been cancelled and the programme for 14 October and 11 November has been postponed to sometime next year.
However, we can meet socially and get together at garden visits.
Lady Farm at Chelwood on Thursday 7 October 2021 at 11 a.m.
Cost £10 to include refreshments, arriving in our own cars. Post code is BS39 4NN (off the A368)
Yet another in our ‘keep it local’ trips at a mere 13.5 miles from Wells. In 1972 Malcolm and Judy Pearce agreed to swap homes and take on a 150 acre farm on a handshake and an evening on cider, there was no garden then and 150 cows were able to collect in the yard below the kitchen. Nowadays Lady Farm offers a delight of prairie planting set on a gently sloping site with natural springs running into waterfalls and streams that end in a lake. This is a garden which is at its best in early autumn. Look out for statues dotted around and chuckle at some that are carved from fallen trees.
To find Lady Farm, take the A39 Bristol Hill out of Wells; the road becomes the A37, proceed through Chewton Mendip and Temple Cloud and keep going until you reach a large roundabout. Take the third exit A368 towards Chelwood and you will find our venue a short distance along on the left.
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In the year 2021 so far, in the summer months, we have managed to make three visits to fabulous local gardens. In June we visited Stoberry Park with breath-taking views over the City of Wells and the Vale of Avalon, walled garden, ponds, wildflower meadow, sunken garden, potager, lime walk and plenty of benches to sit and relax. In July we were once again welcomed by James Cross at the Bishop's Palace Garden and wandered about on a beautiful summer's evening. And in August Simon Tudway Quilter kindly agreed to allow our club exclusive access to the 5 acre garden on the lower slopes of the Mendips. There were some interesting walks into the arboretum, along the terraces, herbaceous borders, rose beds and swimming pool with splendid views of the City of Wells.
Events that had been planned to take place from September 2021 onwards are now not taking place, except for our garden visit to Yeo Valley Garden In Blagdon at the beginning of that month. We have postponed listening to Sue Fisher about "Gardening in a Changing Climate - How to Future Proof Your Garden". We are also going to invite Colin Varndell again to talk to us about "The Hedgehog Predicament", sometime next year.
2020
We had lots of plans for this year but then... the Pandemic got in the way. In January we held our AGM with a quiz, raffle and refreshments. In February we met again and listened to a talk by Alan Power from Stourhead: "A Journey Through Great Gardens". Our last actual meeting before the Corona Pandemic happened was on March 12, when we were treated to a talk by Andrew Tolman from the Walled Gardens of Cannington and Greencombe in Somerset on the subject of "Stumperies, Ferns and Shady Friends". The meetings from April 2020 until the end of the year had to be cancelled. We missed out in April on the subject of "GreenDaffodils and Wonderful Weeds" - a plant tour of Morocco by Rosemary Fitzgerald. In April we would have also made a garden visit to the Walled Gardens of Cannington and Greencombe near Porlock. For May we had planned a meeting with a talk by wildlife photographer Colin Varndell about "The Hedghog Predicament" and we sadly had to shelf plans for a garden visit to The Shute House in Donhead St Mary, Stogumber Open Gardens in the Quantocks, Kiftsgate Court and Deans Court in Wimbourne Minster in Dorset. We were very sad that we could not welcome Nick Bailey of Gardeners' World to hear him talk to us in September. We also had to cancel Christine Stones talking about "Gardens of the First World War" and Julie Henderson ending our year with "The Twelve Plants of Christmas".