Tattenhall Annual Show Success

At Sunday's Tattenhall Annual Show, brilliantly organised by the Tattenhall Gardening Society, it was evident to the keener gardeners that 2018 has been rather a strange year weather-wise.

Whilst the total number of entries for the Show was broadly in line with previous years, there were some distinct variations – fewer flowers and a complete absence of potatoes! The judges remarked that the quality was good even though it was short on quantity. The photography judge reported that the show this year had some extremely good photographs and that the standard had risen quite remarkably. The winning entry he thought was outstanding! The children's section was very whell supported with some brilliant creative entries. The art section was challenging to the judge with very diverse entries of traditional and contemporary art!

However there were gaps – cakes and jams were very low in numbers. These aren't governed by the weather, so what happened to the Great British Bakeoff tradition?

Thankyou to all those who supported the show in so many ways. It does feel that it is a major village event, not to be missed!

So, this is the time of year to start planning ahead, and think about what you might want to enter into the show next year, the more entries the better. By the numbers of people who just come to look in the afternoon, lots of people are interested even though they do not enter!

You do not have to be a member of the Gardening Society to enter, but if you are interested in gardening, join the Tattenhall Garden Society. The season starts on October 10th with a talk on 'A new take on Bedding' ; this will show you a modern way to use annuals , biennials , tender perennials and bulbs in the garden for vibrant borders throughout the season. Laura Willgoss is a young gardener, full of ideas,she and her husband have shown at Chelsea Flower Show where they were interviewed for the BBC Gardeners World programme! They have set up a new plant nursery in a walled garden in Shropshire.

In November Marcus Chilton-Jones the curator of the new Royal Horticultural Society garden planned for Salford will be talking about these exciting developments. At long last an RHS garden in this part of the country. Marcus Chilton-Jones reveals his ambitions as Curator of RHS Garden Bridgewater, one of the largest gardening projects in Europe, as well as a surprising passion for some feathered friends. The thing that's most exciting about Bridgewater is the scale – it's a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a garden on a site that's so unusual and in such close proximity to a big urban centre.

New members are always welcome. You can join the Garden Society at the first meeting in October or any subsequent meeting. It is £14 for 6 evening talks or you can pay as you go at £3 an evening. Held in the Barbour institute, at 7.30pm on the second Wednesday, of the month. By joining you are also entitled to 10% off purchases at Okells and Walkers Nursery in Huntingdon. Information about the talks are always publicised in the Parish News, this website and various village publications.