Lavant Horticultural Society,
Chichester
JANUARY MEETING
Wednesday 9th January
Wildlife of a Working
Forest
Mike
Read
Click above for Mike's own website
Our 2019 programme started with an excellent talk.
Mike began with the management of
the New Forest, smallest of the UK's National Parks, developed over
900 years from its origins as a royal hunting forest, today's
thriving timber production and, of course, the
ponies.
He then presented the forest's rich wildlife through the four seasons - the amazing variety of birds, mammals, insects, plants and fungi. All brought to life by the superb quality of his photograhs. His knowledge & enhusiasm enlivened the talk and then his answers to questions.
So, not only an enjoyable afternoon, but also plenty of inspiration to go and see the New Forest in a new light.
NEXT
MEETING
Wednesday
13th
March
7.30 pm - Lavant Memorial Hall
The Secret History of Vegetables
Martyn Cox
Martyn has been around gardens
and gardening all his life, at home, in commercial nurseries and
now as a freelance journalist.
He writes a column in the Mail on Sunday and has filed hundreds of features for gardening, lifestyle and customer magazines. He has written ten books, edited one-shot titles and written for many websites.
This meeting will be preceded by the
GARDEN VISIT
2019
Wednesday 3rd
July
The
Savill Garden
Windsor Great
Park
Click above to learn more about
The Savill Garden
This year our visit is to this hidden gem in the
heart of
Windsor Great Park with 35 acres of beautifully themed landscaped
gardens.
Depart from Lavant Memorial Hall 10.00am
Arrive back at Lavant Memorial Hall 6.00pm
Price: £23 each for members (£25 for guests);
this covers return travel by coach and
entrance to The Savill Garden
Find full details on ticket order
form.
DECEMBER
MEETING
Lordington
Lavender
Andrew
Elms
Andrew led us through his decision to
exit dairy farming and his search for other crops, the planting of
50 ha of lavender and the development of the lavender
business.
Click above for Lordington Lavender website
Conservation of habitat and the environment is key and the farm has become haven for wildlife with at least 12 red listed birds including skylarks, barn owls & red kites.
With Bulgaria & China
undermining wholesale prices of lavender oil, Andrew developed his
own range of products using lavender's antibacterial, antifungal
& antiviral properties, as well as its fragrance and
flavour.
The whole story was told in such
an engaging way and the evening was rounded off with coffee and
mince pies.
OCTOBER
MEETING
The Garden in
Autumn
Patricia Elkington
Click above for more on Patricia's garden,
which is opening for
NGS this February
Patricia gave an impressive presentation of
many plants that enhance the garden in autumn.
She spoke with the authority of first-hand knowledge, from growing them in her 3 acre chalk garden near Winchester that she has been opening for the
National Gardens Scheme since 1984.
Click below for notes on
some of
Lavant Christmas
Fayre
Saturday 24th November
The LHS stand was more colourful
& attractive than ever, with quality plants from East Ashling
Nurseries, and
sales went
well
All the stalls &
decorations in the Hall created a really festive
atmosphere.
LAVANT VILLAGE
FETE
Saturday
16th
June
2018
The Plant Stall, run by LHS, was overflowing with colourful plants and attracted a lot of custom, in
spite of the grey skies and the
odd shower.
SEPTEMBER
MEETING
How to Design a
Winning
Garden
Barry
Chambers
Barry, a professional designer of
gardens both large & small based in Bognor Regis, gave an
insight into the creation of show gardens for major RHS
events.
Following a silver-gilt at the Malvern Spring Show, he set about designing a garden for RHS
Hampton
Court, where the theme was English poems; he chose John Keats' "To
the Sea",
harking
back to his memories of a childhood
playing on the seashore.
He regarded this personal involvement in the concept
as key
to the winning of the coveted Gold Medal.
Click above for Barry's own
website.
JULY
MEETING
A Year of Wild Flowers in Chichester Harbour AONB
John Arnott
John had used his in-depth
knowledge of the flora of Chichester Harbour to put together a
really excellent presentation for us. Fortunately, in spite of the
World Cup Semi-Final, there was a turn-out to do it
justice.
He divided the AONB into 5 types of environment: Woodland, Paths & roadsides, Vegetated shingle
(a nationally rare habitat), Saltmarsh (threatened
by coastal squeeze, as rising sea levels push up against sea defences) and Sand dunes,
John gave a good description of
each plant and its ecological role, as well as its traditional uses
(e.g. food, medecine) and the folklore surrounding
it.
Sales greatly exceeded the previous record and
made a substantial contribution to the proceeds of
the Fete, used to support a range of village causes.
Many thanks to all who donated plants, particularly
for the help of Mick Bleach of Bleach of Lavant
ANNUAL PLANT
SALE
May
2018
The good weather helped ensure an
excellent
turn-out of visitors from the local community
Sales went very well, both of the plants from East
Ashling Nursery and from the
members' plant stall.
The café was bustling all afternoon, many catching up with friends over a cream tea or home-made cake, some enjoying the sunshine on the Village Green .
Many thanks to
all who donated plants for
sale
For information from previous
talks and events, please go to the
Archive