By Geoff Fisher 
By Victoria Plum
The hall was full and the tables heaving under the weight of entries to last night’s Reepham & District Gardening Club Summer Show. What a range of efforts was to be seen, particularly when you consider the difficult growing conditions we have all suffered this year.
Entries were judged by us all, democratically, carefully and objectively, and the winners were happy with their prizes.
There was an extra award in honour of Tony Myhill, our sadly missed long-term club stalwart – the People’s Prize, for which we awarded a gold star to our chosen entry, which on this occasion featured three lovely vegetables. This was fitting as Tony’s vegetable box entries to the show, as well as his flowers, were always outstanding.
We enjoyed the quiz, a crucial part of the evening, which allows the committee time to add up the coloured stars with which we vote (I don’t think money changed hands as I was watching carefully). There was inevitably fierce argument over the answers to the quiz and fierce competition between the finely matched teams. Our team won!
A gardening club member gave me a wonderful white-flowered hosta a few years ago. It has the most amazing scent and I have it growing by my front door (in a pot to evade the almost inevitable slug damage) and interestingly she won the individual flower stem class with the same flower.
I’m reading a deep and well-researched, fascinating book, Feral by George Monbiot. It puts my feeble attempts at increasing biodiversity in my garden to shame. He has much to say, and you really need to read the book.
I will just mention some items. He makes the case that sheep are not historically native to these islands and therefore no plants have evolved strategies to evade being eaten by them. The consequence is that the uplands where you and I subsidise hill farmers to make a poor living are maintained as a green desert, devoid of trees, birds and anything bar sheep, by continual grazing.
We are used to the idea that rolling green hills are natural and desirable. However, this land should be principally rainforest, and where sheep are excluded it is amazing how trees, and then a variety of wildlife and the crucial biodiversity which follow, will return.
He also details how the absentee landlords, who see vast tracts of Scotland as “investment”, ensure the intensive grazing by red deer to make money from stalking and grouse shooting, which again promotes destructive monocultures. These processes have impact on soil erosion, flooding and eventually on the well-being of us all.
Although we have now had some rain I will continue to use all the grey water I can on my precious plants because it will take ages to properly moisten the soil.
I’m looking forward to the next gardening club meeting on Tuesday 15 September at 7.30 pm in Reepham Town Hall, Church Street, when Kathy Gray will talk to us about four very different gardens and the diversity of plants we can grow.
All are welcome to these meetings. Our expert speakers are always excellent and members always friendly.
Top: Just some of the entries at this year’s Reepham & District Gardening Club Summer Show. Below: White-scented hosta. Photos: Tine Sutton
