WINSHAM HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY![]() Sadly, Covid-19 has had a considerable impact on WHS activities in 2020, meaning that all events needed to be cancelled due to risk of contagion. When this risk is considered to have diminished sufficiently for normal activities to recommence it will be announced on this page, The Joint Parish Magazine and social media |
The origins of the Winsham
Horticultural Society are shrouded in the mists of time. In such a rural
community, it was certain that most homes would have grown their own
vegetables for domestic consumption, with no doubt bartering or
swapping anything that was surplus to their immediate needs, or could
not be pickled, bottled or somehow preserved. It seems likely that
Winsham Horticultural Society was formed sometime between the two World
Wars, emerging in its present form sometime in the 1950s.
Interest in the cultivation of flowers, among ordinary people, probably
grew as more people had the leisure and money to indulge in such
interests, as standards of living improved, and hobby gardening became a
topic of television programmes. But that can only be
speculation.
In recent years, Winsham Horticultural Society has organised an annual Summer Show at the end of August. Located on the Upper Recreation ground it is housed in a large marquee, and offers many categories of exhibits, with a large number of trophies which have been contributed over the years. It also holds an annual plant and garden accessory sale in the Jubilee Hall every year on the first Saturday in May, together with numerous outings and talks throughout the year, culminating in the AGM in November. Full details of membership can be obtained from the Hon. Sec. Chloe Besley(01460 30032) Garden Workshop-Forde Abbey-3rd March ![]()
Rose Pruning, the Sissinghurst Method What a
wonderful day we had at Forde Abbey. Josh Sparkes, Head Gardener, led
this excellent workshop showing us how to prune roses against a wall and
how to make a rose ball. We all benefitted and learnt so much. We can
now boast a new vocabulary including snibbling; we practiced the only
essential gardener’s knot; pruning techniques and how to put rose stems
under perfect strain to increase flowering potential. The Sissinghurst
method encourages a naturally flowing form, pleasing to the eye.
Personally I was very excited to learn a new technique of bending hazel
rods (I live a sheltered life!!), a meth Judith Hill
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