The Summer Party

A huge thank you to Sara Redman who put on such a wonderful summer party at Llan Manal in Penrhiwpal. 


Despite the weather being overcast and not very 'summer-like' we gathered in her new barn.

As you can see from the photos, everyone was soon nattering away before we tucked in the fab food;
members had brought everything from colourful flower salads to scrumptious raspberry pavlovas.



The winner of the garden fork and spade was also announced; Lucky number winner was Helen McDonnald.


We all made friends with the geese and the new puppy, Sky. 

We also had the chance to look at Pat O'Conner's collection of Bonsai trees, 

before wandering round Sara's flower growing business, The Flower Meadow.

Once again, thanks so much, Sara!

Don't forget the date of the Garden Visit, TUESDAY JULY 30th, which is our next meeting. This year, our garden visit will be to Llanllyr in Talsarn, near Lampeter (SA48 8QB). Open by Mr & Mrs Robert Gee, this early 19 century garden is on the site of medieval nunnery, renovated and replanted since 1989. It has a large pool, bog garden, formal water garden, rose and shrub borders, gravel gardens, laburnum arbour, allegorical labyrinth, and boasts some interesting and unusual plants. 

Admission: Adult: £4.50.  We will meet at the gardens at 5pm, and after looking round, we will eat  at the Vale Of Aeron Inn just outside Felinfach on the A482 (SA48 8AE)  

To contact the secretary, tel Nina on 01239 851096 or 07962781146.

Now we're on the hunt for the member who'd like to have next year's party. You need to be able to accommodate between 15 and 20 people, either inside and/or outside. Otherwise members always lend a hand, bringing food, drinks, cutlery, chairs, etc. Email Nina at ninahare00@googlemail.com if you'd like to know more.

Rhydlewis Gardening Club Spring Show

Rhydlewis Gardening Club enjoyed a very well supported annual ‘Spring Show’ on the 26th of March. Entries began flooding into the hall from 3.30 in the afternoon, and after judging was finished, members and non-members from Rhydlewis and beyond came to see what was on show. 

Everyone tucked into the refreshments and enjoyed wandering around the exhibits. 2019 brought a surprising number of flowers to the show, bearing in mind how early the daffodils and even tulips have bloomed.

We had a stunning variety of daffodils, camellias, primulas, hellebores, blossoming sprays, and even cacti and succulents, as well as beautifully created floral Easter Baskets and 'Mother of the Bride' corsages. 

The number of baking entries were high this year, with every category represented; granary rolls, Bakewell tartlets, fabulously decorated cupcakes and a selection of bara brith. 

For the first time, as well as chutney and marmalade in the spring show preserve categories, we offered a chance to lemon curd makers...some cooks trying this technique for the first time.

The Art, Craft and Photography entries were a joy to see and the quality of workmanship extremely high this year. Categories included 'Coastal View' photos, 'Country Landscape' watercolours, crochet and other needlecrafts and the usual decorated eggs.

 The cup for most points in the floral section was won jointly by Sue Moysey and Jannette Sharman.

   









The Artisan Shield, for most points in the homecraft and creative categories was won jointly by Sarah O’Connor and Sophie Heath, represented here by her mother, Erica Knight. 


Michael Lloyd won the best exhibit in the flower section for his narcissi.

Sophia Holmes won the Pam Hufferdine Trophy for the best bowl of Tulips submitted by a member of the club from a control of similar bulbs.

The presentations were made by the club’s chairman Liz Blackler, and thanks go to everyone who worked hard to make this a great show.

Keep a look-out for the article that has been sent to the Tivyside, along with professionally taken photographs of the event winners.

Rhydlewis Gardening Club meets at 7.30pm, on the last Tuesday of each month in the village hall and has a varied and interesting programme.  Club membership is only £10 per year, non-members £2 per meeting – all welcome.

Our next meeting is a talk about the National Garden Scheme (the 'yellow book'). the organiser of the Ceredigion NGS will tell us about this national treasure, both from the viewpoint of visiting, and opening a garden for a public visit.

Dreaded Gardening...

Photo Credits; Facebook The Dreaded Gardener

A huge thanks to Malcolm Berry, the "Dreaded Gardener"  who came in November to give us a talk called  'Weaving the Web: Towards a Natural Garden'. This turned out to be a fascinating journey into how he creates a really natural garden that has no real boundaries mixing his veg with his herbs and flowers as they would grow in the forest - with incredible results. 

We listened enrapt, while Malcom shared the secrets of nature itself by talking about his own gardening techniques and careful observation of the natural seasons, and showed us some fabulous pictures of his fabulous garden which is filled with wildlife, beautiful birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects like the comma and the meadow brown butterflies. 

He explained how we can invest in diversity while still having a beautiful, productive plot and we were newly enthused about our own gardens!
You can follow him on Malcolm's Facebook Page, The Dreaded Gardener

This will be the last meeting of the Rhydlewis Gardening Club in 2018; join us at 7.30pm on Tuesday 29th January for our Annual General Meeting. We try to keep the 'dry' stuff short, so that we can mingle afterwards with wine and cheese, and share our festive experiences. Please bring your subscription for 2019 to this meeting; £10 per person per year. 

In the meantime, have a wonderful Winter Solstice, a very happy Christmas and a fabulous start to 2019.

Rhydlewis Gardening Club Autumn Produce Show

A bumper harvest led to a record number of entries across all categories at the Rhydlewis Gardening Club annual Autumn Produce Show. 

“We had a lot of new members showing for the first time, and the village hall was packed with members, families and the local community.  Our club is

growing, with more keen gardeners joining each year” comments Liz Blackler, chair of the club. 

There was a particular interest in the homecraft sections, with sixteen categories in all.  The arts and craft categories were well supported, especially 'An Item of Embroidery', in which some fine work was exhibited.

  

There was a mouthwatering range of cooking selections, including bread,, apple pie, quiche and Welsh cakes. 

 The prize winners were; Vegetable Challenge Cup -Jannette Sharman; Floral Challenge Cup – Kevin Myerscough; Homecraft Shield – Cindy Ackerman and Sara Redman; Roses Shield – Sara Redman; Best Onions Shield – Carrie Davies, and Best Exhibit in Vegetables and Fruit – Jannette Sharman.

A Day Out at Bwlch y Geuffordd Gardens.

On Tuesday 31st  July the club went on an all-day coach trip to  Bwlch y Geuffordd Gardens outside Aberystwyth. These quirky gardens, owned by Gay Acres, who gave us a talk last year gave was shortlisted for the  Welsh Garden of the Year 2016 in Wales on Line, and runner-up in the Gardener's World competition, "Gardening in difficult places".

Fourteen of us plus one child took off at 11am and arrived back around five. It made a great day out complete with a lunchtime picnic and tea and cakes later in the afternoon. We spent all day wandering around this three-acre garden which. despite being 1000 feet up in the Cambrians,  has something for everyone, including a treasure hunt for the kids. There is a huge range of plants, especially shrubs,

 

trees and a spectacular lily pond. It manages to combine sculpture park, water gardens, wildlife garden and a strong musical element, too with instruments everyone could have a go at turning up everywhere. Inspiring, colourful and full of mad surprises, there are a number of themed areas, including the 

Mediterranean garden, cottage garden, the woodland, an oriental space, and a memorial garden. 

The built areas include a hermit's cave, a temple, a willow den, a gazebo, a jungle with African-style carvings and a jungle hut, as well as a lot of tucked-away spots where one can find peace and tranquillity. I particularly loved their stone circle, which is on the very edge of their land, only a mile or so from an ancient well.We kept discovering fantasy spots all over the garden for children and those who are children at heart.

  Thanks to Gay and Jim Acres for letting us have such a lovely time at their garden. 

All photos curtesy of Jane Cain.