THE VIEW FROM RHOS HILL: My Wild Morning Stroll

THE VIEW FROM RHOS HILL: My Wild Morning Stroll: The lane from my house to the village a mile away is bursting with life this spring. Flanked by unkempt deciduous woodland, in which shy woo...

Our Next Meeting Is The Spring Show: here is the schedule of exhibits and guidelines for entry

 RHYDLEWIS AND DISTRICT GARDENING CLUB

CLWB GARDDIO RHYDLEWIS A’R CYLC

SPRING SHOW

2026

TUESDAY 31st MARCH 2026

RHYDLEWIS VILLAGE HALL

STAGING (bringing your exhibits to be judged)  FROM 3.30 pm UNTIL 5.30 pm

SHOW OPENS AT 7.30pm 

with doors open from 7pm

RAFFLE AND REFRESHMENTS

(Donations for raffle greatly appreciated)

THE JUDGES:

Darren Ship, owner of Bedwin Plants, Hellan: Floral Judge

Kathryn Horton: Crafts, and Baking Judge

Entry Fees:

Members of Rhydlewis Gardening Club & Children under 12 – Free

Non-Members  – £1 flat fee–regardless of how many entries

AWARDS

FLORAL WINNER – Most Points in classes 1-17

THE DERRICK AND BARBARA CALOW MEMORIAL AWARD ––  Best Exhibit in classes 1-14

ARTISAN AWARD – Most Points in classes 18 - 32

PAM HUFFERDINE TROPHY – Best Exhibit in class 15

THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE –  everyone present at the evening show has the chance to place their votes.

RULES

• Unless otherwise stated, exhibits in classes 1 - 15 should consist of one variety only. 
• Unless otherwise stated, exhibits in classes 1 - 15 should consist of fresh plant material and displayed in a container or vase supplied by the exhibitor.
• Classes 1 - 15; all exhibits must have been grown by the exhibitor. 
• Help will be given with staging and classification if needed.
• Rhydlewis Gardening Club cannot be responsible for anything left in the hall after the Show. If necessary, label vases and containers.
• Please ensure all exhibits conform to schedule requirements
• ANY OBJECTION TO AN EXHIBIT MUST BE MADE TO THE SHOW SECRETARY ON THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW.
• In the event of a dispute the committee reserves the right to inspect gardens and, if necessary to disqualify.

For further information please contact the show secretary, Jane Puddephatt 01239 851070

THE SCHEDULE CATEGORIES 

FLOWERS

Single Daffodil - 3 blooms, 1 variety, all yellow (Div 1)

Single Daffodil - 3 blooms, 1 variety  bi-coloured (Div 1)

Large or small-cupped Narcissus—3 blooms, one variety (Divs 2 & 3)

Double Narcissus (inc Daffodils) - 3 stems, one variety (Div 4)

Narcissus - any other - 3 stems, 1 variety (Divs 5 to 12)

Bowl or pot of Bulbs in Bloom - any one variety

Vase of Spring Flowers - not more than 6 varieties

Tulips - 3 cut stems, one variety

Camellia 1 bloom

Flowering Plant in a pot - under 24ins (60cms) high, including pot

Flowering Tree or Shrub - cut spray from one variety

Dish of Floating Hellebore Heads

A posy of Primula (including primrose, polyanthus, cowslip etc.)

A Vase or Container of Decorative Foliage. Up to 8 varieties  

CLUB MEMBERS ONLY

A pot of  Tulips, grown from bulb; any variety 

FLORAL ART

 A floral tiara, or garland, for a May Queen

A floral arrangement in a BOTTLE: size optional

(Categories 16 and 17 can include non-plant accessories, fruit, vegetables and purchased plant items)

ART, CRAFT & PHOTOGRAPHY

A decorated egg (any bird’s egg)

‘An Unusual Part of My Garden’ - a photograph not exceeding 12” x 18” (30 x 46cms). Can be framed, mounted or unmounted

‘A Single Flower’  Painting in any medium  not exceeding 12 x 18ins (30 x 46cms — can be framed, mounted or unmounted

The best pet in the world' a photo not exceeding 12”x18"  (LIMITED TO 2 ENTRIES ONLY!)

 "FIRE" A painting in any medium not exceeding 12"x18"

 A tote bag

 A cross stitch article (any medium, any size)

 An item of pyography

 A walking stick or staff

A handmade flower

Any other craft: something you’ve made yourself you’d like to exhibit on the table 

HOMECRAFT

 A savoury plait

A banana cake

A sponge fruit flan

A Jar of Marmalade

A Jar of Jam

A Jar of Chutney

ADVICE FOR COMPETITORS

BRINGING YOUR EXHIBITS TO BE STAGED

Bring your  exhibits ready to be staged during STAGING FROM 3.30pm UNTIL 5.30pm

There's a side table you can use to store, rearrange etc, your exhibits, while putting them in the correct show categories. 

See the show secretary (just inside the door ) to book in prior to staging your exhibits. 

There will be help from stewards with the exhibiting. 

The hall will be cleared at 5.30 pm prompt to allow judging to commence.

Exhibitors are then allowed in with general public at 7.30pm (doors will open at 7.00)

WHICH DAFFODIL IS WHICH?

RHS NARCISSUS CLASSES or DIVISIONS – For Flower Schedule Entries 1 to 5:

Division 1 - One flower per stem with the trumpet as long as, or longer than petals

Divisions 2 & 3 - One flower per stem with the trumpet shorter than petals

Division 4 - Includes ALL doubles – one or more flowers per stem

Divisions 5 to 12 – Includes; Triandrus, Cyclamineus, Jonquilla, Tazetta, Poeticus, Bulbocodium, Collar, Papillon and all other daffodil cultivars

Display each entry to it's best within the guidelines Follow the guidelines for size and number very carefully to avoid disqualification.  Discard ragged, wind-blown flower heads. Display in a vase or other container which shows off the flower heads to their best (i.e. a tall, glass vase).

CLUB MEMBERS ONLY

Enter a pot of your home-grown tulips, grown from bulb; any variety, any number in the pot.

FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS 

Flowers and other arrangement items can be purchased or home-grown. Follow the height and/or width rules carefully. Be sure to reflect the theme.  Judging will focus on the aesthetic of the arrangement and quality of the natural ‘ingredients’.

ARTS AND CRAFTS

Display each entry to its best within the guidelines

Follow the guidelines for size and number very carefully to avoid disqualification. 

Ensure the art and craft items are newly made, preferably especially for the show.

CHILDREN'S ENTRIES. 

We encourage children's exhibits in all classes, but the child must have been actively involve in the growing or making of the exhibit in the 60 day period mention above (where appropriate). Children's entries will be judged alongside without favour, but there will be a small 'prize' for all under 15 entries.

HOMECRAFTS

Jar of Marmalade ––  any fruit in a one lb  jar. Seal with paper seal and a cellophane cover and rubber band. No metal lids. Labelling: only the contents of the jar should be on the label (i.e. SEVILLE MARMALADE)

All cakes, sweets, etc: choose your own recipe to be judged alongside others. Display prettily on your own chinaware (although plates and dishes are available from the kitchen area) 

Good Luck Everyone – look forward to seeing you on the day!

The Winter Party–Enjoy an Evening with Gardening Friends

 

A reminder of the summer garden

Closing the garden down, and 'puttting it to bed' for the winter, is almost as much work, I find, as waking it up for the spring! Especially as the weather has been so warm and the urgency isn't there right now. 

But next week, as we pass the middle of November, the forcast is for a drop in temperatures and I now need to hurry to get the tender plands into a shelter, and the beds covered or mulched. 

By the time we reach the last Tuesday of November, I think we will all be ready for a bit of a party,  which is on the 25th of November, doors opening at 7pm for a 7.30 start. 

We'd love it if you could wear a Christmas-themed jumper and bring something you enjoy drinking and a few nibbles; there will be drinks and nibbles  available, as well as the usual tea and coffee. 

We will enjoy a gardening quz, courtesy of Jane Soltys. This will include a "guess the garden ingredient" cake tasting, just in case you still have room after all those nibbles! There will be a magnificently silly prize for the winner!

After our last meeting about ponds, Howard send these amazing pictures of his pond life. He'd made the point that even a garden pond that looks devoid of interest is actually full of life...we just can't see it with a  naked eye.  Myriad exotic life forms can be encountered in a single drop of pond water, but actually finding and seeing them can be a challenge.  Howard used an old children's microscope to find these creatures. Thanks, Howard, for these amazing images, which will help us understand the diversity that is actually in our garden ponds.

algae

Daphinia,  or water fleas, range from 1 to 4 mm across and can be seen with the naked eye.They are crustaceans related to shrimp and eat anything that sweeps into their mouths.

Here is a picture of damselflies mating in my pond this summer; 

Sadly, Richard Bramley couldn't be with us, so we are looking  forward to his talk next May.

Look forward to seeing you at the Winter Party!

Gardening Club Run-down of the Autumn Progrramme

On the 30th September, Sharon Henshaw, a Yoga Teacher who practices in Penrhiwllan, gave members a great workout from our chairs, with a demonstration and session on chair yoga. This turned out to be perfect for gardeners, and, as some of our members also suffer from a variety of ailments that restrict their gardening, it came as a welcome and enjoyable evening meeting. Some of us are considering going to her chair yogo sessions, we felt so good after the gentle workout. Her details are below.

The next meeting is on October 28th, and it's Richard Bramley from the well-respected Farmyard Nurseries talking about ponds. Ponds bring tranquility and nature into our gardens, including all those slug-loving amphibians, and he'll talk about building, planting and managing any sort of water garden you may have, or wish you had. Join us for an interesting, informative talk that should also be loads of fun.

Farmyard Nursery's winning display. 

A couple of interesting gardening books have come my way recently; a little different from the usual.

 

Kate Bradbury won the People's Book Prize with One garden against the world : in search of hope in a changing climate She invites us into her garden – home to bats, mason bees, hedgehogs and frogs – and shows us how to adapt green spaces in a changing world. Bradbury writes regularly for the RHS The Garden magazine, and is an award-winning writer specialising in wildlife gardening–– Wildlife Editor of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine with a Country Diary column in The Guardian.The book's message is 'if we work together, we can make a difference'.

The Garden against Time by Olivia Laing is a slightly less uplifing read by fascinating none the less. In 2020, Olivia Laing began to restore a walled garden in Suffolk, an overgrown Eden of unusual plants. The work drew them into an exhilarating investigation of paradise and its long association with gardens.

Moving between real and imagined gardens, from Milton’s Paradise Lost to John Clare’s enclosure elegies, from a wartime sanctuary in Italy to a grotesque aristocratic pleasure ground funded by slavery, Laing interrogates the sometimes shocking cost of making paradise on earth.

But the story of the garden doesn’t always enact larger patterns of privilege and exclusion. It’s also a place of rebel outposts and communal dreams. From the improbable queer utopia conjured by Derek Jarman on the beach at Dungeness to the fertile vision of a common Eden propagated by William Morris. New modes of living can and have been attempted amidst the flower beds, experiments that could prove vital in the coming era of climate change.

Finally...

There was a brilliant turnout of entries for the Flower and Produce show run by the Rhydlewis and district Gardening club on Tuesday 26 August.

Thank you to everyone who entered the show and massive thanks to everyone who helped with setting out the tables, selling raffle tickets, running the kitchen and clearing up afterwards and a big thank you to our amazing judges, Dr. Bob and Rannveig Wallis for giving our show the benefit of their expertise.  

Growers clubbed together and excelled in their efforts to put on a magnificent display for judges Dr Bob and Rannveig Wallis to deliberate over.

We also had a new award, starting this year; The People's Choice, where everyone got to vote for their favourite exhibit in the hall. And the winner was Dilys Davies with her Dahlias!

Here are the results in full and congratulations to all the winners.

1. 4 white potato 1^st  Gwen Thomas 2^nd Jim Milton
2. 4 Coloured potatos 1^st Gary Soltys
3. 3 Beetroot 1^st Jim Milton 2^nd Carrie Davies
4. 3 carrots 1^st Janet Piggott 2^nd Jim Milton
5. 3 Courgettes 1^st Michelle Brown 2^nd Jim Milton
6. 1 Marrow 1^st Georgia Heath 2^nd Sophie Heath
7. 4 Runner beans 1^st Jim Milton 2^nd Joy Wason
8. 4 Pods of peas 1^st Gary Soltys 2^nd Gemma Cohen
9. 3 Onions 1^st Carrie Davies 2^nd Carrie Davies
10. 5 Shallots 1^st Jim Milton
11. 4 Tomatos 1^st Gemma Cohen 2^nd Jim Milton and Gary Soltys
12. 5 Cherry Tomatos 1^st Gwen Thomas 2^nd Jim Milton
13. 1 Cucumber 1^st Sarah Taylor 2^nd Janet Piggott
14. Longest Runner bean 1^st Sue Davies 2^nd Joy Wason
15. Best Comic Vegetable 1^st Janet Piggott 2^nd Jim Milton
16. Collection of 6 Veggies 1^st Janet Piggott 2^nd Jim Milton
17. Bunch of 5 herbs 1^st Joy Wason 2^nd Gary Soltys
18. 3 Cooking Apples 1^st Gwen Thomas 2^nd Anne Tod
19. 3 Dessert Apples 1^st Gary Soltys 2^nd Jim Milton
20. Vase of Dahilas 1^st Dilys Davies 2^nd Janet Piggott
21. Vase of Roses 1^st w/h 2^nd Sue Edmunds
22. Vase of Hyrangeas 1^st Sarah Taylor 2^nd Doreen Driscol
23. Vase of Sweet Peas 1^st Janet Piggott 2^nd w/h
24. Vase of garden flowers 1^st Joy Wason 2^nd Janet Piggott
25. Arrangement of salad items N/E
26. Arrangement of summer flowers in mug 1^st Doreen Driscol 2^nd Erica Knight
27. Photo ‘A bridge’ 1^st Sue Davies 2^nd Sue Edmunds
28. Photo ‘Clouds’ 1^st Sue Davies 2^nd Sue Davies
29. Painting ‘Native Wildlife’ 1^st Doreen Driscol 2^nd Ruth Potter and Doreen Driscol
30. Painting ‘A basket of vegetables 1^st N/A 2^nd Georgia Heath
31. Woodwork home made bird box N/E
32. Woodwork A wooden Mushroom N/E
33. Woodwork A carved wooden Item 1^st Carrie Davies
34. A handmade wind chime 1^st Sophie Heath 2^nd Georgia Heath
35. Handmade Bracelet 1^st Sophie Heath 2^nd Sophie Heath
36. A knitted or crochet shawl 1^st Sue de Villiers 2^nd Sue de Villiers
37. A Focaccia 1^st Sophie Heath 2^nd Sophie Heath
38. A fruit Crumble 1^st Sophie Heath 2^nd Sophie Heath
39. Cake with vegetable ingredient not carrot 1^st Sophie Heath 2^nd Sophie Heath
40. 4 decorated cup cakes 1^st Georgia Heath 2^nd Sophie Heath
41. 3 white hen eggs 1^st Sarah Taylor 2^nd Georgia Heath
42. 3 hens eggs AOC 1^st Anne Tod 2^nd Jane Puddephatt
43. Jar of Marmalade 1^st Frank Blades 2^nd Frank Blades
44. Jar of Jam 1^st Janet Piggott 2^nd Nina Milton
45. Jar of jelly 1^st Frank Blades 2^nd Doreen Driscol
46. Jar of relish 1^st Nina Milton
47. Childs class 4 decorated cup cakes 1^st Georgia Heath
48. Childs class Picture made from buttons and string 1^st Georgia Heath

Best exhibit in show classes 1-19 Georgia Heath (Marrow)

Most points in classes 1-19 Jim Milton

The Liz Blackler award for most points in classes 29-44 Sue Davies and Sophie Heath

Floral Challenge award most points in classes 22-26 Janet Piggott

D & G Homecraft award foe most points classes 35-46 Sophie Heath