THE CHAWTON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY IS NOW THE ‘CHAWTON GARDENING CLUB’.
A note from the new Chairman…
The Chawton Horticultural Society was founded over 60 years ago, with the Annual Show, Spring Plant Sale and Pumpkin parties being at the heart of Chawton village life. It has given an opportunity for the Village to come together, to share their knowledge and of course – compete!
The Society has continued to evolve, and in 2023 we are excited to launch the newly rebranded Chawton Gardening Club. We are hoping the fresh new look, along with some new classes and fun activities, will encourage everyone (and in particular our new young families) to get involved and enter their vegetables, fruit, flowers, paintings and photos into this year’s Annual Show.
I would also like to share my warm appreciation and thanks to Marion Gleadow, Carol Day and Les Human, who have made the decision after many years of service to step down from their roles. They have shown an enormous amount of dedication to the Chawton Horticultural Society and we thank them for their valuable time that they have given up to organise so much over so many years. Marion (as departing Chairman), has been instrumental in the success and efforts of CHS and her hard work and dedication is much appreciated. Carol has been a great source of inspiration to so many children (and adults!) in the village (in particular in her encouragement to grow some very big pumpkins!). Les’ commitment and knowledge of all things CHS is clearly exceptional and I am personally grateful to him and all of those departing the committee for their handover and support.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to welcome Chris Travers to the Committee, in the role of Show Secretary and also give thanks to our other Club Officials, Ann Deegan and Sue Ruffhead for their continued dedication.
So as Spring beckons, we wanted to highlight the two main events in the calendar…
The Chawton Gardening Club ANNUAL SHOW – which will be held on the slightly earlier date of Saturday 22nd July in Chawton Village Hall. More details will follow in the coming weeks and months in the lead up to the show, but our aim is to get everyone in the village growing and showing their very best fruit, vegetables and flowers, as well as entering their artwork, photography and crafts. We would especially love to see more entries from our younger Chawton residents and are working closely with Chawton School and Chawton Pre-school to foster this. There will be some exciting new classes to enter, so it’s never been a better time to get involved! The Show schedule will be delivered to everyone in the village along with the Parish Magazine in May, and you can also download it by visiting our new website: www.chawtongardeningclub.co.uk.
The Chawton Gardening Club PUMPKIN PARTY – which will be held on Saturday 14th October at the slightly earlier time of 4.30pm. This is a popular village event held in the village hall, and is a great opportunity to meet everyone over a glass of wine. We will be sowing the pumpkin seeds in late March ready for everyone in late May. To help with the ongoing running costs of the Pumpkin party, this year we will be selling the Pumpkin plants at a cost of £2.50. It is a fiercely contested competition although to attend the party, it is not necessary to grow a pumpkin! There is also a competition for decorated pumpkins and a children’s fancy dress competition.
Finally, we are always keen to hear from you regarding any ideas you may have for the Chawton Gardening Club. There is also the opportunity to join the Committee! Please get in touch using the details below.
Best wishes
Tim Hook
07775670741
