VV june july 2022

Some Things
you didn't know
about
Milford on Sea
Gardeners’ Club
Sue Crabb
(Chair) Milford
Gardeners’ Club
This year marks 25 years of Milford on Sea
Gardeners’ Club.
The garden club was the brainchild of two keen
gardening friends 25 years ago, Jan England and
Jenny Spencer. They weren’t sure how it would
be received in the village but thought it was a
good idea so plans and discussions took place
through the summer of 1996, a small
committee was formed and the launch was
January 1997 at a Gardeners’ Question time.
The panel consisted of Peter Chappell who
owned “Spinners” at Boldre, Tom Mackinley
who was a show judge and Nick Aldridge from
Braxton Garden Herbs. The venue was the
Church Hall.
Would it be a success? Would people come?
Well, the queue stretched all around the
outside and it took 30 minutes to get everyone
seated in the hall! By February the club had a
membership of 155 and a waiting list was
started. Since then, right up to the present year
the club has had a membership of 120 plus
every year so I think we can say it was a great
idea.
2016 Garden Fair
20 years down the line and the keen 50
somethings had become creakier 70
somethings!
Jenny also designed and planted the
Community Centre Garden in 2010 with plants
provided from Club funds.
In 2020 we donated £500 to the Community
Centre in their lockdown appeal and managed
to get it match funded so they benefitted from
£1000.
We have always supported charities as a byproduct
of our activities although this is not our
main aim
and through
Open
Gardens and
Plant Fairs
over the
years, have
raised in
excess of
£40,000.
We were the first organisation in the local area
to hold Open Gardens, the first being in 1998
We have been actively involved in various local for club members only. In 1999, 7 gardens
projects over the years. In 1999 to mark the were open for the princely sum of £2.00!
upcoming millennium, the club started a From 2000 onwards this became a biennial
project to plant up the Centenary Copse by the event, alternating with Sway but we were the
bridge, so called because it had been owned by first, something we are rather proud of! After
the Parish Council for 100 years.
much discussion following the 2016 Open
Club members cleared it and it was planted Gardens, when the Committee worked their
with a mix of primroses, snowdrops, foxgloves socks off, we decided to have a break. Lack of
and other plants and shrubs beneficial to volunteers subsequently, meant that we
wildlife such as hellebores and pulmonarias. decided we could no longer hold this event.
We managed it for 20 years and continued to
add to the planting but in 2020 handed it back
We have been on some amazing holidays over
to the Parish Council as we no longer had
enough volunteers Please to maintain mention it. The Plus, Village it was the years, organised and researched by Jenny ...
Voice when responding to adverts
Continued
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