This year’s Flower and Produce Show was a big success, raising an amazing total of £656.70. This figure is over £250 more than last year, and nearly £150 more than the best previous year (2019).
The proceeds go to the Gardening Club which, as you may already know, hosts a series of talks in the village hall from September to June. Non-members are welcome to attend, for a small charge. Our garden visits, which are self-drive/car-share, are paid for by those taking part in the trips. However, once a year the club funds a trip for Club members only, ensuring that the selected garden is opening for charity (the National Garden Scheme, for instance), so that any entry fees covered by the Club go to a good cause. This year, the charity supported by the garden we visited, to which we donated £100, was the Marion Evered Trust, which raises funds for the Oak Children’s Cancer Unit at Musgrove Park Hospital.
The Gardening Club actively seeks deserving causes so that the proceeds of the Flower & Produce Show can be put to good use, particularly in the field of horticulture. This year, Adam Reed at Good Vibe Veg at Horner has initiated a school visits programme with Porlock School. From September pupils will be visiting on a regular basis, in their year groups, to experience the Good Vibe Veg garden. They will be sowing, growing, weeding and harvesting, and learning about where food comes from at the same time, including healthy eating and sustainability. Adam would like to use the £300 the Gardening Club is offering to buy tools, wheelbarrows and gardening gloves suitable for the children.
With 47 members, the Gardening Club is the most popular club in the village. Everyone is welcome to join – it only costs £10 a year. Take a look at our webpage here.
Thanks again to everyone who make the Show such an enjoyable and sociable event. I hope you will take part again next year.
Marion Jay
Chairwoman, Wootton Courtenay Gardening Club
Wootton Courtenay 