Maldon & Heybridge
Horticultural
Society 
Maldon & Heybridge
Horticultural
Society
Newsletter
September 2008
September Members Meeting – Tuesday 16 September
The subject of the talk at our next meeting is ‘Dahlias’ which will be presented by Roger Claydon. There will also be the usual shop, plants, seed swap, raffle and refreshments.
Spring Bulbs
We are purchasing a selection of spring bulbs which will be for sale at our members meetings. We hope to have them in time for the September meeting.
Friary Walled Garden
Sunday 3rd August was our usual monthly Open Day and Work Day. There were eight volunteers there for varying times. After erecting the display boards and collecting the rubbish, the main work items done were continuing with cutting back the Kiftsgate rose near the gate, and dealing with those long shoots overhanging the public footpath. In Jane's Garden area, plants which had finished flowering were trimmed back and the roses dead-headed throughout the whole garden. The rosemary, yew and lavender hedges have been pruned. The gate notice had been defaced and that was cleaned up a little. In the southern end of the East Wall bed, which has been rather neglected for some time, renovation and clearing work was started.
On Tuesday 5th August, I received a phone call from a passer-by who had just seen a truck reverse into the FWG wall near the gate. I went to Maldon and saw the damage and checked on security and the possibility of danger to the public and I took photos. This matter was reported to the police and ECC Property Services. Since then a barrier has been put up and there have been lots of phone messages and several on-site meetings to discuss the repair work. A lot more of that Kiftsgate rose will have to be trimmed back to allow a section of the wall to be rebuilt. The gate was slightly damaged but that has been dealt with and the gate notice was replaced though some more work is needed to clean it further.I normally write about what work has been done on the monthly public open days but that is not all the work that is done. During the month there have been volunteers there continuing with various jobs and starting new ones - I see the results when I have a walk round to check on things and guess who has been there. The next open and work days are Sunday 7th September and Sunday 5th October. Arthur Cox
Diary Dates
Thursday 11 September
MHHS Committee Meeting, Moot Hall, 7.45pmTuesday 16 September MHHS Autumn Show, URC Hall, 7.30pm
Saturday 4 October Christine Walkden Talk, Maldon Town Hall, 7.30pm Tickets only
Tuesday 14 October MHHS
AGM , URC Hall
Thursday 16 October MHHS Committee Meeting, Moot Hall, 7.45pm
Danbury & Little Baddow Horticultural Society – Autumn Flower Show - Saturday 13 September
St Johns School, Danbury, 2.30pm
Purleigh Gardeners Society Meeting – Wednesday 24 September – Purleigh Village Hall, 8.00pm
Andrew Tokeley from Thompson & Morgan will be giving a talk on ‘New Seed Varieties’
Don’t forget to get your tickets for Christine Walkden’s talk on Saturday 4 October at the Town Hall, see form attached to earlier newsletters,MHHS AGM – 14 October
The Agenda for next month’s AGM and the minutes of last year’s AGM are attached to this newsletter. Please see the slip at the bottom of the Agenda to nominate additional committee members and executive officers. The Chairman has now completed his allotted time and a new Chairman is needed. If you wish to nominate someone for this position or any of the others please complete the form and return to Liz Dunkin, Secretary by 1 October.
Wild about gardening…
You may have seen the story in the newspapers recently about a tortoise which had inadvertently hitched a ride in a bag of garden rubbish and ended up at the local tip! Fortunately the staff at the landfill site eventually found Fred and he was reunited with his owners. Even if you don’t own a tortoise it is worth checking bags of leaves and grass clippings before disposing of them just in case a hedgehog or any other wildlife has settled in and made itself at home.
NCCPG Autumn Plant Fair – RHS Garden Hyde Hall – Saturday 13 September
There will be a wide range of specialist nurseries offering rare and unusual plants for sale between 10.00am to 16.00pm. Normal garden admission applies.
