Hopefully you are now thinking about your entries for this year’s Summer Show – schedules and entry forms can be downloaded from our website.

We are setting up from 2pm on the Sunday afternoon and help with this is always appreciated.  Entries need to be in between 8am and 10.30am on the Monday morning and the show opens at 1pm.  The tea ladies would love as many homemade cakes as possible, so if you get chance to bake beforehand, please do.  We have lots of events on again this year including the Carlton Brass Band, a falconry display and The Dako Flying Angels.  Any help running a stall for an hour or so would also be great.

Our new membership year begins on 1^st September and we have an exciting year planned with varied talks, workshops and four coach trips.  At £10 a year it is excellent value, so remember to renew your membership on Show Day, and encourage others to join us!

See you all on Monday.  Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for good weather.

Our Summer Show is only 2 weeks away!

Now is the perfect time to get ahead of yourself and think about what you are going to enter this year!

Any help setting up on the Sunday from 2pm, helping out for an hour at the show or tidying up at the end would be greatly appreciated.

As we were not able to organise a visit to Ball and Colegrave this year, I am sharing this information about spaces on the trip with another local group, for anyone who might be interested.

Some spaces are available with the West Bridgford & Rushcliffe Horticultural Society and they have a number of seats available on the coach to the Ball & Colegrave Trial Grounds just to the south of Banbury on the afternoon of Wednesday July 23rd. Any members of the Lowdham Horticultural Society (and friends) would be welcome to join us for the trip.

The details are: Ball & Colegrave grow flower plants and some greenhouse vegetable plants for the trade. They are all laid out in spectacular fashion for members of the trade to inspect and place orders for the next year. Once during the display period they open for 3 hours to the general public (i.e. us), the proceeds of the entrance fees going to local charities.

Date and time:  Wednesday July 23rd, leaving the Stamford Road, West Bridgford allotments at 2:00pm, return from the grounds at 7:00pm ( should be back in WB for about 8:45pm)

Stamford Road Allotments: (Post code NG2 6LS) are at the very eastern end of Stamford Road where it meets Rufford Way and adjacent to the Willow Tree pub, plenty of car parking space available inside the allotments.

Cost:   Coach trip £14.00 per adult, £7.00 per child under 12, plus £2.50 entrance payable at the gate. Pay on the coach.

Booking Contact Tony Rootham on 0115 914 2675, places available on a first come, first serve basis.

Refreshments:  Drinks (hot and cold) are available in the grounds but no food. There is plenty of seating both indoors and out. Last year most of us took a few sandwiches and had a very pleasant picnic around 5:30pm.

Last Friday, we visited Acorn Farm, the home of Andrew Parsons, the speaker who gave an excellent talk ‘Farming with Wildlife’ earlier in spring.  We were treated to a tour of the farm on the back of a trailer, pulled by a tractor, driven by Andrew’s son and escorted by the sheepdog!  We had chance to see the wide borders planted to encourage birds and wildlife, as well as walk along the top of the flood defences alongside the River Trent. Andrew also introduced us to their herd of cows, bulls and calves.

It was a lovely evening, enjoyed by all those who came along.