Sunday 18th May - 14.00 to 17.00 Ebrington Village Hall, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire
The Club will have its own stall plus a number of Club Members will be selling their own plants.
Come and buy from a wide range of interesting and unusual plants and have a Cream Tea at the same time. This is a very good afternoon out in a lovely village in the Cotswolds, the countryside and the gardens are looking lovely at this time of year, and you will remember your visit to Ebrington when those plants are blooming in your own garden.

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Tags: chipping campden | cotswolds | countryside | gardens | gloucestershire | ebrington | banbury | sale | shipston on stour | stow

Batsford Arboretum, near Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds, is No. 4 in the list of the 50 best spring gardens to visit for a grand day out, compiled by the The Daily Telegraph Gardening section. Read the rest of this article »

Tags: arboretum | cotswolds | gloucestershire | moreton | trees | gardens

Don’t let the grass grow under your feet! That is the message being given to gardeners by Cotswold District Council ahead of the new waste and recycling collection service.

The Council’s current free fortnightly collection of garden waste will stop in April when new weekly collection arrangements are introduced across the whole of the District.

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Tags: gardens | cotswolds | recycling

Saturday 5th April Ebrington Village Hall - Entries staged from 09.00 - Public Viewing from 14.30

A true village show to celebrate the arrival of Spring and to show off the colours and freshness of spring flowers. Read the rest of this article »

Tags: ebrington | gardens | cotswolds | spring

Saturday 26th January & Sunday 27th January 2008 - organised by RSPB

The Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s biggest bird survey. It is organised by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and has been a regular event since 1979 when they asked their junior membership to count the birds in their garden - over the same weekend. In 2001 the event was officially opened up to everyone and more than 55,000 people took part. In 2007 more than 400,000 participants took part by counting the birds in their garden for an hour. Together they spotted 6 million birds across 236,000 gardens.

With so many people taking part the RSPB are able to gather imprtant data which helps them to understand more about the population trends of UK garden birds.

Over the years the survey has recorded the huge declines in some of our most familiar birds. Since 1979 the number of house sparrows counted has fallen by 52%, the number of starlings by 76% and the number of blackbirds by 44%. However chaffinchs and great tits have both seen their numbers increase by 36% and 52% respectively. 

Take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch 2008 on 26th & 27th January. Simply spend an hour counting the birds in your garden or local park on either day.

Full details of how to take part are explained on the RSPB website www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch and you can download a counting sheet to help you keep track of how many birds you’ve seen. You submit your results online using an online form which will be open from 26th January for you to enter your counts. The results will be published by the RSPB in March 2008.

Go on - give it a go - it only takes an hour!

Source - Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

Tags: cotswolds | countryside | gardens | birds

The visiting speaker for November was Mrs Anne Chambers from nearby Kiftsgate Court. The village hall was packed with members and visitors eager to hear about the history of the property and its famous garden.

The house itself was built in the late C19th by the then owners of Mickleton Manor. They transported whole chunks of the manor house, which they loved, up to Kiftsgate by means of a light railway. Heather Muir, Anne’s grandmother, bought the property in 1918. She knew little about gardening at that time, but with the encouragement of her friends, including Vita Sackville-West and Major Lawrence Johnston, from nearby Hidcote, she soon set about creating her garden. Anne Chambers is the third generation of gardening owners in her family, following on from her grandmother and her mother, Mrs Binny. She has no formal training in gardening but has picked things up as she has gone along. She is a hands-on gardener, being ably helped by her husband, Johnny, and two gardeners.

Her slides took us round the garden through the seasons. She was able to point out original plants which had been introduced by her grandmother and described changes which had taken place over the years. The famous Kiftsgate rambling rose was the result of an order being placed for Rosa filipes which turned out to be something rather different from the plant ordered. It will grow up to 15 feet a year, and fills the surrounding trees with its clusters of white flowers in summer. Not a plant for a small courtyard garden!

The garden continues to develop. Moving into the 21st century, the old tennis court has been turned into a most modern water garden with tall, eye catching metallic leaves that glisten with water from the fountains, reflecting in the pool below.

Following her talk, Mrs Chambers answered members’ questions. She was thanked by Joanna Spark for a most fascinating evening. Those of us who have not been to Kiftsgate will now have to contain ourselves until the Spring, when the garden reopens for 2008. Bill Bond-Williams was the lucky winner of the raffle, a season ticket to Kiftsgate Court Garden kindly donated by Anne Chambers.

(From the Chipping Campden Bulletin. Included with kind permission of Jeremy Green)

Related articles:
Ebrington wins Bronze Medal
Ebrington Gardening Club goes to Hampton Court
A Memorable Year for Ebrington Gardening Club
50 best gardens to visit this summer

Tags: ebrington | gardens

Small-scale projects to improve nature and landscape in the Cotswold Water Park still have the chance to grab cash grants of up to £500.

The grants, on offer until early 2008, are aimed at community projects which will enhance the already-thriving wildlife and landscape within the Water Park

The funding, administered by Cotswold District Council, comes from a £100,000 pot contributed by Cotswold Four Pillars Ltd as part of a planning agreement, after they were given the green light to build a hotel at Lake 6.

And several projects have already had a share of council cash, including Somerford Keynes Parish Council’s £500 project to build new nesting rafts at Coke’s Pit Local Nature Reserve.

The project will see two new rafts replace existing, run-down ones in early 2008. The rafts – located in the middle of the Coke’s Pit lake – will encourage common terns and black headed gulls, returning from a winter in Africa, to breed.

The two by one metre wooden rafts, coated with a layer of gravel, also have a small fence around them to prevent nosy swans and geese getting on board.

Other projects in line for a grant include a brand new wildlife and sensory garden at South Cerney Playgroup so that the children can enjoy wildlife on their doorstep, improving ponds for newts and dragonflies and helping to support a major project to make Lake 12 (Lakeside) better for both wildlife and people.

To be eligible, projects must help conserve and enhance the wildlife of the Water Park and/or contribute towards the park’s overall management. The deadline for groups to get their bids in is January 21st.

Cotswold District Council’s Portfolio holder for Development Service Cllr John Birch said: “This is a great opportunity for local organisations to get involved in improving and enhancing the special environment of the Water Park. Projects may range from planting a hedgerow around your school field, surveying for water voles in your parish or putting up a bat box on the village hall.”

Further information and application forms are available on the Cotswold District Council website at www.cotswold.gov.uk or from Sophia Price, Heritage and Design Manager, Cotswold District Council, Trinity Road, Cirencester GL7 1PX, telephone 01285 623000 or email sophia.price@cotswold.gov.uk

Tags: gardens | places

The summer show at Ebrington was held a week earlier than usual on llth August. However we had plenty of entries in most of the classes — flowers, vegetables, cookery and children’s classes were particularly well supported. In all, there were more than 430 entries throughout the show.

A special feature of the afternoon was the presentation of the Peter Righton Cup for the best dahlia in the show. Following his death last year, it was felt that it would be a fitting tribute to Peter to establish a new award, recognising his love of dahlias. His widow, Barbara, presented the award, and it was won for the first time by their son Kevin.

The chairman, John Massey, thanked the Drinkwater family for allowing the use of their barn for the show. The club really appreciated it. Jo Spark presented Dorothy Drinkwater with a bouquet of flowers. John drew attention to the bronze medal on display which had been won by the club at this year’s Hampton Court Flower Show. Many thanks to Barry and Sally Sabin who had prepared and set up the winning hanging basket and window box for the competition on our behalf.

As always, the success of the show was down to the hard work of all those committee members, judges, friends and volunteers who had given their time to prepare the barn and set everything up to run smoothly on the day. He thanked every one who had entered the show and who had helped to make the day a success. Everything had gone very well - even the weather was beautiful, bringing out the crowds to enjoy the sunshine.

(From the Chipping Campden Bulletin. Included with kind permission of Jeremy Green)

Related articles:
Ebrington wins Bronze Medal
Ebrington Gardening Club goes to Hampton Court
A Memorable Year for Ebrington Gardening Club

Tags: ebrington | gardens

28th October - Golden Leaf Sunday - the Arboretum at it’s colourful best

Autumn is the perfect time to visit the Arboretum near Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds. It will be looking wonderful with the autumn colours coming in early this year with an explosion of reds, golds and yellows and the Maples providing the richest colours.

In September the sugary scented Katsura Tree is one special attraction. The tree is native to Japan and China and a scent is produced by the leaves resembling burnt brown sugar or cotton candy.

Also in September the Mulberry Tree will fruit. The dark red, almost black fruits, are similar to blackberries in appearance but are very juicy with an intense sweet sharp flavour. Shakespeare had a famous Mulberry Tree, of which there are descendants at Kew, and it is said that he had taken it from the Mulberry garden of James I and planted it in his garden at New Place, Stratford-on-Avon, in 1609.

Since 1984 the Arboretum has been run by a charitable trust - The Batsford Foundation -to ensure it’s future and in 2002 it was recognised by the National Council for theConservation of Plants and Gardens (N.C.C.P.G.) as holding the National Plant Collection of Japanese Flowering Cherries (Prunus (sato-sakura group)).

The Estate is the former home of the Mitford girls who all lived at Batsford during the first world war. The oldest, Nancy, based the early part of her novel “Love in a cold climate” on their time at Batsford.

The Estate was sold in 1919 to Gilbert Wills, later the 1st Lord Dulverton and his wife Victoria took a great interest in the garden making many additions to it’s plant stock including the Handkerchief Tree and some fine Copper Beeches.

During the second world war the gardens were neglected and became overgrown until Frederick Wills succeeded his father as 2nd Lord Dulverton in 1956. He had a great passion for trees and proceeded throughout the 1960s to halt the decline. He consolidated the existing collections and added a multitude of other trees to The Estate. He was responsible for raising the status of Batsford to an Arboretum of international standing.

The collection at Batsford now covers a wide range of plants from around the world with an emphasis on the Far East. There are over 3050 labelled specimens including about 1600 different trees, shrubs and bamboo.

Prominent collections include:-

Acer(Maples), Magnolias, Prunus, Bamboo, Sorbus(Mountain Ash and Whitebeams), Quercus(Oak) and Pinus(Pine)

Batsford Arberetum
Batsford Park
Moreton-in-Marsh
Gloucestershire
GL56 9QB

Telephone 01386 701441

www.batsarb.co.uk

Open daily from 10.00 am to 4.45 pm

www.nccpg.com

Tags: gardens | gloucestershire | moreton | places | trees | arboretum | autumn

Bourton House , Bourton on the Hill has won the HHA/Christie’s 2006 Award.

Awarded annually since 1984 this prestigious award, sponsored by Christie’s, is given to a Historic Houses Association (HHA) Member garden which has been voted for by the Friends throughout the year. A presentation is made to the winning garden in the early summer of the year after the year in which the votes for it have been cast.

Previous winners include Kiftsgate Court in 2003.

The HHA represents 1500 privately owned historic houses,castles and gardens throughout the UK. These are listed buildings or designated gardens, usually Grade I or II* and are often outstanding

www.hha.org.uk

Bourton House Garden was opened to the public in 1987. Following the natural contours of the landscape the garden is on many levels with each area flowing into the next, all full of colour with a combination of both traditional and unusual flowers and shrubs and some wonderful deep herbaceous borders.

The Grade I listed Tithe Barn, has a dedication stone dated 1570 with the initials RP for the then owner Richard Palmer, and is now used� for refreshments and light lunches� and� as a gallery for Contemporary Art, Craft and Design.

The seven acre field opposite the garden has been planted with a wide variety of trees and also contains sculpture by Andrew Darke.

The Garden is open every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday until end of August and then Thursday and Friday only in September and October.

Bourton House, Bourton-on-the Hill, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9AE

www.bourtonhouse.com

This garden is well worth visiting.� � One of the best.

(Photo used with kind permission from http://gardentouring.fotopic.net/)� � � �

Tags: gardens | moreton | places