Your Village Gardening Club
A group of us battled the high winds on the 6th May and made it to the evening tour of the LIME CLOSE GARDEN in Drayton. The owner of the 3-acre garden, Marie-Christine de Laubarede, gave us a very interesting tour identifying very unusual trees and shrubs that had been planted from seed over the past 25 years.
Don’t forget to book your seat for SATURDAY 13th JUNE when we visit THE HARRIS GARDEN at READING UNIVERSITY and then a lunch at THE GRIFFIN PUBLIC HOUSE, CAVERSHAM. Transport will leave Blewbury Village Hall at 9.30pm. There is a bonus to this outing – we can also visit Caversham House Gardens after lunch – it’s about 200 yards from the Griffin. Apologies – there was an error in the May Bulletin, the price is as follows. Ticket 1: Garden tour, one-course lunch & coffee – £8 per person
Ticket 2: Garden tour, one-course lunch & coffee, plus transport – £14 per person
PLEASE BOOK YOUR TICKET(s), CHOOSE YOUR LUNCH BY FRIDAY 5TH JUNE THROUGH KAREN AT BLEWBURY POST OFFICE OR MAGGIE (IN UPTON) ON 01235 850126 OR EILEEN (IN DIDCOT) ON 01235 510095 AND BOOK TRANSPORT IF YOU REQUIRE IT. Please call these numbers if you have any questions.
HAVE YOU GOT YOUR COPY OF THE SHOW SCHEDULE SO YOU CAN DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO ENTER IN THE ANNUAL SHOW??? It’s available at Blewbury Post Office or via our e-mail vpa.in.bl.up@gmail.com We already have exhibitors registering from Didcot and surrounding villages – so we need Blewbury and Upton to support this traditional event on Saturday 11th July. The planned ‘Beetroot Bonanza’ is going well. Nineteen varieties of beetroot have germinated despite the mixed weather. We now need sunshine to help them grow!! Tastings and recipes you have never seen before will be available on the day of the Show. Beetroot is a good source of iron and folate (naturally occurring folic acid). It also contains nitrates, betaine, magnesium and other antioxidants (notably betacyanin). More recent health claims suggest beetroot can help lower blood pressure, boost exercise performance and prevent dementia.
DID YOU KNOW? Americans started using blueberries in their muffins when they discovered that the fruits exploded on reaching a certain temperature and distributed their flavour throughout the sponge.
Happy Gardening
Eileen