Stone Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society

Today we thought we’d bring you a few dahlias and chrysanthemums – some of them are grown for fun and some of them were destined for the Show last Saturday.

More from our gardens tomorrow . . .

This is the first installment of this week’s Virtual Flower (and Garden) Show from the Garden Club of the Stone Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society. As we said in our last post – this is being held due to the cancellation of the Society’s Annual Show

We thought we would start the week with some flowers from our gardens in the last few days. Sit back and enjoy the show . . .

More pictures tomorrow . . .

Today (19th) should have been the 34th Annual Show of the Stone Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society.

Sadly it had to be cancelled so instead we asked our Garden Club members to go out into their gardens during the last week to take photos.

Starting on Monday we will be presenting our Virtual Garden and Flower Show here – featuring not just chrysanths and dahlias but all sorts of flowers, fruits, berries and seedheads that have provided colour in the gardens recently.

Hopefully things will be back to ‘normal’ by next September and we will be able to hold our Annual Show again, but in the meantime we hope you enjoy this peek into our gardens over the next few days.

We regret that owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic we have decided to cancel all our Autumn meetings. We will review the situation again in November.

We hope to be able to book these speakers to come again once it is safe enough to meet.

Please keep sending any photos of your gardens and plants to us (address on your membership card) and we will feature them here.

These are a few from the last month

Not just gardens but Plant Fairs too.

Gardens are opening locally for the NGS – you will have to book a timed visit– and two to look out for are opening on Sunday July 26th:- Ruth and Clive Plant at Yew Tree Cottage are opening for the last time this season. and  Peter and Margaret Hargreaves’s lovely garden is open at Grafton Cottage.

Then there are a couple of Plant Fairs to look forward to as well –

Sandon Hall Plant Fair on Sunday 2nd August will be taking place. The fair will be held on the grass and gravel frontage outside the North of the Hall (not inside the gardens) and there will be 10 plant nurseries and 3 garden accessories. The opening times have changed and the FAIR OPENS AT 0900 AND CLOSES AT 1400 .The entrance fee is now £2 per person and entrance to the gardens (a bit overgrown due to the pandemic we are told) is by donation.

The Plant Fair at Dorothy Clive Garden will also be going ahead on Sunday 30th and Monday 31st August.
A limited number of tickets will be available for the event from this Monday (20th July). There will be two bookable sessions as follows on both days: – 10am to 1pm and 1pm to 4pm with a maximum of 300 places on each session. To reserve a place(s) please call Plant Fairs 01630 647237 or email info@dorothyclivegarden.co.uk  Tickets can be posted to your home address.
The entry fee is £4 per person for entry to the plant fair and gardens.

Here are a few more photos from our Instagram posts

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Sadly many of these Open Gardens weekends have had to be postponed for a year but many places have produced video tours instead.

Coming up is The Haywoods & Colwich Gardens which are not open this year but they have Virtual Open Gardens on-line. It will only be on line until the end of this month. “Not as sophisticated a presentation as Eccleshall but a good effort” is what we’ve been told!

Barlaston Open Gardens has also been postponed and you can find a video on their Facebook page.

Meanwhile here are some photos from our Instagram account

Gardens are continuing their slow re-opening and we are getting used to having to book a time slot for our visits. You can find further information on the various websites including the National Garden Scheme,  the National Trust, and our local gardens such as Trentham.

Next on our wishlist are the RHS Shows – we have had a virtual Chelsea and this month sees RHS Tatton Park which will also be a virtual show this year starting on July 22nd. You can read more about the effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on the RHS shows and gardens here.

Here are some photos from previous shows attended by members – first is the Harrogate Show in 2019

Chatsworth in 2017

Chelsea in 2017

and finally Tatton Park also in 2017

You’ll find lots of photos on our Instagram account at stone_candd_garden_club and we will post some of them here later in the month.

Actually it is nearly July but the photos in this post are from June. It’s been lovely to get out and about a little, to visit friends for picnics in our gardens, or to visit some of the gardens that have been closed. Life is slowly becoming a new normal.

EDIT – Speaking of garden that have been closed – we have just had a letter from Wollerton Old Hall Gardens about their re-opening on June 25th. Download the letter and details here or go to their website where you can book your visit.

Back to the photos – flowers from the gardens first, some of these have been in our Instagram posts but not all.

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And then a few photos from The Common Plott, specifically the ‘historic haymeadow’.

It is with great regret that we have taken the decision to cancel this year’s 34th Annual Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society Open Show. This was due to be held in September but it was felt that given current (and likely ongoing) restrictions it would be impossible to hold the Show and safeguard everyone’s health. Hopefully things will be returning to normal over the next twelve months or so and it will be possible to hold the Show next September.

Meanwhile many nurseries and garden centres have re-opened with restrictions in place so we can at last go out and buy plants and pots again. Some gardens are slowly, and carefully, re-opening too. Some NGS gardens, for instance, are re-opening with booking systems in place – see their website for details. The RHS has also opened its gardens – again see their website for details – but all their shows for the year have been cancelled. Likewise, the National Trust is opening some of its gardens, but not the houses, and details are on their website.

Closer to home both the Dorothy Clive Garden and Trentham Gardens are re-opening. See their websites for full details – the Dorothy Clive Garden is asking you to pre-book if possible but you may be able to have a wander round if you just turn up – it depends how many others have had the same idea. The toilets are open (always an essential consideration!) and the cafe is doing take-away refreshments. Trentham Gardens is currently only open to ‘Members’ (Season Ticket holders) – again the full details are on their website. Keep looking as they are updated regularly.

Here are a few of the plant photos that have been on our Instagram page during May (and a few that haven’t)

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The good news is that nurseries and garden centres are now allowed to open so some of us at least can go and browse and choose our own plants again, even if it means wearing a mask (can anyone really breathe in them?) and gloves or lots of sanitiser.

In the meantime our gardens have been blooming and growing (especially the weeds) but we have at least had the time to tend them and enjoy them. And maybe soon, if we don’t have a second wave of virus, gardens will be open to visitors again.

For those of you not on Instagram, here’s a few of the photos we have been posting.

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Trentham Gardens also have virtual tours on their blog, so if you are missing going there you can at least have a wander round from the comfort of home.