Saturday 27 August 2016

The Village Show.

Village Show (2016)

64th Hanley Swan and Hanley Castle Village Show
& Car Boot
August Bank Holiday weekend – Saturday 27th August 2016
Hanley Swan Village Hall
Doors open at 1.30 pm

This Year’s Show 2016

We hope you are looking forward to one of the major social events in the village calendar, as we start the preparations for the show once again. This year we have a number of categories to celebrate our village, both in the photography, and literature, we do hope you find this interesting to challenge your talents.
The Plant Stall will be here again this year, where we sell donated plants and produce. So if you have any surplus produce from your garden, or spare plants you don’t want to overwinter, your donations would be very welcome. These can be left at the Village Hall on either the Friday afternoon or the Saturday morning of the show.
We will have the local group of musician’s back, 4Tunes, to provide us with some music to entertain; they gave such a lovely atmosphere to last year’s show. After the success of the limerick last year, we are keeping with the poetry theme, but asking for a simple poem about The Hanleys. Anything that inspires you about our beautiful village, be it social, humorous, or the countryside. Whatever represents our village life.

The Car Boot is on!

The annual clear out of your garage and loft is as popular as ever. The costs is £7 a boot. Access to the field on Saturday for Car Boots is from 12.00 onwards – but please remember the show itself opens at 1.30 pm.

Teas and Cakes

Wonderful refreshments and home made cakes will be available from 1.00 pm onwards courtesy of the kind volunteers from the Hanley Castle WI. The added bonus of Bacon Baps is also on the cards.     

            
From the Village Website

We endeavour to enter some classes in the show, although we do not grow anything specifically for the show bench, I usually also enter the photography sections.
We also encourage our two granddaughters to enter in the children's sections.

The stage is set with a table laden with cups donated by villagers over the 64 years of the show.
Staging of exhibits has to be completed by 10.30am when judging begins.





Some impressive onions...


...and leeks...


...the children's and photo classes.


One of the many floral art sections, this one with an Olympics theme 'Road to Rio'...


...this was the winning arrangement in the 'Your Majesty' section.


My David Howard dahlias didn't win a prize...


...happily Thomas A Edison won first in its class...


...and the Pelargonium 'Frank Hedley' won third.


My photo won first prize in the photography class 'The Hanleys', it is a view looking across the village pond towards the Swan Inn.


The real stars of the show for us were the grandchildren, below are some of their prize winning exhibits.
Louise's vegetable animal...


...art work...


...handicraft...


...miniature garden...


...and pizza.


Rebecca's vegetable owl...


... a heart birthday card in the children's art class...


...her miniature garden...


...and her necklace in handicraft, please read the note describing how she made it...


...and finally her cup cakes in terracotta pots promoting the NGS open gardens charity.


Rebecca won five firsts and one second with six entries.
Here receiving one of her many cups and rosettes.



This event is well supported both with village and outside competitors including some specialist growers. The majority are, like us, just doing it to support the show, it is a bonus if you win anything.
Congratulations should also go to the committee that organises the show, it is a huge amount of work.

Please click on any picture to create a slide show.



Monday 1 August 2016

Summer Tour (Part 2).

I hope you enjoyed Summer Tour Part 1, of Our Garden@19, if you haven't seen it just scroll down to below this post.
All the plants in Part 2 are either annuals bought or grown from seed also some perennials that I have grown from seed. The majority of my seeds come from either Chiltern Seeds or Sarah Raven, I do also save some seeds from Our Garden@19.

The first to greet you on the patio is a pair of planters with Rudbeckia 'Toto Rustic', it proved very difficult to keep alive as seedlings, wilting off, they are now beginning to prove their worth. Along- side are buckets of violas, behind, growing in an old tin bath is Fuchsia 'Mrs Popple'...


...these Petunias were purchased from a local nursery, they have been really good value.


This is the first time I have grown the white version of this annual climber, Tunbergia 'Susie Series' White, I think it is a beauty and will be on the seed list again for next year.


The nasturtiums self seed every year, this one is growing alongside Erigeron Karvinskianus which if happy will seed around every where.


These sweet peas are 'Cupani' originally introduced from Sicily in 1699, these are from seed saved in 2015.


A new one for this year is King Edward VII, adding a Royal flush to the garden.


I have been very impressed with Centaurea cyanus 'Blue Boy', I planted the seeds in September, overwintering in the cold greenhouse before planting out in the spring, they have flowered non stop since May.


We go through the arch past baskets of Lemons & Apricots (Begonias)...


...to the White & Green garden with the white Sweet William and Lychnis coronnaria alba, easy from seed along with its red stable mate.


In the main borders, Campanula lactiflora 'Prichards Variety' grown from seed eight years ago, surviving much longer than the purchased 'Loddon Anna' and...


...a beautiful orchid like flower, Francoa sonchifolia, another perennial very easy to propagate from seed.



New this year is Daucus carota ‘Dara’, it is supposed to have hints of pink in it, so far they all appear to be white and...


...also new is this beauty Cosmos sulphurous, I had never seen a yellow Cosmos until I read a post by Amelia who kindly sent me some seed. Monty Don featured them on Gardener's World a couple of weeks ago, we are at the cutting edge of horticulture Amelia!


One 'Old' favourite is Eryngium giganteum 'Miss Willmott's Ghost'...


...which along with the Bronze Fennel is loved by the pollinating insects.


A perennial that will seed itself around the garden is Knautia macedonica, I love its colour and pin cushion seed heads, seen hear with Lychnis coronaria.


Cosmos bipinnatus are easy to grow from seed, this is 'Dazzler'. 


We end the tour in the small greenhouse with trays of predominately biennials for next year.


What is 'Dazzling' in your garden this summer?

Please click on any picture to create a slide show.