Upcoming Events at a glance
| Date & Time | Where | What – who to contact |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 22 May 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | Bream Sports Club | Monthly market Kathryn Gardner |
| Sunday 24 May 10:00 am – 5:00 pm | Speech House | Forest Showcase Spring Food Festival Kathryn Gardner |
| Saturday 30 May 2:00 – 5:00 pm | Bream & Milkwall – see article below | Members open gardens including refreshements John Theophilus |
| Tuesday 9 June 7:30 – 9:30 pm | Bream Sports Club | “Adapting to Climate Change for Gardeners” talk by Sally Oates Diana Standing |
| Saturday 27 June 8:30 am at WDC | Yeo Valley Organic Gardens & Bristol University Botanical Gardens | Coach Trip to two outstanding gardens Kathryn Gardner/ John Theophilus |
| Wednesday 8 July – Sunday 12 July | Badminton Estate, Badminton | RHS Badminton Flower Show Date for your diary! |
| Saturday 18 July | Forest coal pit, Nr Abergavenny | Minibus Trip: Nant-y-Bedd Garden Date for your diary! |
Contact Details:
Kathryn Gardner & Suzanne Snowden: breamgardeningsociety@gmail.com
Diana Standing: bgsprogsec@gmail.com
John Theophilus: secretarybgs100@gmail.com
Jane’s Jottings
Well what a whacky May we’ve had so far ~ spring, winter, summer, in that order, all in the space of a month! From fleecing up the tender things in the greenhouse last night to putting up the shade netting tomorrow and planting out the greenhouse tomatoes ……. I do hope nobody lost any precious plants and it does look like we’re back on track by the end of the week, thank goodness.
On another note I get regular bi-monthly newsletters from ‘The Big Bug Hunt’ (do check it out and let them know what you find in your garden) and the last one was a humdinger. I’ve tacked it on to the end of my piece for you all as it’s very pertinent,
See you all at Sue’s and Cheryl’s or next month for June’s meeting ~ wow, can you believe it’s only 5 weeks until the Summer Solstice?
Jane
Big Bug Hunt newsletter
Did you know that a bird can eat up to a staggering 100 times its own bodyweight in bugs each year? Insects are incredibly high in protein – even higher than meat in some cases – and the calcium-packed exoskeletons of beetles and other bugs are essential both in the formation of eggshells, and in bone development for growing chicks. This makes parent birds incredibly useful predators with the potential to make a significant impact on garden pest populations at this time of year.
Your feathered pest control squad demands only modest rewards for their invaluable services. Somewhere to nest, adequate shelter from bad weather and predators, a steady food supply, and water. That’s not a lot to ask, is it? Plant your garden to include shrubs, trees, and hedges, plus of course plenty of insect-attracting blooms, and this will provide much of what birds need.
Consider growing berrying plants like honeysuckle, rowan, pyracantha, berberis, and female holly, because many bird species rely on berries when insects are scarce. If you can, install a pond with a gently sloping edge to provide water and bathing opportunities.
Adopt a lazy attitude when you spot the first pests of the year and this will give birds a chance to clear up the problem for you and feed it to their nestlings. Soon the youngsters will be taught how to hunt down their own bugs. This year’s chicks are your garden’s pest control future! Remember, if you spot any fledglings on the ground, it’s almost always best to leave them well alone unless they’re in immediate danger, otherwise their parents may abandon them.
Upcoming events
Monthly BSC Market, Friday 22 May
We will, as usual, have a stall at the Bream Sports Club monthly market, selling plants etc. and promoting the BGS. Please come along and support the market. Contact Kathryn if you would like to help on the stall or for more information: breamgardeningsociety@gmail.com
If you have anything you wish to contribute to our stand at the Forest Showcase (see below) you may bring it to us here if it’s convenient.
BGS stand, Sunday 24 May: Forest Showcase Spring Food Festival.
The annual showcase of all that is good to eat in the Forest. BGS are attending both in our own right and as part of the Forest Food Network. We will have our own stand but it will be ‘clustered’ with stands from other members of the network.
We will as usual be promoting the BGS, selling plants and other BGS goodies. If you would like to assist on the stand that would be very helpful. It will get you free entry to the Showcase and you will certainly have time to enjoy the delights as well as help with our stall.
Sign up here to volunteer or to donate plants/produce: Forest Showcase Spring Food Festival, 2026 – Donations & Volunteers
Members’ open gardens, Saturday 30 May
A chance to view the gardens of two of our more prolific show winners, Sue Hill & Cheryl Hutchinson-Holford, and (of course) have a nice cuppa and a slice of cake.
Unusually for our members’ open gardens these gardens are in two different localities (Bream & Milkwall) and it will be necessary to drive between them. Parking is tight at both ends and it is essential we maximise car sharing. If interest is high, we may need to tightly choreograph arrangements. In the first instance, please register your interest as soon as possible (no later than Friday 22 May, please) so that we know what we need to deal with. Here is the link: Members’ open gardens, 2026 – booking form
If anyone needs further information please contact me on secretarybgs100@gmail.com
Talk, Tuesday 9 June: Adapting to Climate Change for Gardeners
Join us at 7.30pm at Bream Sports Club for our June meeting. Sally Oates will be sharing her knowledge on this important and timely topic, gained from many decades of experience as an organic gardener.
Annual Coach Trip, Saturday 27 June: Yeo Valley Organic Gardens & Bristol Botanic Gardens
For our annual coach trip this year we have a real treat. Two outstanding gardens to visit in a single grand tour!
The first is Yeo Valley Organic garden. Anyone who attended Nicola Hope’s interesting talk this month will have heard her wax lyrical over the delights we will enjoy here. Or you may make your own investigations by looking at their website here: Yeo Valley Organic Gardens.
We are getting a guided tour of the Yeo Valley Gardens and then, after lunch, moving on to visit the Bristol University Botanic Gardens (which happen to be on our way home). As you can imagine there is plenty to see here and you can get a measure of it from their website here: Bristol Botanic Gardens.
Here we can either wander at our leisure or join a guided tour, please indicate which you’d prefer on the sign up form (both options will be available as long as we have at least 10 who want the guided tour).
Cost will be up to about £30/head, but will depend on your circumstances. Please book your places here: Yeo Valley & Bristol Botanic Gardens – Coach trip, 2026 – booking form
Places are limited by availability so please book quickly to avoid disappointment!
RHS Flower Show, 8-12 July: Badminton
Unless you have been living under a stone, you will know that our Young Gardeners have been selected to enter a ‘Garden in a wheelbarrow’ in a competition for youngsters at the RHS Badminton Flower Show. We will have two representatives present daily throughout the show to tend and promote our entry. We think we may also be eligible for additional discounted entry tickets, but have yet to receive details. As soon as we have them you will be told and welcome to use them to visit the show. We do not plan to organise a mass visit, figuring different members may want to visit on different days of the event and do their own thing.
Several of us are working on the exhibit and we think we have more or less got it all in hand. Ultimately, we need to have nice examples of sapling native trees and native wild flowers in bloom at the time of the show. We are currently short of one native evergreen about 1m tall, including the pot. Does anyone have one we could have/borrow? We are also collecting an array of wild flowers. If anyone has suggestions and/or plants they can donate (especially low growing plants for the foreground in the barrow), please let us know. Contact me on secretarybgs100@gmail.com or Suzanne on breamgardeningsociety@gmail.com
Garden visit, Saturday 18 July: Nant-y-Bedd gardens
Brief update on Nant-y-bedd. There is only parking for four vehicles by the gardens so we have arranged to borrow/hire two minibuses from the Gloucestershire Minibus Sharing Scheme. We will need members to travel in the minibuses rather than in their own vehicles, but the cost for their usage is low – essentially the cost of fuel plus a small payment for the driver, who also gets to join us on our visit.
The gardens themselves are spectacular and award winning – there will be more details and a sign up form available in the next newsletter.
Other Events
Events arranged by other organisations which we think may be of interest to our members are as follows
| Date & Time | What/Where | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 20 May | Remember the 1926 strike – exhibition at Dean Heritage Centre | Miners Strike | DHC |
| Tuesday 26 May | Talk on “Alpines around the garden” in Narth Village Hall | Narth and District Gardening Club Events |
| Sunday 30 May | Remember the 1926 strike – talks at Dean Heritage Centre | Remember 1926 | DHC |
| Saturday 6 June | Coach trip to RHS Wisley, arranged by Stonehouse Gardening Club | Stonehouse G C events |
| Sunday 14 June | Masterclass given by Charles Dowding in his Shepton Mallet gardens, arranged by the Biodynamic Association | Biodynamic Association events |
| Sunday 14 June | Badminton House Summer Open Garden Day | Summer Open Garden Day – Badminton Estate |
| Wednesday 24 June | Visit to Morton Hall Gardens & Webbs of Wychbold, organised by Cheltenham Horticultural Society | Booking_Form_for_Moreton_Hall_Gardens.pdf |
| Thursday 23 July | Visit to Highfield Farm, Nr Pontypool, organised by Narth and District Gardening Club | Narth and District Gardening Club events |
And, right on our doorstep and always a treat
Lydney Park Gardens, Rhododendrons
Lydney Park Gardens’ fabulous display of Rhododendrons is open for viewing on various days until Sunday 31 May (note: new last date). Always worth a visit to this lovely local garden with the bonus of the museum and Roman ruins to fill your day.
Visit their website here to find out their opening days: Lydney Park Gardens.
They will also be opening under the NGS this Wednesday 20 May: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme.
For those that have visited before, the entrance to the Gardens has changed this year. From Lydney, take the road to Bream (B4321) and look out for the signs on your left just before The Leechpool. What3Words for the entrance is ///banana.requests.scariest
The car park is down a new gravelled track. From the car park it is now a 15-20 minute walk to get down to the gardens. There is a new surfaced path from the car park through a field that takes you to the woodland. The path is currently a little loose on the surface – thick soled shoes are best. As you descend through the woodland, you can look down on the gardens. Eventually you will reach the main path through the gardens on the valley floor.
National Gardens Scheme
Don’t forget that more or less every weekend there are great NGS gardens to visit. Try this link for our local area NGS Gloucestershire County Booklet 2026 or this link for NGS gardens open in May around Bristol Bristol NGS gardens.
Other News
Visit: Morton Hall Gardens and tulip festival
Here are some photos of the plants on display at the recent visit to Morton Hall. A good time was had by all!
Photograph competition
Don’t forget there is a competition to get your photographs in the BGS 2027 calendar. To enter, send your photographs (landscape orientation) of plants, nature or of local interest to secretarybgs100@gmail.com. We will be selling this calendar in October and November, ready for Christmas!
Summer Show Schedule
There have been some snags with the Summer Show Schedule. The corrected version will be uploaded to the web site in the next couple of days and I will send out links to it when it is there.
People who picked up the pre-publication copies at our last meeting (or from the West Dean Centre) should beware that the class numbering has become muddled in a couple of places. Please hand them back to Kathryn at any BGS event or email her on breamgardeningsociety@gmail.com and she will tell you corrections to apply yourself.
Sales and Wants
For sale: SwitZer heavy duty petrol rotavator/ tiller.
6.5 hp adjustable speed rotavator for sale. Used only a few times and now surplus to requirements. Comes with user manual and can be tried/demonstrated.
Cost £475. Would accept £200.
Please send offers to cherylhutchinsonholford@gmail.com.
Garden watering
It’s getting to holiday season again and garden watering becomes a worry for many of us.
On the member area of our website we have form to request help with garden watering, both to ask for help and to offer help. There is a request there now for watering for a member who lives in St Briavels. Can you help?
If so, navigate to the form under the Garden Watering section, or if you prefer, use this link to it Garden watering offer.