Upcoming Events at a glance
| Date & Time | Where | What – who to contact |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 11 August 7:30 – 9:30 pm | Bream Sports Club | August Meeting: “Making a sustainable garden from scratch” Prof Clive Stainton Kathryn Gardner/ John Theophilus |
| Saturday 15 August 2:00 – 5:00 pm | Bream Sports Club | BGS 161st Summer Show Kathryn Gardner |
| Sunday 16 August 11:00 am – 3:00 pm | Bream Sports Club | Bream Book Fair Kathryn Gardner |
| Saturday 12 Sept TBA | Ashwood Nurseries, Kingswinford DY6 0AE | Garden visit: John’s Garden at Ashwood Nurseries Diana Standing |
| Tuesday 8 September 7:30 – 9:30 pm | Bream Sports Club | Monthly meeting: “The work of an Agronomist” Edward Sandeman Diana Standing |
Contact Details:
Kathryn Gardner & Suzanne Snowden: breamgardeningsociety@gmail.com
Diana Standing: bgsprogsec@gmail.com
John Theophilus: secretarybgs100@gmail.com
Hello!
Welcome to the July 2026 Newsletter. We are less than a month from our Summer Show! I hope you are all suitably excited.
Since our last Summer Show over 40 new members have joined us (Welcome! (again), by the way). That’s about 25% of our membership who haven’t experienced the build up to the Show.
Many will remember (eg from reports to the last AGM) that the show has been growing year on year “exponentially” in recent times (according to our Show Secretary – and if anyone knows, she does). This is down to a lot of people putting in entries and volunteering to help set up and run things. Unfortunately several of the old hands are likely to be a bit less active this year due to changed personal circumstances.
So, if you are a new member and thinking to yourself “Oh, I don’t know what I’m doing with that, better leave it to those who do”, please think again! Show Manager and Show Secretary, Kathryn & Elizabeth Gardner, have put in a full piece this month about what needs doing, by when, for the Show. You will surely find yourself welcomed if you join in and (probably) have a jolly good time doing so.
We’re also a bit concerned that some of our top exhibitors, (those who enter multiple classes in the show) are also likely to be a bit less active this year.
So please don’t hold back, thinking that only the most experienced growers should enter. Your entries really don’t have to be perfect in order to compete. Last year one of my squashes won a prize – and I’m a DREADFUL gardener – ask anyone!
So, the message is: Don’t be shy – join in and have fun!
Jane’s Jottings
Jane has received a letter from a Member! (You could ask her a question if you liked – send it to me (secretarybgs100@gmail.com) “For the attention of Jane”)
“Dear Jane
For many years, a Torbay Palm grew happily in a sunny spot in the garden. It grew from a small plant to about 8 feet tall and eventually produced the odd flower. It was left to fend for itself over the winter until it died off after a very cold spell.
It was left in place until I noticed an odd vomit-like smell in the general area. Eventually I traced the smell to the decaying palm tree. The tree was duly cut off at the base and the remains removed.
Some time later I was surprised to see two young trees growing from the stump. These have now grown to be around 5ft tall. This year they produced several flowers as seen in the photo.
The two trunks are close to each other and the ‘canopies’ intersect like a Venn diagram.
My question is:
Looking back, I would probably have cut off one of the two trees and allowed the other to grow un-hindered.
Looking forward, should I now cut off one of the two trunks? Or should I simply let them fight for space out between themselves?
Geoff Davis,
Sun Green, Bream”
Jane replied:
“Dear Geoff
Sadly I don’t know a great deal about Torbay Palms and I haven’t yet seen this one in-situ, so haven’t seen the base. But I’m fairly sure it isn’t 2 plants (they are actually Cordylines rather than true palms) In think it will have regenerated as a double stemmed plant
The amazing flowering is probably in light of it having come back to life after it’s near demise.
As to whether to cut back one stem …… personally, I wouldn’t. I think it looks great as it is.
I think it’s probably a fairly natural way for it to grow in this country where it gets cut back by severe weather at times and it branches out after flowering sometimes anyway.
Also, if you cut off one stem it may very well send up two more! 😀
This is a site with good info and there seem to be quite a few more. https://www.bigplantnursery.co.uk/shop/plants/palms-hardy-and-exotic/cordyline-australis/
Jane“
Upcoming events
NB We use “Google forms” to collect details of people’s applications to join trips and similar things. When you follow the link to these forms (if you haven’t already got a Google account), you are often asked if you’d like one. It is just advertising – you don’t need a Google account to fill in the form. Simply ignore the advert and carry on ticking boxes, please!
BGS monthly meeting, Tuesday 11 August
“Making a sustainable garden from scratch”
When Prof Clive Stainton and his wife developed their hectare of garden, they wanted to make it as environmentally sustainable as possible. Clive will take you through the work – the successes, trials and failures. He will talk about water storage on a grand scale, being self-sufficient in electricity production, least CO2 emitting machinery, minimising the use of chemicals, tree planting and more.
A story of aspiration and disappointment, cooperation and struggle alone.
BGS 161st Summer Show, Saturday 15 August
THE BIG ONE! Our main event of the year. This is the centenary of the only year in the Society’s history that the Summer Show wasn’t put on. Surely reason enough to make sure it is even bigger and better than usual!
Should you need to refer back to any of the information below, it will be made available on our website: Bream Summer Show – Bream Gardening Society. Please keep checking this webpage for updates.
Help wanted
Our 161st Summer Show is now less than a month away, and so once again we are appealing for volunteers and for donations of plants, cakes, prizes and equipment. There are opportunities to volunteer before, during and after the show.
Please complete the online sign-up form by following this link: Volunteers & donations form. Alternatively, write to us at breamgardeningsociety@gmail.com and we will send you a pdf copy of the form – just let us know your responses via email.
Publicise
Please help us to publicise the show by continuing to distribute posters (A4 and A3), flyers (A5 and A6) and schedules. We are keen to advertise locally wherever we can – noticeboards, shops, cafés, florists, farmers’ markets, community centres, garden centres, churches, allotments, village fetes etc. We would also like to publicise the show at local hobby groups.
If you would like some posters or flyers to distribute, please get in touch with Kathryn at breamgardeningsociety@gmail.com.
Raffle tickets
Last year we sold out of raffle tickets, and so this year we have ordered twice as many – now all we need is enough volunteers to help us sell them! Tickets cost £1 each or £5 for a book. The first prize is £150 and other prizes include luxury gardening and food hampers.
If you are able to sell raffle tickets to your friends, neighbours and family ahead of the Show, please request them via the Volunteers & donations form or get in touch with Suzanne at breamgardeningsociety@gmail.com. Please return any money, ticket stubs and/or unsold tickets at our August meeting or to Suzanne before 13th August. Thank you.
Please enter the Show!
Thank you to everybody who took part in last year’s anniversary show when we had another bumper year for entries. Please get involved again to help us keep this local event going strong in our 161st year. Novice entrants are most welcome and most classes are open to all so please encourage your family, friends and neighbours to get involved too.
We have classes for fruit and vegetables, flowers, flower arranging, baking, preserves, honey, art, crafts and photography, as well as a dedicated children’s section – something to suit everybody. The full schedule is available here: Summer Show 2026 – Schedule; however, please get in touch if you would prefer a hard copy.
The deadline for entries is 6pm on Thursday 13th August. The simplest way to enter is by using the Online entry form, but we still welcome entries by post, phone and email too. If you are keen to enter but are away on the day, or need a lift to drop off your entries, please do let us know asap and we’ll arrange assistance where possible.
Please don’t be put off from entering because the quality of your produce is not as high as usual – growing conditions this year have been exceptionally tough but we are all in the same boat. Your entries don’t need to be perfect, just have a go!
However, please read the Show Schedule carefully. There is nothing worse than having to disqualify a winning entry because the exhibitor displayed the wrong number of specimens, trimmed their carrot tops too short, used the wrong type of lid on their jar or exceeded the space allowed etc.
Battle of the Villages
This year, each local village (or town) has been challenged to present a display of local garden produce arranged in a wheelbarrow and a bucket.
Please let us know, via the Volunteers & donations form or email, if you can contribute any harvested vegetables, salad, fruit, herbs and/ or cut flowers to our display and help us to retain the trophy! Alternatively, if you don’t live in Bream, you may prefer to compete for your own home town or village – we can put you in touch with the person organising your display.
You may collect your produce at the end of the Show if you wish – otherwise, it will be sold to raise funds for BGS.
Community Wheelbarrow Gardens
Inspired by the Bream Young Gardeners’ wheelbarrow garden at the RHS Badminton Show, ‘Dream for Bream’ has offered to fund a community wheelbarrow garden competition in the village. The competition is designed to promote community engagement and to ‘Brighten up Bream’!
The competition is open to all community groups in Bream – hobby groups, sports clubs, schools/ nurseries, youth clubs, residents’ groups etc. Each group must build a living garden inside a wheelbarrow (or Gorilla tub) which will be displayed around the village and then at the Bream Summer Show on 15th August.
If you know of any groups who would like to take part, please get in touch to find out how they can claim their free compost and wheelbarrow (or Gorilla tub) to take part.
Thank you & any questions?
If you have any queries about volunteering, donating or entering the Show, please don’t hesitate to contact us at breamgardeningsociety@gmail.com. We want to make your showing experience as straightforward and enjoyable as possible. If we don’t know an answer, we shall consult the judges on your behalf.
Your support is fundamental to the success of the Show and is greatly appreciated, thank you.
Bream Book Fair, Sunday 16th August
Following the Summer Show, our marquees will once again host the annual Bream Book Fair which is now in its 5th year. A fantastic opportunity to browse new and used books for all ages, meet published authors, enjoy fun children’s activities, and explore local craft stalls.
This event is run by Julie Holder (from the nonprofit organisation Packed with Love) who organises the craft stalls at the Bream Summer Show on our behalf. We will be having a plant and gardening book stall at the Book Fair as well as running the tea tent, and so please support this event if you can.
John’s Garden at Ashwood Nurseries,
Saturday 12 September
Those of you came to the monthly meeting in November last year will remember how Howard Drury showcased the remarkable garden created by John Massey at Ashwood nurseries. This trip was arranged as a result of popular demand to visit.
We will be sending out information and taking bookings after the Summer Show. Please put the date in your diary.
Other Organisation’s Events
We haven’t received many specific requests to promote events from other groups this month.
There is a Flower Festival in Hewelsfield Church on Saturday 25 July from 11:00am to 5:00pm. Free entry with craft stalls and homemade lunch & tea stall.
And, if you are at a loose end, don’t forget that more or less every weekend there are great NGS gardens to visit. Try this link for the gardens open in our local area over the next month: Find a Garden | National Garden Scheme.
Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival
Those who came on the coach trip to Yeo Valley gardens will remember that we were told about the Organic Garden Festival which Yeo Valley are hosting between 17 and 19 September.
Many of the members on the coach trip were interested in attending. It is a 3 day festival and you can read all about it here Organic Garden Festival.
If there is sufficient demand to attend a specific day of the festival, we can organise a trip to suit. Please email me at Secretarybgs100@gmail.com to let me know if you are interested.
Other News
Badminton RHS Flower Show
The Bream Young Gardener’s “garden in a wheelbarrow” exhibit made its way to the Badminton show and was roundly admired by the visiting public. Many recognised that it represented the Forest of Dean, but then there were some pretty clear clues
Several of our Young Gardeners came to see their exhibit and were all very pleased and proud with how it looked.
Annual Coach Trip: Yeo Valley Organic Garden (and Bristol Botanic Gardens)
The BGS Annual Coach Trip started with what seemed to be a bit of a disaster. We were told the night before we left that the intended afternoon visit to the Botanic Gardens in Bristol had been cancelled due to the hot weather. We swiftly rearranged our plans (opting for a Garden Centre visit on our way home) and set off to visit Yeo Valley organic gardens.
And what a treat they were! More or less unanimously voted “the best gardens we remember visiting” by those on the trip. We wandered about taking in a cornucopia of delights and clever ideas. My favourite was this grove of silver birch underplanted by ferns and white flowering plants.
We decided we wouldn’t hurry and stayed most of the day at Yeo Valley, barely touching down at the garden centre on the way home.
There is a general view amongst those who visited that the garden could easily be ‘done’ again in a different season (Spring or Autumn), and as a bonus we have been offered a 20% discount if we visit the Bristol Botanic Gardens some other time – so that’s another date!
Nant-y-Bedd gardens
Last weekend, a select band of members set off into deepest Wales to visit the remarkable gardens of Nant-y-Bedd (Stream of the dead). These wild, exciting and very different gardens are at the end of a longish road which doesn’t appear on Google maps, so the journey there was an adventure in itself.
Our members took plenty of photographs which have appeared on Facebook but I’m afraid this newsletter is already MUCH too long so I have restricted myself to a picture of Sue, owner and designer, on one of her many bridges.
Tasting the Science and Craft in your Coffee
Our July monthly meeting featured a talk from Peter James of James Gourmet Coffee. Peter described how coffee is grown, processed and distributed whilst illustrating what he was describing with tasting sessions. It was attended by about 50 members and guests who had a good time before wandering out into the night as high as kites on loads of (mostly) delicious but always interesting brews.
A number of members asked me to provide details of Peter’s subscription service, which can be found here https://jamesgourmetcoffee.com/product-category/subscriptions/
Minibus News
We went to the Nant-y-Bedd gardens in a minibus supplied by the Gloucestershire Minibus hire scheme. A ‘not for profit’ which makes school minibuses available for the use of groups like ourselves. Very economical and somewhat “Green” . We have the option to hire the minibuses using our own drivers – which is even cheaper and rather more convenient. If anyone would be interested in becoming a registered minibus driver (which entails being trained and evaluated) please let me know via secretarybgs100@gmail.com.
Calendar Photograph competition reminder
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!
Money raised from Member’s open Gardens
Cheryl Hutchinson-Holford would like to thank everyone who donated at the BGS member’s open garden day.
She was able to send £86 to Dementia UK and £86 to Parkinson’s UK. Also the company she works for, G4S, runs a charity ‘Match it scheme’ to which she applied and was successful. So the total raised was £344.
A pretty magnificent sum, I’d say. Well done everybody!
Membership fees due
Our marvellous Membership Secretary, Trudi, has been a bit poorly of late.
You will all be delighted to hear she’s feeling a bit better now. This means she will be able to chase up the 40% or so of you who have yet to pay your membership fees.
A treat in store!
Offered/Wanted
Offered
Large cardboard sheets
There is still a stack of maybe 10, large cardboard sheets in our container which are not required by the Society. They are free to anyone who wants them – contact secretarybgs100@gmail.com to express interest. If they haven’t gone by the end of this month, they will be in a skip!
Opportunity for shared postage?
About this time last year, we had the Medical Herbalist Caroline Sheldrick come to talk to us and many of us bought some of her products.
I’d like to buy some more Rose Cream and maybe a Calendula or Herbal Tea for a raffle hamper. I could put in a bulk order if anyone else would like anything from her site? https://www.carolinesheldrickmedicalherbalist.co.uk/
I shall need to order soon to be in time for the hamper, so please let me know by Friday 24 July, if you’re interested. Email me at jane@janemcarr.co.uk
Jane 🙂
Wanted
One of our members is looking for a Poached Egg Plant from which to collect pollen to identify as part of a bee keeping class. Do any of our members have this growing in their garden?
Here is a link so you can identify it. Limnanthes douglasii | poached egg flower
If you have, and you don’t mind someone sampling pollen from it, please let me know secretarybgs100@gmail.com.