At our AGM on Tuesday 14th May the usual reports were received then all the committee who were standing for one more year were re-elected and members endorsed a proposed annual membership fee of £20 for the 2024/25 year. The official business was followed by a quiz with two tables sharing the seed prizes then we had our usual raffle. Members collected their free Tigridia bulbs to grow on for the members’ only class at our August produce show, plus SAGG membership discount cards for some nurseries.

Then two days later we enjoyed a spring trip to RHS partner BridgemereShowGardens near Nantwich, with the first guided tour being luckier with the weather than the second one! There was some beautiful colour to enjoy with rhododendrons, cornus kousa and calycanthus as you can see from the photos, with more on our Gallery page.

There are 13 individual gardens set in 6 acres, including 8 Gold and Silver Medal award-winning gardens from RHS Flower Shows plus 3 more recent Silver Gilt winners such as the ‘Down Memory Lane’ dementia garden. Wildlife is also actively encouraged and there’s a blend of formal and informal planting to great effect, with something to admire in every season.

Importantly there are also two restaurants (with highly recommended cake mezze!) plus a large garden centre with good quality plants, and a myriad of retail therapy options with a large indoor shopping village. The coach luggage area certainly had quite a few large purchases in it….