Posted by Angela Ball on Thursday, July 21, 2022,
What a day yesterday was. We received a bronze medal from the RHS judges and were inundated with queries about the garden. The garden had survived the heat and the dry wind, what an achievement.
We had lots of positive feedback from visitors. One person commenting " Your garden inspired me in 2019 , this is even more inspirational", another " I wish my garden was like that, that's how a garden should be".
A great deal of excitement all round. Brilliant!!!
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Tuesday, July 19, 2022,
Posted by Angela Ball on Thursday, July 14, 2022,
We are taking a show garden to RHS Tatton July 2022. The garden is created to demonstrate the growing of perennial vegetables in a sustainable garden. This is an exciting venture and it was good to be asked back. Them for this years RHS Tatton is sustainable and environmentally friendly gardening. Please come and see our stand. We are at Tatton from Wednesday 20th July until Sunday 24th of July. We hope to provide all the details about the stand on this site.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Saturday, October 24, 2020,
The results are now out for our Virtual Show 2020. It has been great fun looking through all the entries and realising how much hard work has gone on this summer. Bill (Tabb) has done an excellent job judging the entries, it is nearly as hard as judging for the "real" show!
I hope we can all keep talking and sharing throughout the winter and perhaps finally meet in Spring next year.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Sunday, August 16, 2020,
As coronavirus rumbles on we have had to cancel our Annual Show at Upton Community Centre. Everyones safety and good health is of paramount importance.
On the positive side it has been a glorious spring and summer and many of us have found solace and refuge in our gardens during these long weeks. We felt the need to give everyone the opportunity to share what they have done this year. To this end we are having a Virtual Show 2020. We hope everyone will join in. Details can be found on the Vi...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Monday, April 13, 2020,
Inevitably and sadly we have just received notification that the 2020 RHS Tatton Show which was to be held in July has been cancelled due to the fall-out from the Coronavirus crisis. We had been looking forward to exhibiting our "Foragers Fare" garden this year but there will be another year for that we trust.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Anne Billington, Secretary WDHS on Sunday, March 8, 2020,
After receiving feedback from some of our members and due to concerns about the current coronavirus outbreak, there is a possibility of us being unable to have a quorum for the AGM. The meeting will therefore be postponed and a new date will be arranged, members will be advised accordingly.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Sunday, March 8, 2020,
For our Social event on 12 February Stuart Hatton of the Cheshire Beekeepers Association gave us a fascinating and illuminating talk on 'Planting for Bees' This was a follow up to his talk the Life of Bees in 2019. This time he spoke about how bees need both pollen and nectar for their wellbeing and what plants best provide these in each season of the year. He left us with a comprehensive list of trees, plants and shrubs that best cater for the bees' needs throughout the year . Many than... Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Thursday, January 23, 2020,
Our Annual General Meeting will be held on 11th March 2020. We would like to invite all members to attend. All committee posts are up for election. To put yourself forward to for any position please contact our secretary Anne Billington directly or via our email address. In particular we are looking for members who can help take the Society forward with our plans to become more involved in the Community and encourage the gardeners of the future.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Monday, January 13, 2020,
We have been successful again in our bid to exhibit a garden at the RHS Show at Tatton in 2020. We are now working to design and prepare planting for the garden. Last year our "Constant Food Garden' drew interest from a large number of visitors to the show and we intend to make 2020 even better!
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Monday, January 13, 2020,
We wish all our members and readers a happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year.
Our Christmas Social held in December was most successful. Amongst a raft of activities and festive fun events we were treated to seasonal entertainment by The Harts and Voices Choir from Torrid Star Productions Choir led by Jay McWinen. A good night was had by all who attended.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Thursday, November 14, 2019,
You are cordially invited to our Christmas party which will be held at the Halton Stadium on 11th December this year. There will be festive carols sung by Torrid Star Productions choir (you are free to join in!), a tasty hot meal, Christmas crackers, sweets, raffle prizes and a bar. In addition, you are invited to make and bring along your own design of a Christmas table decoration for our competition. The competition will be judged by our Chair and the winner will receive a prize. The fu...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Wednesday, November 6, 2019,
Following our successes at RHS Tatton 2019, we had an enjoyable social evening with guests, Miss Ashleigh Scott and Miss Gemma Lynch of St Peter and Paul School and the children who designed and built their show garden. The children confidently talked about their experiences and what they had learned. They took questions from society members and demonstrated how their horticultural knowledge had developed. Miss Scott and Miss Lynch then presented them with Certificates of Recognition for th...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Monday, September 16, 2019,
For our Annual Show, held on 8th September 2019, we had an excellent response at our new venue - Upton Community Centre, Hough Green.
Our thanks to all those who helped with the staging; Committee members; the exhibitors; plant sales team; Angela Hayler of the Wonky Garden; our market place stall holders Melanie Lathom of Holly Cottage Preserve, Faye Kitching of Leagram Organic Dairy and Marie Bellamy of Artful Artisan; Leanne, Kayleigh and Sue who provided the tea and cakes; and the staff o...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Friday, August 30, 2019,
The 2019 Annual Show is almost upon us. It will take place at the Upton Community Centre , Hough Green Road , Widnes on Sunday the 8th September from 2 to 4.30pm. I hope you have identified which categories you wish to enter (entry is free!). Entry forms and details of how to register your exhibits either on Saturday 7th or the morning of Sunday 8th September at the Community Centre are given in our Events/Annual Show page.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Wednesday, July 31, 2019,
What a remarkable 5 days the Society had at RHS Tatton this year. Our garden "The Constant Food Garden" attracted a huge amount of interest. We talked to so many interesting people about the nature of the garden and people shared their desires and passions for growing their own food. The key theme of the garden was that a wide range of fruit and vegetables can be grown in a 3 x 3 metre plot making it a feasible project even for a small urban garden. All the selected fruit and vegetables ...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Friday, July 19, 2019,
After researching, sowing, growing, lifting, transporting and planting we are finally at RHS Tatton Flower Show 2019. There are tired backs and sore hands but the Society's Constant Food Garden is now a reality. There has been a remarkable level of interest on the first day in the concept of a perennial vegetable garden. Plants we have included are provided in our Photo Gallery/ RHS Tatton Photo Gallery page.
The show will be open until 5pm Sunday 21 July so try to get along and see our ga...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Sunday, June 23, 2019,
We have had a great deal of rain and now some sunshine so officially for gardeners and growers Summer is here. The weather brings opportunity to sow, grow and then show in September. Our Show does not limit you to fruit , flowers and vegetables because we offer you many other categories. So for the creative and culinary experts out there, there are categories available for you too. See our Show Schedule on the Events/ Annual Show page for more details. We really want to break records this...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Sunday, June 23, 2019,
Society members are continuing to assist the School with their gardens.
The children have been delighted to find that things do grow in their garden. The School Council, which is made up students from Years 2 - 6, had the pleasure of picking the produce. The broad beans and potatoes were given to the school kitchen, who were delighted with them and the peas were divided between the classes for a taste. There are still many peas and broad beans to pick, so a good harvest for the first yea... Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Sunday, June 23, 2019,
The Society visited Bodnant Gardens this week. After all the days of heavy rain, the sun shone and the gardens were glorious.The garden design and the planting are outstanding and rewarded us with herbaceous beds packed with texture, scent and riotous colour, all against the backdrop of the beautiful Conwy Hills. Bodnant never disappoints - it was fabulous!
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Sunday, May 5, 2019,
We can now confirm that we are taking a show garden to RHS Tatton in July 2019. The title is "The Constant Food Garden'. The ethos is a sustainable, perennial vegetable garden that anyone can grow. It is an exciting opportunity for the Society to have a presence at such a prestigious event. The Society will be generously sponsored by Cronton Garden Centre for this event. If you wish to get involved please contact us via our email address or speak to a committee member.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Sunday, May 5, 2019,
The Society had a wonderful trip to RHS Harlow Carr this week. The weather was kind to us and the rain held off.
The gardens are beautiful, see photographs in our Gallery, particularly the tulips this year. As we were east of the Pennines the planting still had an early spring look to it, but the potential for a magnificent show as the weather warms was clearly apparent.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Tuesday, April 16, 2019,
Melanie gave us a very entertaining demonstration of preparation of preserves at our Social Event on 11 April. The evening was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Melanie has kindly agreed to join us at our Annual show on 8th September where she will be selling her delicious jams, chutneys, and marmalades.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Monday, April 1, 2019,
Members spent a very enjoyable morning at the Whitegate Farm Daffodil Walk on 30 March. Followed by an excellent lunch at the Plough Inn Whitegate.
All funds raised at the walks event goes to Macmillan Cancer Support. To date the event has raised more than £57,000 since 2007.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Monday, April 1, 2019,
March has been a busy month for the schools our members are working with. We have helped by planting over 200 trees in conjunction with Mersey Forest at Spinney Avenue Primary School and with the Woodland Trust at Saint Peter and Paul's College.
At Spinney Avenue we have continued to clear the raised beds and plant vegetables.
Saint Peter and Paul pupils completed a model of their garden for RHS Tatton this summer. They successfully presented the model to RHS and other competing schools at th...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Thursday, March 14, 2019,
During the past six months we have supported Spinney Avenue C of E School in revitalising their school garden. A combined effort of parents, teachers, families of pupils and volunteers from our Society, worked one morning during the October half term to clear the garden of its weeds and rubbish. The result has been very encouraging, and we have now over the past weeks been able to help with the planting of a variety of vegetables. There are plans to sow wild flower seeds, and with the help ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Wednesday, March 6, 2019,
Oliver Clay of the Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News is interested in writing an article on whether or not any members have observed unusual flora or fauna activity during the mild February weather. If you would like to assist him with this project please contact him at :
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Thursday, February 28, 2019,
Thank you to all who donated pots for planting bulbs to help raise funds for the Hospice. Pots are now being distributed to the Hospice shops for sale.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Thursday, February 28, 2019,
Society Members supported the College students in 2018 as they prepared their garden for the RHS Show at Tatton Park. The College have been accepted for the Show again this year. Their topic this year is the Meadow Brown Butterfly. Designing the garden begins in earnest this week to build a scale model of the garden and to select the plants to grow. The Society have offered their help again this year. We will update members as the design develops.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Wednesday, February 27, 2019,
We had a fascinating insight into the life of bees with Stuart's talk to the Society on February 13th. It is a complex subject which was very well presented and we hope to persuade Stuart to return later in the year to enlighten us further on bee behaviour and what plants we need to have in our gardens to encourage them to visit
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Tuesday, February 12, 2019,
The Society has expressed an interest in building an Edible Allotment garden at the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park in 2019. The Show will take place on 17 -21 July. Confirmation of the result of our application will be given in March. If you would like to get involved in this project we would be happy to hear from you. Please contact Angela Ball on our email address
widneshorticulture@yahoo.com. Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Tuesday, February 12, 2019,
We have added Victoriana Nursery Gardens to our list of companies who will give a discount to our members. Please email Angela Ball at
widneshorticulture@yahoo.com for the Discount Code.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Thursday, January 31, 2019,
If you are starting your preparation for exhibits for our Annual Show in September or just looking to enhance your garden with flowers and vegetables for the summer, Suttons Seeds are giving discounts to members for orders placed online. Their website address is given in the Links page. Contact Angela Ball for the promotion code.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Friday, January 25, 2019,
Don't forget to set aside an hour this weekend to carry out your own bird count in your garden. Our gardens are important havens for birds and wildlife. See www,rspb.org.uk for details of what to do and how to send in your results. This is vital research to help to monitor and therefore preserve our wildlife.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Monday, January 14, 2019,
The Committee are currently developing a full programme of events for 2019. See the Events page.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Monday, January 14, 2019,
The Society's relationship with Spinney Avenue Primary School continues to blossom. The school have now planted all the daffodil bulbs generously donated by Len and Gail of Whitegate Daffodil Farm
www.daffodilwalks.com. Raised Beds have been cleared ready for planting and this week Society members helped plant herb seeds for the school's new greenhouse.
Other positive school news : St Peter and Paul Catholic College have been accepted to take a garden to RHS Tatton Show 2019. They will a...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Monday, January 14, 2019,
Society Members have helped to pot up bulbs at the hospice. The bulbs were donated to the Wonky Garden
thewonkygarden.co.uk by Rivendell Garden Centre Widnes. It was good to be outside despite the weather. All the bulbs are now potted up. Halton Haven will sell the pots in the spring to raise funds. Huge thanks to everyone who donated pots, their time and/or fostering plants in their sheds and greenhouses.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Monday, January 14, 2019,
A new year and awaiting the garden to warm up. January is the month of seed catalogues and dreams. The committee wish all our members and readers a very Happy New Year.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Thursday, December 13, 2018,
It was a very enjoyable evening last night at the WDHS Christmas social held at the Halton Stadium . Good company, Good food, Great entertainment from the D'ukes band.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Saturday, December 1, 2018,
Please come and join us for our Christmas event to be held at the Halton Stadium, Karalius Suite on 12th December at 7 for 7.30 pm. Seasonal entertainment by the D'ukes ukulele band. Delicious hotpot supper included in ticket price. Tickets £9 for members, £10 for non-members available from Anne Billington via our email address. Details on the website.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Saturday, December 1, 2018,
Please give us your comments/suggestions for future content via our email or Facebook page.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Angela Ball on Tuesday, October 30, 2018,
The WDHA blog will be opened here shortly
Continue reading ...
