Hello everyone,
Despite the recent easing of restrictions following the Covid 19 pandemic, at this point ( 11/6/2020) we are still unable to even guess if we will be able to start our 2020/21 year in September.
OUR PROGRAMME OF SPEAKERS:
Sally Stanley has already done all the hard work, with the speakers arranged; until we know more all we can do is to be ready for our first meeting on Tuesday 8 September when, if possible, we will welcome Pete and Julie Williams to talk about ‘ Shade Loving Plants’ . We also have a talk by Jacquie Iddon planned, she will give us a practical demonstration on Christmas decorations from the garden.
I am sure that everyone is aware of the uncertainty and will understand if we cannot restart at our normal time. Please keep an eye on the website / your inbox and as soon as we can give you an update, we will.
Meanwhile, we are moving towards sending out more information by email in future, and hopefully your renewal details will reach your inbox sometime in late July or August. ( Later than normal, but it allows us to give you up to date information.) increasing the use of email will not only help the group’s finances, with reduced printing and postage costs, but also help the environment by using less paper. This year you will also have the opportunity to pay by bank transfer, rather than by cheque which will reduce your postage costs as well. (Watch out for the bank details you will need to use , this will be in the renewal information when it comes out.)
N.B.:The usual method of cheque or cash will still be available.
Please make sure our email address”wharfedalegardeners@gmail.com “ is in your email contact list.
For those of you who were booked to go on one or more of the WGG trips, you will have already had a call from Linda or Neil Jameson who had done the research and organization ready for the trips. As Linda indicated when she spoke or left a message, for those who had booked to go we hope to refund each of you at our first meeting in the new season in September ( or when we can restart. )If meetings look as if they will not be possible for quite a while, then Linda and Neil will look to hand deliver cash refunds but a signed receipt will be needed from you. (This is because due to bank charges refunds by cheque become expensive.)
As far as next year's trips are concerned, Linda and Neil are on the case over the next few months so that we have something else to look forward to for 2021.
Hopefully with all this time on our hands and amazing weather up to now, we have been able to enjoy our gardens even more than normal. Despite spending most afternoons in the garden, having decided where ‘not to go’ each morning and settling for a walk instead, there is still much to do.
One of the pluses of walking around Otley regularly has been having a word with WGG members who have said “hello , I am one of your members” (whilst keeping the required distance of course). It is always good to put more names and faces together, so please do give me a wave or say hello if I am within earshot.
Our treasurer, Steven Rollinson has pointed out that although we did not make the usual £ 400-£500 profit from our plant auction, this was offset by the cancellation of the April speaker.
Why not think about sending in a photo of your garden to be included on our website? Landscape photos come out best, so why not send a photograph of your hard work to ‘wharfedalegardeners@gmail.com. ‘
Meanwhile, do stay safe and keep well. To use a phrase my niece used (who ended up alone in a ski chalet in the French Alps for lockdown) “enjoy the time as a human being, rather than a human doing”
I look forward to being able to open our first meeting, whenever that may be.
Very best wishes
Gillian Spencer
Chair
Wharfedale Gardeners’ Group
The group meet at Otley Methodist Church at 7.30pm on the 2nd Tuesday of every month between September and May.
There is a program with expert guest speakers to inspire and inform, an annual plant auction and a Christmas party (see events section).
We have over two hundred members, with over one hundred attending each meeting. Membership is £14 for the year, guest membership is £3 for one evening.
Affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society, the group was formed in January 1947 for the purpose of promoting and extending interest in gardening
Over the summer the group runs coach trips to gardens:
All trips cancelled due to Coronavirus
