Shows and Competitions

Shows

The club holds three shows per year: a Spring Show held during the monthly meeting in March, and a Rose and Sweet Pea show held during the monthly meeting in June and the large Annual Show in July, held in the Jubilee Hall.

The classes in the Spring Show are:

Class I - Narcissi or Daffodils - 5 stems

Class II - bowl of bulbs - under 10"

Class III - any other spring flower - 5 stems

Class IV - any flowering shrub - 3 stems

The classes in the Summer Show are:

Roses

Class I - A specimen Rose

Class II - Roses any variety - 3 stems

Class III - Cluster Roses - 3 sprays

Class IV - Fun class - the BIGGEST Rose

Sweet Peas

Class I - One variety - 6 stems

Class II - Mixed varieties - 6 stems

Class III - Old fashioned vareity - 6 stems

Class IV - Most highly scented - 1 stem

The Annual Show celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2006. There was a record number of entries (over 600) in 30 classes. There are numerous prizes and trophies which have accumulated over the years and which are the subject of keen competition.

The classes include those for children as well as adults; novices and experienced growers; fruit and vegetables; cut flowers and plants; boxes, tubs, containers; photography, artwork and flower arranging; wine, preserves, cookery and many more!

It is great fun to enter and a good family time.

If you would like more information on how to prepare an entry, there is a Hints and Tips leaflet available to download by clicking the red text.

Competitions

The Gardening Club has taken part in the Hanging Basket and Window Box competition at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show for the last few years. We have been successful in winning bronze medals on at least three occasions. This competition has now been deleted from the schedule and we have been successful in bidding for and obtaining a place in the Inspiring Spaces competition which involves deciding on a theme and then planting the space to match the theme. Hopefully we will at least emulate past successes or hopefully exceed them. Gardening Club members who are interested in being a member of the team to design and produce our entry should email.

It is sad that such a section as the Hanging Basket and Window Box competition has been removed from the schedule. The official reason for this was that standards were not high enough. We suspect that the RHS is devoting more and more space to the income generating professional exhibits and nursery entries and is leaving behind the amateur competitor with much more limited resources.

Chilli chilli bean bang - the entry for 2006

Our entry for 2007 was entitled Free B's and was entered in the Wildlife Friendly theme of the competition. It successfully achieved a bronze medal

The bronze medal winning entry for 2007 - Free "B's"

In 2008 the Club entered the Inspiring Spaces section of the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show rather than the Hanging Basket and Window Box competition. This was because that class had been discontinued, which was a great shame since yet another avenue open to amateur groups has been closed. The entry was called Checkmate and is shown below. It was inspired by the 2m x 2m space which was allocated to each entrant in the class, and the similarity of that space to a chess board. The entry achieved the outstanding result of a silver gilt medal. Congratulations to all those involved.

Checkmate - the silver gilt medal winning entry at RHS Hampton Court 2008.

Our entry under the Inspiring Spaces banner in July 2009 was called "A Galaxy of Grasses", and the hardworking team team were rewarded with a bronze medal. Many congratulations to all involved.

A Galaxy of Grasses - the bronze medal winning entry at RHS Hampton Court 2009

The entry for 2010 was entitled "Little House on the Prairie" and was successful in being awarded a silver gilt - our best ever.

Little House on the Prairie

In July 2011 we again entered an exhibit in the Inspiring Spaces section. This year we won a GOLD medal and were best in class.

Pop goes the Easel

The Gardening Club has for many years entered a team for the Hampshire Federation of Horticultural Societies annual quiz. In 2007 our team were runners up and in 2008 the team won the competition. The initial heat for 2009 was at Otterbourne Village Hall on September 28th 2008. The team won through to the final to be held at Sparsholt College in February 2009, but that is as far as it went!! In September 2009 in the preliminary round, we failed to make the final. Hopefully we will return to our former glory in September 2012. If you would like to be involved as a team member for any of these competitions please email.