Hi Everyone,
I am very pleased to see the gradual easing of restrictions and the continuing roll-out of the vaccine programme, which I hope means that we will be able to have more sociable gatherings soon.
The weather is getting warmer, and we have had some much needed rain, so hopefully our gardens are now starting to repay all the hard work, and bring lots of things to delight us, along with the wonderful songbirds.
Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be on TUESDAY 11th May 2021 in Liz Mitchell’s Garden (please note that our calendar mistakenly said 12th). What a treat!
Thanks to the easing of restrictions, we are now able to travel freely, however there are still limits on how many people can gather together. Liz has kindly offered to host visits for small groups of people, and will give a tour of her garden.
Please let Edwina know immediately if you would like to participate in this visit, and whether you will be travelling with other members. Depending on how many people wish to go, time slots will be allocated.
One of the nurseries on our recommended list, Delmas Gautier, Les Serres de Dausse, is nearby, so that would make a good addition to your outing.
Recent Meeting
Our AGM, on April 13th, was well attended. Members should all have received a copy of the minutes.
Following this, at our most recent Admin Group meeting, the Bureau were re-elected. The current team is as follows:-
The Bureau
- Julia Barton – Vice-President
- Belinda Berry – President
- Marga Grondsma – Treasurer
- Edwina Silver – Secretary
- Ingrid Batty – Events
- Shirley Sears-Black – Refreshments
- Tracy Stewart – Membership Secretary
- Lucinda Wilson – Publicity & Marketing
- Rosamund Williams
Welcome to our new Members
I am delighted that this year we have had several new members join us, despite not being able to have face to face meetings yet. Welcome. We are really looking forward to getting to know you and your gardens, even if just through photos for now.
Here is a contribution from Iona who joined last month.
Membership Renewals due
If you have not already renewed your membership, please do so quickly, or you will stop receiving our regular communications. It is really easy to do this online by using the form on our website. Please don’t wait to get a reminder from our Secretary!
Go to https://www.cjl82.fr/membership/ and fill in the form, then you will get a message to let you know how you can pay your fee.
Important Changes and Dates for your Diary
On Saturday 5th June we are holding a Vide Jardin in Lauzerte, from 9h to 13h, next to the War Memorial, opposite our usual meeting room La Salle de L’Éveillé. This is part of the Rendez-vous aux Jardins weekend which is a national event. We need volunteers to help us on the stand please (from 8h), and we need your donations! We hope to see you all as customers too of course.
Do you have (or perhaps someone you know has) some spare gardening tools or equipment? Some garden decorations or some garden themed crafts? Have you divided some plants, taken cuttings, or have you some extra ones that you raised from seed? Whatever you have that is garden-related, in usable condition, we would like it! Please let Ingrid know if you are willing to help on the day, and what you will be able to donate. We will arrange to meet you to collect your items, or you can deliver them to Belinda or Ingrid. All plants must be labelled please!
All the funds raised will be for the benefit of the club – we would like to organise an outing to a delightful garden where we can have a picnic, once such things become possible again.
This vide jardin will take the place of our monthly meeting, which was intended to be a visit to Jardin d’Ingrid and Atelier du Vegetal, which we will organise for later, when car-sharing becomes a more realistic option for us all. So no meeting on Tuesday 8th June. We are also deferring the Brocante in Chantal’s garden (which was scheduled for 30th May) and hope that we will be able to hold that in late Summer/early Autumn.
But please look out for emails about other garden visits, which we may arrange at short notice
L’Argentée Médiévale (Maison de Retraite)
Our volunteers have been given permission to visit the garden again, and everything is looking really good. Please let Julia know if you would like to join in with the activities.
To Do This Month
It is full-on glorious gardening time now, I hope.
I shall be busy planting out the tender plants like tomatoes, courgettes and chillies, and preparing the 3 sisters bed for the corn, squash and beans. I also have lots of annual flowering plants that I have grown from seed to fill gaps in the borders and to replace the spring bulbs in pots.
Cut back spring-flowering shrubs once flowering has finished.
If you have Box hedging, please be vigilant for the box moth caterpillars, which have made a re-appearance this year. Put up pheromone traps, and pick off caterpillars as soon as you see them, and spray with a product containing bacillus thuringiensis, which seems to be the most effective way to control them.
It is a constant effort to keep on top of the weeds before they all go to seed! But do consider taking photos of them, as it was suggested that a database of what weeds we have to look out for here, would be very useful.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on your favourite plants for when they have shoots suitable for taking cuttings. Semi-ripe cuttings taken in May and June should be well-rooted by the time we get to our plant swap in October.
And lastly, remember to take photos of whatever is looking good and submit your best shots for our Photo Competition.
Future Activities
We are really playing it by ear now, waiting to see what the restrictions are and how comfortable people feel about meeting in larger groups. Fortunately, we can happily spend time outdoors in gardens and nurseries!
Enjoy your garden, and we hope to see you soon.
xx
Belinda
.