We were sad to hear that Margaret Dyson passed away recently. She was a long time, supportive member of the club who looked after the archive files for many years. Her funeral will be at Canley Crematorium on Wednesday 11th October at 10.30am.

Our condolences go to all her family and friends

Growers, Bakers and Jam makers on display

The annual Earlsdon Flower and Produce Show took place on Saturday 2^nd September at St Barbara’s Church Hall. There was a variety of homegrown fruit, vegetables, flowers and homemade cakes and preserves on display. Following the judging of the produce, the show was opened to the public.

The Lord Mayor, Jaswant Singh Birdi and his wife attended and later awarded the trophies to the winners.

This year’s trophy winners were:-

John Mason, best in vegetables;

 Michael Cheetham, best in fruit;

 Robert Spragg, best in dahlias;

 Molly Whorlow, best in chrysanthemums;

 Denis Crowley, best in floral arrangement;

 Derek McIlwain, best in pot plants;

 Chris Hall, best in home made.

The winner of the Alan Watson Vase for the best exhibit in show went to Robert Spragg for 3 blooms of dahlias.

 The RHS Banksian medal, which is awarded to the exhibitor with the highest point score, went to Denis Crowley.

At the end of the afternoon the produce was auctioned off to the public with any profits going to help support the local allotment societies.

As we take our summer break at the end of our 2022/23 programme it’s time to think about renewing your membership (or joining) for next year. If you didn’t collect a form at our July meeting, you can download a form here and post it to us or bring it along to our next meeting on September 11th.

The schedule for this years show (September 2nd) are now available. Download a copy here

Our recent trip to Ashwood Nursery and the John Massey gardens was a sell out success.  It boded well as it was a dry,  warm day when we left St Barbara’s Church for the hour plus drive.  On arrival we were greeted by our tour guide and after a cup of coffee and time spent browsing the adjacent greenhouses we had a tour of the John Massey Gardens.  The gardens were beautiful at this time of the year with lots of spring flowers in bloom and it actually felt that summer was on its way. 

The canal was a beautiful backdrop especially with the boats gliding past.  The gardens were a pleasure, so much to see and enjoy, and also to sit on the benches dotted around so that we could enjoy the warm sunshine.

Lunch was enjoyed by many of our group who said how excellent the food was, lasagne seemed a favourite on the day, also hot jacket potatoes with various fillings, the scones and cakes were so tempting, particularly to me.

A few glorious hours were then spent browsing the various greenhouses and displays at the nursery, a lot of our members purchased plants, bushes and even small trees to fill their own gardens even more.  Ashwood Nursery appreciated our  support because when we eventually departed they had seven trolleys of plants to put on the coach for the homeward journey.

The chatter on the return trip was all about the plants, the gardens and our warm welcome at the nursery.  A lovely day enjoyed by all our members.

We are now looking forward to our next trip to RHS BRIDGEWATER on 6th June, which we are happy to say is totally sold out.  We also have a visit  planned for 18th November to Batsford Arboretum, so look out for details at our June meeting.

We had a fabulous evening on March 21st when BBC Radio 4 recorded a couple of programmes for the popular Gardeners’ Question Time. We were pleased to welcome visitors from other local gardening clubs and allotment societies and would like thank everyone who submitted questions.

If you’d like to find out which questions were answered by the panel of Pippa Greenwood, Anne Swithinbank and Bob Flowerdew, then tune into Radio 4 on April 14th and 21st at 3pm.

We were sad to hear that one of our members – Jill Hodgkins – passed away on January 1st 2023.
A funeral service celebrating her life will be held on January 27th 2023 at Canley Crematorium Charter Chapel @ 10:45am
Our condolences go to all her family and friends.

On Monday 15th November 2022 two of the founding members of the Earlsdon Gardening Club retired after an impressive 26 years on the committee.

Liz Campbell and Denis Crowley were part of the group that founded the club in 1996 with Denis taking on the role of Treasurer and Liz organising social events. They’ve undertaken these roles with dedication and enthusiasm ever since and have been pivotal in building and maintaining the success of the club.

In 1997 Liz also became the local organiser for the NGS Open Gardens scheme and has built this into a popular local event every May. Liz and Denis’ garden has always been one of the highlights of this event, helping to raise over £50,000 for charity over the years.

Another successful venture that continues every September is the Earlsdon Flower and Produce Show. Denis was instrumental in starting this up in association with the local allotment societies and has been a keen (and successful) competitor ever since.

In the Spring of 2011 Liz and Denis visited Myton Hospice at Walsgrave to look at the garden there. A lot of work was needed to make the gardens look attractive for the patients and so with a small team of volunteers Liz and Denis started the work of creating something special. That work continues today thanks to the volunteers and gifts of plants and equipment from local people, plus donations of cash from the takings at club raffles and the coin jar.

Its not always apparent just how much goes on behind the scenes to run a successful club and all the other associated activities such as outings, holidays, the produce show and open gardens, nor how much forethought and effort Liz and Denis have put into these hidden activities. In recognition of this the Club took the opportunity to present them with gifts on behalf of members past and present and express their gratitude for all their dedication over the last 26 years.

A big thank you to those members who entered flowers, fruit and vegetables into this years produce show at St Barbara’s Church. Despite some concerns that there would be lots of empty tables, the event was a success as you can see from these photos.


Several plot holders entered produce for the very first time, which, unless you’ve had a little experience is rather daunting. It was really pleasing to see the faces of those who won certificates and also to witness the fist pumping in one case!

So, here’s a date for 2023 – Saturday 2 September will be the next produce show. If you would like to have a go at growing some bigger and better vegetables do have a look at the King’s seed catalogue that is now available from the trading shed. Certain varieties are highlighted as suitable for exhibition. They also taste good as well!

Well done everyone
Beechwood Committee