Sad news ...

It is with great sadness that I have to inform you of the death of our Committee member Les Burden, on 29th December 2022. As well as being a lovely gentleman, Les was a huge supporter of Broadstone Horticultural Society, being a member for almost 40 years. Most of that time was served on the Committee, including Chairman (for 20 years) and our Auditor.

He had a wonderfully varied life - Businessman, Football Association Referee, International Football Referee, Poole Councillor, Mayor of Poole (twice), Sherriff of Poole and belonged to many organisations such as the Poole-Cherbourg Twinning Association, Poole Old Grammarians and the Society of Poole.

Les will be sadly missed. Our thoughts and condolences are sent to his wife, Mary Rose. Funeral arrangements will be shared when known.

Yvonne Arnold, Chairman

Next meeting ...

Tuesday 10th January 2023

Speaker - Roger Hirons 'Unusual Plants available to the British Gardener'

Photo by Chris Abney on Unsplash

Doors open at 7:15pm - Meeting starts at 7:30pm - Finishes around 9:30pm

Entrance £1 members, £3 visitors

Refreshments provided at half time

Table competition classes:

1. Floral Art 'Modern Arrangement'

2. Foliage Pot Plant

3. Vase of Flowers - How many can you find in your garden?

4. Cactus or Succulent

5. Fruit Cake

6. Five Fruit Scones

7. Jar of Lemon Curd

8. Photo 'Christmas Memories'

Raffle

---

Tuesday 13th December 2022

Christmas Party (for Members only)

American style supper

Quiz

?????

Christmas Table Competitions

1. Floral Art ‘Christmas’

2. Pot Plant

3. Handmade Christmas Card

4. Decorated Gingerbread Figure

5. Photo ‘Winter Scene’

Raffle

______________________________

Tuesday 8th November 2022

Annual General Meeting

followed by BHS Gardeners' Question Time

--------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday 11th October 2022

Morgan and friends with a 'Call My Bluff' charity evening

A light hearted evening with Morgan's 'Call My Bluff' charity team.

Which panel member has the real definition for the tools and implements?

Are they used in gardening, farming or something completely different?

Doors open at 7:15pm - Meeting starts at 7:30pm - Finishes around 9:30pm

Entrance £1 members, £3 visitors

Refreshments provided at half time

Table competition classes:

1. Floral Art 'Foliage and Fruit'

2. Orchid in a pot

3. Vase of Mixed Heathers

4. Three Dessert Apples

5. Three Beetroot

6. Dorset Apple Cake

7. Jar of Jelly

8. Photo 'Wildlife in the Garden'

Raffle

---

Tuesday 13th September 2022

Speaker - Mike Webber 'From Atlanta to Niagara via DC and NY'

Our history

Broadstone Horticultural Society – a brief history

Original records have been lost over time, but we believe that the Society was formed in 1905. The Poole and Dorset Herald reported that the first Show was held in 1906, in the Waterman fields in Broadstone. It was called the Flower and Poultry Show and was opened by Mr and Mrs Waterman who owned the location of the Show. The Waterman fields are still used for village events and are now within the Broadstone Conservation Area (see link below)

https://www.poole.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/49438.pdf

The inaugural Show included classes such as Professional Gardeners, Amateur Gardeners, Cottagers, Fruit and Flowers and Ladies only! One of the contributors to this first show was Alfred Russel Wallace, a famous Victorian naturalist, who collaborated with Charles Darwin on the ‘Theory of Evolution’. Wallace exhibited a South American air plant which would have been quite an exotic plant for 1906!

Apart from the War years, the Summer Show has been held annually since 1906. The Shows are well attended, and the Mayor of Poole has presented the awards and prizes for many years. Several of the Society’s founding members and early committee members have donated trophies to be awarded at the Society’s shows. A Spring Show was first held in 1948 and ran annually until 2012.

Broadstone Horticultural Society became affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in 1947. This entitles the RHS Banksian Medal to be awarded to the person who gains the highest number of points in the Show. The first winner was Mrs Osman Brown in 1948.

Membership numbers of the Society have fluctuated over the years. Records from 1948 mention numbers at 430; in recent years we have stabilised at around 120 members.

A large part of the life of Broadstone Horticultural Society has been our monthly meetings. Most meetings comprise of a guest speaker (usually on a horticultural/natural world theme) a raffle, plant sale, refreshments and table competitions. Table competitions provide a chance to practise, discover techniques and tips for exhibiting at Shows. The member who gains the most points in the table competitions between September and May will be awarded with the Halestrap Memorial Rose Bowl to keep for a year. Visitors are always made welcome to meetings. We are proud of our friendly reputation and someone will always be on hand to provide hints or answer gardening questions. Our Annual General Meetings are now followed by a Gardeners’ Question Time panel who answer and solve all sorts of gardening queries.

We hold our meetings, and since 2010, our Summer Show, at the Broadstone War Memorial Hall. One of our past Presidents, Mr de Courcy Hughes, was also Chairman of the Broadstone War Memorial Fund. Our records show that some of the funds raised at the 1946 Flower Show were donated towards the building of Broadstone War Memorial Hall.

Presidents:

1905 – 1909 Mr W. E. Waterman

1910 – 1968 Dr J. C. A. Norman

1969 – 1971 Mrs C. M. Blaker

1972 – 1985 Mrs D. Maginess

1986 – 1990 Mrs Olive Jackson

1990 – 2004 Mr Tom Davey

2004 – 2007 Mr Ivor Phillips

2007 – now Mr Robin Hill

Chairmen:

1946 Mr V. de Courcy Hughes

1951 Mr Cyril C. Carter (of Poole Pottery)

1970 Col. W. A. Hardy

1986 Mr Tom Davey

1996 Cllr. Les Burden

2015 Mr Brian Woolgar

2019 Mrs Yvonne Arnold