Stubbington Choice May 2024

It’s that time again when two of my favourite things combine beautifully! Plants and cake! You’ll find both of these down the road at the annual Crescent Garden Plant Sale. You would have read Rita’s interesting monthly articles about the plants in Crescent Garden, this could be your opportunity to vist, see the beautiful garden and make a few purchases! Check out page 10 for the details and date!

ANOTHER COOKIE RECIPE

Can you have too many cookie recipes up your sleeve? I think not! I find a cookie easy to make, easy to demolish! And these 3 ingredient cookies by Helen Ridgeway Of Helens Vegan Kitchen are no exception. You’ll find the recipe on page 6. I hope you like them, let me know!

PICNIC IN THE PARK

The wonderful Picnic in the Park is back this year! Hurrah I hear you cheer! A wonderful community fun filled day. More details inside. Get the date in the diary!

Did you make daisy chains as a kid? You maybe remember making them with your children /grandchildren. You may not realise the medicinal properties of the humble daisy. Louise Courteney explains more in her article this month on page 34.

It’s finally warm enough to spend time in the garden wihtout a constant flow of tea to keep you warm! Our monthly gardening guide is inside to help you with what exactly needs doing now! Also inside is the latest from the Stubbington Ark, along with what is on locally, plus the sudoku. Plus lovely advertisers, news and more!

Don’t forget to ollow us on our socials too!

NEED MORE CUSTOMERS?

Why not try an advert in the June edition? Get your business in front of thousands of lovely local residents! Get in touch! Details below or scan the QR code.

I hope you enjoy this months edition. I also hope you have a lovely May! See you next month!

Read me, keep me or pass me on!

• 1 cup smooth peanut butter (240g)

• 1 cup oats (blended into a flour)

• ¼ cup maple syrup (60ml)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) or 350F

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES VEGAN

These 3 ingredient cookies by Helen Ridgeway make for a super easy and super tasty snack. This recipe makes 10 large/20 small cookies

Mix the peanut butter with the maple syrup and then stir through the oat flour until fully combined. I use quite a runny peanut butter so depending on which one you use you might need a bit more flour/PB for the right consistency. It should be soft and quite sticky. Roll into 10 or 20 balls, flatten and score with a fork. Bake for about 12 minutes

Store in an air tight container (I like to keep mine in the fridge after a day to keep them fresh)

Find more about Helen Ridgeway at: instagram.com/helens_vegan_kitchen

Flexible finance options available

WHO ARE WE?

We are a growing family church who meet in Crofton Community Centre, Stubbington every Sunday at 10.15am. Everyone welcome. Coffee is served before and after the meeting. We also have various small groups who meet during the week in homes and the community centre. We are non denominational and welcome people from all denominations and none. Our Sunday meetings are fairly informal with modern worship and bible based teaching.

Every Sunday Crofton Community Centre 10.15am - 11.30am.

Starting with worship in the main hall, followed by Art, craft, music, games and chat! Explore the Bible, learn about Jesus and take part in lots of fun activities.

Waves is our children and young people’s work. They have a separate session every Sunday during the adult talks, in room 1 of the Community Centre. They also meet midweek every fortnight and have social outings during school holidays.

(All our children’s workers have up to date DBS checks)

www.shorelinechristianchurch.com juliestares@hotmail.co.uk

STUBBINGTON AND HILL HEAD HISTORY SOCIETY

Monday 13th May 7.30pm Roman Catholic Church Hall, Bells Lane, Stubbington, PO14 2PL

The History of Salisbury - Part 2. Andre Negus. New members and visitors welcome. merrieldixonhistory@gmail.com shhhs.co.uk

SPITHEAD ARTS LECTURE

INTERNATIONAL FOLK / CIRCLE DANCING

May 7th, 21st 10am-12noon

RC Church Hall, Bells Lane, Stubbington £6.50 Dances to beautiful music from around the World. No Partner or experience is required & all dances are taught. New members welcome. Contact Bob & Mary 01329 609589 Mobile: 07748009838 neal.bob61@gmail.com

STUBBINGTON VILLAGE WI

Meet on the second Thursday of each month

Methodist Church Hall in Mays Lane 7.30pm. Wwide range of speakers, activities, which keep us engaged and interested. You’re welcome to join us for a couple of visits, before you make a decision about joining us. Chris 07970 826044.

ST EDMUNDS (CROFTON OLD CHURCH)

Services 9.30am every Sunday. The 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month are Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer. Morning Prayer is on the 2nd and 4th Sunday. Teas and coffee available after. Church is open 18th May 10am12noon for visitors or for private prayer.

FRIENDS OF CRESCENT GARDEN PLANT SALE

Saturday 11 May 10am-4pm

Crescent Garden, Crescent Road, Alverstoke

You’ll find flowering plants, seedlings, climbers, vegetable plants, herbs and houseplants too.

Plus gardenalia, books and pots! The refreshment tent will be fully stocked offering tea, coffee and homemade cake.

28th May 7pm. Bay House School, Alverstoke Art & Architecture of Britain's historic pools and lidos talk. Membership £40 per year, or come along as a guest £7, refunded if you decide to join. www.spitheadarts.co.uk SEE PAGE

CROFTON GARDENING CLUB

May 20th 2024 7.30-9pm Roman Catholic Church Hall, Bells Lane, Stubbington. A change from our usual programme will be a plant bring and buy with questions and we hope answers! Put this in your diaries. Join us for an interesting and informative evening. Refreshments. Visitors welcome £1 per visit.

LEE PLAYERS

Murder mystery where the audience tries to guess the identity of the killer. This will be entitled ‘Dead Lucky or The Murder Mystery That Goes Wrong’, at The Crofton Hall Theatre, Crofton Community Centre, Stubbington, PO14 2PP on Friday 19th and Saturday 20th July. Doors open 7:30pm, curtains 8pm. Tickets, £10, available from 01329 662128 or Crofton Community Centre. Please book early to avoid disappointment. Seating will be at tables and you are welcome to bring your own refreshments.

BABY & CHILD FIRST AID CLASS!

June 20th 9.30-11.30am Alver Valley Garden Centre. £25pp. daisyfirstaid.com/gosport-andfareham

Could your swimming skills do with a brush up?

Are you a complete beginner?

Scared of the water?

Do you feel you just sit and watch while your family have fun in the water?

Whatever your level or requirements, we are here to help.

With all of us starting to get our annual holidays booked, why not join us for some specialist 1:1 sessions to improve you stroke ready for your break? If you can’t swim at all, we can get you started on the path to being confident and happy in the water. No one should feel they have to miss out when it comes to enjoying the pool or sea.

Beautiful pool in Stubbington

Here at The Swim People we only teach from our beautiful private pool in Stubbington. All lessons are private and with no spectators, leaving you free to focus on learning and relaxing in the lovely warm water. We have over 25 years of experience in teaching adults of all ages and abilities.

We teach water phobic, beginners, improvers right through to competitive and technique refinement. Our adult specialist teachers are ready to get you started on your swimming journey.

So don’t delay, give one of our friendly team a call or email today.

Email info@theswimpeople.co.uk

Website www.theswimpeople.co.uk

Home accessories

Jewellery

MAY IN CRESCENT GARDEN

If you enter Crescent Garden through the small gate opposite the hotel and walk up the path towards terrace walk you will see on your right a circular bed containing a large clump of sword shaped leaves with wiry stems rising above them bearing brilliant white flowers. This plant is Libertia, almost certainly Libertia grandiflora, which is native to New Zealand and is sometimes called New Zealand Iris. Libertia is a large genus with eight types in New Zealand alone and others native to South America, Australia and New Guinea. The different named types can interbreed, hence the problem in the precise naming of some of them. This bed at the side of the path is perfect for showing Libertia at its best. It tends to grow into a large symmetrical clump, with its tall flower stems shooting out all around it and this it is able to do in this isolated bed. There are other smaller

Libertia clumps planted along terrace walk and there they show a different character, giving a highlight of bright white among other plants.

Libertia was first described in England in 1824 and was named after a Belgian botanist, MarieAnne Libert (1782- 1865) who was the first woman recognised to study plant pathology.

Libertia is an easy plant to grow as long as it is given the conditions it enjoys. It grows well in a free draining loamy soil, is drought tolerant and long lived. It also prefers plenty of sun shine, but will grow in light shade. It is attacked by very few pests or diseases partly due to the fact that its cells have calcium oxalate crystals in them, making them very unpalatable. It can withstand wind and salt spray, so grows well in exposed coastal gardens. It is often grown in gravel gardens and can be quite happy in a large pot as a showpiece in the centre of a courtyard garden. The one thing that it really doesn’t like is too much water and if it should become water logged it is liable get root rot. Also it might develop fungal leaf spot in a very humid atmosphere. Although the plant is a perennial its leaves do gradually die off to a rather unsightly brown and these can be cut off. If too many leaves have turned brown the whole plant can be cut down in spring and it will readily re grow.

So, an attractive plant, very easy to grow. So why not try some in your own garden after you have admired those growing in Crescent Garden.

Rita Rundle

Crescent Garden, Crescent Road, Alverstoke alverstokecrescentgarden.co.uk

Photo credit: Rita Rundle

Don’t miss the plant sale! See page 42

HIDDEN TREASURES HIDDEN TREASURES

51-53 HIGH STREET LEE ON THE SOLENT

We urgently require your broken and unwanted gold, jewellery and antiques.

Any amount, any condition- top CASH prices paid!

PRE 1947 COINS (SILVER) WANTED

WANTED gold - silver - jewellery of all kinds medals (any militaria) - cuff links - studs - tie pins pocket watches - wrist watches antiques - moorcroft - clarice cliff - old postcards

WANTED - rolex, breitling, omega etc

Please call in to see us. Monday - Saturday 10am-6pm. Alternatively, call to arrange a home appointment

TELEPHONE: 023 9255 3428

MOBILE: 07767 304495

Please mention Stubbington Choice when replying to adverts | stubbingtonchoice.com

IN THE GARDEN

• Harden off dahlias

• Prune Clematis montana after flowering

• Divide congested irises

• Support tall perennials

• Plant out sweet peas

• If you didn’t trim lavender plants after flowering last year, do it now

• Feed your lawn

• Deadhead camellias/rhododendrons/azaleas

• Plant out pot-grown shrubs, roses, perennials

• Deadhead tulips and daffs

• Top up mulch around alpines

• Sprinkle fertiliser at bases of hedges, shrubs

• Hoe weekly to keep weeds under control

• Tie in young delphinium growth for support

• Trim leggy rosemary bushes

• Plant your hanging baskets

• Sow seeds of foxgloves, honesty, wallflowers

• Plant gladioli and tubers in borders

• Now is a good time to trim Eucalyptus trees

GREENHOUSE

• Plant tomatoes in grow bags or large pots

• Sow seeds of parsley, chives, coriander, garlic, basil, dill, fennel, mint, thyme, sage, lovage

• Hang yellow sticky traps to catch whitefly

• Damp down your greenhouse on hot days to increase humidity and deter red spider mites

VEG PLOT

• Drape netting over fruit bushes

• Pinch out broad beans as soon as flowers appear for support & to keep black fly at bay

• Feed strawberries with a high potash feed

• Earth up your potatoes

• It’s time to harvest asparagus spears!

• Sow french & runner beans in pots, annual herb seeds

• Sow outdoors beetroot, cabbages, carrot, lettuce, radish, rocket, spinach, spring onions, swede, turnip, peas, watercress, sweetcorn

• Sow sweetcorn in deep pots

• Pick rhubarb

• Grow marigolds to distract harmful pests

• Plant out brassicas and leeks in their final positions

• Sow sweetcorn from mid-May onwards

• Remove raspberry suckers

• Prune grape vines

• Support your runner beans

• Spray fruit to prevent attack by mildew

• Harden off outdoor tomatoes, courgettes and pumpkins for planting early next month.

National Diploma Arboriculture & NPTC qualified. Trees: Felling / Crown Reduction / Stump

Grinding Hedges: Trimmed / Removed

Shrubs: Pruning / Removal

Garden Clearance

WE NOW OFFER:

FREEPHONE: 0800 955 8979

Tel: 01329 661 494 Mobile: 07973 128 273

steve@stubbingtontreecare.co.uk

www.stubbingtontreecare.co.uk

Please mention Stubbington Choice when replying to adverts | stubbingtonchoice.com

REVERSE PARK

MODERN TECHNOLOGY - OLD FASHIONED SERVICE

PARKING SENSORS WITH AUDIBLE WARNING FITTED

Rear set colour coded: from £160

Front set colour coded: from £190

Both Front & Rear Sensors: from £290

Metatrack insurance approved vehicle trackers fitted from £265

Rear view cameras for Cars £190

Vans from £225 & Motorhomes from £245

Dash cameras starting at £145 fully fitted or FRONT & REAR cameras for just £275

We fit the amazing iroad Fx series dashcams, probably the best value dash cam for sale google it and be amazed iroaduk.com

Mobile Service - We Come To You!

Tel: 01489 449020

Mobile: 07979 353696 www.reversepark.co.uk

PLANT SALE

Saturday 18th May 9am-4pm

66 Catisfield Road, Fareham PO15 5LY

Cash only for sales please! Sales in aid of RNLI and the Hampshire Air Aumbulance. Plant donations gratefully received.

TITCHFIELD GARDENERS CLUB SALE

Titchfield Village Hall

Saturday 27th April 10am-12 noon

House plants, flower and vegetable plants, succulent plants, plug plants and seedlings, plant and gardening books.

Come along to your local Gardener’s Club and purchase your plants and seedlings ready for summer.

All plants grown by TGC members. Books and other garden related items also for sale, or just pop in for a chat. All proceeds go to the TGC. Free entry. titchfieldgardeners.club

STUBBINGTON STITCH AND KNIT GROUP

GRAND GARDEN PLANT SALE

Saturday 18th May 9am-4pm

66 Catisfield Road, Fareham PO15 5LY

Cash only for sales please! Sales in aid of RNLI and the Hampshire Air Aumbulance. Plant donations gratefully received.

GOSPORT JAZZ CLUB - MAY

Gosport & Fareham Rugby Club, Dolphin Cres, Gosport, PO12 2HE 8-10.30pm

8th Golden Eagle Jazz Band

22nd Tad Newton’s Jazz Friends

M £10 G £12 - book early 023 9242 9302 or gosportjazz.org.uk gjcreserve@gmail.com

Every Friday, (except Good Friday,) in the Foster Room, 2-4 pm. We make knitted and sewn goods and make craft items to sell to raise funds for the local Hampshire charities. Next sales: Saturday May 11th 9.30am-12pm at Stubbington Library and Saturday 25th May 10am-2pm St Columba’s Church . Please come and support us, we have some beautiful gift items, to suit all ages. SEE

CROFTON PROBUS CLUB

Lunch Meeting last Wednesday of the month. Are you a retired gentleman missing the camaraderie of the workplace? Join Probus Club, which meets monthly for lunch in Lee-on-theSolent. Meeting in the bar at 12 for 12:30 lunch followed by an interesting presentation on a wide-ranging topic of interest. Why not come along to a trial meeting before joining? Made up of members from Stubbington, Fareham, Gosport and Lee on the Solent, we may be the social outlet for you. New members welcome. 01329 600837 mortonsue.dupreez@gmail.com

With over 35 years experience in the building trade, we offer a full range of services to both domestic and commercial clients throughout Gosport, Fareham and the surrounding areas, from erecting small gardens walls to full extensions and refurbishments.

We offer the full range of interior & exterior building services and property maintenance including: extensions loft conversions kitchens bathrooms conservatories

general garden maintenance patios decking swimming pools Building Contractor

www.kwlawrencebuilders.co.uk

enquiries@kwlawrencebuilders.co.uk

Picnic in the Park

Sunday 7th July 12noon - 4.30pm

Stubbington Recreation Ground

FREE EVENT

ZORBS

FACE PAINTING

TIN CAN ALLEY

TUG OF WAR

KIDS RACES

AND LOTS MORE!

Bring a picnic!

An afternoon of fun!

Organised by THE CROFTON LIONS

croftonlions

THE BENEFITS OF THE HUMBLE DAISY (BELLIS PERENNIS)

Everywhere I seem to look at the moment there are glorious carpets of daisies (Bellis perennis). Not only is this humble plant both pleasing to the eye and useful for daisy chains and crowns, it also has a range of medicinal properties.

We can consider the common daisy as a native alternative to arnica, which is becoming rarer due to its mountainous location, whereas our daisies can be found growing abundantly throughout the year. Principally used as a cough medicine, it an effective remedy particularly for coughs accompanied by tough, sticky catarrh. Used topically, it is a beneficial herb for wounds, sprains, grazes, bruises, ulcers and for drawing boils. However, unlike arnica, daisy is safe to use on broken skin.

Energetically, daisies are light-hearted and playful and so are indicated for patients with respiratory conditions that could be as a result of a constriction of the chest from carrying the weight of the world or from heart break.

However, you don’t have to have a chest complaint to benefit from the lively and playful spirit of daisies. For an effective home remedy, you can take fresh or dried daisies and make an infused oil that can be used on its own or made into an ointment with beeswax (or another setting agent), to be used topically for bruises and sprains. A honey syrup can be made by soaking daisy flowers in honey for a few weeks, ensuring they stay under the surface. Once ready, strain and add to a cough mixture remedy with thyme or liquorice, for example, or simply take 5ml off a spoon as needed. If someone is hurt while out walking or playing, crushing and applying fresh daisies is helpful for treating fresh wounds, sprains or lumps and bumps. Alcohol extractions (tinctures) and fresh teas can be prepared for internal use of the herb. Alternatively, daisy leaves and flowers can be added to fresh salads or soups. As always, when out picking fresh plants, give them a good wash before use!

So, no matter how old you are, go and get amongst the daisies, you may end up with a useful cough mixture, a valuable healing ointment, a lightness of spirit and a new crown!

Follow Louise on instagram @wildsidehealth for photos, tips, research information and all things plant medicine!

ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT EDITION

Do you have important legal documents in place to protect your interests and make life easier for you and your family, whatever the future brings?

If you have received a diagnosis of dementia, or are concerned about becoming ill and unable to cope with paying your bills, wouldn’t it be helpful for a family member to be able to step in and deal with your finances? If your family member needed to make decisions for you, instead of just acting on your instructions, they would need your formal written authority to do this.

Formal authority can be given by creating a Lasting Power of Attorney. This document will allow your family member to take over managing your money, either temporarily or long term.

You can also create a Lasting Power of Attorney which allows your family member to make decisions for you about medical treatment, if you are unable for any reason to make your own decisions. This is not the same as an Advance Decision, which is a document which sets out your decision to refuse medical treatment in the future, under specific conditions.

If you are caring for an elderly relative, or are likely to be doing so in the future, a Lasting Power of Attorney will mean that you can provide the support your relative needs and access services on their behalf, without the difficulties, stress and resistance you would otherwise encounter.

Having a Will gives you peace of mind that your money, property and personal possessions will be going to the people you have chosen to benefit. An out of date Will can cause problems within the family or mean that a chosen beneficiary receives nothing.

If you have any unanswered questions about Wills or Lasting Powers of Attorney, Christine will be pleased to help, so do please get in touch for a free, no obligation, chat.

Call Christine Davies Solicitor on 07860 772274 or email: christine@winterbornelegal.co.uk

Christine is a Fully Accredited Member of Solicitors for the Elderly and a Dementia Friend. Christine will visit you in your own home and aims to provide a warm personal touch to every meeting.

Christine Davies Solicitor

LET YOUR LOVE LIVE ON

As a separately registered Branch of the RSPCA, we are completely self-funded.

It costs just over £20,000 per week to run the Stubbington Ark to deliver vital animal welfare services.

Approximately 50% of our income comes from Gifts in Wills. We rely on these thoughtful and generous donations to help all of the animals in our care.

If you would like to read more please visit: www.rspcasolentbranch.org.uk/legacies/

Photo by ©AliaThomas

Offering a friendly, highly professional dedicated personal service. Over 20 years experience in restorative and cosmetic dentistry. Experienced, warm and friendly staff.

BE INSPIRED

As part of Autism Acceptance Week we hear from an amazing autistic woman who lives in Stubbington about her experience.

It’s like it makes your brain itch and there’s nothing you can do about it

After a decade of denial, Sue has finally accepted she is autistic and, with it, she has gained an understanding that her artwork doesn’t need to fit in with someone else’s ideals.

Sue Morgan was 65 when she accepted a selfdiagnosis of autism – nearly a decade after a close autistic friend first mentioned it as a possibility.

Sue explained: “I had been dismissing it for quite some time. I have a friend who works at Autism Hampshire who’d been advising me

that I am likely to be autistic.

“I’d dismissed it because of my previous view of what autism was. I thought of it as being a disability and linked with severe meltdowns. I recognised my eldest grandson is autistic as he has meltdowns and has a need for order and routine.

“I also associated autism with superior intelligence or lack of. Looking at all of this, I didn’t think that it was me.”

Since accepting her autism, she has found that her artwork has discovered new meaning. “For me, it was the experience of having the freedom to experiment. You can do it your own way,” explained Sue. “I drew a sunset in crayon years ago. My husband didn’t understand it. But more recently I showed it to someone else and they got the point.

“When I drew it, I just knew what it had to look like and what I had to produce. That’s the point. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t fit in with someone else’s idea of what art is meant to look like.

“I felt constricted by the need to draw something that people recognised. What’s more important is that I like it and that I have expressed myself. Now, art is about expressing myself in colour and feeling. It’s very good for releasing stress.”

Before her self-diagnosis, she used to describe her autistic characteristics as ‘foibles’. For Sue, the elements that significantly affect her life are sensitivity to sound, an elevated focus on the English language, and social challenges with large groups of people.

“I have auditory issues as there are a lot of sounds that I can’t bear,” said Sue. “For

example, when I am cooking in the kitchen, we have a large extractor fan and after about 20 minutes, I just can’t do anything. I can’t think. The sound is all I hear and all I can process.

“With the English language, I can’t bear to hear people not speaking properly. TV is the worst. It’s like it makes your brain itch and there’s nothing you can do about it.

“I have also been known to walk into a shop and walk straight back out again. You’re trying to do your weekly shop but, if you can’t cope, then you can’t cope.

“I just thought they were things I had to live with. But they aren’t foibles. They are part of who I am.”

Sue currently works at Autism Hampshire and says it has been a relief to work in an environment where you are asked ‘what do you

need to make the workplace a comfortable place to work in’.

Sue explained: “To accept it is to free yourself. It’s freed me and given me more confidence than I have ever had. Even when I used to look confident, inside I was in constant anxiety, constantly worried about people judging me.

“I have accepted who I am. I’m not hurting anyone. It doesn’t have to have any impact on anyone else’s life. If you feel you have got certain issues, don’t shy away from the idea. That’s what it is about, the acceptance.

www.autismhampshire.org.uk

• Improving risk factors for cardiovascular disease

• Improving general well being

• Increase brown fat cells (Lose Weight)

• Immune boosting

• Cardio Training

• Approx 20mins of a Breathwork Technique

• Dip in the sea(max 2mins)

• Digestive Training (igniting fire into the belly)

By participating in this event you are personally responsible for your physical and mental well being and understand that the opganiser of the event accepts no liability for any damages arising from participating. Every

FRIENDS OF CRESCENT GARDEN PLANT SALE

SATURDAY 11 MAY 10AM-4PM

CRESCENT ROAD, ALVERSTOKE WHAT’S

It’s that time again when 2 of my favourite things combine! Plants and cake! What a combo! You’ll find both of these at the annual Crescent Garden Plant Sale.

If you got a gap in your garden, can’t resist a plant sale or a lovely cup of tea and cake in a beautiful garden this is for you!

You’ll find flowering plants, seedlings, climbers, vegetable plants, herbs and houseplants too. Plus gardenalia, books and pots!

The refreshment tent will once again be fully stocked offering tea, coffee and homemade cake.

Proceeds from the plant sale are split, part going towards the upkeep of the Crescent Garden and part to the National Garden Scheme (NGS) charities, the most significant funder of nursing charities in the country.

Beneficiary charities include: The Queen’s Nursing Institute, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Carers Trust, Hospice UK, Parkinson’s UK and other guest charities.

So, what can be better than to purchase some lovely and often unusual plants, eat homemade cake, sip tea in beautiful surroundings and do your bit for charity.

If you would like to donate any plants too then bring them on the morning. Gardeners and plants are both welcome! And people who just enjoy homemade cake and teas and coffees too!

If you’d like to know more about the Garden or become a Friend and enjoy the events they organise then visit: www.alverstokecrescentgarden.co.uk or email The Membership Secretary, Guy Sitwell gsitwell@btinternet.com or speak to one of the Friends on the day.

If you enjoy gardening or just love plants and would like to help keep the gardens looking beautiful you can do so by becoming a volunteer gardener. Volunteer gardeners meet at the Garden each Wednesday morning. You can chat to a member on the day of the plant sale, pop along on a Wednesday or email Ginny Whelan whelanvirginia@gmail.com