Westminster Park Residents Association

Gardening Club
Now in its seventh year, the Gardening Club is well established in the community. The aim of this Club is to stimulate a knowledge and love of gardening. All members of the Westminster Park Residents Association are welcome to attend – after all, most residents have gardens and enjoy making their plot look attractive.

Our meetings are publicised via the WPRA Newsletter, the WPRA website and posters on the community notice boards. Unless stated otherwise, meetings are held at the Community Centre.
We have been lucky to have knowledgeable speakers who have covered a variety of topics including garden design, plants for small plots, productive gardening and the art of compost making. We also have a summer outing to an inspirational garden and our trips have included David Austin Roses, Wollerton Old Hall, Bluebell Cottage Gardens, Dorothy Clive Garden and Mount Pleasant.
We have regular plant swaps and can usually go home with something new and interesting from a neighbour’s garden.

Winter and spring
Wednesday, 17 February 2016
An Evening with Christine Walkden.
The Life and Times of a Gardener, followed by a Q&A session with cheese and wine.
Gardener, horticulturist, broadcaster and lecturer. Organised by Burton and Rossett Horticultural Society at Darland High School, Chester Road, Rossett, LL12 0DL.
Doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm start.
Tickets £12 each from Mary Pole,
marypole@zcl-uk.net, 674439

Friday, 26 February 2016. Garden Visit.*
Snowdrops at Rode Hall.
Church Lane, Scholar Green, Cheshire ST7 3QP.
Meet in the tea room at 12.30 for lunch, followed by a self-guided mile-long walk to see over fifty different varieties of snowdrops in the magnificent setting of Rode’s Humphry Repton landscape. £5 entrance (lunch not included in this price).

Wednesday, 6 April 2016 at 8 pm. Spring Talk. Growing and showing herbs.
Our speaker is Malcolm Dickson from Hooksgreen Herbs. He promises to have herbs for sale after his talk.
Community Centre. Tickets: £3 at the door.
Bar, light refreshments, plant swap. All WP residents welcome.

Summer
Sunday, 3 July 2016. Garden Visit.*
Stonyford Cottage Garden.
Stonyford Lane, Cuddington, Northwich, Cheshire, CW8 2TF.
The Gardens have been lovingly created over 35 years and have been on ‘Gardeners World’, chosen as one of the Top Ten Spring Gardens in the Telegraph and is one of Cheshire’s Gardens of Distinction. The vast array of plantings and beautifully created borders are a ‘must see’ for the garden lover. Our visit starts at 1 pm and will include a one-hour guided tour and cream tea: a warm scone, fresh cream and strawberry jam with tea or coffee – all for £9.

Saturday, 9 July 2016. Community Fayre.
All donations of plants for our regular stall at the Westminster Park Community Fayre will be very gratefully received.
Held at the Community Centre.

Wednesday, 24 August 2016. Garden Visit.*
The Garden House, Erbistock, LL13 ODL.
Just over 5 acres of world famous gardens housing the National Collection of Hydrangeas. We meet at 2.30 pm for a guided tour and light refreshments. Entrance £6.

* Garden Visits
If you plan to attend any of the garden visits, please contact Mary Pole: marypole@zcl-uk.net, 674439.
We like to car-share where possible.

Autumn
Wednesday, 12 October 2016, 8 pm. Autumn Talk. Bugs, Slugs, Spots and Rots.
A very entertaining talk by our speaker, John Scrace, a well-known plant pathologist. Community Centre. Tickets: £3 at the door.
Bar, light refreshments, plant swap. All WP residents welcome.

Front Garden Competition.
Each year the WPRA awards a small prize for the best looking front gardens. This year our theme will be autumn colours.

Bulb planting programme.
The Gardening Club will continue its programme of bulb planting throughout Westminster Park estate.

If you know of an area that would benefit from some spring colour, please let us know.
We will be looking for volunteers to help plant the bulbs during October.