Latest Society News & Events 2026
Take a look at what the society did in 2025
March 2026 News
We are looking forward to our next talk which will be held at Barham Village Hall at 7.30pm on Tuesday 10th March. Jo Arnell, our speaker, gave an excellent talk for us about 5 years ago and this time we welcome her back to talk about 'Extra Productive Vegetables'. It will be a chance to pick up some tips to get the most from your plot, (big or small) and what to grow when. It will also cover companion planting which enhances productivity as well as helping with pest control. Other methods of pest control will also be covered. Members are free, but Non-members are also very welcome at a cost of £2, so please come along and join us.
Hopefully the weather will start to warm up and you are thinking about dividing your plants or sowing seeds ready for planting out. Whilst doing this, please consider saving a few of these plants or sowing those extra seeds to donate to our Plant Sale. You may also be downsizing your potted plants; these sell very well at the sale.
If you have time, it is worth potting up the plants you'd like to donate a good few weeks before the event so that they can settle into the pots and look nice and healthy for the day.
Vegetable seedlings, herbs and shrubs are always in demand, but any healthy plants would be most welcome. Please label them if you can. The sale will be held at Barham Village Hall, on Saturday 25th April. Doors open at 10am but don't be late as it a very popular event and plants sell very quickly!!
March 2026 Gardening notes
Recent experience reminded me that gardens are not just for people. Pets love our gardens too. Many of us know lilies are extremely toxic to cats, even in very small quantities, this includes day lilies (Hemerocallis). Ingesting Lilium and Hemerocallis families causes cats irreversible kidney damage or death if not treated very quickly. Best to know what's toxic to your pet and avoid all lilies if you have cats in your garden.
Preparations in the spring garden are well underway. Herbaceous perennials can be moved/divided now or in autumn. A lovely way to spread a favourite through the garden, give away to friends or pot up and bring to the plant sale!
If they have got out of hand, deciduous shrubs can be pruned now. Some can cope with being cut down to the ground, others it's better to take a third of the old stems each time over three years. Look up specifics for your shrub. This may mean less flowers for summer flowering shrubs. For spring flowering shrubs pruning now removes this years flowers.
March is full speed ahead for seed sowing. The packet gives useful information, ie whether to cover the seeds or not, or chilling to get good germination. If the seed needs warmth, you have options, wait for the weather to warm up, put them in a sunny spot (be aware the temperature at night might be too low), or buy a propagator. I have a basic one and get good results for routine things like tomatoes. Root veg is best sown straight into the ground as transplanting can cause damage. You can always enter any wonky veg in the show, they have their own class!
If you are planning to grow veg, prepare the site now. This could be a veg patch, pots (the larger the better), or raised beds. With good drainage these can be sited on hard surfaces. Raised beds have the advantage of warming up earlier, accessibility and control over the soil. The down side is they need more watering than veg in a normal bed. If you are planning to grow hungry crops like tomatoes and courgettes think about feeding, maybe add well-rotted manure now. It's also time to plant early potatoes, and onion/shallot sets.
Ponds, now is the time to remove fallen leaves to prevent them rotting in the water and thin pond plants.
Whatever you do enjoy the sight and sound of the spring garden and all the promise of the year to come.
February 2026 News
Barham & District Horticultural Society held their Annual General Meeting on 14th January 2026. The formalities included a review of the year, the appointment of three new committee members and an outline of the programme for 2026. After the meeting there were light refreshments available, an opportunity to socialise with fellow gardeners, a raffle, and a horticultural quiz. It was a very enjoyable start to the gardening year. It was also an opportunity to renew membership or join and collect the 2026 programme and membership card.
We look forward to our first talk on Wednesday 18 February and hearing how the garden at Copton Ash has developed over the past 40 years.
If you are not currently a member, do consider joining us. You don't have to be an expert gardener or even have a garden to enjoy the talks, trips and member benefits. Membership is £10 per adult for the year. There is no entry charge for members for most of the talks. Visitors are welcome to attend for a small fee of £2 payable at the door. Why not come and try us out before joining.
February 2026 Gardening notes
February is a bit of a gloomy month, but at least it's short. It also has the bonus of spring bulbs bursting into life. I hope you have plenty of daffs, crocus, scilla etc to bring you joy and the early insects nectar.
This is the month when taking advantage of dry days allows you to get ahead of weeding and clearing ready for the spring rush. I usually gently clear old perennial stems so that as the new stems emerge they are not constrained by the old. Don't rush, aim to have it all done by mid March, that way old stems provide shelter for the maximum time.
Its not too late to add bare rooted trees, hedges and roses. Its also time for bare root perennials, you will find them online, in garden centre and also in bargain stores. These can either be planted straight out or started off in a pot.
Get your winter pruning finished by the end of the month as the sap starts to rise. This includes roses, gooseberries, currants, wisteria and hydrangeas, RHS website gives excellent clear advice and also videos. Don't forget, anything which flowers early should be pruned after flowering (forsythia is one such shrub to be left alone for now).
We live immersed in beautiful countryside and it doesn't take much to increase the numbers of birds and other wildlife visiting your patch. A few things which could help. Nesting sites for birds, bird boxes (north east facing ideally, definitely not south), a large shrub, trees, hedging all increase the chances of birds nesting in your garden.
Include water, bird bath, dish of water on the ground, or pond with shallow area for drinking and bathing (ideally no fish they eat tadpoles and dragonfly larvae).
Include plants which have seeds or berries, teasels, ornamental grasses, phlomis, hawthorn, rowan. The RSPB has a list online.
Grow a wide range of flower shapes (daisy types, tubular like foxgloves, flat umbels like achillea) choose different plants to flower over a long season, choose single flowers for easy access nectar. Visit a garden centre now and you will find shrubs in flower- many of which are sweetly scented.
Leave old tiles in sunny spots for basking reptiles. Areas of long grass, log piles, leaf piles or bug hotels for shelter for small creatures.
Your reward will be sharing your patch with wildlife from the smallest woodlouse up.
Whatever you do it's an investment for you and your patch. Happy gardening.
January 2026 News
Hope you all had an amazing Christmas and all the committee would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy, prosperous new year, may all your blooms and vegetables be big ones!
With the new year comes responsibilities, the first of which, for you is to attend your societies AGM which is scheduled to take place on 14 January, as you are already aware, at Barham Village hall. 7.00pm kick off, formalities out the way, the committee would like to share with you, a welcome in the new year glass of wine or soft drink and some nibbles.
In addition for your entertainment there will be an optional fun quiz at the AGM and 2 competitions, one for best posy, the other for best vase of flowers and foliage, both displays from your own garden.
There will also be the usual raffle, any prize donations on the night extremely welcome.
The committee value and welcome your input and you as members can shape the way the society evolves, we welcome ideas, thoughts and suggestions. The AGM is a way of putting your wishes forward, therefore it would be wonderful if you could attend.
We are actively seeking new members for 2026, so tell family, friends and associates all about us. Membership is just £10 per person for the year, with the added benefits and to include, talks and trips (some at extra cost), as well as discounts for Suttons and Thompson and Morgan seeds and plants and Friendly Farmer soil conditioner/manure.
Best of all membership also gives discounts at some local garden centres, which for 2026 will be Ripley's, Wingham Market and The Fifth Trust.
January 2026 Gardening notes
Happy new year. I hope you got out in your garden at some point over the festive season. There should be signs of spring, snowdrops, crocus and daffs amongst others peeping through the soil. Won't be long before the first flowers appear and our spirits are lifted towards the coming year. How fortunate we are not to have to wait long before each season gently transitions into the next one.
It's a good time to start gently preparing for spring. Now herbaceous plants have died back weeds are easier to see. Time spent weeding now will make a big difference to the borders later in summer. If the ground is very wet, avoid walking on it if you can. Sort through the shed and greenhouse, throw out rubbish, clean windows and get seed trays or pots ready for sowing.
There are some seeds to be planted now- especially if you have a propagator. Tomatoes come to mind as they benefit from an early start. However be cautious, they are tender and need to be kept frost free. As always look at the seed packet for sowing times, be mindful of the temperature listed, if its too cold for that seed type to germinate it will just sit there, so you may as well wait and plant it later (or invest in a propagator).
By the end of Feb wisteria side stems should be cut back to two buds. Clematis which flower in the summer can be cut back late this month or Feb, leave the spring flowering ones until after flowering or you will cut off this years flowers. Free standing apples and pears are pruned during winter as are grapevines and roses, see the RHS website for details.
If you are lucky enough to have a pond scoop out any leaves which have fallen in. When they rot they use oxygen and provide nutrients for algae to grow.
How are your patio pots looking, have they turned soggy. If so there should be pots of bulbs at the garden centres. You may also find discounted plants from Christmas. Perhaps some rosemary plants added for structure and some small daffs.
Don't forget wildlife. Clean out bird feeders and ensure fresh water is available. The black birds would love those apples which have gone wrinkly or left over dry fruit cake. Be careful not to put too much out at once to avoid it going bad or attracting rats.
Spring will be here soon, enjoy the anticipation.
Wednesday 15th