Phil took the first prize in the 'Heaviest Onion Competition' with an entry weighing 1,122 grams.
October News
Next Meeting THURSDAY 2nd OCTOBER at 7.30
Doors open at 7.00pm. We welcome Jacquie Felix as our Guest Speaker with a talk entitled “a Westcountry Girl of Colour” – sounds intriguing! As usual free tea and coffee, raffle, monthly informal competition and also this month the “Weigh-In” for the heaviest onion competition.
If, back in the Spring, you took home an onion seedling to grow-on and nurture, please bring it along on Thursday to be weighed. Don’t try and spruce it up – leave it as it is. Roots and foliage still attached but no earth or compost and certainly no lead weights!
NEXT COFFEE BAR – W/C 10TH NOVEMBER
Once again, we are running the Community Council Coffee Bar in Harewood House. This is a good fundraiser for the association but also allows us to contribute a sizeable sum to our chosen charity, which is Elder Tree for 2025. Please, if you can, bring along any donations for the Tombola table or any Bric-a-Brac. We would also be very grateful for any items that we can use to make sandwiches etc. Additionally, offers of help during the week will be much appreciated. Please see Lloyd if you can assist.
CHRISTMAS
The Christmas meeting will be on Thursday 4th December. Come along and enjoy an evening of quizzes, games, music, competitions and raffles including a lovely hamper prize. This is a members only evening – the cost is £3 per person payable in advance at Thursday’s meeting or at the November meeting. We will be serving a simple supper of pasty and mince pie. Bring your own nibbles and drinks (soft or something stronger if you prefer). The competition this year is a “table decoration in a cup or mug.”
Our band of volunteers will be making Christmas wreaths again and this is an early call for any dried flowers, teasel or poppy heads etc. you may be able to donate. Please bring whatever you may have to the November or December meeting.
THE PLYMPTON QUIZ
This annual quiz is hosted by the Plympton Civic Society and takes place on Friday 10th October. Contact Nicky Chinner (29 Moorland Drive, Plympton PL7 1QY) for more details or to register your team. Teams of 4 (£8 per team) payment can be made on the evening. Or email plymptoncivicsociety@gmail.com.
BITS AND PIECES
· We would welcome your suggestions for which charity we will support in 2026. Send your suggestions to Carol Penhallurick 01752 336057; email carpen1948@aol.com
· The Community Council Christmas Fair will be held on Saturday 6th December 2025
· PGA membership will remain at £5 for 2026
· Lorraine Lethbridge wants to dispose of a water butt and some large terracotta plant pots.
Contact Lorraine on 01752 330382 if you would like more details.
· First Coffee Bar in the new year is w/c 5th January 2026
· Remember – there is no regular meeting January 2026. Our AGM takes place in February.
September News
Next Meeting THURSDAY 4th SEPTEMBER
The talk this month is “Creating a planted display” by Stella Exley. Stella is one of our regular contributors and her talks are always well received. As usual a 7.30pm start – doors open at 7.00. Free tea and coffee during the break, informal competition, sales/swap table, raffle and the Daffodil bulb distribution for the competition – see below. Coffee bar and bric-a-brac donations can be brought along to the meeting – see below.
Daffodil Competition
For any of our new members the competition works as follows. People who wish to take part are given a plant pot, a supply of compost and daffodil bulbs. Plant up the bulbs and grow them on during the winter ready for them to be judged in the Spring. There is no charge to enter; there are 60 pots available. Everyone has the same chance as the pots, compost and daffodils bulbs are the same for everyone.
Coffee Bar Update
Thank you to everyone who helped and contributed to our coffee bar in July. We made a very
impressive £688.26p, which was our second highest total ever. This money helps support the wider
gardener association activities and allows us to make a donation to our charity. It is also an excellent
way for PGA to interact with the wider community.
We have two coffee bars coming up in quite quick succession. Monday 10 th November sees the last
one of the year for us and we then kick off 2026 on Monday 5 th January. At our next meetings on 4th
September, 2nd October and 6th November, I will be bringing the sheets for you to sign up to help run
the coffee bars and/or to provide cakes and bakes. I’ll also have a couple of boxes for Tombola and
Bric a Brac donations and for coffee bar supplies such as tea, coffee, tuna, biscuits etc.
Our second week long coffee bar in 2026 will be from Monday 12 th October so there will be more of
a gap next year.
If anyone has any questions or wishes to help, please contact me at lloydhills10@gmail.com or at any
of our meetings.
Regards
Lloyd Hills
Message from the PGA President
I would personally like to thank all the volunteers who pulled together an amazing Annual Show on Saturday 16th. It was lovely to see so many exhibits and so beautifully displayed for our visitors to enjoy.
I’m hoping this will inspire others to join Plympton Gardeners and grow excellent produce to cook and eat. The Domestic Science section was well presented, and we have some talented cooks and bakers.
The children’s contributions are always lovely to see, and they did very well.
The photographic entries were outstanding and again uncovering some amazing talent in our community.
My thanks also go to the lovely buffet lunch that was provided, thank you.
Sadly, I couldn’t be at the lunch as my husband was unwell.
What a fitting tribute to Paul who we all miss. His detailed preparation contributed greatly to ensuring the show went ahead. Just a few hiccups on the day, but we will learn from them and suggestions that were offered.
Thank you all again,
Kind regards
Terri
Plymouth Honey Show
The Plymouth Branch of the Devon Beekeepers Association is holding a celebratory 40th Birthday event at Harewood House on the 27th September. (see below) Plympton Gardeners will have a stall at the event where we will be selling some plants and also using the opportunity to raise our profile. We would be grateful for any plant donations that members can make. Please bring them along on the day or to the meeting on Thursday.
Future Shows
The committee are making preparations for next year’s shows to ensure that we continue the excellent work of Paul Hutchings and other show secretaries over the past 75 years. More details will follow over the coming months.
A message from PGA Chairman, John Gilding
My thanks to all who made Saturday's show such a success. We are extremely grateful to all who played a part in making it a day to remember - this includes members, exhibitors, friends and relatives. There were a few hiccups along the way but by a great team effort we pulled it off. Paul Hutchings would have been very proud.
Some of the prize winners at the 76th Annual Show receiving their awards from the PGA President Terri Beer, the Plympton Stannator Cathy Loft, the Plympton Youth Ambassador Grace Nicholls and the PGA Chairman John Gilding.
August News
Next Meeting
This Thursday’s talk is from Caroline Crocker of Duck Garden Plants. Her topic is “The Mounds – A garden inspired by Wildside” Caroline will be bringing along plants for sale - card and cash accepted. Free tea and coffee, raffle, sales/swap/donations table, informal competition and opportunity for a chat and catch- up.
July’s Coffee Bar
Sincere thanks from Lloyd to all who contributed – servers and washer-ups, cake makers, tombola and bric-a-brac sellers and people who donated various items. We raised nearly £700, an excellent amount so well worth the effort.
The next coffee bar is in early January 2026.
Annual Show - SATURDAY 16th AUGUST
Our Annual Show is now less than two weeks away so a good time to focus on your entries. The deadline for submitting entry forms is 7.00pm on Wednesday 16th August, although earlier if possible please. Hopefully everyone has access to a schedule – either a paper version or electronically. Please get in touch with Carol Penhallurick 07598 954276, if you require one or if you have any queries. Given the unpredictable weather we have encountered this year it seems some crops are ahead of normal and some are a bit sluggish in reaching maturity. This can make it difficult to know what will be ready to enter on the day. Therefore, some experienced people will enter classes on spec in the hope that their entries will be ready in time. Included with this email are numerous information leaflets relating to showing your entries which some people may find useful.
We will be holding a plant stall on the day so please bring along any plants you have been cultivating that we will be able to sell during the afternoon of the show. The show is open to the public from 1.30pm. If you have no entries on show please do still come along and support the show. Refreshments available.
Trip to Forde Abbey
This trip proved to be a great success and many people said how much they enjoyed it. 46 members and friends made the trip which, thankfully, ran smoothly and even the traffic conditions were on our side.
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1 PGA Show Guide Vegetables and Fruit v1.docx
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5 PGA Show Guide Preserves v1.docx
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4 PGA Show Guide Photography v1.docx
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2 PGA Show Guide Flowers v1.docx
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6 PGA Show Guide Cookery v1.docx
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8 PGA Show Guide General Guidance 1.docx
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7 PGA Show Guide Handicraft v1.docx
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3 PGA Show Guide Daffodils v2.docx
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PGA members enjoyed a lovely day in the sunshine at Forde Abbey. Thanks go to Phil for organising such a great day out.
This Beautiful wreath containing vegetables was a fitting tribute to our late Show Secretary, Paul Hutchings, at his funeral today.