Growers beat dry spell and pipe ban

ENTRIES to this year’s Caversham Horticultural Society autumn show on Saturday were up on last year despite low rainfall affecting produce.

Denise Elton, who lives in Reading, won three trophies and the Jubilee Shield for the most points for vegetables, fruits and flowers at the event held at Emmer Green Primary School.

Mrs Elton, who attended with her husband Mick, was awarded the Parsons Silver Challenge Cup for the most points in the fruit section, the CHS trophy for best exhibit in show for her four vegetables and the Jean Sawyer Cup for her vase of mixed garden flowers.

Mrs Elton, who works as a primary school assistant, said: “I’m so pleased because it has been a difficult season.

“The secret has been a lot of hard work and dedication. I won more last year but I’m very happy and I really enjoy taking part. This summer, I really had to take extra care of my plants.”

Caroline Johnson, 70, of Balmore Park in Caversham, took home four trophies with her array of flower arrangements and crafts.

She was awarded the Ted Tiffen Cup for most points in the flowers section and the Handicraft Cup for most points across the craft classes.

She also received the CHS Silver Bowl for most points in show and the Society Silver Challenge Cup for achieving the most points in the roses section.

Mrs Johnson, who is also the club secretary and entered 36 categories in total, said her fruit and cabbages have “thrived” at her allotment this year despite a hosepipe ban being enforced last month. She said: “My cabbages got first prize and I had a four-and-a-half-pound cabbage off the allotment and that was one of the smaller ones.

“I keep them all covered with very fine netting to stop any aphids from getting in and do plenty of watering because we’ve had a few dry spells.

“The allotment has done very well apart from the runner beans and the plums. The figs this year have been absolutely amazing.

“I see my allotment as a free gym, I love being out in the fresh air, particularly when it’s warm weather.”

Mrs Johnson was impressed with the number of entries this year. She said: “The quality is very good. It has been quite tough in some of the categories and I’ve realised I’m going to have to up my game next year.”

Siblings Ambrose, 11, and Herne Thackeray, 13, of Caversham Heights, were “proud” to win in the novice categories after cultivating their plants and fruit at home independently.

They won the Balmore Cup for most points in the novice category.

Ambrose, who attends Emmer Green Primary School and was awarded the children’s cup last year, won first prize for her pair of red devil apples.

She said: “We planted a tree from the garden centre a few years ago. This year we have had to keep watering it, almost every single day.

“I think they won because they were a bit neater than the rest but it took a bit of polishing.” Herne received first prize for his vase of cosmos flowers.

He said: “I thought, ‘at last, my hard work has been rewarded’. I’ve been putting a lot of effort into this.

“I grew cosmos from seeds and I’ve been watering them, I’ve been pruning them in our garden.

“They are quite easy to grow but it’s all about the eye for picking the good flowers.

“You have to keep deadheading the dead flowers, otherwise, they just don’t come back.

“With the hosepipe ban, it was quite a lot of work and it was all with watering cans.”

Ian Noble, 67, of Peppard Road in Emmer Green, visited the show with his wife Anne, 65, and placed second with his rose floating in a vase and third for his bunch of grapes and single stem of dahlia. He said he is going to use new cultivation techniques in preparation for next year after a mixed success rate of his crops.

Mr Noble said: “Last year I had a lot of courgettes but I suspect it went wrong this year somewhere after germination and I’m not sure why.”

Friends Eileen Joyce, 85, and Ann Briggs said they have a friendly rivalry each year with their flower displays.

This year, Mrs Joyce won the Devon Cup for achieving the most points in floral art.

She created a display centred around the book Treasure Island using an array of yellow plants.

She said: “We like having friendly competition and I enjoy planning what I’m going to do for the show. I had a chest and I added some silver and gold coins and I stuck some dried leaves on it to make it look old.”

Show secretary Gwyneth Rowlands said: “We have had more individual entries than normal which is good but entries for floral art have been down.

“It’s lovely that some of the entries are up despite the season and the rain and the thunderstorms and a lot of plants having to be watered by hand.”