Capturing The Spirit Of Gardening In Ardingly

The Ardingly Gardening Club And Horticultural Society is the village’s oldest society, established in 1905. The club is driven by a love of plants and a belief that gardening makes the world a better place.

The 18th century in Britain saw the cultivation of exotic plants and seeds in country houses. Landowners funded plant hunters to travel the world to discover and collect species. To be entrusted with these precious seeds from expeditions was a privilege and the pressure to be able to grow them in the British climate was intense and showcased the immense skill of these gardeners. This background encouraged the formation of many local horticultural societies.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is the largest gardening charity in the UK and the organisation currently supports more than 3,000 local gardening groups across the country. The RHS played a key role in the Dig for Victory campaign during the Second World War, encouraging the British public to grow their own food.

The motto, We believe everyone in every village, town and city should benefit from growing plants to enhance lives, build stronger, healthier, happier communities, and create better places to live is the view of both the RHS and the affiliated Ardingly Gardening Club And Horticultural Society (AGCHS).

The AGCHS has seen many committed members come and go across the years, including two gardeners who sadly passed away last year. Former society president and RHS judge, Bryan Ball, and former steward Vic Stone who were not only long-standing members of the AGCHS but also contributed much to the community of Ardingly. AGCHS members intend to create a memorial garden outside the British Legion in Ardingly to honour them.

Gardeners are traditionally generous, offering their time, knowledge and cuttings, and spare plants to other members of their community and members of AGCHS are no exception. In response to changing lifestyles, members decided not to arrange shows in 2017, but look out for pop up plant sales around the village during the year.

Activities on offer included a talk from local Withypitts Dahlia Farm in April, and a visit to Kew’s Millenium Seed Bank at Wakehurst in June. As Ardingly villager, Barbara Lucas wrote in her book Oaklands, This is Your Life 1947-2007, “We joined the Ardingly Horticultural Society and entered the shows in Hapstead Hall, both of us winning some prizes. The house was in uproar for a few days before each show, assembling vegetables, having dug up many potential contenders to find six of the best; what with bottling fruit, making jam, baking cakes and arranging flowers – one wondered why one did it but it was good fun!”

New members to the Ardingly Gardening Club and Horticultural Society are welcome, if you would like to find more, visit: www.ardingly.org/horticultural-society/  or, call Kim on: 07879 622 793.

By Georgia Lambert