• On Sunday 20th October we set off on a coach trip to Wisley. The weather was kind to us, so we were all able to fully appeciate the stunning Autumn colours around the gardens and the outdoor food festival taking place, to seek warmth in the impressive glasshouse and to take regular pitstops for refreshment. There might also have been a few purchases made in Wisley's new visitor centre/garden shop ;-)...  Being an affiliated society to the RHS, Cholsey HortSoc benefits from one free visit to an RHS garden per year. The cost for the trip was therefore just the coach travel, giving everyone a very good value day out. We'll seek similar offers in 2020.
  

• We had a busy weekend over 25th-26th May.
  On the Saturday we were visited by Lu's Owls to the Pavilion. We so enjoyed seeing lots of people, especially children, coming to hear the fascinating stories of British owls and be spellbound by seeing them live and even holding them (very carefully) on their wrist. It was a fascinating afternoon and we are really pleased that Lu and her owls will be back for our 76th Village Show on August 10th.
  
  On the Sunday we had a day trip by coach to the Savill Gardens in Windsor Great Park. Despite forebodings of weather, was a really lovely day.  We were amazed by the variety and scale of the gardens,  and saw lots of interesting plants (all properly labelled!) The teas and coffees were good, and it was a thoroughly worthwhile day for passionate gardeners, as well as being a generally nice day out.
  

• Saturday 18th May saw us hosting our annual plant sale, and another bumper one it was too! Thank you to all those who came along to support us, by growing, bringing and buying what turned out to be a fantastic selection. We raised just under £300, all of which will be set to good use for this year's Cholsey Village Show.
  

• We'd like to extend huge thanks to Purely Plants in Wallingford, for hosting a group of HortSoc members on the evening of Friday 26th April - a free event, as part of our HortSoc membership. Andy gave a comprehensive presentation that included plant propagation and care, and making up a hanging basket. So much learned - but one take home message is many gardeners are watering too much! The team is trying all kinds of environmentally friendly methods to produce a dazzling and wide selection of plants and baskets for households to enjoy.  Find out more here: www.purelyplants.co.uk/
  

• On Friday 29th March Steve Head gave an illustrated talk on "The Natural History of Madeira and the Canaries". We learned all about how the volcanic islands of the Canaries have become hotbeds of plant and animal evolution. We also learned that the eating of limpets in Madeira isn’t quite what it is cracked up to be!