Dear Volunteers

As many of you are aware, I have taken over the co-ordination role of the National Trust Plant Fair from John Cartwright. He has left rather big boots to fill after many years of successful Plant Fairs so a big thank you to John! I will do my best to keep up John’s good work!

We Need Your Donations of Plants!

The biggest challenge of organising the Trust Plant Fair is ensuring a supply of enough quality plants to sell. To this end, as you continue to clear your gardens for winter and you find that you have plants needing to be thinned or removed, please would you think about donating them rather than deploying them to the compost heap. The only stipulation for donated plants is that they are healthy and well rooted as well as labelled.

No contribution is too small and all contributions are gratefully received. Donations can take the form of perennials, shrubs, vegetables, herbs or small trees or even house plants. If required, I can supply all compost and pots for the potting up of the plants.  Alternatively, if you unable to pot up, just let me know, and I will collect the bare root plants from you.

If you are able to support this year’s Fair by supplying a few plants, please do get in touch with me. The best way to do this is via e-mail, s.djones@btinternet.com.

In order to ensure everyone is in the loop about this year’s Fair, here are a few briefing details:

Date of the 2017 Fair

This year the date of the Plant Fair has moved back a week and will be held on Sunday 21^st May. All other venue arrangements remain unchanged.

Pots and Compost

As with previous years, for those needing pots and/or compost, these are available to you. Between the three committee members of John, Jaki and myself, we have sectioned up the general area that our growers tend to cover. If, therefore, you are unable to collect the resources you need, please contact the relevant person to your area and we will deliver to you:

Jaki Smart  – the areas of Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley and St Albans. Contact smart42@btinternet.com

John Cartwright – Berkhamsted, Frithsden, Potten End and Luton. Contact cartwrightjw@btinternet.com

Me  – Ashridge, Tring, villages between Ashridge and Dunstable as well as Dunstable. Contact s.djones@btinternet.com.

Cold Frame

The cold frame at Ashridge College will remain the collection point for the plants before the Fair. This will open to start assembling plants from the first week of April.  If circumstances dictate and you need to drop plants earlier, please let me know and I will make arrangements for this. Where possible, if you are able to hold on to your plants, it does make things easier as typically the cold frame continues to be used by the College up until the end of March.

Again, as with the compost and pots, when the time comes, if you need help with transporting plants to the cold frame, then please let the relevant person know and we will be only too happy to help.

Spreading the Word

Finally, I have attached a flyer promoting our constant need for new Growers for the Fair. I would be most grateful if you could please either print out or e-mail on to anyone who is a keen gardener and might be able to help this good cause. In order to keep them up to date with developments, if they could then make contact with me, I will ensure that they included in all future communications. 

Any queries at all, please do get in touch.

Many thanks to you all and happy gardening!

Sarah