About us
GENERAL
INFORMATION
COMMUNITY GARDENING
WORKSHOPS
We are a lively group of local gardeners, who meet regularly from September to June. We meet on the fourth Monday in the month, at Frodsham Community Centre, Fluin Lane, Frodsham. The meetings begin at 7:30pm and usually end at about 9:00pm. We have a very varied programme with interesting speakers and workshops. In the summer we have a local afternoon or evening visit and a day trip.
The annual subscription is £15 and is collected at the September meeting. There is usually no further payment when attending meetings. Tea or coffee and biscuits are usually included at the end of each session.
To join from January onwards the subscription is £10.
Visitors are very welcome at our meetings at a cost of £4 per visit.
For the last few years several members of the Gardening Club have been maintaining the three planters adjacent to the library in the centre of Frodsham. At the end of 2021 we realised that the planters were in a very poor state of repair and needed replacing. We applied to Cheshire West and Chester Council for new planters. The new planters arrived at Easter 2022 and we also received a grant to fund gardening in the community.
Since then, we have 'adopted' the border near to the Railway Bridge in Church Street, Frodsham (known as Hale's border) and helped to provide plants for the long border by the Medical Centre, which is being maintained by 3rd Frodsham Sea Scout Cubs.
In June 2024, we also 'adopted' the planter outside the Post Office, in Main Street, Frodsham. 'Before' and 'after' photos are shown below.
Christmas Wreath Workshop
In November 2022, Eleanor Griffiths accompanied by her Mum, Gill, showed us how to make a Christmas wreath, which could be hung on the door or used as a table decoration. This was followed by a workshop where members were able to 'have a go' themselves with very pleasing results.
EVENTS
In June 2022 we celebrated the 21st Anniversary of the Gardening Club with afternoon tea at the Netherton Arms.
Frodsham's Big Green Day
In October 2022 the Gardening Club also took part in Frodsham's 'Big Green Day' at the Community Centre. We were promoting 'Climate Friendly Gardening.'
· Growing plants in peat-free compost
· Ways to save water
· Reducing the use of garden plastic
· Planting trees and other plants to capture carbon
· Growing fruit, vegetables, and flowers for cutting
Christmas Tree Festival
At the beginning of December 2022 the Gardening Club was, once again, delighted to take part in the Christmas Tree Festival which was held at the Methodist Church in Frodsham. There had been a gap of 4 years since the last festival so it was lovely to see all the trees.
Our theme was 'Crafty Gardeners' and a variety of decorations was made by many of our members as can be seen in the photo.
At the beginning of December 2024, we once again enjoyed taking part in the Christmas Tree Festival. The Festival is usually held every 2 years. The title of our tree was 'Sow It and Grow It' and members made decorations using seed packets, plant labels and photos of plants. It was interesting to see the different ideas. Everyone was delighted with the final result as shown in the photo.
Scarecrow Festival September 2025
In September 2025, the local Methodist Chuch invited the Gardening Club and other community groups to take part in their first scarecrow festival. The scarecrows were placed all round the church as part of the harvest festival. The head of our scarecrow was a water mellon so she was a bit top heavy!
Our scarecrow was called 'A Gardening Scarecrow.'
DAY TRIPS
In May every year, instead of a speaker, we have a day trip. We have been to many interesting gardens and shows up and down the country. The trip this year was a little bit different. Frodsham Gardening Club is an affiliated member of the RHS and in May 2022 it was very special to visit the new RHS garden at Salford, RHS Bridgewater. As this garden is almost on our doorstep, it will be interesting to see it at different times of the year and to watch it develop. We hope to go again in the autumn of 2023. This was our first vist since the pandemic and it was a lovely day out.
In May 2023 we had a very special day visit to Bodnant Gardens. We were very lucky because the laburnum arch had just come into flower and the sun shone all day. Everyone enjoyed this visit; the gardens were at their best.
In May 2024, for our day trip, we visited two places near Market Drayton. We enjoyed the Dorothy Clive Garden in the morning , then went along the road to Bridgemere Garden Centre in the afternoon.
It was a very busy day but every one enjoyed it.
It was lovely to see another laburnum arch in full flower in the Dorothy Clive Garden. The Garden Curator, Kathryn Robey, had given us a talk the prvious November, so we were able to see all the beautiful areas of the garden that she mentioned in real life.
In May 2025, we revisited Hodnet Hall Gardens and Wollerton Old Hall Gardens, near Market Drayton. Our previous visit had been in 2016 so it was very interesting to see the changes in both gardens. We all really liked Hodnet. It is a very large garden with beautiful lakes and a secluded walled garden. Wollerton, on the other hand, is made up of a series of themed small rooms. The roses, from David Austen Roses, were beautiful.
The weather was kind to us and we had a very enjoyable day out.
AFTERNOON /
EVENING VISITS
In February 2022, we enjoyed a talk entitled 'Clematis' given by Ken Black. In July 2022, we were delighted to be able to follow this with a visit to Ken's garden at Mollington near Chester. Ken is a clematis expert. He has appeared on Gardeners' World and regularly gives talks at the RHS Tatton Flower Show. We had a really enjoyable afternoon, wandering round the garden and we particularly appreciated Helen's cake!
In July 2024, an evening visit was organised to see a garden which was given in the National Garden Scheme (NGS) Yellow Book. The weather forecast was so bad for the evening that the owners, Margaret and Neil Holding, very kindly allowed us to visit throughout the day to beat the weather. The result was a delightful private visit, which included Margaret's delicious cake.
In the summer of 2025, we visited two very different gardens that are listed in the NGS Yellow Book.
In June, we visited Sandymere, which is Sir John Timpson's garden at Cotebrook. We have visited this garden several times and are always warmly welcomed by Rachel, the Head Gardener. The garden covers 16 landscaped acres, with terraces, a walled garden and a fabulous hosta garden. There are lovely water features and a rill.
Our second visit was to Bowmere Cottage Garden at Tarporley. This garden is a traditional cottage garden, covering 1 acre with well stocked herbaceous and shrub borders. With two courtyard gardens, the atmosphere is very calm and relaxing
In May 2026 we had a lovely visit to Jacqueline Iddon's garden and hardy plants nursery at Bretherton, near Leyland.
The weather was showery at first, but cleared up and the sun came out. Jacqueline took us round her beautiful 1.5 acre garden and showed us the gallery containing sculptures by her husband, Thomas Dagnall.
The garden is divided into different areas including a large stream-fed pond, a woodland walkway, an alpine house, etc. and a hardy plant nursery.
Jacqueline gave an interesting talk and demonstration about plants from the garden.
In the afternoon we briefly visited Bent's Garden Centre at Glazebrook. We were delighted to be shown John Bent's 'Weeping Ash Garden' by the man himself. It was very wet, but it didn't matter!
COMPETITIONS
Every year the Gardening Club has a competition for members. In June 2019, everyone was asked to bring a single bloom from their garden in a suitable container. The result was a wonderfully varied display of summer flowers.
The worthy winner was Norma Duncan, who is pictured below with her winning entry.
In April 2023 Gardening Club members were given a small geranium plug plant to take home and grow. The geraniums were different colours and varieties. Everyone brought their plants to the June meeting to be judged. It was interesting to see the different types of geraniums, side by side, as shown in the photo.
The runner up was Trish Bate and the worthy winner was her sister-in-law, Helen Robinson.
The competition in 2024 was a little bit more difficult. At the beginning of the year everyone was asked to choose 3 small packets of herb seeds. The task was to sow the seeds in a single container and bring them to the June meeting, when the members would choose the best display. Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of lovely entries, in a variety of containers as shown in the photo.
The winner on this occasion was Shelley Howell.
,For the Gardening Club competition in June 2025, the members were asked to bring 3 blooms of the same colour. They could be the same variety or different. There was a big range of colours, making it difficult to choose the winner. The 3 echinops, by Helen Robinson, were the eventual winner.
DONATIONS TO
CHARITY
At most of our meetings we have a charity table where members have the opportunity to buy and sell extra plants and gardening 'bits and bobs'. The proceeds from the sales for 2021-2022 have been donated to the new RHS garden, RHS Bridgewater, at Salford where they are planting 30,000 daffodil bulbs in the orchard, helping the heritage fruit trees and neighbouring wildlife thrive for years to come.
DISCOUNT
Members receive a 10% discount on items bought from our local garden centre on presentation of their membership card:
Robert Gleave's Home & Garden Centre, Mill Lane, Frodsham, Cheshire WA6 7JA