September 2016

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The Horticultural Show on 3rd September was very successful, with a turnout of more than two hundred visitors, despite some rain and a real deluge at the end. The live jazz and Pimm’s clearly helped! Our thanks to Sawston Scouts for putting up the large marquee and to SYD for loan of trestles for the displays, and of course to our faithful band of volunteers.

Entries for the show were down a bit on last year, with very few entries in some classes and none at all in the children’s section. It would be good to have more exhibits next year. The show is not exclusively for Sawston residents, so we welcome entries from our neighbouring villages as well. We will endeavour to spread the word widely in 2017. Hallowe’en will soon be upon us, and we will be celebrating this in the garden, as usual, on Saturday 29th October from 10am to noon. Lots of activities for the children. Soup, scones and teas for the adults! Entrance free. We look forward to seeing many of you there.

As summer draws to an end, the garden team are busy preparing for autumn and winter. Lots of mulching, clearing, pruning, dead-heading and leaf-raking to be done. We could still use a little more help in the garden, so if you are interested in volunteering, do please contact us. The main herbaceous beds at the rear of the house continue to look good, with plenty of colour and secondary flushes. We expect good displays well into October.

Apples will be available from the garden through October, and perhaps some late veggies, as well as the usual stock of honey, jams and chutneys. Do drop in to check what’s on offer. Greener Sawston will be doing a ‘Bioblitz’ of the garden on Saturday 1st October from 6pm to 10pm and Sunday 2nd October 8am to 10am, to assess the diversity of our fauna and flora. This first event will concentrate on the fauna – mammals, birds, amphibians and insects. It is hoped to do a broader 24-hour survey in 2017, to include plants as well as animals. It will be fascinating to see what shows up – do come along and help search! This a public event open to all – calm accompanied children welcome. (Find Greener Sawston on Facebook.)

The Trust arranged a very successful day’s outing for volunteers in August, as a thank you for the time they put into the garden, house and events. We hope to make this an annual event. Transport was provided by Tim Phillips in the shape of his classic coach ‘Lady Sarah’, complete with kitchen and galley – a trip down memory lane for all of us. (See more photos of this lovely coach, which you can hire.)  First stop was Docwra’s Manor Garden in Shepreth. This is well worth a visit if you haven’t been: check www.docwrasmanorgarden.co.uk for details. We then went on to RSPB Fowlmere for a picnic lunch and a walk around the reserve. A very hot but enjoyable day! Mike Redshaw

This update was printed in the October–November 2016 issue of Sawston Scene.