Page 20 - Town & Around - May 2025

20 Town & Around May 2025 Tel: 01485 540620 email: editor@townandaround.net
Downham Market and District ‘Gardeners fear unkindly May, frost by
Horticultural Society night and hail by day’
Affiliated to The Royal Horticultural Society (with apologies to Flanders & Swan)

ince reading about our Society in Town and Around, several new t is that time of year when gardeners do not stop. So why not take
members have joined – welcome to you all! As members ask, a break and visit someone else’s garden. You might find inspiration
Swhere else can you get so much for just £10 per year? Ifor that tricky area..
Wednesday 7th May 1-5
What do you get? STODY LODGE, Melton Constable, NR24 2ER. Adm £9, chd free.
• A different speaker each month, covering wide-ranging subjects with Home-made teas. Wheelchair access to most areas. Dogs allowed.
a horticultural theme Spectacular gardens with one of the largest concentrations of
• Complementary tea, coffee and biscuits after each talk rhododendrons and azaleas in East Anglia. Created in the 1920s, these
• A chance to meet old friends and make new friends gardens also feature magnolias, camellias, bluebells and a variety of
• Enjoy guided walks during the year to local gardens (see photograph) ornamental and specimen trees. Expansive lawns, Woodland walks
with 4 acres of water garden providing a riot of colour.
• Workshops, such as a very successful Christmas wreath-making Saturday 10th May 1-5
workshop last year SHERINGHAM HALL, Upper Sheringham, Sheringham, NR26
• Christmas social event 8TB. Adm £8, chd free. Pre-booking essential. Light refreshments. An
• Discounts from Downham Garden Centre and Suttons Seeds opportunity to visit this very private and wonderful garden set within
• The opportunity to help on (and buy from) local plant stalls Sheringham Park. Designed by Repton, the walled garden has been
• Competitions redesigned by Arabella Lennox-Boyd with restored glasshouses and
cold frames. Replanted orchard, hornbeam temple, new herbaceous
borders, parterres and a white garden. Wildflower meadow between
hot and cool borders.
Sunday 18th May 10.30 – 4.30
BRACONDALE GARDENS: Norwich, NR1 2BB. Combined adm
£9, chd free. Home- made teas at Southgate House. Tickets for all three
gardens sold at Southgate House.Three attractive compact town
gardens a short walk apart and each with a different character:
Southgate House, the former Harbour Master’s house is about an acre,
half of which is formed on a steep escarpment providing woodland
hillside walks. Garden rooms have ornamental beds and interesting
plants. 14 Conesford Drive has a lush planting of fruit, vegetables and
flowers which greet you at the side of this 1960s modernist house
leading to a densely- planted cottage garden of carefully selected
perennials and climbers. 1 Woodside Cottages is a very pretty, small
cottage garden packed with colourful plants both ornamental and
edible. Even the resident chickens are decorative. Fruit trees and
vegetables grow side by side with perennial and annual flowers and a
small pond supports a multitude of frogs each spring.
Sunday 25th May 10.30 - 5
HOVETON HALL GARDENS, Hoveton Hall Estate, Hoveton,
Norwich, NR12 8RJ. Adm £10, chd £5. Light refreshments. Explore
Our visit to West Acre Gardens last year, with guided walk the 15-acre garden and woodland taking you through the seasons.
by the Head Gardener Mature walled herbaceous and kitchen gardens. Informal woodlands
and lakeside walks. Nature spy activity trail for our younger visitors.
Our next two events The gardens are accessible to wheelchair users.
Monday 26 May (Bank Holiday Monday) – Carnival Day Sunday 25th May 10.30 – 4.30
We will have a big plant stall at the Howdale as part of the Downham 9 LE STRANGE CLOSE Norwich, NR2 3PN. Combined adm with
Market Festival – do come along and say hello – and perhaps buy a 20 Le Strange Close £7, chd free. Enclosed by mature trees and yet
few plants? still full of light, this garden is a tranquil oasis. Dwarf heritage apples,
Saturday 12 July 2025 – our annual Summer Show, at Downham irises, mulberry and highly scented roses contrast with low
Market Town Hall maintenance borders for dry loving plants and pots of succulents.
Look out for our free Summer Show programmes, which can be Wheelchair access via gravel drive. Garden on one level. 20 LE
picked up from many local shops, including Downham Garden Centre, STRANGE CLOSE, Norwich, NR2 3PW. Combined adm with 9 Le
Downham Home and Garden and Downham Market Library. The Strange Close £7, chd free. Home-made teas. A city garden that is
plant-filled and wildlife-friendly, with unusual materials and structures.
Show is open to both members and non-members. Categories include The front garden is a mini allotment with crab apple arches framing
flowers, pot plants, fruit, vegetables, preserves, baked goods, crafts, the path. Designed and planted by the owner, garden designer, Rajul
art, photography – so something for everyone. Have a think about what Shah. Access to back garden is possible via driveway and paved path.
to enter – it’s fun to take part, even if you don’t win – but you never A very gentle slope leads to the rear. The front path has one step.
know … Only 30p per entry – what a bargain!

When do we meet?
On the second Monday of the month in Downham Market Town
Hall. Meetings are in the evening, starting at 7.15pm. Talks are about
one hour in length, to include a short Q&A session.
How do I find out more?
If you are interested in joining our friendly Society, or to just find
out more, Judith, our membership secretary, would love to hear from
you. Contact Judith on 01366 501466 or email jt.mazur@tiscali.co.uk