Monthly Report
SNITTERFIELD GARDEN CLUB – An afternoon in Snitterfield and a day out in Herefordshire
On Sunday 8th June the Garden Club held their annual plant sale at the village fete. As well as plants bought in from Hunscote nursery we had a variety of plants grown and donated by members to sell. The fete was well attended and the committee were kept busy selling all afternoon.
Then a few days later on 12th June, a rather dull morning, 26 members met outside the village hall for a day out to visit two private gardens situated in the beautiful Herefordshire countryside.
Our first stop was Stockton Bury near Leominster. Stockton Bury has been in the same family for five generations. There was very little evidence of a garden until the current owner Raymond Treasure and his partner Gordon Fenn made it their lifelong passion to create a garden here. Raymond’s nieces Connie Marston and Tamsin Westhorpe now run the garden and cafe with their uncle keeping the family link strong.
Buildings and main route into the garden at Stockton Bury
We started our visit with a short talk by Tamsin then we had plenty of time to explore this four-acre garden which sits in the heart of the family run working farm. It is home to a medieval pigeon house, kitchen garden, water gardens and well planted borders offering unusual plants and plenty of inspiration throughout the season. In spite of some rain members spent time exploring the many different aspects of this lovely garden.
Martagon (Turk’s cap) Lillies Yellow Iris
There is a delightful café and many members took advantage of this for lunch. As well as taking advantage of the tempting plant sales!
We left Stockton Bury at 1.45pm and travelled the short distance to another hidden gem, Rhodds Farm. Started from scratch in 2005 this garden was created by the owner and garden designer Cary Goode over the past 14 years, This is a two-acre garden with thirteen acres of woodland.
The garden has far reaching views towards the Black Mountains, and it contains a treasury of gorgeous garden spaces and planting. It is a natural garden where plants are allowed to self-seed. There are mixed borders , a pond for wildlife, a formal garden leading to a brick dovecote, a courtyard garden, gravel garden and a wildflower meadow and lots and lots of inspirational planting! Again we were given a brief talk about the garden by owner Cary before having time to explore at our own pace. We ended the afternoon with hot drinks and delicious home-made cakes in the house before setting off back to Snitterfield.
Members exploring the gardens and the Dovecote at Rhodds Farm
Although we had a few showers during both visits gardeners are a hardy lot and this did nothing to dampen our spirits and enjoyment of the lovely gardens.
The Garden Club will finish our summer with a party, for our members only, in the lovely garden at The Hill Cottage, and then a break until our next meeting on Tuesday 2nd September 2025. This will be the AGM and annual show in Snitterfield Village Hall. For those who may wish to enter – all classes for the show are posted on our web site and will be here in The Link next month Also the full list of speakers and garden visits for 2025 -2026 is posted on our web site: www.snitterfieldgardenclub.org
Old friends and guests plus new members are always welcome.
Jean Harris
Chairman