Welcome to Hermitage Horticultural Society & Gardening Club

Welcome to the Home Page of Hermitage Horticultural Society & Gardening Club.  Based in Hermitage, West Berkshire, we welcome members from Hermitage and surrounding villages and towns.  If you have just a small or very active interest in gardening and/or wildlife, this is a great place to talk with others with similar interests, and perhaps improve your knowledge.  We would be very pleased to see you at our Meetings and Shows.  Our approach is informal and you will be welcomed, whatever your level of horticultural knowledge.  To quote from our Constitution the main aims of the Society are:

a. To promote an interest in gardens and gardening by holding meetings for lectures, discussions and demonstrations, and by arranging outings and horticultural shows.

and:

b. To promote an interest in the countryside by links with local estates and with organisations such as the National Trust and the Local Wildlife Trust (B.B.O.W.T.).

We hold three Shows each year, at which members may compete in a variety of Floral and Vegetable Classes, together with Homecraft and Photography sections. The Homecraft section will include classes for cooking or craft subjects.  On average there will be 60 classes in each Show and entries will be judged and points awarded. Based on the points scored, Cups and Trophies are presented for each section. In each Show there are also classes for young people.

Four evening meetings are held in the Spring and Autumn months, where speakers are invited to demonstrate or talk about their speciality, be it of horticultural, wildlife or general interest.  Occasionally the evening gatherings may be based around a gardening quiz, which is generally light-hearted.  The main objective is to have a fun evening.  Friends and family of members are also welcome to attend.

Membership is £5.00 per adult per year (young people under 16 years pay no membership fee) which includes a printed Schedule outlining the Society’s activities for the coming season.  The Schedule contains a card which provides discounts at local garden centres.  If you wish to join the Society, please contact a Member of the Committee.

As an Affiliated Society of the Royal Horticultural Society, we receive a Garden Entry card, which allows access to all the RHS gardens at a 50% discount.  This may be borrowed throughout the year to allow access by a member and one guest to Wisley, Rosemoor, Hyde Hall, Harlow Carr and Bridgewater Gardens, seven days a week.  The RHS acts as a governing body for the Horticultural Shows held by the Society during the year.

DISCOUNTS

Yew Tree Garden Centre
Ball Hill
Newbury
RG20 0NG
Tel. 01635 255250

Note that discounts (On Gardening Products Only) will be available at Yew Tree Garden Centre to all Members holding a Society Schedule for 2023 on production of the card printed inside the back cover.