Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th July 2011
Farnham Maltings hosted its third annual festival of gardening last weekend and welcomed a staggering fifteen hundred visitors across the two days.
The festival was a culmination of Farnham Grows, a month-long programme which encompassed a variety of events and activities aimed at local gardeners. In association with Farnham Town Council, a festival of gardening provided an enjoyable finale where people could celebrate the garden and the great outdoors as inspirational spaces for all to enjoy.
Due to the success of previous years, this festival was extended to cover the whole weekend. The building resembled a greenhouse with trees, plants and flowers on display all available to purchase. Visitors browsed the marketplaces and found new plants, accessories and unique crafts to add to their gardens.
Craft and Events Officer Pauline Smith said, “the festival of gardening was a lovely weekend with the Maltings transformed into a gardener’s delight. We were thrilled to see so many people taking advantage of the advice and beautiful products on offer”.
Forest Lodge Garden Centre and Garden Style Nursery, who sponsored the event, displayed a range of plants and accessories in the courtyard, along with a chicken and rabbit enclosure. Children especially delighted in stroking the animals, and some of them had their faces painted by Amanda Carr.
There was also a large range of delicious produce available. The Farnham Garden Society offered their products from the marketplace and Farnham Local Food initiative, a community group who grow and supply fresh vegetables, shared their knowledge with visitors.
Amid the displays was an exciting exchange of ideas. Visitors joined experts for demonstrations, talks and a Gardener’s Question Time where plant and produce problems were solved. There was a presentation on the honey bee by Margaret Lennard from Farnham Beekeepers, Fred Wilkinson hosted flower arrangement demonstrations and a plant doctor ran a surgery on how to restore health and vigour to anything green.
The Mayor of Farnham joined the festivities and kindly presented various prize giving ceremonies.
On the Saturday the Farnham Town Council Allotment Show took place, open to all Farnham Town Council allotment holders. It was lovely to see the large number of entries from local gardeners who had grown and prepared their produce especially for this Show.
New for this year was an enjoyable “Grow Your Own” competition, held on the Sunday, which everyone could enter. There were five winners, one for each of the categories of best tomato, best potato, best carrot, best herb, and best ‘cut your own’ flowers. The prize for each was a gift voucher kindly donated by Forest Lodge.
This year’s festival of gardening raffle utilised the ever growing Farnham Maltings Membership Scheme to add to the range of prizes available. 22 lucky winners were awarded tickets, flower arrangements and free meal vouchers, donated by businesses who participate in the Membership Scheme. This epitomised the generous relationship between the Maltings and its associate businesses, all of whom donate discounts and offers to Maltings members year round.
One of the highlights was a new water feature created by local designer Bamber Wallis. The bespoke feature was installed and unveiled on the Maltings’ front lawn and was the perfect backdrop for arriving visitors and for those who enjoyed refreshments at the nearby Riverside Café Bar.
Another popular feature was Oliver Russell’s ironwork display. A local artisan who recently crafted the Maltings’ new courtyard gates, Oliver demonstrated his skills on a forge in front of a fascinated crowd.
The festival created a wonderful opportunity for keen gardeners to hone their skills and for beginners to find inspiration and begin to grow their own plants and produce.
In partnership with Farnham Town Council and our sponsors
Forest Lodge Garden Centre and Garden Style Nursery.
