Following our recent annual general meeting, we are delighted to announce the Club’s new chair-elect: Dr Christine Buckton.

She is well-known to many in Wymondham for her volunteer work with the Friends of Wymondham Abbey, association with the Wymondham Nature Group, and of course, her long service – until retiring – as a medical practitioner in South Norfolk.

In other news, Henstead Exotic Garden was this year’s destination for our summer outing for club members. Situated a few miles from Beccles, this garden is one of Suffolk’s best-kept secrets. Started from nothing 20 years ago, it’s a garden with exotic plants, all of which thrive in East Anglian soil.

Andrew Brogan, the very amiable owner and designer of the garden, gave us a personal tour. There are varieties of giant bamboo, rare giant magnolias and strawberry trees, and exotics such as Canna plants with striking, almost flame-like coloured flowers.

(How long does a bamboo cane take to grow to 30 ft, Andrew asked us? All our answers were wide of the mark - it takes a month!)

Plus, of course, there was tea and cake! The club would thoroughly recommend visiting Henstead Exotic Garden.

Meanwhile, as I write, club members continue to enjoy the summer – though as gardeners, we’d rather like a little bit of rain! So, we suspect, would the farmers, Anglian water and most other residents of Wymondham!

Our next meeting is Monday 21st September. See the magazine’s ‘What’s On’ section for details.