Balcombe gardening show a ‘great success’

A competition for giant sunflower growers was among the highlights of a village gardening show that took place on Saturday, September 5.
Balcombe Gardeners' Association committee members SUS-200809-095704001Balcombe Gardeners' Association committee members SUS-200809-095704001
Balcombe Gardeners' Association committee members SUS-200809-095704001

Held by Balcombe Gardeners’ Association, the autumn show was followed by a produce and flower sale the next day.

About £400 was raised for the Crawley Easter Team and Crawley Open House through entry donations.

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The winner of the 2020 Balcombe Sunflower Competition was five-year-old Freddie Horne, whose sunflower reached a record breaking 4.57m.

Balcombe Gardeners' Association SUS-200809-095653001Balcombe Gardeners' Association SUS-200809-095653001
Balcombe Gardeners' Association SUS-200809-095653001

The annual competition is run by Trudi Hurdman and Neil Turner, who saw a record 23 entries this year, almost three times the usual number.

Neil said: “I think people really enjoyed growing their sunflowers during the lockdown.”

Elsewhere, socially distanced visitors to the autumn show at Balcombe’s Victory Hall saw giant onions, carrots, parsnips, leeks, cabbages, cucumbers and celery on display.

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Residents also exhibited their home-grown tomatoes, potatoes, aubergines, beetroots, apples, runner beans and raspberries.

Balcombe Gardeners' Association SUS-200809-095643001Balcombe Gardeners' Association SUS-200809-095643001
Balcombe Gardeners' Association SUS-200809-095643001

Flowers including specimen roses judged for their blooms and scents.

Among the awards was a cup for the most productive allotment, given in memory of village gardener Margaret Hughes. Other winners included the Albert Botting Perpetual Challenge Cup, for the best and largest specimen onion, won by Della Murton, and the Doris Cartmel cup, for the best exhibit in the children’s classes, won by Annabelle Pring.

In addition to the horticultural show pieces, a photographic competition of snapshots from life in the village in 2020 provided the image of a deserted commuter train, a picture of family, the sanctuary of a small garden in lockdown, the bluebell woods of early spring and a field of sunflowers.

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Robert McIntyre, vice-chairman of Balcombe Gardeners’ Association, said: “We hope that the event brightened the day for all those who attended and would like to say an enormous thank you to them and to everybody who took the time to put things together to be exhibited.”

See page 39 for more.

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