Grow Your Own Magazine

An Open Day is being held at all four RHS Gardens (Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall, Rosemoor, and Wisley) on Saturday 10th February in conjunction with BBC's Grow Your Own VEG, with FREE ENTRY for all visitors. I'm planning to go to their Open Day at Hyde Hall in Essex. For anyone who's close enough to think of taking part too, details of their programme follow. Looks like a good day out?

RHS Garden Hyde Hall
‘Grow Your Own VEG’ Open Day
Saturday 10th February 2007, 10am–4pm

Freebies & Giveaways
Be an ‘early bird’ to the garden and you may be entitled to a free RHS VEG Starter Pack containing seeds, recipe cards, posters and information leaflets. Please note that there will only be a limited number of free starter packs available.

You will also be able to pick up other free leaflets and information such as:
• Thompson & Morgan seed catalogues
• Water Wise gardening leaflets from Essex & Suffolk Water
• RHS advisory leaflets

Garden Secret Talks
Three sessions available @ 11am, mid-day, 2.30pm
Join the Hyde Hall gardeners on a one-hour Garden Secrets talk. They will escort you to the Hyde Hall Veg Plots where they will discuss topics such as:

• Soil Cultivation
• Using Green Manure
• Origins of vegetable growing in the UK

There will also be demonstrations on seed sowing & composting.

Children’s Activities
Between 10am and 3pm there will be free drop-in creative workshops for younger visitors in the Hyde Hall Information Centre. This will include:

• Vegetable printing / Vegetable themed quizzes / Vegetable word searches
• Vegetable science.
• Vegetable Map of the World – tracing the origins of vegetables

Veg Plot Information Boards
To help inspire you start growing your own take a look at the Hyde Hall vegetable plots. We have four new plots where we will be growing traditional veg, Medditterean/drought-tolerant veg, ornamental, and unusual veg. View our planting plans and vegetable hints & tips information posters.

Exhibitors
The National Vegetable Society (NVS) will show a range of vegetables in the Hyde Hall Events Marquee. The NVS is a charity dedicated to advancing the culture, study and improvement of vegetables offering help and advice to novice and expert show grower alike.

‘Just Green’ who research, develop, manufacture, market and distribute a diverse range of eco-friendly products designed to promote natural solutions for use in the garden, will be providing a display and information.

Advisory/Q&A desk
An advisory desk service is being offered by the National Vegetable Association in the Hyde Hall Events Marquee. RHS staff based at the vegetable plots will also be on hand to offer ad-hoc advisory / Q&A sessions.

Vegetable Food Menus
Come and try our vegetable themed menu in the Thatched Barn Restaurant; a range of hot and cold dishes such as:
• celery, apple & stilton soup
• curried cauliflower soup
• vegetable ragout
• and our special chocolate and beetroot cake!
All food is made on the premises using locally sourced produce wherever possible. We also serve Fairtrade tea, coffee and chocolate. While you are enjoying your lunch, have a look at the ‘Allotments’ themed photographic display.

Retail Therapy
You will also find a wide range of vegetable books, gifts and seeds on sale.

Join the RHS/GYOV Book/Gift Voucher Offer
As a special membership offer, those who join the RHS during February 2007 will receive a free ‘Grow your own Veg’ book. If you join by Direct Debit you will also receive a £5 RHS Gift Voucher.

BBC Essex
BBC Essex will also be broadcasting live from Hyde Hall between 12pm and 2pm for their ‘Down to Earth’ programme with Ken Crowther.

RHS Garden Hyde Hall
Hyde Hall, Rettendon, Chelmsford
Essex CM3 8ET
Tel: 08456 121253
http://www.rhs.org.uk/WhatsOn/garden...hall/index.asp

__________________
SSx
not every situation requires a big onion

Sounds like a really good day out, but I'll be at Murrayfield in Edinburgh to watch Scotland triumph (I hope)over Wales at Rugby, then partaking of a weekends drinking with some friends who are travelling up from Bridgend for the game.
Let us know al about it if you do go along.

__________________
Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

thats excellent supersprout it sounds like a really good day out.thanks for the info.pvm.

I'm too far away from any RHS garden really, and as the weather is so bad i think i'll stay here, eat chocolate and talk about you all while your at the rhs gardens.