THE Milton Damerel village fete in June included a garden produce competition and although a bit early in the year there was a good entry in all categories from the best potato to the biggest vegetable with a further section for pot plants and flower arrangements.

Following this success a few local residents were chatting and it suddenly struck them that a parish with a population of some 450 people really aught to have a gardening club.

After some preliminary enquiries in the newsletter to judge the level of interest they got together to launch what has become the 'Milton Damerel Gardening Society' whose first meeting has been arranged for Wednesday January 7 at the Parish Hall starting at 7.30pm.

Entry is free and open to everyone, not restricted to residents of Milton Damerel.

There will be a short talk by Edgar Pett on 'Starting from Scratch' or how to turn a bramble patch into a garden, followed by questions but the main aim of the meeting is to enable like minded people to get together and discuss their successes and failures.

This really is a club for everyone who has a garden especially those whose present knowledge is limited and who may benefit from picking the brains of some more experienced gardeners.

Everyone is welcome and if well supported meetings will continue on the first Wednesday of every month, the hall is already booked for February 4 with a short talk by Will Wrighton on the changes in nurseries during his 49 years experience of all aspects of horticulture.