History
Otterton Garden Club’s
origins date back to 1929 when it was formed as the
“Otterton Chrysanthemum Fruit and Vegetable
Society”. The sole purpose of the Society was to
hold an annual show primarily of late flowering
chrysanthemums together with additional sections for
fruit and vegetables as well as other produce etc.
The Show was initially held on the first Friday in
November but was subsequently moved to the first
Saturday in that month. No meetings were held other
than an annual general meeting, which took place a
fortnight after the show. Entries were confined
initially to those living in the parish of Otterton,
but this was later extended to those who worked in
the parish. Due to falling numbers of those growing
chrysanthemums within the village, the show opened
its doors to all comers in 1988.
The
Society continued in a similar format, albeit with
changes to the classes in the annual show until 1990
when a group of enthusiasts thought that it would be
a good idea to form a garden club along the lines of
that which we have today and called a public meeting
to gauge interest. The idea was well received and
the club was formed. At the same time the name was
changed to Otterton Horticultural Society.
At one
of the early meetings it was decided to try and
expand the activities of the Society and to hold a
Spring Show as well as an Autumn Show and a schedule
was put together for a show to be held on 6th
April 1991. This proved to be a success and the show
has continued ever since.
In 1993
or 1994 (I don’t have a copy of the schedule for
1993) the exhibitors of late-flowering chrysanths
had dwindled even further and it was decided to move
the Autumn show forward to September so as to
include other flowers such as dahlias and roses.
It was
thought that the name “Otterton Horticultural
Society” sounded too highbrow and was perhaps
putting off potential members and so in 1992, the
name was again changed, this time to “Otterton
Garden Club”.
Entries
in the Autumn Show started to decline to a point
where after the 2005 show it was decided to abolish
the autumn show and continue with just one show in
the spring. However, a number of people were
expressing an interest in reviving the Autumn Show
and after a poll at one of the meetings it was
decided to put together a schedule, but with
slightly fewer classes for a show to be held in
September 2008.