Welcome

Welcome to the Otterton Garden Club website.

 Following the Covid pandemic and lockdowns which started in 2020, many peoples habits changed and unfortunately membership of the Garden Club fell as did attendance at the monthly talks. This meant that we were not generating enough income to support the talks and the Club was having to draw on reserves. These became depleted to the extent that the committee were forced to cancel the schedule of speakers for the time being. However there was enough money left in the kitty to continue to run the two shows at least temporarily and the committee decided that these should go ahead. The good news is that the shows held so far since that decision was made have been successful both financially and in the numbers of people entering although I believe that a little bit of arm twisting was involved with some new entrants.  Hopefully those that entered enjoyed the experience and will do so again. The aim is for the shows to be friendly experiences and there is certainly no cut-throat competition. A show has been part of Otterton village tradition since 1929 and I hope that this will continue well into the future.

Shows do not run themselves and require a certain amount of organisation. This is currently undertaken by a committee consisting of only six members and we desperately need more help. We are nearly all over the age of 70 and really need some younger faces to help out. There are only two or three committee meetings per year plus a little time around the shows so the commitment is not that great. If you or someone you know would is keen to keep the shows going please contact me or any of the committee members whose details can be found elsewhere on the website.

I hope to see you at the next show, preferably as an exhibitor or if not as a visitor. Don’t forget that there is no charge to enter exhibits in the shows and that help is on hand if you need any advice on show day or even before.
Happy gardening

Eric Paver


Chairman