Here are the details of next year’s Group plant fairs to put in your 2024 diaries and calendars.

• The Early Spring Plant Fair will take place at Yeo Valley Organic Garden, Blagdon on Saturday 23 March 2024. Please note that this is a week earlier than our usual “last Saturday in March” date. 

• The Summer Plant Fair is moving to a new venue, Batcombe House near Shepton Mallet, on Saturday 15 June 2024.

As usual, we will be looking for volunteers to help at both events so please step forward if you can. Free entry to the event is your reward for a short period on either the gate or plant sales table. We will also need plant donations to sell at these events so please think about potting up a few surplus plants now. Evergreens and plants that perform early in the year would be especially welcome at our March fair. Perhaps you have some surplus hellebore seedlings or young plants you don’t need? These could be brought to the lecture meeting preceding the plant fair if necessary.

As many of you are aware, we have been told that the fees for hiring West Monkton Village Hall are going up considerably with immediate effect. Without the valuable funds raised at our plant fairs we will be unable to maintain our excellent lecture meeting programme without substantially increasing membership fees. This means that we really need every member to contribute to making our plant fairs a success by way of plants to sell or physical help on the day.