The Gloucestershire Federation of Garden Societies (GFGS) may have started out promoting pigs and potatoes in the early 20th century but it’s bang up-to-date with virtual competitions and a topical centenary lecture.
Timothy Walker, former director of Oxford Botanic Garden & Harcourt Arboretum, will talk about how plants provide everything from food to medicines and what we can do to safeguard them in a talk on Saturday September 22 to mark the organisation’s 100th birthday.
Meanwhile, the Federation is also running virtual shows with member clubs competing for the best display of flowers and veg.
The exact origins of the GFGS are not clear: it may date back to 1916 but was definitely in existence in 1918 when it was called The County Pig & Potato Committee, tasked with encouraging people to keep pigs.
By 1921, there were 63 pig clubs with 3,214 pigs and 85 tons of potatoes were supplied to the clubs.
It changed its name to the Gloucestershire Home Food Production Society in 1940, finally becoming the GFGS in 1963.
The charity, which is run by volunteers, is affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society and now has a membership of 153 ranging from gardening and horticultural clubs to specialist societies. Not all of the affiliated gardening groups are in Gloucestershire as neighbouring counties don’t have similar federations; there are only around 12 in the country.
“The nearest one to us is Somerset,” says GFGS chairman Dennis Sutton. “Clubs in counties adjacent to Gloucestershire heard about us and applied to us and we want to encourage them so they join us.”
Among the services the GFGS runs for members are a list of speakers, an insurance scheme, and a Guild of Judges with training for new judges.
It also runs a sweet pea show, which is open to anyone, and this year, as part of the centenary celebrations, it’s encouraging member clubs to send in photos of the best exhibits at their annual shows for an online table-top competition.
And gardeners in the area can find their nearest club with a list of meeting dates and contact details on the website.
For many years, the GFGS has run an annual competition for schools at the Malvern Autumn Show with pupils competing for the best basket of produce. Last year, there was a ‘virtual’ contest where schools took photographs of their plots throughout the season and submitted them online along with a write-up on what they had done.
Grants of up to about £300 are also available to help with running and setting up school gardening clubs, for both primary and secondary schools.
“One school had built their raised beds but couldn’t afford to buy topsoil,” says Dennis. “We also encourage our gardening clubs to adopt their local primary school usually and to give help where that’s needed.”
The website also has advice about easy crops for schools to grow – they’ve even had thanks from a school in Vermont in the USA.
Working with youngsters is important: “Our aim is to encourage them so that we’ve still got gardeners in the next generation.”
• The GFGS Centenary Celebration Lecture, ‘What Have Plants Ever Done For Us!’ with Timothy Walker is open to anyone and will be at the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester at 2pm on Saturday September 22, 2018. Tickets are £6.
• To book and to find out more about the GFGS, visit the website.