You know that summer has arrived in Farnham when the weekends resound to the whine of hedge trimmers, chainsaws, lawn-mowers, lawn-strimmers, high pressure washers and the odd leaf blower. Small scale horticulture is being carried out with varying degrees of enthusiasm in the gardens of this small town – from the devotional to the reluctant. Fighting to be heard above the aforementioned sounds of suburbia are the increasingly popular chickens that cluck and cackle in many back gardens. The Surrey Hills are fast becoming Omelette Valley.
Meanwhile down at Farnham Town Council things are hotting up for the ‘Farnham in Bloom' , the title of our entry in the ‘South and South East in Bloom’ Competition. Schools, voluntary conservation groups, businesses, as well as private gardens, take part in this annual community partnership project. July and August are the months when the judging takes place for the various competitions; ‘the tallest sunflower’, ‘the best strawberries in a boot’, ‘the finest upside down tomatoes’ and ‘the very best scarecrow’ (if only I could stand still for more than 10 minutes I might have been in with a chance) are a few being entered this summer.
2014 is a special year for Farnham as it has been selected to take part and represent the South East in the ‘Britain in Bloom’ UK Finals. One way of marking Farnham’s entry into this national competition is the encouragement given to residents to grow hops on allotments and around the town. I mentioned hop growing in last month’s Post – its fast becoming this area’s favourite plant.
Good luck to everyone entering this year’s competition – I know I won’t be winning anything, the ‘Happiest Slug in the South East’ is not one of the categories. Perhaps next year?
Eleanor Thomas aka KnitNell is a resident of Farnham. For more of her musings and illustrations do pop over to her regular blog at www.knitnell.com
