-1-

PRESIDENT – Anne Harrison, Kew Dip. Hort

Past Presidents: Mr. D.M. Ballard, NDH; Mr. T. Deans, NDH;

Mr. S.M. Davies, M.Hort. (RHS), DHE, Cert.Ed., MIHort.;

Dr. Susan V. Sherwood, BSc, PhD

This RHS certificate was presented to June Wakeley on 13th June 1978, in testimony

of her having passed the General Examination in Horticulture, at Reaseheath College.

-2-

Not long afterwards, The Horticultural Enthusiasts’ Association was formed and their inaugural Day Course was held at Reaseheath on Friday 1st December 1978.

How it all began …..

Tom Deans, ex-tutor Reaseheath College

“I well remember that two of us on the staff suggested to David Ballard that we could start a course for the

RHS General Examination, (a long-gone certificate!!). There were always a number of keen amateur

gardeners who visited the College on Open Days and Special Gardens Open evenings in the 1970s.

The timing of each day had to coincide with school runs!! I suspect the children of those years are now

slightly older! Anyway, it all worked well.

The course was primarily theory but we knew that a strong practical element was necessary to engage the

candidates. It was designed as a course of TWO YEAR duration.

At the end of the second year of the first cohort they did not want to leave so we designed another year of

topics!! Again, so successful that they refused to go away at the end!!

Year FOUR was then set up with the members actually suggesting topics. Again it worked well but at the end

we threatened to burn down the room to get the folk out! Hence some the first course members devised

The Horticultural Enthusiasts’ Association! The rest is history.

You may note that we stopped calling the participants of the courses ‘Amateur Gardeners’ because they

were always so professional in the practicals; hence they are now designated ‘Leisure Gardeners’!

Interesting to note that now many professional gardeners and would-be professionals are taking the

courses!

I am looking forward to the June 1 Study Day - I feel fairly certain that I shall be there to meet many friends

of earlier years.”

Tom Deans, ex-tutor Reaseheath College

-3-

The first logo of The Horticultural Enthusiasts’ Association, drawn by THEA member, Frank Randall

Forty years. It is difficult to imagine that our association of horticultural enthusiasts has been around for

forty years. But it is true what Tom Deans says: it was difficult to leave Reaseheath at the end of a course but

joining the Horticultural Enthusiasts’ Association softened the blow. At least you could continue to learn

about plants and horticulture and you would still be with friends and colleagues from your days at college.

Add in the fact that you would meet many new friends with the same interests as you and you can

understand why the association has survived successfully for so many years.

The following pages have been chosen from our Image Archive to reflect our activities over the years.

Unfortunately they do not print with perfect clarity but we hope they trigger some memories of past times.

Photographs of members in the early days are few because to quote Tom again: “In these days we took

photos of plants, not people!”

The Early Years

Horticulture at Reaseheath - THEA 1983 THEA 1983

-4-

THEA 1983 THEA 1983

1996/97 Ernest Potter with fellow students 2000 Annetta and Keith Troth

1997 David Ballard, former President Thea Miles

Plant Sales at Member’s homes

-5-

Plant Sale at Marion Bonds’ home at Poolehill Cottage

1997 Plant Sale, Howey Croft, Frodsham, Joan Lowe’s home

Visits to Members Gardens

-6-

Early visit by Leisure Gardeners to Maureen Thomas’ Mayfield

Julie Clarke in Marion Bond’s Garden 1996 At Elizabeth Frood’s Garden, Churton

1996 Members at Elizabeth Frood’s Garden, Churton 2014 Members at Chris Everett’s Wood End Cottage

Outings with THEA

-7-

1996 Arley Hall with Head Gardener Paul Cooke 1996 Arley Hall

1996 Arley Hall 1996 Arley Hall

1997, Marion Bond, Margarete Brown at The Dingle 1997 at The Dingle, Welshpool

1997 Pam Dodd, Pauline & Edwin Richards 1997 Joan Davidson at The Dingle, Welshpool

-8-

2000, Pam Dodds, Pauline Richards, Gill Shone 2004 Alfred Bent, Joan Lowe, Gill Shone at Eastgrove

2005 Holker Hall 2005 members at The Dingle, Welshpool

2008 Hergest Croft 2010 John Massey’s private Garden at Ashwoods

2011 Holehird 2011 Holehird

-9-

2011 The Laskett 2012 Harlow Carr

2012 with Bleddyn Wynn-Jones at Crûg Farm Nursery 2012 Plas Cadnant, Anglesey

2013 The Dingle Welshpool 2013 Powis Castle

2013 Newby Hall 2013 Newby Hall – learning from the Head Gardener

-10-

2014 Members at Breezy Knees, York 2014 George Smith’s Florist’s Garden, York

2015 Combermere Abbey nr Whitchurch 2015 David Austin Roses, Albrighton

2016 Visiting the New Glasshouse at Dorothy Clive 2016 Trentham Gardens

-11-

2017 Head Gardener Barry Grain at Cholmondeley Castle 2017 With Head Gardener Gordon Baillie at Arley Hall

2017 A Visit to Plantagogo near Crewe

Study Days at Reaseheath

2009 Satisfactory plant purchases at a Study Day 2013 Plant Sale at a Study Day

October 2011 – Harry Delaney – Science & Horticulture October 2016 – Derek Jones - Potatoes

-12-

February 2017 Margaret Thrower – The Thrower Family October 2017 – Margaret Robinson – Vegetables for

Every Taste

Day Course February 2017

Anniversaries

2003 Silver Jubilee Celebration – 25 years of THEA at Wollerton Old Hall

-13-

Julia Clarke, Sue Sexton Lesley Crank

Michelle Davies, Maurenn Thomas, Blanche Jones,

Meryll Robinson

Tim Enfield, Gill Shone, Pan Dodd

-14-

2003 Wollerton Old Hall Blanche Jones at Wollerton Old Hall

2013 35 Year Anniversary at Abbeywood Gardens, Delamere

Marion Hedge, Marion Bond, Chris Everett, Joan Douglas Sue Sherwood and Freyda Taylor

-15-

Nina Garratt, Dot Chapman, Teresa Eliot Anne Harrison, President and Tim Enfield, Chairman

THEA Newsletter

Images for this Newsletter have been provided by June Wakeley, Di Houlbrooke, Marion Bond, Chris Arnold,

Joan Lowe, Freyda Taylor. Thank you all.

Freyda Taylor, Editor

Dates for your Diary Friday, 26th October 2018 Reaseheath Study Day. Speakers will be announced in the Autumn 2018 Newsletter, due out in late September 2018.