Committee

Sharon Bleach, Chairman
I can still remember the first flower I grew – a double marigold, when I was 4 years old. Since then I have always loved flowers and gardening.

Having now retired, I am able to indulge myself with far more time in the garden and trying to grow different things.  As we have sandy soil (or should that be pure sand) here and have always gardened on clay before this is proving far more of a challenge than I had imagined! My aim is to have sufficient flowers and shrubs to have displays indoors all year round. Not quite there yet, but there is always next year of course.

The FDHS has been a great way of meeting and socialising with lovely people in the area and learning from many of them what has worked (or not) in their gardens

Ruth Murphy – Secretary and Show Secretary
Plants are my passion! Having attained a degree in Horticulture and Garden Design, I continue to draw on that knowledge and experience to create a beautiful garden for my family here in Frensham. Having moved here in 2015, it is still very much ‘work in progress’ and I’m always provisioning to support wildlife for the good health of the garden. 

My much thumbed copy of William Robinson’s seminal work The Wild Garden is a constant source of inspiration, along with Beth Chatto and Gertrude Jekyll.

Chas Pell – Treasurer
I have enjoyed growing vegetables for our family for almost 30 years; initially squeezing it in between running a business with my wife and raising two wonderful sons. 

Moving to Frensham in 2014, we took on a sad and neglected garden as a project, so we joined the Horticultural Society. 

My focus remains growing fruit and veg for our dinner table but sometimes I have something to enter in the Autumn Show.

Karen Williams

My earliest memories in the garden are with my great grandmother picking peas, more in my mouth than in the pot! I come from a family connected with the land, my great grandfather grew Strawberries for Chivers jam.

We have florists, market gardeners and champion flower arrangers in the family. I have a passion for dahlias and I love collecting unusual varieties, growing them, propagating them and then passing them onto to friends.

Neil Mumford – Marketing

“I moved to the village in 2012, with my wife Sharon and we are already on our third house and garden! 

My main passion is growing vegetables and fruit, organically without the need, to use pesticides and I love growing new varieties.  Flower wise, I am an avid enthusiast of Clematis and currently have 16 different varieties in the garden and still collecting.

I joined the Committee, because I  have a thirst for continually  learning more about horticulture, from my own experiences and from my peers, which I can then share with future generations of gardeners.

Annabel Sommerfelt 
My inspiration for gardening started when  I visited my Granny’s garden when I was 10 years old. She was a very keen gardener and had a wonderful garden in Warwickshire. 

I have always tried to grow a range of different shrubs, roses and plants. I have been delighted to have my long thin cottage garden and I to try to grow not only flowering plants, but a few vegetables as well. I think gardening is a lovely way to relax and to give yourself some thinking time. It is also important to find time to sit and enjoy your garden!