Aston Pottery Visit
This was the last visit in the Club’s programme for 2016 and was very special in its own way.
The Aston Pottery near Bampton is flanked on two sides by long borders ablaze with the autumn colour of dahlias, sunflowers, lobelias, salvias, cannas, sedums and a host of other perennials and annuals.
The club was given a highly entertaining presentation and tour by the owner, Stephen Baughan. Stephen explained that the gardens were planted not in their own right but as a means of bringing more customers to the shop.
This was gardening on an industrial scale, using diggers, tractors and tons of mushroom compost, but no full-time gardeners. Beds were prepared over a two year period before a single plant was inserted, resulting in phenomenal growth and a riot of colour. Stephen was full of advice for those gardening on a more modest scale, such as growing annual annuals from trays of plugs and planting out small after only 4 – 5 weeks. And Stephen seemed to have plenty of ideas for yet more future developments to encourage us to return. Tea and cake followed in the shop.
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