HI


VALLEY GARDENING A STUNNING col­


lection o f original watercolours, pastels and oil.paintings are set to b e : ^ on show during the Spring Bank Holiday


weekend. Members ofthe SawleyArt Group will be showcasing their talents during a special tliree-day display featuring more than a hundred paintings. The event, which is in its seventh year, will present an impressive ■ collection o f paintings and hand­ made greetings cards too. Sawley Art Group was founded 10 years ago by two Ribble Valley artists who wanted to meet, paint and exchange knowl­ edge and ideas about art and fur­ ther their expertise.


talents and taking instruction :. from visiting professional artists,


grange from.50 to over 90 years. The members are mostly water- colourists but acrylics, pastels . and oils also feature.


free parking. -The village hall was refurbished to a high standard two years ago and there is space to show origi­ nal framed paintings by the members, paintings in mounts only and hand-painted greetings


cards. The original paintings on sale, which range from as little as £10 to £150 and come in different shapes and sizes, depict a great selection of landscapes, seascapes, wildlife, flowers, summer and winter scenes and so on.


To celebrate their work, the . annual exhibition will be held from Saturday, May 23rd to Bank Holiday Monday, May ^ 25th at the Village Hall in : Sawley, where the meetings nor­ mally take place. It will be open


; from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and admission is free as well as


After a modest beginning, the : non-profit making organisation has gone from strength-to- strength and now boasts 30 members - both men and women. The members, who enjoy meet­ ing twice a month to pursue their


And i f you fancy a bite to eat, tea and coffee with delicious home-made cakes will also be available at the indoor cafe. One of the members, Mrs Madeleine Greenbank promises another great weekend. She said: “Our members enjoy chatting to the visitors and it is gratifying to see people returning year after year to view and buy our work. “Each member submits up to


four paintings displayed on screens and a number o f paint­ ings in mounts only to be framed as the buyer wishes. The hand- painted greetings cards are very popular and every one o f them is unique. “During the tliree-day exhibition, original works of art by members of the group will be on display. The art group will take no com­ mission, the sale o f the paintings will go towards the artists them­ selves.” She added: “We want people to come and enjoy looking at our paintings, meet the artists and have an enjoyable experience. The paintings are reasonably priced and a new piece of art­ work will not cost them a for­ tune.”


k v


cru garden


by Hannah Stephenson


Flower Show, with the number of main show gardens being reduced from a bumper crop of 22 last year to 13 this year. However, award-winning


T


garden designer, Sarah Eberle, has created three fun credit crunch gardens at short notice (costing £5,000 each), to fill the space Fleming's left when.it withdrew its show garden due to the bush fires in Australia in February. Money-saving visitors


5 The Sawley Art Group f! \


SEVENTH SPRING ART EXHIBITION AT SAWLEY VILLAGE HALL, ■ SAWLEY, NR GLITHEROE


Saturday 23rd May, Suriday 24th May & Monday 25th May - , ‘ Open 10am - 4pm


FREE ADMISSION FREE-PARKING REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE I -i V, 10 the Valley - ' 1 ' 'h


Original works of art by members of,the group in all mediums. - Framed or in mounts and greetings cards by our own artists


. ’ ■ 'j h ’ ' “ r


should be inspired by Sarah's creations. The Overdrawn Artist's Garden, The Off- Shore Garden and The ' Banker's Garden, which show how to create entertaining, environmentally responsible gardens on a low budget. The gardens feature hard


materials, furniture and other items made from things found at the local scrapyard, while environmental messages include water harvesting and urban drainage. Sarah, who runs her own


business from Hampshire, says there are many things gardeners can do to save money during the credit crunch.


he credit crunch has affected some sponsors of this year's Chelsea


swap with friends if you have to lift and divide clumps of different plants." When choosing plants, she


says anything slow-growing and evergreen is going to be more expensive. "Choose plants which are


i I I I I i "


naturally prolific as they may grow guickly and self seed." She recommends grasses


"Use your imagination and


think outside the box as to how you could use materials, making your garden more personalised," she suggests. "People can stamp their


own personality on their garden. It's much better to have something charming and slightly more informal than trying to do something that the professional landscaper would do." For those who want a


selection of new plants but don't want to have to pay a lot for them, Sarah advises hosting a garden party. "Invite your friends around


and ask them to bring plants instead of wine. You can always drink elderflower cordial instead. "Alternatively, visit your


local summer fete, which always has a plant stall and


which can be grouped together and can give you real value for money. They'll also look fantastic in small urban gardens. "You can make whole


gardens out of grasses and cut different lengths into patterns," Sarah says. "Draw a couple of ground


lines, mow them and come up with something really interesting." If you are after colour, try


seeded flower mixes in urban situations, she advises. "Get a load of seed and


scatter it for a wonderful blanket of colours. Sow seeds of annuals, which you can change each year, and will give a much more natural effect than bedding plants." Don't overspend on trying


to achieve a particular look, like over-patterning paving by giving it a brick edge, which


• may be unnecessary. "Although details are


important, overall it is the guality of the space which is


Best of the bunch - dwarf phlox


THESE pretty low-growing plants provide rockeries and scree beds with plenty of colour at this time of year in many shades of pink, blue and white, tumbling over walls or creating flat carpets of flowers. They are easy to grow and will last a few


years if given a little TLC. The most popular is the carpeting P. subulate (moss phlox).


which grows to just Sin (9cm) and spreads around 45cm (1.5ft), flowering in April and


May. Good named varieties include G.F. Wilson,


which is pale purple, Apple Blossom, a pink variety and Temiscaming, a red type. Phlox thrives in any weli-drained, moisture- retentive soil in full sun.


Chris Beardshaw has created blueprints for the ideal credit crunch garden (S)


paramount and that comes from personality, comfort and feeling appropriate to the user."


There are other techniques


you can use to save money. Award-winning horticultualist and TV gardener Chris Beardshaw says limit yourself to one new plant each month. "That way you will have


something new to admire and, if you choose one for each month of the year, you can be sure that your garden will have year-long interest," he says. "Take advantage of any


multi-purchase offers, as planting in blocks makes a bold impact and fills an area quickly and cheaply." Chris, who has teamed up ■


with Grant's Whisky to create blueprints for the perfect credit crunch garden (www.grantswhisky.com/garde nafterhours), recommends people shop at nurseries rather than supermarket-


Spinach.,, good enough to eat!


SPINACH is one of those vegetables that years ago picked up a bad reputation for being bitter, overcooked and generally disliked by children. However, in recent years, as spinach has been wilted rather then boiled to death, or eaten raw in salads, its image has


undergone a facelift. The earliest sowings of spinach should now be ready for cutting, although it is worth sowing more seed throughout


May for a continuous crop. Pick leaves when they are 5-IOcm for eating raw in salads,


but let them grow bigger if you want them for cooking. If you have sown spinach in seed drills during March or April,


you will need to water it in June or July. Give the soil a good soaking once a week to stop it bolting, and then keep picking


over it regularly.


style garden centres. "Often there is more


variety or more unusual plants on offer and you have less lion-gardening items to distract you into spending more money. "Don't fool yourself into


thinking you need every gardening gadget under the sun. Stick to the basics like a good spade and fork, a decent pair of secateurs and a knife and limit everything else as you can often get by just as well without it."


the Valley 11


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