Summer Show review, more garden visiting and a bit of sleuthing thrown in…

Summer Show, Saturday 18th July

The Summer Show on the 18th July was, as usual, the quintessential English event with villagers enjoying a sunny afternoon reviewing the exhibits and enjoying lovely teas from the Friends of Mayfield Primary School. We also had three new trophy winners this year, which is wonderful.

The Scout Hall was resplendent in its bunting and all the colour from the floral and other exhibits, and many compliments were received on the lovely scent in the Hall generated by the sweet peas and roses. Huge thanks go to Shirley Holland and her hardworking Show Team for organising the event.

Despite the challenges facing Mayfield’s gardeners in this year’s hot and dry conditions (some say it has been more like an endurance test than gardening this summer!) and lack of parking available due to the Memorial Hall’s redevelopment, we had good levels of entry in the Flower and most other categories.

Although vegetable entries were down for the above reasons, those that were able to put in entries were of good quality.

Craft, art, photography, domestic and children’s entries were all well supported, with the Craft categories in particular being of an exceptionally high standard.

Our annual Sunflower Cup is also steadily gathering momentum with Maddison Bell’s winning 8ft+ sunflower potted up to take pride of place in the Hall.

Sarah Boorman deservedly won the Banksian medal with all her entries in different categories, which must have taken her many hours to put together.

Here are the trophy winners this year.

Congratulations to all involved!

More Garden Visiting in August

Mayfield Gardens, Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd August

A heads-up for the three Mayfield Gardens opening on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd August for the National Garden Scheme. Airlie Cottage in Old Lane, off Station Road, the South Street allotments and The Oast in Fletching Street will all be open from

11 till 5.

The weather looks set to be fine and a little cooler than earlier this week which we will all enjoy!

Teas will be served at The Oast by the Friends of Mayfield Primary School. Coffee tea and cold drinks are all on offer. Savoury options like quiche & salad and cheese scones will also be available.

Despite the drought there is plenty to see and admire. The pots below are from The Oast earlier this week. Find out which plants have fared best in the drought!

Adult ticket £7. Children under 18 come in for free, dogs on a short lead welcome 🦮

Your ticket is valid both days. Where else can you enjoy a whole weekend for £7?

Because of the road closure at the top of Fletching Street for emergency gas repairs, we recommend you park in the village or at the old Fire Station in Tunbridge Wells Road TN20 6PJ where we have obtained permission for the weekend, and walk down Fletching Street to The Oast.

We look forward to seeing you all!

…and now, for a bit of Sleuthing!

Help trace a historic daffodil…

We were talking to Richard Hillson, the vegetable judge, at last week’s Show and he mentioned that Plant Heritage are keen to trace daffodils bred by eminent local Rushers Cross resident Noel Burr, in particular ‘Sussex Bonfire’, shown below. The Sussex representative of Plant Heritage, Roger Parsons, has since written to us, see below. Can you help?

If you think you might have one if the missing daffodils in your garden, please send us a photo either now or next Spring and we will forward it.

“Richard Hilson has given me your email address following his visit to judge at your show. I am involved with the search by the Sussex Group of Plant Heritage to find missing Daffodils raised by Noel Burr. National publicity has focussed on one named 'Sussex Bonfire' which is fairly distinctive. The attached picture of 'Sussex Bonfire' was taken by Noel himself.

There is a full list of missing cultivars on this web page: https://plantheritage.wordpress.com/2025/02/12/searching-for-rare-daffodils-in-sussex/. Since then, we have also lost 'Anderida', which is a white trumpet daffodil: https://daffseek.org/detail-page/?cultivar=Anderida

If any of your members think they may have any of Noel's "lost" daffodils, we would be delighted to hear from them. I am grateful for any help you can give to publicise this in your Society's newsletter. Please let me know if you need any further information. With thanks, Roger Parsons”