GARDENING CLUB: Another busy month for the club. On June 11, 19 members enjoyed an evening visit to Mill Dene, the Blockley garden of a converted mill, with millstream running through its centre. At the monthly meeting, entomologist, Roger Umpelby, gave a talk on good and bad garden bugs and showed slides identifying them, some in magnification looked like monsters. The bad guys lay eggs, pupate and feed on plants, causing damage, disease and destruction, and the good guys do that to the attackers. Insects can overwinter as adults or lay eggs to hatch early in spring. Aphids feed by a hypodermic like tube and attack leaves, bark and roots. There are suckers and flies, scales and leafhoppers, midge pests, leaf miners, beetles, weevils, spider mites, caterpillars, moths, thripps and soil pests. Thank goodness there is some help to balance this multitude. Good predators include ladybirds, lacewings, beetles and spiders as well as wasps and bees, which feed on insects in early summer. Increasingly, growers can purchase predatory and parasitic bugs from biocontrol firms to overcome infestations of aphids, spider mite, scales and thripp. Nemesis worms can be used for vine weevil and nemaslug for slugs. Janet Edwards thanked Roger for his talk and slides and was glad that the second half concentrated on the good guys. Dorothy Blount won the rose competition. Chairman, Ann Wall, then gave advanced notice of classes for the annual show so members could begin to prepare their entries for September 1. The garden party on Friday, June 22 was held in the chairman's lovely garden on a sunny, still evening and much enjoyed by 66 members. Wine and a cheese buffet was served followed by lashings of home made desserts.

MICKLETON SOCIETY: The weather may not have blessed us but the wet conditions in the evening did not discourage those attending the annual garden party at the chairman's house. Some 65 members enjoyed themselves - and superb food. Thanks for the fine catering are due to Marion Franklin and her helpers. We are grateful to Peggy and John Atherton for nobly making their house available for the evening, and to Ena Thompson for volunteering to ferry guests on the Hedgehog Bus. Gratifyingly, the raffle produced £127 for charity.