Summer Show Report 2026

We held our Summer Show on Saturday 4th July in the Victory Room Bucklebury. Given the recent heatwaves it was a relief that the temperature was only 26 degrees!

We expected entries to be down as the heat has made growing fruit, veg and flowers incredibly difficult, but the number of entries was up on last year with 224. There were 27 entrants and it was great to see several new faces.

Our fruit, vegetables and flower judge, Graham Chapman, commented on how high the standard was, especially with such challenging growing conditions. He said the vegetables were the best display he had seen compared to other shows he had recently judged. The class with the highest number of entries was a collection of herbs, with nine entries.

There were five entries to the sweet pea class, and whilst the stem length was significantly shorter than normal and the number of blooms less, they still smelt wonderful. Sweet peas hate hot weather so congratulations to those growers for manging an entry at all. The rose classes were very good with fifteen entries, the overall winner was Alan Renaut. The herbaceous perennials and flowering shrubs both had some beautiful entries. Unsurprisingly there were no entries to the hanging basket class, beaten this year by the weather.

The entries to the fruit classes were down on last year, strawberries and raspberries the main victims of the heat. The lemons and blueberries looked fantastic though. The most popular class was a collection of herbs, with nine entries. The winner for the highest points in the fruit classes was Yvonne Sonsino.

The flower arrangements had a good number of entries, and the judge, Barbara Hunt, mentioned the excellent condition of the flowers and foliage that was used. The overall winner was, appropriately, the Independence Day exhibit by Derek Matthews.

The homecraft table was groaning under the weight of cakes, biscuits, bread, jams and jellies. Our judge, Brenda Seward, was very impressed with the standard overall but particularly the bread entries. Congratulations to Prue Matchwick the overall winner.

The Photography classes were judged by Alan Woolfenden and Sue Lloyd from Thatcham Photographic Club. All the classes were well supported and the helpful comments written on each entry by Alan and Sue, enable us all to improve.

Whilst the number of entries to the Children’s Classes were very low, there were some excellent exhibits. Congratulations to Bella Copas, Eve Tait, Bertie Tait and Claudia Bunnett who each won a cup.

The full list of cup winners is below plus photos from the show.

Visitors arrived at 2pm and as is now the tradition, enjoyed a cream tea. Entry to the show is free and the cream tea is just £3.50, making it a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

To support inexperienced and new exhibitors we will be holding exhibiting workshops a couple of weeks before each show in 2027. Details will be in next year’s schedule and on the website.

Thank you to everybody who supported the show, whether you exhibited, visited or worked behind the scenes, it is so appreciated.

The next few weeks may remain challenging for growing, but we’re all in the same boat! Please support our Autumn Show on Saturday 5th September, even if your entries aren’t quite up to your usual standard.

Kind regards

Jane West

Show Secretary