CLUB NEWS Chetnole & Leigh Garden Club Monday 6 September Marion Dale (Summerdale Designs) on: Plants that changed the world The Chetnole & Leigh Garden Club met in person in Chetnole Village Hall for the first time since February 2020. It was lovely to see members again. With the current background, we maintained a socially distanced event with doors and windows open and we were blessed with a lovely warm evening. We were able to welcome a “returning” speaker in Marion Dale, who had given us a virtual Zoom talk earlier in the year. A garden designer who also volunteers at Barrington Court, Marion delivered a fascinating talk on a wide variety of plants that, for better or worse, have had an impact on many aspects of lives over the centuries. Part history, part taxonomy, it was certainly thought provoking. Marion started by covering more obvious plants such as tea, coffee and rubber and how the change from use by indigenous peoples to commercial crops revolutionised trade and introduced
species into new continents, e.g. the tea plantations of India and the rubber plantations of Malaysia. More unusual purposes for plants included the use of hemp for the manufacture of Levi jeans. Levi jeans were originally made from hemp sailcloth, for goldminers in California, who would fill their pockets with gold. At the time, Levi Strauss was selling tents made of hemp canvas. Considering the fabric’s amazing durability, it proved a natural first choice for Strauss when he began making trousers as well. As well as providing clothing, hemp was used for rope making, which this area was well known for in previous centuries. Bridport’s prosperity and fame was built around the ropemaking industry, which started in the Middle Ages. Bridport rope became so famous that those who ended their days on the gallows with a noose around their necks were said to have been “stabbed” by a Bridport dagger. Dawe’s Twineworks in East Coker is the last surviving Victorian twineworks in the country and was part of this ropemaking heritage. It was a fascinating and interesting evening, and we are grateful to Marion for giving us such an unusual garden talk. Gwen Adair Our next meeting is the AGM on Monday 4 October in Chetnole Village Hall at 7.30pm. We look forward to greeting members to review the months since our last AGM in October 2019. It is also the time when the Committee is elected for the coming year(s), an opportunity for members to support their club by serving on the Committee, an opportunity to
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