Latest News
Our Trading Hut reopened on Saturday 8th February 2025!
Our next event is our Plant Sale this Saturday at the Trading Hut.
About Us
Open to gardeners of all abilities, we are a small friendly garden club with members in Bricket Wood, Chiswell Green, Park Street, St Albans and other surrounding areas. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just getting started, our club is the perfect place to learn, share and grow together!
Founded over 100 years ago, St Stephen's Gardening Club has been bringing garden lovers together for decades. Our mission is simple: to share knowledge, inspire creativity and enjoy the beauty of nature. Gardening isn't just about plants - it's about people too!
To find out how to get involved, check out our Membership page.
Our History
be held in The Park (Park Street Rec) on Thursday 11 August 1927. It was opened by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Francis Edward Freemantle MP and admission was one shilling. The show featured trade exhibits, side shows, a motor cycle football match courtesy of Watford Motorcycle Club and dancing in the marquee in the evening with the Dr Barnardo's band. This was clearly a major social event of the time.
The St Stephen's Gardening Club (or the St Stephen's Horticultural Society, as it was originally known), is over 100 years old. The first evidence of its existence is a poster advertising the 5th Annual Show to
However, this was not the earliest record of horticultural shows in the Parish. A show was held in 1887 to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee, where 198 prizes were awarded. Entries were open to tradesmen, labourers and cottagers - nurserymen and professional gardeners were excluded. Show categories were not dissimilar to those of today, but with an added emphasis on wild flowers.
When it came to flower arranging there were two categories – an arrangement of hot house or garden flowers for the centre of a dinner table, and an arrangement of flowers for the dinner table by domestic servants. How times change!
There is a gap in our history up to and after the second world war. We know that pre-war membership was around 2000 and after the war 1500.
We pick things up again in 1966 when the society seemed to be in a poor state. A new committee was formed and two trading huts were opened: one in Mr Teagues orchard in Park Street Lane and one in the URC car park in West Riding. The Bricket Wood trading hut moved to the Social Club car park where it remained for 10 years before moving again to its current site in Drop Lane. The Park Street Lane trading hut was closed in 1979.
During the late 1990’s and early 2000’s the society had its ups and downs. Membership declined to an all time low of about 150 (but has now recovered somewhat). The society was renamed the St Stephen's Gardening Club to try to improve its public appeal.
We have suffered two arson attacks and several break-ins at the Trading Hut, but thanks to our members we still continue with the Annual Show started all those years ago and enjoy over 250 entries each year. It is no longer the grand event it was in prior years but we like to think that we put on a fine show in its new venue at Greenwood Park - and it's free!
Thanks to the support of our members and dedicated volunteers, our club has existed/survived/flourished for 100 years and hopefully can carry on for many more. To help us continue this journey, new members are always welcome.
To find out how to get involved, check out our Membership page.