Richard is the editor of Beecraft and keeps around 30 of his own hives and is the beekeeper at Westonbirt where he teaches beekeeping courses. His lively and informative talk made us think about the summer ahead and the overwintering queen bees that wake mid February to establish a nest. A new colony begins and […]
The December meeting was a talk from Chris Bird who is a lecturer at Sparsholt College.Invasive Species was the theme of his informative talk which explained that new invasive species have been introduced to the UK over a long period of time, ground elder has been here since Henry V111. Fly tipping garden waste has […]
The talk in November was by Annabelle Padwick on Growing for Health and Well-being. Annabelle had a difficult time at school as she was bullied and then faced mental health issues as a teenager and young woman. Her salvation aged 27 came in the form of an overgrown allotment which she transformed into a productive […]
Our October Zoom meeting was presented by Kelvin Mason. His talk Composting and Recycling was very helpful to those who do make compost and those who are interested to try. The benefits are: Saves money on fertiliser Reduces pollution Can be self sufficient in organic matter Good soil improver Good garden husbandry Containers Pallets […]
Our September Zoom talk by Darren Lerigo was titled Clippings, Pruning and Cuttings in your Garden. Darren has given us a previous talk and his enthusiastic approach makes for a very interesting evening. His main interest is topiary and he had some lovely slides giving examples of his work. All that is needed are a […]
Our July Zoom meeting was hosted by Richard Barnes who is a professional garden photographer, writer and speaker on horticultural and garden design. His photographs were stunning and he encouraged amateur photographers to ‘think outside the box’ whether using expensive equipment or simply a phone camera. Below are some of his suggestions for better pictures: […]
Our June Zoom meeting was Cacti and Succulents, an Introduction, presented by Ian Thwaites who is an award winning professional plant and garden photographer and also Chairman of the British Cacti and Succulent Society. His beautiful photos were certainly an inspiration to anyone thinking of growing cacti which are proving very popular at the […]
Our May Zoom talk was by Darren Lerigo from Modern Mint. Darren is a gardener and topiary artist dedicated to managing gardens in an environmentally friendly way, encouraging bees and other wildlife. His lively talk entitled What Should I Do With This Space asked us to consider what we really wanted from our gardens. Our […]
Our April Zoom meeting was a talk by Leslie Chamberlain on The Life and Gardens of Gertrude Jekyll. Gertrude was born in 1843 into a wealthy family and spent her youth living at Bramley House in Surrey. Later she enrolled at the South Kensington School of Art and worked as a painter and watercolourist. She […]
The March talk on Zoom which preceded the AGM was given by Ray Broughton who is the Chairman of our garden club and always a popular and amusing speaker. His talk on Landscaping covered many aspects of the subject and recommended feature trees and shrubs included Acer griseum with its lovely peeling bark and Prunus […]
