We hope to have all our 2022 talks in Vision Hall, Christ Church starting at 8pm but due to the pandemic they might have to be on Zoom or a combination of both. This will involve the presenter being online and the audience either online or in the hall with a moderator. If you are not currently receiving emails from us please contact [email protected]. There is no fee for online talks, but £2 for talks at Vision Hall and this includes tea or coffee and biscuits. There is no fee for the AGM and you get free wine and nibbles!
Wednesday 23 March 2022 Bulbs in a Royal Garden (Highgrove) by George Lockwood Highgrove is one of the best gardens in the south of England and is maintained purely organically. No chemicals are used and the soil is rich in organic matter which provides the ideal growing conditions for all plants. The talk will focus on bulbs and George will explain what to look for when buying them, how and when to plant them, what aspect and soil they need as well as how to maintain them after they have flowered so that they flower the following year. He will also pass on many tips he has amassed through years of organic gardening. George learnt his trade many years ago at Capel Manor Horticultural College in Enfield where, pre-Covid, he gave talks to the public. He also gives talks to gardening clubs/societies, U3A groups, the WI, the RSPB, the Women’s Guild, jazz clubs, Conservative clubs, and, when permitted, residential homes. He is by trade an organic gardener, speaker, gardening consultant, plantsman, and judge, and just recently did a slot on national radio. Wednesday 18 May 2022 Easy Ways to Better Gardening by Adam Pasco When it comes to creating a beautiful garden it’s often the hard work or lack of time that gets in our way. We need easy ideas that deliver quick results and foolproof plants that flourish rather than flounder and fail! Everyone wants to create a garden full of flowers, fragrance, fruits, and flavour, and in his inspiring talk on ‘Easy Ways to Better Gardening’ Adam Pasco shares a wealth of ideas gained from over 40 years as a qualified horticulturist and leading gardening journalist, |
Adam has worked with a host of ‘Gardening Greats’ from BBC TV and radio, from Geoff Hamilton to Alan Titchmarsh, Geoffrey Smith to Peter Seabrook, plus many presenters from Gardeners’ World and Gardeners’ Question Time and has absorbed much of their wisdom. He is also an accomplished gardening journalist.
Packed with ideas and advice, Adam recommends his favourite varieties of flowers, shrubs, perennials, crops and herbs, with practical tips that will save you time, money and effort. He’ll show you easy ways to grow great plants, beat weeds and pests, and create a garden you’ll be proud of. Adam and his wife Jayne live in Peterborough, where they enjoy growing and cooking their own crops, fruits, and herbs. In addition to gardening, his other interests include playing guitar, photography, and music. He is also a member of the Palmerston Ukulele Band. Wednesday 20 July 2022 Towards More Sustainable Gardening by Chris Thorne Chris Thorne was Retail Manager at Aylett Nurseries from 2000 and for 22 years prior to that was manager of a small garden centre in south Cambridgeshire. Both jobs have supplied him with a vast knowledge of every aspect of horticulture. For 15 years he wrote a weekly gardening column in a local newspaper and for four years he was involved with Radio Cambridgeshire and broadcaster Richard Spendlove as his gardening expert. At Ayletts he also oversaw staff training, passing on his expertise. For the last two years, as retirement approaches, he has been working just three days a week, mostly talking to customers about his favourite subject, sustainable gardening. So, while the topic is ‘Towards More Sustainable Gardening’ club members can lead him up any garden path they like! Wednesday 23 November 2022 (AGM) To be confirmed |
2021 talks
The first talk will be online and details of how to gain access will be sent out nearer the time by email. Contact [email protected] if you would like to be added to our email list. The other talks will either be online or at Vision Hall, Christ Church, Watling Street, Radlett, starting at 8pm. No fee online but £2 at Vision Hall which includes tea or coffee and biscuits. No fee for the AGM and you get free wine!
Wednesday, 24 March 2021 Horticulture – Healing Therapy for Mind, Body & Soul by Anne Luder This talk shows us how gardening has been used as therapy since the time of the pyramids and Healing Therapy is now a recognised benefit. In some countries it is available on prescription. Anne talks about all sorts of HT as well as her experiences working in this field for over 20 years. At the beginning of Anne’s horticultural career she spent four years in charge of propagation at a nursery in Essex where many of the staff had learning disabilities. She retired as a lecturer at Capel Manor College where she specialised in, and expanded the provision of, therapeutic horticulture for people with severe physical disabilities. She concurrently worked as a designer and delivers talks in her spare time. Wednesday, 16 June 2021 Aphids (why you can’t kill all of the aphids all of the time…) by Colin Richards This fascinating talk covers every aspect of the aphid lifecycle, including their predators and what we should and shouldn’t be doing to control them. The information is based on the latest research by the Rothamsted Institute at Harpenden and ends with some hints for gardeners on aphid control. After studying economics at university, Colin made his career in computing (no connection at all with his studies) and worked for BT and Rank Xerox. Once retired he joined Watford & District U3A, where he jointly ran the Art Appreciation Group. He has an eclectic range of other interests such as science, healthcare, local history and marionettes. As well as other talks he is a volunteer speaker for Diabetes UK, a subject close to his heart, although he is not diabetic. |
Wednesday, 28 July 2021
Right Plant Right Place by Caroline Broome This popular and informative presentation, with plenty of photos, strips away the mysteries surrounding successful plant placement. Most of the plants will be familiar to all and readily available from garden centres and concentrates on those awkward areas found in most of gardens Caroline has been gardening for more than 30 years and has developed her East Finchley garden into a “personal paradise” which won the ‘Best Small Back Garden’ Trophy in the London Gardens Society Awards three years running. She and her husband also invite the public to visit each year in aid of charity. Caroline is Chairperson of Hampstead Garden Suburb Horticultural Society and was previously an organiser for the National Garden Scheme. She also writes articles for Garden News and her local paper, Suburb News. Their garden features a prairie themed roof deck above the Beach Hut summerhouse and an exotic front garden with ornamental grasses adorning hanging buckets and a mini living wall. Wednesday, 24 November 2021 Following the AGM there will be a talk Flora & Fauna of Cuba and Central America given by the Chairman, Peter Hordern Peter and his wife, Barbara, travelled to Cuba and seven Central American countries early in 2020 and the talk will not only be about the Flora and Fauna of those countries but of the ups and downs of their rather independent form of travel. Honduras and El Salvador are among the most dangerous countries in the world but they fortunately got through them in one piece. The talk will be accompanied by lots of photos. |