Visitors are always welcome to join us Talks start at 7.45pm and generally last 75 minutes with time for questions
Speaker Programme for 2024-25
4th September 2024 Anna Stevens William Moris flowers & design 2nd October 2024 Mike Saalfield Growing Citrus in the UK 6th November 2024 Carolyn Foster The Winter Garden 4th December 2024 Christmas Social Sandy Primrose Frankincense Myrrh and the Incense trail January 2025 No meeting 5th February 2025 Timothy Walker Euphorbias - probably the best garden plants in the world 5th March 2025 Chris Day The Productive Cut Your Own Garden 2nd April 2025 Anne Luder Urban Oasii: Regreening England 7th May 2025 Paul Green Seasonal planting ( plants for sale ++) 4th June 2025 Andrew Mikolajski Shade Loving plants 2nd July 2025 Summer Social Venue TBC
Programme for 2023 -24
Thursday 10th August 2023 Private self drive visit to Chivel Farm, Heythrop Chipping Norton (additional cost)
6th September 2023 Paul Green Seasonal plants & planting.. ..lots of plants for sale
4th October 2023 Sandy Primrose Carnivorous plants
Tuesday 10th October 2023 Private self drive visit to Lower Bowden Manor, Pangbourne ( additional charge)
1st November 2023 Sandy Primrose A tale of two poppies
The role of the opium poppy and the field poppy in medicine and war
6th December 2023 Christmas Social Timothy Walker The 12 plants of Christmas
January 2024 No meeting
7th February 2024 Andrew Mikolski Hellebores
15th February 2024 2.00 pm Pop up Snowdrop Garden Visit Touchwood, Grimms Hill, Great Missenden The garden of Katherine, the Tea Break Gardener Additional cost £10pp Contact Jo
Monday 4th March 2024 from 9.00 am Pop-up visit to Ashwood Nurseries for private Hellebore tour and private self guided tour of John Massey's garden Further details from Caelia or Jo Additional cost £35pp
6th March 2024 Ruriko Kojima Ikebana practical demonstration
3rd April 2024 Dan Winter Evenley Wood Gardens ...ahead of a spring visit to the garden
1st May 2024 Kate Woods/Hershee (The tea break gardener) Japanese gardens & cherry blossom
Thursday 9th May 2024 Private self-drive visit to Evenley Wood gardens (additional charge)
Tuesday 4th June 2024 Private self-drive afternoon visit to Lime Close ( additional charge)
5th June Lucy Bradley Climate change and our gardens
3rd July 2024 Summer Social Venue as per the newsletter
Programme for 2022-23
6th September 2022 Private visit to Crockmore House near Henley (additional charge)
7th September 2022 Richard Harvey Gloucestershire & Cotswolds gardens
5th October 2022 Carolyn Foster Berkshire Hardy Plants Society Ornamental Grasses in the Garden
2nd November 2022 last minute change of speaker
Sandy Primrose Tim Smit & The Eden Project The story of the development of the concept of the Eden Project and how it was delivered.
7th December 2022 Katherine Woods - The Tea Break Gardener Snowdrops Galanthophilia and what all the fuss is about Festive refreshments will be served
January 2023 No meeting
1st February 2023 Chris Day Taming the Indoor Jungle Everything you need to know about growing foliage and flowering houseplants successfully, plus a look at orchid growing and how house plants can improve your health!
1st March 2023 Graham Austin -HomeFarm Plants Elatum Delphiniums Graham will tell us growing ( + more) about specialist Elatum Delphinium which are very tough hardy perennials that can withstand very cold winter temperatures.
Thursday 23rd March 2023 Spring visit to St Timothee's garden near Maidenhead Talk - The Joy of Spring Bulbs (Additional charge)
5th April 2023 Andrew Babicz Seasonal Container Gardening In this talk you will learn what it takes to produce a truly beautiful container, looking at the various types of container available with their advantages and disadvantages, the composts you can use, how and when to feed and also the maintenance and aftercare and look at the type of vegetables you can grow in containers.
3rd May 2023 Marina Christopher Umbellifers and attracting pollinators and beneficial insects by colour, shape and aroma Practical demonstration; plants, hand tools and other sundries for sale
7th June 2023 Graham Talbot Fruit for small gardens
13th June 2023 Private afternoon visit to Hand Post near Reading ( additional charge)
27th June 2023 Afternoon visit to Caroline Foster's garden Wembury, near Maidenhead (Additional charge)
5th July 2023 Summer social Venue as per the newsletter
1st September 2021 Sandy Primrose Daisies, Dahlias and Dendranthemas An introduction to the Aster family and their roles in agriculture and medicine.
8th September 2021 14.00 Private visit to The Grange, Chalgrove (additional charge in aid of NGS)
6th October 2021 Billy Stott + plant sales Travels of a horticultural student Billy recounts his tales for the horticultural trade from student to nursery owner
3rd November 2021 Victoria Longue The Highs & Lows of growing vegetables
1st December 2021 Chris Day The all-new A-Z Of Fool-Proof Gardening A seasonal gallop through 26 letters to get the best from your garden and your plants with plants and props along the way
January 2022 No meeting
2nd February 2022 Timothy Walker The Subtle Art and Exact Science of Pruning
2nd March 2022 Sandy Primrose The Language of Flowers How botanists communicate about plants (Latin names and what they mean), how plants communicate with pollinators (scent and colour) & more
6th April 2022 Andrew Halstead RHS Principal Entomologist (retired) Beneficial Insects in the Garden
4th May 2022 Pamela Holt The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew An illustrated talk through the seasons covering its origins and history
1st June 2022 Change to published event Carolyn Foster Berkshire Hardy Plants Society Gardens to visit near and far
30th June 2022 Private visit & talk to St Timothee's garden in Pinkneys Green (additional charge in aid of NGS)
6th July 2022 Summer Social By kind invitation of Jane Rooksby
24th August 2022 Private visit to Folly Farm near Reading (additional charge in aid of Perennial)
Programme for 2020-21 Due to Covid we have no speaker meetings in 2020-21 but have arranged a number of private visits for members
Thursday 6th August 2020 18.00 Talk & visit to Stott’s Nursery, Stokenchurch
Thursday 20th August 2020 14.00 Visit to Cedar House, Wendover (additional charge in aid of NGS)
Saturday 10th October 2020 Propagation workshop at Stott's Nursery (additional charge )
Thursday 15th October 2020 14.00 Visit to Acer Corner Wendover (additional charge in aid of NGS) Thursday 29th October 2020 Walk & Talk at St Timothy Maidenhead (book via NGS website)
Wednesday 23rd June 2021 14.00 Visit to Foxington, Britwell Salome Courtesy of Mary Roadnight (additional charge in aid of NGS)
Wednesday 7th July 2021 18.30 Summer Social Jo Dudley’s garden
Wednesday 21st July 2021 14.30 Visit to Ewelme estate courtesy of the late Michael Colston's family (additional charge)
4th September 2019 Carole Petipher Monet’s garden at Giverney. His passion for gardening and art
2nd October 2019 Paul Barney of Edulis Plants In Search of Unusual Edibles. Paul’s search for new edible plants to grow focusing on the Indian sub-continent and some of the strange but useful plants he found
6th November 2019 Brian Fisher Making the Best Use of a Greenhouse, Cloches and Frames
4th December 2019 Christmas Social Howard Drury Making Autumn last until Christmas based on John Massey’s garden at Ashwood
January 2020 No meeting
5th February 2020 Stephen Cotton Green Spain North and South - flowers and habitats in the Picos De Europa and the Sierra de Grazalema
4th March 2020 Roger Askew talking about Savill Gardens