Category: Uncategorized
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Hostas
At our July meeting we welcomed Robert Barlow of North Staffordshire Hostas sharing his knowledge of how to choose and care for these perennials, having brought some beautiful exhibition plants and other smaller ones to buy. He showed us how propagation by seed rather than division can result in some unusual results, also how leaf…
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Creepy crawlies, friend or foe?
Our speaker for June, Ken Whittaker, recalled that he was last with us exactly five years ago to the day on 11th June 2019, one of those strange coincidences. This time he gave an amusing talk on the change of approach in the gardening world to what we once considered as “pests”, a wide range…
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AGM & Spring Trip
Rhododenrdons at the end of the 2nd (wet!) tourAt our AGM on Tuesday 14th May the usual reports were received then all the committee who were standing for one more year were re-elected and members endorsed a proposed annual membership fee of £20 for the 2024/25 year. The official business was followed by a quiz…
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A spring visit to Japan
At our April meeting we welcomed Duncan Coombs standing in for Howard Drury who hopes to be with us later this year when he is fully recovered. Duncan’s very engaging talk took us on a beautifully illustrated Spring Trip to Japan away from our dreary British rain, visiting the main island Honshu with wild volcanic…
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March meeting
As our planned March speaker unfortunately had an accident two days beforehand, we were so lucky that our April speaker could come a month early! With less than 24hours’ notice, Samantha Hopes of Hopes Garden Plants gave a very professional and enthusiastic talk, introducing us to one of her favourite plants, the little-known Roscoea, a…
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The dark months; not just snowdrops!
We had a good turnout of members and guests on a miserable February night to hear Diane Clement’s excellent talk on bringing colour and perfume into our gardens in winter. It was beautifully illustrated with a wide selection of plant choices, from bulbs through perennials to shrubs, including well known varieties and the more unusual,…
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Successful Clematis Growing
Our new season’s programme started on a chilly but dry evening with a good turnout of members & guests enjoying Mark Smith’s talk. His engaging and refreshing approach blew away some of the old techniques and myths, with a simple “mean method” of care and pruning that he learnt some years ago from renowned Clematis…
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2023 Christmas social evening
At the end of another dreary wet day our members & guests enjoyed a festive evening with cheese, biscuits, pickles & mince pies and some very jolly entertainment by “Lichfield Ukulele Massive”. These four chaps had a very different fun slant on all sorts of traditional and modern music, with Christmas carols and songs to…
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Gladioli in October
An unusual subject for this time of year perhaps but Mick Poultney’s much-postponed talk finally took place, sharing his interest in growing and showing different varieties of gladioli, with tips and techniques. A bonus was that he kindly brought with him a good selection of his freshly prepared excellent quality corms and cormlets to give…
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Vegetables for small gardens
At our monthly meeting on 10th October we welcomed back Jeff Bates whose topic of “Vegetables for Small Gardens” shared useful well illustrated information on different ways of growing our own supplies as well as more quirky ones such as carrots grown at height in the frame of an old bunk bed to avoid the…