Meetings
Meetings are held on the second Friday of the month from September until April in St Paul's Church Hall, Boundary Road, West Bridgford, NG2 7DB at 7.30 p.m. The AGM in March begins 15 mins earlier.
An interesting and varied programme of guest speakers is arranged.
Meetings are free for members of the Nottingham Group.
Visitors are very welcome. Non-members pay £5.00 admission.
Free refreshments are served at every meeting and we encourage members to stay to meet and talk gardening with fellow members.
We hope you will all enjoy the exciting and varied series of talks we are providing from September and offer some details with which we aim to have you reaching for your diaries.
Sep 13th 2024 - Sue Clarke - 'Hardy Geraniums: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'
About this talk Sue has said, ‘I have grown and studied hardy geraniums for over 20 years and hold a National Collection of sylvaticum and renardii types, opening my garden by appointment in May or June.’
Photo of Geranium Bed at Wollaton
Oct 11th 2024 - Jack and Laura Willgoss - 'Going Higher and Higher'
This talk is about how to use tall perennials to create an immersive atmosphere. It will look at some of our favourite border giants and a different take on using them. Our group very much enjoyed our outing to Wildegoose Nursery in August 2023.
Nov 8th 2024 - Alun Whitehead - 'Coast to Coast, via gardens….by car!'
In this month’s talk Alun and Jill will explain their leisurely alternative to Wainwright's idea - a mix of gardens across the country, from Wales to Suffolk/Norfolk with their varying interests, styles and history.
http://auldenfarm.co.uk/ Photo from their website
Dec 13th 2024 - Christmas Drinks & Twigs Way - 'Plants for Pagans at Midwinter'
In a change to our normal Christmas social theme we have decided to have a speaker. Twigs comes highly recommended by several other HPS groups. Her talk will tell us how, from the blood red holly standing guard over medieval homes whilst the ivy shivers outside, to the ghostly mistletoe and the brash poinsettia, the myths and meanings of midwinter plants through folklore and images. There will be festive drinks and snacks, of course.
10th January 2025 Hilary Hutson - 'Flowers and Gardens of Barbados' Zoom talk through Tendershoots
Our Zoom talk this time will be accessed through our membership of the Tendershoots Gardening Network. We will send out details on how to connect to the talk nearer the time but we can reassure you that it will be very similar to our previous Zoom talks for which we had our own licence. Hilary will talk about the gardens of Barbados looking first at plants which you would see when travelling around Barbados - both wild flowers and cultivated plants. She will show some gardens which can be visited and says "It's a 'sit back and relax' kind of talk as I carry you away to the gardens of a tropical paradise."
14th February 2025 Timothy Walker - 'The Shrunken Garden: Oxford Botanic Garden, 400 years of Botany and Gardening'
There are many different choices when creating a new and much smaller garden. You will instantly have ideas about which plants you want to grow and the site will have an influence but do you have just herbaceous plants, just shrubs, or a mixture? Do you need a lawn or a pond? Do you care about colour or one particular group of plants such as ferns? What about growing British native species, and encouraging wildlife? This talk looks at the options when making a new garden from scratch; it is based on the creation of our tiny new garden.
14th March 2025 Justin Harrison - and AGM 'Spring Awakening' 7:15 start
Following our very successful last minute stand-in talk last November, we have invited Justin to return with his spring talk. Justin sells the plants he grows at Burton market. His enthusiasm and love of plants is infectious and you will find yourself buying plants that you never knew you needed.
11th April 2025 Simon Croson - 'Plant Hunting in Nepal'
Simon might be better known for his honey and talks about bees but he also has an interest in and a love of plants that feed them. This has led to his worldwide travels hunting for plants.