Aberglasney

Farmyard Nursery Visit; Planting In Containers; Aberglasney Tea party

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Those members who managed to take time out for the visit to Farmyard Nurseries this week enjoyed a real treat. Lovely weather and a special guided tour behind the scenes at what must be one of the best working nurseries in Wales, if not the UK.

Richard Bramley and his wife Hazel, pictured above run this impressive enterprise over 3 acres, which they’ve created from scratch over the last 30 years or so. Gordon spotted a feature of the site I’d never thought about before – that it’s a rare example of a large flat site, yet quite high up on  Welsh hillside. Apparently the farmhouse complex was established over 200 years ago by a Scottish farmer who travelled down to Wales to try to show the Welsh how farming should be done!

Aerial photos in Richard’s tea room show what the farm looked like when he and his parents acquired it in the early’80’s, with no sign of any horticultural activity, and how it’s progressed over the years since. 

Richard began with an overview of what’s in the 50 plus polytunnels, and then took us through a few  with herbs and bedding plants growing on, and past several members of his team of staff busy at work watering, weeding and potting on.

Next came advice about potting plants and him introducing us to his potting supremo, Jack. There was even a mini potting-on contest, which Jack won hands down, with an almost machine like efficiency, a blur of dibber and hands, plug plants and labels.

On to the bottom of the nursery and tunnels of Richard’s extensive Hellebore collection… his National Collection of Primula sieboldii (guess who liked these…) which were at their peak……  past the huge open plant sale area…… and then into the more recent tunnels holding a recently acquired National Collection of carnivorous Sarracenia, or pitcher plants. Richard and staff have recently been working on cutting back last year’s pitchers to allow room for the new growths and flowers. Along with making divisions which end up in a separate sales tunnel.

Then on through the cuttings and seed sowing sheds, and more valuable tips on how they do this…… before back to the cafe for tea and cakes.

Finally we all spread out across the nursery hunting out a few (?) special plants to take home to add to our gardens.

Thanks  very much to Richard and all his staff for giving us such a great afternoon out and the chance to see how the nursery ticks. For any who couldn’t make it, click here for Richard’s website where you can scroll through the vast range of plants he has for sale.

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Next Wednesday sees our April speaker meeting at Pumsaint hall, when Gareth Davies will be coming to talk to us about growing plants in containers. All welcome at 7.15 for 7.30 pm.

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Finally a reminder about the planned tea party trip to Abeglasney gardens on Wednesday May 22nd at 3 pm. Fiona and I visited recently and for anyone who hasn’t been within the last 3 months, you’ll be amazed at how much work has happened with big changes to the gardens and plantings. It should be looking glorious in May when we visit, but we’ll need your booking and payment in advance, preferably this month, or at May’s meeting at the latest, so do remember to sort this out at the next meeting if possible. (Afternoon tea £12 – a complete meal in itself- and reduced entry of £7.25 pp) . Click here for the Aberglasney website.

 

Richard’s Primulas; Afternoon Tea at Aberglasney; Kex, lace and poison from Kari-Astri; Orchid count help needed

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Primula Sieboldii – Richard Bramley from Farmyard Nurseries

May saw a welcome return to Cothi Gardeners by Richard Bramley from Farmyard Nurseries to give us a talk on Primulas and Primula sieboldii in particular for which he holds one of the National Collections.

These lovely, dainty primulas are surprisingly hardy. They like wetter climates and can cope with cold, although they are more vulnerable if kept in containers as they can freeze solid. They occur in N E China, Korea and Japan where they are water meadow plants but will grow almost anywhere given the right conditions:  moist, free draining soil in semi shade.

There are many different flower forms and the flowers are either pin eyed or thrum eyed so as to avoid self fertilisation. They flower in Spring from April to early June.

Growing from seed is easy. Pick the seed capsules when they turn yellow and sow straight away. They need a cold spell (gibberellic acid can be used) and light to germinate. Sow in seed trays and cover with vermiculite. This allows light and also retains moisture. Some named varieties can’t be grown from seed and have to be multiplied by division. This should be done in March and is also very easy.

Primulas are a huge family ranging from the very easy such as primroses and polyanthus to the very difficult eg some of the alpine primulas.

Other primulas:

Primula japonica (Candelabra): These are moist soil plants preferring shady sites and flower May to June. They hybridise and seed around freely often resulting in a mass of multi-coloured blooms.

Primula florindae: a yellow, later flowering variety

Primulas auricula: not too easy as they don’t like wet or being outside! Best grown in pots.

As always Richard brought some of his lovely plants for sale………

Aberglasney Tea Party

The weather pulled out all the stops for our tea party at Aberglasney. The gardens were looking beautiful in the sunshine………….

The afternoon tea was amazing, unlimited tea, delicious sandwiches and a wonderful selection of cakes catering to all tastes, and so many not one table was able to eat them all!

Everyone entered into the spirit of the occasion and came suitably attired in some amazing ‘mad’ hats.

  

A very successful and thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

Plant Fair

A reminder to grow plants not only for the Cothi Gardeners plant stall but also for the Tombola as it will be operated on an ‘every ticket wins’ basis so we need lots of small plants.

Cakes will also be needed for the refreshments so please do sign up to make some if you can.

Volunteers still needed to help make the day run smoothly.

John will give us an update on planning progress at our next meeting in June.

Growing Challenge

Don’t forget to get your pot of flowers for pollinators going for our August social.

Kex, Lace, Poison,  Not quite an  A – Z of Umbellifers for the Garden

For our June meeting we welcome back Kari-Astri Davies who will be talking to us on this intriguing subject.  By this time of year the cow parsley which grows along our roadsides is almost over but you can make a similar, frothy effect in your garden by choosing others from the umbellifer family, angelica or fennel for example. The butterflies and bees love these plants too.

Wild Flower Walk and Orchid Count

Message from Helen Bradley from Plantlife:

This is a bit of a plea for help… we have our annual wildflower survey and orchid count coming up at our reserve near Lampeter,  Cae Blaen Dyffryn, on Saturday 16th June. Unfortunately despite having 12 volunteers last year, we only 2 have booked on this time. We could probably manage the survey part ok with small numbers but the orchid count will be tricky. So if anyone can spare some time to help it would be appreciated – particularly in the afternoon. If you are able to come along just complete this short form (here) and if you intend to come only for the morning or afternoon, just mention this in the ‘Anything we should be aware of’ box.

Monthly Tips

Seed Collection

Now is the perfect time to think of collecting seeds from lots of early flowering spring bulbs and plants – I’m thinking of things like Crocus, Snowdrops, Leucojums, Anemone blanda or Anemone nemorosa (Wood anemone). It’s easy to forget about doing this at a busy time of the year, but it’s the cheapest and simplest way of spreading them around. And if you don’t check now, you’ll miss the seedpods or seed heads. Once you’ve got the seed just scatter it straight away in appropriate places, and then forget about it. It might take a few years, and the survival rate might be modest, but they’ll pop up all over the place and delight you with new plants in new areas with little effort.

Watering

This is would have been quite unusual advice in the last 18 months, but it’s worth remembering to water recently sown seeds regularly to ensure good germination, if they’re outside or inside, and also try to water in greenhouses or polytunnels regularly to ensure good growth and avoid fruit splitting. I was really interested to read today that Keith Brown at Llangadog mentioned that he measured 2 inches of rain in his garden in April. Here we had over 6 inches. So it’s surprising just how variable rainfall can be just a few miles apart, in this part of the world.

Splitting Daffodils

(From Fiona) It’s a good time to split daffodil clumps and move them around, just as the foliage is dying down. Again it’s easy to miss doing this in the rush of jobs to do in May. We usually do! But if you can manage it, at least you can find the bulbs more easily, and work out where to put them. Again worth watering them in well, if the ground’s dry.

Programme changes; Film Entertainment; Glorious Primulas; Mad Hats & Tea at Aberglasney

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The Quiet American Gardener and Terry Walton

Following the last minute cancellation of Terry Walton’s talk to us last month due to family circumstances, we brought forward the film which was to be our November entertainment. The good news is that we won’t miss out on Terry’s talk as he has now confirmed that he will be able to come in November instead.

Hidcote Manor Garden

The film we watched, ‘The Quiet American Gardener’, was about the history and development of Hidcote Manor Garden by Major Lawrence Johnston. He was born into a wealthy American family of stockbrokers, which gave him the necessary funds to create this now revered English garden, once his mother had bought the Cotswold estate in the early twentieth century. It was passed to the National Trust in 1948 on his retirement to his estate, Serre de la Madone, on the French Riviera.

The film was a fascinating insight into how the garden evolved and the influences that played a part: Italian garden design, architectural perspectives and their manipulation to create a particular effect are some that come to mind. The love of the place was apparent in the way the more recent gardeners talked about it and how they were trying to restore the garden to how Lawrence Johnston envisaged it. Click here for a trailer and transcript of the film.

 

Richard Bramley talking about Primulas – Wednesday May 16th at 7.30pm.

Primula sieboldii at Farmyard Nurseries

Another speaker cancellation occurred for May. Fortunately Richard Bramley, a popular and entertaining regular for Cothi Gardeners, was able to step into the breach and will give us a talk on Primulas. Richard has developed a fabulous collection of Primula sieboldii for which he is in the process of applying for National Collection status, and will no doubt tell us much about these beautiful Spring plants along with others in the primula family. He will of course be bringing plants for sale. More info on his website for Farmyard Nurseries (click here).

Primula sieboldii at Farmyard Nurseries

Candelabra primula in a garden setting

 

 

Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at Aberglasney

There is a club outing to Aberglasney on Wednesday 6th June. Entry to the garden is at a reduced rate of £7.25 (free to members of Aberglasney) and the special afternoon tea (£12 per person) has been booked for 3.30pm.  Come early and enjoy this fabulous garden before sitting down to a  ‘proper tea’ with sandwiches, cakes and pretty china on the terrace overlooking the pool garden. Mad Hats to be worn (but not obligatory) to add to the entertainment! If you would like to join us but haven’t put your name down yet, there will be a list at the next meeting, or let Julian know directly. We need to give Aberglasney names  so that those attending can get the discounted rate.

Club Plant Stall

Now that we have had a welcome change in the weather (at last!) things have started to recover from the dreadful winter and spring. Do try and bring any surplus plants you may have to the next meeting for the club plant stall. The proceeds from the stall give a significant boost to club finances and all help both with supplying the plants and buying them is much appreciated.

 

Frank Cabot – Les Quatre Vents; Christmas Buffet; Sad News

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Les Quatre Vents – slideshow illustrated DVD lecture by Frank Cabot

At our November meeting rather than having a speaker we opted to show a film by Frank Cabot of his garden, ‘Les Quatre Vents’, near Quebec in Canada. In spite of quite a number of members being away or ill, we had a very good turnout.

Julian gave a brief introduction explaining Frank Cabot’s relevance to Carmarthenshire and his background ……

He was actually an American, born into a wealthy family, and made enough money in financial services to retire early at 48 and devote himself to gardens and horticulture.

Like Bob Brown, he was awarded the Veitch medal by our Royal Horticultural Society, and he also established the Garden Conservancy charity in America to help save and preserve significant gardens mainly in the USA and a few around the world.  Through contacts made by Carmarthenshire based William Wilkins, he was persuaded to become involved with the Aberglasney Restoration Trust, he and his wife donating over £1 million to the restoration of Aberglasney in its very early days. A man of great charm and enthusiasm, he produced in his latter years not just a wonderful book on the creation of his major family garden at Les Quatre Vents, The Greater Perfection) but also a slideshow illustrated DVD lecture which is what we showed to Cothigardeners. This selects 5 of the 32 design elements of his garden and discusses how they came into being. Many took decades to reach fruition, from the initial idea and planning to the final execution or maturity of plantings.

Although  the film showed gardening on a grand scale we were able to appreciate themes it highlighted which are pertinent to all gardeners……..

  • patience – the long term  nature of designing/planting a garden
  • ruthlessness – if a plant doesn’t perform, move it to a better location or get rid of it altogether – all plants should earn their place.
  • continual appraisal, reassessment and editing. Walk round your garden regularly throughout the year making notes of things that work and those that don’t and be prepared to change them where necessary.

Click here for both a 4 minute video clip from the film, and a detailed biography  of Frank Cabot on the site of The Garden Conservancy.

Christmas Buffet

A reminder to those who have booked their place for the Christmas buffet ………………….

Wednesday December 13th at the Dolaucothi Arms, meeting at  6.30 pm for a 6.45 to 7 pm start.

The Dolaucothi Arms – Cothigardeners Christmas Buffet 2017

£15 per person

Hot

Dinefwr Venison sausages with red onion, apples and sage

Mushroom, chestnut & red wine bourguignon (gf, ve)

Buttery mashed potato (v)

Root vegetables roasted with thyme (gf, ve)

Cold

Home cooked glazed ham with cranberry and orange stuffing (gf)

Raised rainbow vegetable pie

Spiced red cabbage slaw ~ Chicory, celery & walnut salad ~ winter salad

(all gf, v)

Sweet (all v)

Mince pies with brandy butter

Orange, almond & polenta cake (gf)

Mulled pear and gingerbread trifle

Sad News

Many of us in Cothigardeners knew John Smith and had enjoyed his and his wife Liz’s company and beautiful garden at  Llwyn Cyll near Trapp on several occasions, as well as his highly entertaining talk on the development of the garden. Sadly news came this week that he died of cancer in Glangwili hospital on Saturday night.

John’s funeral/memorial service is to be held at Llanelli Crematorium at 12.00 on Monday 27th, with ‘tea’ at Llyshendy (Jane and Ivor Stokes home near Llandeilo) thereafter.  Liz has asked that if folk are coming, bright colours please and black only if you have to!

 

Brilliant Bob Brown; Quatre Vents – Gardening on a Grand Scale; Christmas Buffet

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Bob Brown –  “Too many plants, too little space”

  

Preceded by another successful Pie Night at the Dolaucothi Arms, our October meeting saw us entertained by our ‘big name’ speaker for this year, Bob Brown from Cotswold Garden Flowers. The hall was packed with 40 visitors swelling our club numbers to over 80. There were some excellent raffle prizes to be won and members did us proud with their cake baking for the refreshments

  

Bob lived up to his reputation and gave us a highly informative and amusing talk on the subject ‘Too many plants, too little space’. Below is a brief summary of the main points he made.

“Too many plants, too little space”

  • Cut down size of garden
  • Make every plant earn it’s keep, opt for plants with multi-seasonal interest.
  • Multi-layer planting to extend growing season – as one plant goes over another is coming up to take it’s place – in the same space.
  • Throw out non optimal performers – be ruthless!
  • Go for AGM varieties as these are proven to be garden worthy.
  • Avoid ‘rare’ and difficult to get hold of plants – they are so described for a reason!

Bob also brought some of his lovely plants to sell, many of which were mentioned in the talk.

  

Many thanks to all those involved with the smooth running of the evening, and especially our programme organisers, Brenda and Yvonne, whose brainchild it was.

 

Quatre Vents – Wednesday November 15th

November’s meeting will be a quieter affair but non-the-less very interesting. We are showing the film made and narrated by Frank Cabot about the development of his family’s garden ‘Quatre Vents’ near Quebec in Canada.  Frank and Anne Cabot were the primary benefactors of the Aberglasney Restoration Trust. He set up the Garden Conservancy in the States to help save and restore special gardens around the world. Click here to read more. Sadly Frank died in 2011 aged 86.

The following is a quote about Frank Cabot from Alexander Reford, director of the renowned family-owned Jardins du Métis, also in Quebec.

“He was a formidable character and an inspiration to gardeners, both amateur and professional who work to emulate his horticultural prowess. His wit and wisdom were a welcome addition to our lives, his erudition encouraged many to take up gardening seriously, and his irony made sure that we did not do so excessively. He inherited the land, but he made the garden; it was his from start to finish. Whenever I saw him he was in jeans, his rubber boots, knee pads, dirt under his fingernails. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of plants.”

Even though the property has been open to the general public for only four days each summer, the gardens are world renowned. Hilary Weston and Nicole Eaton featured them in their book In a Canadian Garden, and Reader’s Digest once referred to them as “Canada’s best kept secret.”

In the year 2000 Frank Cabot was awarded the Veitch medal by the Royal Horticultural Society. He also received the Garden Club of America’s 2006 Achievement Award for “the greatest horticultural accomplishment in America in the last half-century” and numerous other awards.

“His book, The Greater Perfection, received the Council of Botanical and Horticultural Libraries’ 2003 Literature Award, and was described as “one of the best books ever written about the making of a garden by its creator”

Perhaps Gardens Illustrated described him best:  “part eccentric, part scholar; a thinker, a gatherer of ideas, a plantsman, and a patron… above all, as is essential to all great gardeners, he is a visionary.”

The film shows gardening on a grand scale, but is still very stimulating, and you may well not get a chance to see it anywhere else, so it’s well worth coming along.

Christmas Buffet

Our Christmas meal this year is a buffet and will be held on the evening of Wednesday December 13th at the Dolaucothi Arms, meeting at about 6.30 pm for a 6.45 to 7 pm start. Final details will be circulated nearer the time but members should be aware that places are limited, so if you do want to come you need to let Julian or Stephen know as soon as possible to secure your place. Payment needs to be made by the November meeting at the latest. The menu is below.

The DOLAUCOTHI Arms – Cothi Gardeners Christmas Buffet 2017

£15 per person

Hot

Dinefwr Venison sausages with red onion, apples and sage

Mushroom, chestnut & red wine bourguignon (gf, ve)

Buttery mashed potato (v)

Root vegetables roasted with thyme (gf, ve)

Cold

Home cooked glazed ham with cranberry and orange stuffing (gf)

Raised rainbow vegetable pie

Spiced red cabbage slaw ~ Chicory, celery & walnut salad ~ winter salad

(all gf, v)

Sweet (all v)

Mince pies with brandy butter

Orange, almond & polenta cake (gf)

Mulled pear and gingerbread trifle

 

PLANTS FOR W WALES; TIPS; CHALLENGES; VISITS; PIE NIGHT and GROWING VEGETABLES

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We had a hugely successful first meeting of the year on Wednesday 15th, with an excellent turnout including many new faces and some we hadn’t seen for a while plus a brilliant speaker in Joseph Atkin from Aberglasney.

joseph-atkin-1-2

Joseph’s talk on plants for a West Wales garden was interesting, amusing and informative. He confirmed many of our views that we are fortunate to live in an environment that enables us to grow a great range of plants, particularly those native to China and the Himalayas – as long as we can control the slugs. He showed us some old favourite plants together with some lovely new ones, particularly some of the species lily family and gave us some very useful tips on propagating from seed and how he deals with slugs at Aberglasney.

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The club plant stall was well supplied with some excellent plants so very many thanks to those who brought plants and to those who bought them. The proceeds are an essential part of raising funds so that we can continue to enjoy a wider range of speakers each year.

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Julian, our new Chair, fortunately sailed through his first meeting without running aground. He introduced a new 5 minute slot for members to share any topical tips, plant favourites, etc with the rest of the club, kicking off with a couple of his own, and brought the club’s whiteboard into use to highlight some of the plants mentioned. Our club has an enormous font of knowledge and this is an opportunity for everyone to share in it, so if you have something you think would be of interest to other members, then do please get in touch with Julian well in advance of the next meeting so that it can be included in one of these slots.

Julian’s tips for February were:

  1. Jakoti hand shears. One of the most useful tools we’ve come across. They have a longer blade than secateurs, can be used with one hand easily and cut more in one go than conventional shears. They are also self sharpening. Available online for £30-£35.
  2. Three plants for February:

a) Cyclamen coum. Copes with anything the weather throws at it. Flowers from November through to March/April. Grows in free draining soil in semi shade. Maybe best on a slope – if you haven’t got a slope try making a sloping raised bed area, beneath a tree or large shrub.

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b) Galanthus x valentinei. A lovely vigorous snowdrop out in time for Valentine’s Day, which has appeared in our garden – we really don’t know if it’s a seedling cross, since we have no record of ever buying it. Best planted like most snowdrops beneath a deciduous shrub or tree.

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c) Daphne bholua Jacqueline Postill. Heavenly scented flowers from December through March. Well drained soil, semi shade. If you can get hold of one on its own roots, it will sucker like a wild cherry and you’ll end up with plants eventually up to 7 feet tall, covered in these scented flowers for up to 2 months.

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MEMBER’S MEDLEY AND GROWING CHALLENGE

The club growing challenge this year is for members to grow something that they then incorporate into a dish that they bring to the meeting in August to share – along with an example of what they have grown or photos if that is not practicable. Members can then share their ideas, successes or failures and sample the results. It is hoped to hold the event at Gelli Uchaf or, if the weather is bad, in the Coronation Hall as normal. Thank you to Brenda for the idea for this year’s challenge.

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GARDEN VISIT

We are planning an all day trip over the border at the end of May/early June to see two gardens that come highly recommended. The first is Westonbury Mill Water Garden (click here), entry £6 and the 2nd is Hergest Croft (click here) entry £6.50. The plan is to go by car and meet up at the gardens, having lunch at one or the other – both have cafes. The timing should be excellent for Rhododendrons.

There will be a form for anyone interested to sign at the March meeting. If you would like to add your name but can’t make the meeting then let either Julian or Fiona know.

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CLUB GARDEN SAFARI (CRAWL)

In past years we have had some fun days visiting fellow members gardens and it has been suggested that we do it again this year. If anyone is interested in adding their garden to the list of those to be visited please get in touch with Julian or sign the form at the March meeting

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PIE NIGHT

We are planning on having another Pie Night get together at the Dolaucothi Arms before the next meeting. We will meet at 6pm to eat at 6.15pm. Dave and Esther kindly allow us to come early so that we can get to the meeting on time. In order to do this we need to let them know our pie choices in advance, so anyone who would like to join us needs to let Julian know by Friday March 3rd so that we can get menus out and choices in in time.

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So with Spring  just around the corner and if you’ve already enjoyed the cheerful sight of Snowdrops and Crocus recently, why not give some attention to the vegetable garden in coming weeks?
To get you started, we have invited Ivor Mace to give a talk on March 15th. Ivor has over 40 years of growing experience and has won prizes for his show onions and leeks. He’ll tell us about soil condition, pH levels and no doubt recommend varieties which should do well in your garden. There will be time for questions and answers at the end of Ivor’s talk so if you fancy having a go at growing a prize winner for your local horticultural show or would like to add some home-grown veggies to your dinner plate, then come along. Even if you don’t have space for a vegetable plot, a few container-grown plants will add vitamins and minerals to your diet and the whole family can enjoy eating what they’ve grown.
Join us on March 15th at 7.30pm, please note the later start time.

AGM, SUPPER & QUIZ; UP-COMING MEETING & IGPOTY WINNER

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We had an excellent turnout of members for our AGM in January. Reports were made describing a successful year in every respect – interesting talks, enjoyable visits, an increased membership and a healthy financial state. The incoming committee members were warmly welcomed and our new Chair, Julian, gave grateful thanks on our behalf to the retiring committee members, Daisy as Chair, Margaret as Treasurer and Anne as a meet and greeter, for all their hard work over the last few years. He then gave Daisy a gift from the club members.

Once the club business was concluded we all set too to enjoy the ‘shared plate’ supper.

agm-supper

Derek then entertained us with another of his mind stretching quizzes, testing our general knowledge and more critically our ability to remember it! We all had a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

quiz

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Our next meeting is on February 15th (this coming Wednesday), when Joseph Atkin from Aberglasney will be giving us an informative talk on Plants for a West Wales Garden. Coincidentally Joseph coming now is remarkably good timing as the results for the International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) have just been announced. The International Garden Photographer of the Year is the world’s premier competition and exhibition specialising in garden, plant, flower and botanical photography and this year Nigel McCall has won the Beautiful Gardens section with a stunning photograph of the wooden bridge at Aberglasney – click here to see the photo. Not only that but 2 other photographs he took of Aberglasney were selected, one as a finalist  (click here) and the other Highly Commended (click here).

PLANTS WILL BE FOR SALE so remember to bring some extra cash!

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Happy New Year! AGM and the Year Ahead.

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cyclamen   hamamelis   snowdrops-2

With the days getting longer, Spring doesn’t seem that far away. The signs are already there  in the countryside and our gardens. Snowdrops, cyclamen, Hamamelis all brightening up the days when the sun doesn’t shine.

Our 2017 programme kicks off next week with the AGM – 7pm, Wednesday 18th January. It is always a fun social occasion as, once the usual business has been finished, we enjoy a ‘shared plate’ supper followed by a general knowledge quiz  organised by Derek.

Daisy, Margaret and Anne are all retiring from the committee this year after giving unstintingly of their time, knowledge and help. A huge thank you to them for all they have done over the last 3 or 4 years.

Our programme for the year is almost ready for publication, (full details will be published on the programme page of the website shortly). We have Joseph Atkin from Aberglasney to look forward to in February

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and  to whet your appetites for later in the year…….

The Spring meetings include talks about growing vegetables and woodland gardens. During the summer we can find out about about scented plants and what to grow in ‘problem’ places. In August there’ll be an informal social evening, perhaps with a local garden visit. Moving into the Autumn there are talks about specific plant species and what to do if you have just too many plants and not enough space! The year ends with a relaxing evening watching a film about ‘Quatre Vents’ in Quebec, in December club members will round off the year with Christmas Lunch at a local restaurant.

So for anyone reading this who isn’t a member of the club but is keen on gardening, either growing flowers, shrubs or vegetables, you may like to come along to learn something different, make new friends and even buy some plants at bargain prices.
The Club meets on the third Wednesday of each month at Coronation Hall, Pumsaint and the membership includes gardeners of all abilities from beginner to expert nursery women and men. Many of the membership bring along cuttings and surplus plants from their own gardens which are sold to raise funds for the club. Annual membership is £14  visitors are welcome at just £3, and the evening always starts with coffee, tea and biscuits and a chance to look over the plant stall or chat to other members.

We’re a friendly group, meetings start at 7pm (7.30pm in the summer) There is plenty of parking at Coronation Hall, and if you’d like a drink before or after the meeting, the DolauCothi Arms is just opposite.