Gardening With Native Plants on 9th January
This talk by Alan Edmonson, which was accompanied by projected pictures was really interesting and showed how our indigenous plants have survived or not in their original form! Some have been refined to create different colours, others now have double forms. Alan certainly knew his subject and conveyed his obvious enthusiasm to the audience. The pictures were based on his garden in Oxfordshire and showed the numerous plants in sunny spots, shady nooks, all their various suitable habitats. All our Members enjoyed a very interesting and entertaining evening.
Brian Kidd on Vegetables for Small Gardens on 13th March
Brian gave us an entertaining evening on this topic starting with a close look and feel of different compost mixes and went on to discuss suitable varieties and types of vegetables best suited to small spaces including containers.
Peter Barwick on All Aspects of Soft Fruit Growing on 10th April
Peter was a Commercial Fruit grower for over 40 years and this talk gave us some practical advice based on that wealth of knowledge. Peter brought along some Fruit Plants in pots and went through the best ways of planting, some different varieties and preventing problems amongst other topics accompanied by slides to give us an informative evening.
Jayne McBride on Tropical Gardens
Jayne gave us an illuminating talk on the diverse tropical plants in her relatively small garden. It was fantastic how she used the whole of the space to fill it with so many interesting plants, quite a few from Australasia, be it in sun, shade, sheltered; coping with the terrible weather of the last few years and not once pausing for breath! Jayne gave us just a taster of her many years of gardening and plant collecting experiences. Her garden is now included in The Yellow Book which is The National Gardens Scheme Book of Hampshire Gardens 2013, (www.ngs.org.uk). Why not give it a visit?
A History of Ancient Woodlands by Jonathon Huet
Jonathon is an accredited Bushcraft instructor and has had an interest in the British Countryside since childhood, he has worked in Forestry and Horticulture, and has an extensive knowledge of his subject. He told us how nature has evolved since the Ice Age and which tree varieties were most likely to colonise ancient woodlands initially. We found out how to tell if woodland can be classified as Ancient, how a tree is still productive in really old age and had a quick tour around the UK discovering where the ancient woodlands were and if any remnants remain today. He brought along some items made from wood, showing it's versatility including wooden spoons, rope made from inner bark and a fire starter kit, an improved version of 'rubbing two sticks together.' All too soon the time ran out, we will have to get Jonathon back to learn more next time!
Roger Young on Southsea Shows
Roger stepped in at very short notice to give us a talk on how he and his team set up the Portsmouth City Council Display for the Southsea Shows over nearly 20 years. He showed us a number of slides detailing the build up from just the bare grass inside the Marquee on Southsea Common to the importing of several tons of earth, sand, hard landscaping, plants and everything else needed to build the Professional display to show the Public. It was a very entertaining talk and made a lot of us realise how much the Southsea Shows of those days are missed.
Jennifer Harmer on A History of Flower Arrangers' Plants
We were treated to a very interesting talk on plants that have been used in Flower Arrangements over the years. This was backed up with slides of the plants discussed and in most cases, Jennifer showed us photographs or portraits of the Plant Hunters or the people who had the variety named after them, as well as the plants themselves, and this certainly brought an extra dimension to the talk and the evening was over far too quickly. Jennifer is going to work on a book on Snowdrops in the future, so look out for that as it is sure to be entertaining. Here's a link to the Hardy Plant Society website:- http://www.hardy-plant.org.uk/