CONTAINER GARDENING

Ed Flint

If you’ve got limited growing space or just want lots of variety in your garden, planted containers are the way to add instant colour to a bare corner, patio or even balcony. Ed Flint, a lecturer at The English Gardening School, demonstrates how to make the most of your pots through all the seasons.If you’ve got limited growing space or just want lots of variety in your garden, planted containers are the way to add instant colour to a bare corner, patio or even balcony. Ed Flint, a lecturer at The English Gardening School, demonstrates how to make the most of your pots through all the seasons. Following Ed’s talk there will be mince pies, mulled wine and a Seed Swap.

REWILDING YOUR GARDEN

Charlie Harpur

Rewilding isn’t just about beavers and wild boars. Charlie Harpur is head gardener of Knepp Estates, which is at the forefront of the rewilding movement. He explains the ‘active gardening’ practised at Knepp, and tells us how to rewild our own gardens to give nature a chance.

Visit to Polstead Mill

September 4th at 2.30

The garden at Polstead Mill is 11 acres and it has been created over the last 22 years by Lucy and Richard Bartlett. The house dates from 1785 and the mill, millrace, weir and pool leading off the River Box became part of the property in 1947. Trees play a very important part of the structure of the garden and fringe the lawn where the herbaceous borders are. The garden is known for it’s display of Dahlias. There is a wild flower meadow and thriving walled kitchen garden. Numbers are limited to 50 people.

PRICE IS £16 TO INCLUDE ENTRY AND TEA AND BOOKING CLOSES ON 22ND AUG. IN ORDER TO CONFIRM NUMBERS FOR TEA.

Polstead Mill, Mill Lane, Polstead. CO6 5AB Satnav directions are good and parking is in the field opposite.

PLEASE NOTE - BOOKING IS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS VISIT

Visit to The Old Vicarage Wormingford CO6 3AZ

This visit includes a 15 minute talk by the designer Jeremy Allen, followed by a garden tour, then tea and cakes . The numbers are strictly limited to 15, and we have had a lot of preliminary interest, so it is anticipated that it will sell out quickly!

Jeremy and Beverley Allen’s garden surrounding the Old Vicarage in Wormingford has been developed over the last 15 years from a completely overgrown site. It covers 3.5 acres with a structure of mature hedging, new trees and topiary, and contains inspirational perennial and ornamental grass planting. There is a natural pond, water features, an orchard and a productive kitchen garden.

PLEASE NOTE - This visit is restricted to 15 people maximum, and is a Members Only event.

PRICE - £20 to include tea and cakes.

Parking details to follow

Visit to Two Boxford Gardens - Kingsbury House and 2 Holmwood Cottage

As these are two small jewel like gardens, we shall be divided into two groups, A and B. of 11/12 people to visit each garden alternately. We will forgather at the home of our President, Maggie Thorpe, Weavers House, Swan Street, Boxford CO10 5NZ. You will need to drive between gardens.

The owner of Kingsbury House, Stephen Howarth, lived in France and on retiring to Boxford created a wonderful formal courtyard garden with pleached hornbeam hedging, roses, lavender and a magnificent view of the Church.

Neil Bradfield at Holmwood Cottages is a professional gardener who has worked in several famous gardens including Fullers Mill, Highgrove, and Ulting Wick. He has created his own beautiful small garden with some very special plants, grasses, roses and small trees.

After the visits tea and cakes will be available at Weavers House, with Maggie Thorpe.

PLEASE NOTE - This visit is restricted to 24 people maximum, and is a Members Only event.

PRICE IS £10 to include tea.

There is limited parking and car share would be a good option where possible.

ABOUT GARDENS

Robin Lane Fox

This year’s Celebrity Speaker Robin Lane Fox has been gardening and writing about gardens for half a century, including a weekly column for the Financial Times. He oversees the garden at New College, Oxford and his own Cotswold retreat. Author of ‘Thoughtful Gardening’, he has strong views on prairie gardening, wildflower meadows, badgers and much else. Humorous, controversial and occasionally politically incorrect, Robin is never boring.

SECRET GARDENS OF THE SOUTH EAST

Barbara Segall

Garden writer, Barbara Segall takes us on a private tour of glorious gardens in Kent, Surrey and Sussex. From the historic ‘Restoration House’ to the romantic Town House, and Arundel Castles 40 Acres to a 45ft plot in Whitstable , each garden is inspirational. Some are open for the NGS others for private groups. Barbara will introduce us to gardens we’ll want to put on our ‘must visit’ list!

AURICULAS - SPRING'S PAINTED LADIES

Luci Skinner

Auriculas brighten the days of early spring with their jewel-like colours and exquisite detail. In the past they were known as ‘Painted Ladies’, or less romantically Bears Ears. Luci Skinner of Woottens Nursery, which stocks over 400 varieties of Auriculas, will tell us about their history and how to propagate, grow and care for these little beauties. She will bring plants for sale.

See Event Review

Lucy Hutchings (@shegrowsveg) swapped a career designing couture jewellery for growing heirloom vegetables. She’s passionate about enthusing us all to grow our own food organically with the no-dig method, and shows us how easy it is to become partly self-sufficient. She grows several hundred varieties of fruit and veg in her allotment and back garden, and claims you can too!

Lucy had a show garden at Hampton Court in 2022 and recently appeared on BBC’s Gardener’s World.

She will be bringing plants for sale.

Free to members - guests £5.00