Saturday 2 November @10.30 in the meeting Room Caroline Halfpenny 

Scentsational Gardening A month by month look at different plants that can be grown to give us wonderful scents in our garden. Interactive with sample plants to sniff

Caroline is passionate about gardening and the landscape, she began her horticultural career with Gravesham Borough Council with responsibility for the Grounds Maintenance Contracts from the Riverside out to Camer Park. In addition she managed to secure the role of Allotments Officer which she loved, as she enjoys growing fruit and vegetables and wandering round allotments was a dream job.  She was guilty of organising the daffodils growing through the verges from Meopham to Gravesend (cheeky as it was her route to work).

She then became a self employed gardener while she completed her degree in Landscape Management and became a Mum.

From 2007 to 2014 she managed the Diploma in Horticulture at Hadlow College at both the Tonbridge and Canterbury site, in addition to lecturing at all levels from schools and Foundation through to Higher Education. She still lectures part time today as well as running Growth Matters , which covers all her loves Gardening and Education.

28 January 2025

A visit to RHS Lindley Library 80 Vincent Square London SW1P 2PE @ 2.00 pm

The RHS Lindley Library is situated at 80 Vincent Square, London SW1P 2PE and is the largest Horticultural Library in the world. The “Treasures of the RHS Lindley Library” is a 60-minute visit during which a member of the Library team will share a selection of rare books, wonderful botanical artwork and objects from their world class archives and photographic collections, either with interesting stories attached or that are particularly visually interesting, and with a focus on the Victorian era.  There is no charge for the visit as the Society will make a donation to the RHS.

E Mail Cathy/David if you would like to reserve a place.

 

22 February 2025 10.30 Meeting Room

Jacqueline Aviolet - I am a Tulip

A return Visit by Jacqueline Aviolet  who has been a horticultural speaker since the last century and has run her nursery (Rosies Garden Plants, Aylesford, Kent) even longer, growing and selling plants via mail order, some shows and at the talks.   She is known for imparting knowledge with tremendous humour!   Jacqueline will be bringing plants to demonstrate and to sell.

22 March 2025 Main Hall @3.00

Lynne Moore of Moore and Moore plant nursery - Topic TBA

A Chelsea Gold Medal winning, small, independent, family run nursery based in Billericay, Essex, specialising in shade tolerant and woodland plants  and other plants which are a magnet for pollinating insects, their other love.

Started 2004 and now growing over 1500 different varieties of plants which are sold fairs and shows and through their online shop. Originally a hobby, land is now rented from a local farm where all the plants are grown outside. Plants are grown in peat free compost (Melcourt Sylvagrow with John Innes) and cared for using organic methods.

They became Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) exhibitors in 2017 and appear in the RHS Plant Finder every year. They love plants and find it a  pleasure to work with them. 

Their range includes traditional cottage garden favourites and reliable, easily grown plants they also have an exciting collection of unusual, rare and seldom seen varieties.

Owning a nursery allows them to indulge their own interests somewhat and they have specialities within our ranges.

They are - Astilbe, Astrantia, Athyrium, Dryopteris, Epimedium, Hardy Geranium, Hosta,  Polygonatum and Polystichum.            

 Lynne is the only full time person at the nursery.

Lynne has gardened for as long as she can remember. Her first memories are picking snowdrops from her grandparents garden (snowdrops are still a favourite). Always encouraged by her grandad Jack, her knowledge and enthusiasm grew until such times that she had her own little garden at her first flat. Grandad duly propagated a number of plants to fill this little plot, many of which Lynne still has today in her current garden. "Without my Grandad I wouldn't be doing what I am. I owe him so much." She’s a complete plantaholic who’s always on the look out for something new, different or unusual to grow. Lynne gave up working as a Senior Fingerprint Expert in the Metropolitan Police Forensic Directorate in February 2016 after 25 years service to work with the plants full time. "I love what I do. I'm so lucky."