It is starting to feel very autumnal now and the autumn/winter talks season is starting today (1st September). Thanks to our membership of the Tender Shoots Garden Club Network (TSGCN) we have the opportunity to attend four talks this month alone.

These Zoom talks are currently open to anyone to attend free anytime and guests are very welcome.  However if you would like to make a donation towards supporting the costs of the talks, that would be very much appreciated and will enable TSGCN to continue running these events. if you don’t use Zoom you can also go to their YouTube page when the talk is about to start (at 7.30pm) as they simultaneously stream the meeting Live on YouTube.  To join just click this link  www.youtube.com/c/TenderShootsGardenClubNetwork  or search YouTube for the ‘Tender Shoots Garden Club Network’ and then click on the yellow logo.  The advantage of YouTube Live is you can start the talk from the beginning if you arrive late, you can pause, rewind & skip any bits & still ask questions to the speaker via YouTube chat box.  You can also watch it in comfort if you have a large smart TV via the YouTube TV app.

Our first talk is tonight – Wednesday 1st Sep from Peter Moore on Buddleja.  He’s a Plant Heritage National Collection Holder & Plant Breeder having developed many famous varieties, including Buddleja Berries & Cream, Sarcococca Winter Gem, Philadelphus Fragrant Falls, Choisya Aztec Pearl & Choisya White Dazzler, to name but a few.  

Next week on September 8th we have a chance to find out about Heavenly Hostas from John Baker owner of The Hanging Hosta Garden, Hampshire.  Sponsored by Barrow upon Soar Garden Club.

Thur Sep 16th – John & Gail of West Shores Nursery – Grasses – Sponsored by Winterton Garden Club.

Wed Sep 22nd – Glenn Duggan – The Fantastic Flora of Australia – Sponsored by Catisfield & District Gardening Club.

Further details are on our Programme page.

Also happening this month is another event you may wish to visit – Ashwood Nursery’s Orchid Extravaganza which is on from 28th August to 18th September.

Further news has come from TSGCN:- “Fantastic news.  We’ve been approached by BBC Radio Devon’s Toby Buckland to do an interview feature on Tender Shoots, so please listen out for us on Sunday 5th Sep on the radio or via the BBC Sounds app.  Toby’s show starts at 10am, but we’ll be featured after 12pm.”

Now is the ideal time to go garden visiting – whether its just wandering around the neighbourhood and admiring the front garden and parks as you walk past or booking a visit to one of our many local (or not so local) gardens open to the public.

Have a look at the NGS website for gardens open as part of the National Gardens Scheme, or – if you have a smart phone – download their app so you can find out about gardens open wherever you happen to be. Moreton Hall Gardens are open on Saturday 28th August for NGS – details here. There is also a Plant Fair at the Dorothy Clive Gardens on August 29th and 30th. Both of these events require that you book tickets in advance.

Another event you may wish to visit is Ashwood Nursery’s Orchid Extravaganza which is on from 28th August to 18th September.

On our ‘Links’ page you can find websites listing all sorts of gardens to visit locally and nationally and their websites will give you information on booking your visit.

A few people recently went to Bridgewater with the TSGCN group and came back full of praise. Perhaps its time to book yourself a visit there?

In the meantime your Committee held an actual face to face meeting for the first time for 18 months – details from Helen in the future – and found the flower beds full of colour; they couldn’t resist taking a few photos. You can always send your photos to us to be included here or in our photo gallery.

Don’t forget to look on our Programme page to see what is planned for the coming few months. It is updated regularly as changes are made and talks added. There are currently four talks scheduled for September with the first one on Sept 1st when Peter Moore will talk about his speciality – Buddlejas.

There’s a lot happening in August, starting with the SANDON PLANT FAIR this Sunday AUGUST 1st from Flower Power Fairs –

I know some of you enjoyed the Flower Power Plant Fair at Sandon Hall earlier in the year.  Next Sunday, 1st August, there is another fair at Sandon this time from 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.  Entrance is £4 (cards is possible please) which includes entrance to the gardens, grounds and plant fair.  This time the fair will be held on the lawns adjacent to the conservatory.  Restoration of the gardens at Sandon is an ongoing project but you can certainly enjoy a pleasant stroll in the gardens which are not normally open to the public.  Top plant nurseries will be in attendance together with stalls selling garden accessories and food will be available all day.

We also have more Zoom-based talks via the Tender Shoots Garden Club Network which anyone can join in with – details on their Facebook page – via Zoom or You Tube.

Aug 11th Wed – Talk from Philip Aubury – “Growing for Showing” – Sponsored by Wolverhampton Horticultural Society

Aug 17th Tue – Dr Ian Bedford, Research Entomologist – Garden Bugs: Cohabit, Control or Conserve? – Sponsored by Evesham G&C 

Details are on our Programme page.

May has been a bit of a washout so let’s hope June is an improvement! but we still have one more talk before then –

Wednesday May 26th (tomorrow) at 7.30pm is the talk from Adrian James on “Gardens of Paradise” (This talk covers the history, design and symbolism of Persian/Islamic/Moghul gardens). The plant list / handout for the talk is already available to download from our Programme page.

This is the last talk that has been arranged via the Tender Shoots Garden Club Network. If you missed any of these recent talks, they are available to see on their YouTube page here

Successful Fruit Growing

Dorothy Clive Gardens

National Memorial Arboretum Alrewas

The Plant Hunters

History of Herbs

Extending the Season in your Garden

and RHS Bridgewater talk from Curator Marcus Chilton Jones

Meanwhile The Tender Shoots inter club group trip to see the brand new RHS Bridgewater garden is on Wednesday 21st July.

“I hope you can all join us, it would be lovely to meet you all.   We so far have 70+ people going from various clubs by coach & car.”

Entry to gardens is £12.10, or free if you’re an RHS member.  Or if your garden club is RHS affiliated, then 55 of your members can go free.  It only costs your club £35 for this benefit.  

For those that are local to Stoke-on-Trent Barlaston Village Garden Club have an outdoor plant swap event on Saturday 29th May 12-2pm in the rear car park of the St.John the Baptist Church, Barlaston, ST12 9DA.  Bring along a folding chair and flask of tea for a socially distanced chit chat.  Details on the Facebook page This was postponed from last Saturday because of the weather.

We hope to have more news on Open Garden weekends soon. In the meantime have a look at our links page to find the NGS gardens open near you in the next few weeks, as well as links to RHS gardens, National Trust gardens and plenty of others to help plan your trips.

This photo of Wisteria was taken on May 5th last year! This year there are some buds . . maybe by June 5th it may look a little more like this, and so might the weather – we can but hope.

It should be the Chelsea Flower Show this coming week but it has had to be put back to the autumn. However Virtual Chelsea will be happening from Tuesday 18th – Friday 21st (Monday 17th if you are an RHS member). You can find out more and follow the links here.

We have two more talks for you this month through the Tender Shoots Garden Club Network – the last one sounds particularly fascinating, especially if you remember watching Monty Don’s programme a few years ago.

Wednesday May 19th at 7.30 pm – Talk from the National Arboretum Alrewas – Sponsored by Penkridge Garden Guild

Wednesday May 26th at 7.30pm   –  “Gardens of Paradise” (This talk covers the history, design and symbolism of Persian/Islamic/Moghul gardens). Talk from Adrian James. Sponsored by Evesham G&C.

Further details on how to join the talks (via Zoom or You Tube) along with lists of plants or gardens you can download can be found on the Programme page.

The Plant Swap in Barlaston for today (Saturday 15th) has been cancelled as the weather forecast is not promising.

We have two talks coming up next week and then at the weekend Barlaston Village Garden Club have organised a Plant Swap –

For those that are local to Stoke-on-Trent we have an outdoor plant swap event (weather permitting) on Saturday 15th May 12-2pm in the rear car park of the St.John the Baptist Church, Barlaston, S-o-T, ST12 9DA.  Bring along a folding chair and flask of tea for a socially distanced chit chat.  Whilst here, you could also visit Trentham Gardens, the Dorothy Clive Gardens, or Keele University for the National Collection of Cherry Blossom.
Details of the plant swap are on the Facebook page

Our talks next week are –

Tuesday May 11^th at 7.30pm – ‘Extending the Season in your Garden’. Talk from Victoria Logue.   Sponsored by Ellesmere Garden Club

Thursday May 13th at 7.30pm – “The History of Herbs”.  Talk from Margaret George. Sponsored by Stone, Chrysanthemum & Dahlia Society

More details about the talks and further talks planned for the rest of the month, and into June, can be found on the Porgramme Page.

The Ecclian Society have just announced that they are planning to run their ever-popular Open Gardens weekend on June 19th and 20th. Further details later.

Talk about Climate Change! What happened to those April showers? We’ve just had the driest April since forever and the coldest one for 60 odd years too. And now its the May Bank Holiday – time to plant up the hanging baskets, finish hardening off the plants in the greenhouse, take cuttings of the dahlias that are sprouting well . . . Somehow I think we will be tucked up by the fire this weekend and leaving the plants in the comparative warmth of the greenhouse too. But we do have some more talks (via Zoom thanks to the Tender Shoots Garden Club Network) this month to take our minds off the weather.

The first one is next Friday May 7th and the full list follows. You can find details of the talks, any plant lists to download and how to join the talks on our Programme page.

Friday May 7^th at 7.30pm  –  ‘The Plant Hunters’.  Talk from Jeff Bates.  Sponsored by Austrey Gardening Society.

Tuesday May 11^th at 7.30pm – ‘Extending the Season in your Garden’. Talk from Victoria Logue.   Sponsored by Ellesmere Garden Club

Thursday May 13th at 7.30pm – “The History of Herbs”.  Talk from Margaret George. Sponsored by Stone, Chrysanthemum & Dahlia Society

Wednesday May 19th at 7.30 pm – Talk from the National Arboretum Alrewas – Sponsored by Penkridge Garden Guild

Wednesday May 26th at 7.30pm   –  “Gardens of Paradise” (This talk covers the history, design and symbolism of Persian/Islamic/Moghul gardens). Talk from Adrian James. Sponsored by Evesham G&C.

We’ve had a few late entries for yesterday’s virtual Show. First up are some marvelous Magnolias from Moddershall –

plus a random Trillium kurabayashii

and a few more flowers

Don’t forget there are still several talks coming up this month – including two next week – from the Tender Shoots Garden Club Network. Details of the talks, plant lists to download, and how to join the talks are over on the Programme page.

We asked members to go out into their gardens over Easter and take photos for a virtual show – and they didn’t disappoint.

First we have ‘gardens’ – some sent several photos (they’ve been working hard!), others one or two of interesting or favourite spots –

Then we have flowers in pots – at this time of year tulips seem to feature a lot –

Flowers in the rest of the garden produced a lot of Springtime favourites – daffodils, primroses, fritillaries . . .

The shrubs too were flowering well – Magnolias, Camellias (hope the recent frosts haven’t caused too much damage) and several others, including quinces and currants.

Finally some photos from Keele – an Easter walk to view the National Collection of Flowering Cherries

If you have been missing your garden visits then don’t forget the talk on Tuesday April 13^th at 7.30pm  –  ‘The Dorothy Clive Garden, Seasonal Changes’. Full details and how to join in via Zoom or You Tube are on the Programme page.

Members and friends should by now have received an email from Helen about a new virtual show in April. Please check your junk/spam mail folders if you haven’t found it. We are asking everyone, as it’s now officially Summer Time, to please grab your cameras or phones and take some photos outside.
We would like you to go out into your gardens over Easter between April 2nd- 4th and take a photo(or more) of the garden, of flowers, of shrubs and/or small trees – whatever takes your fancy, then send them before April 8th ready to go on to our website from the 9th
No prizes, just the pleasure of seeing your photo(s) on the website the same as we did back in September for our Virtual Show.

In conjunction with the Tender Shoots Garden Club Network we have a wide variety of talks available for you to join during April.

Tuesday April 6th at 7.30pm – “Succulent Gardens”. Talk from Howard Drury.  .

Thursday April 8^th at 7.30 pm  –  ‘Millenium seed bank project’.  Talk from Sue Bosson.  

Monday April 12th at 2.30pm (rooms open 2.15pm)  – “Drought tolerant plants”.  Talk from Nick Hamilton (Son of Geoff Hamilton).

Tuesday April 13^th at 7.30pm  –  ‘The Dorothy Clive Garden Seasonal Changes’. Talk from Kathryn Robey. 

Tuesday April 27th – Successful Fruit Growing’. Talk from Philip Aubury. 

You will find the full list and links on the Programme page.

We’re looking forward to seeing all your photos