Visitors and guests are welcome to attend meetings which are usually held on the second Thursday of the month at 7.30 prompt at Christ Church Centre, Christchurch Way, Stone ST15 8ZB
Admission £1.50 including refreshments.

2023 Programme of Monthly Meetings

We have arranged a full programme of meetings for 2023 and look forward to being able to meet each other again this year.  Tea and coffee will be provided at the beginning of meetings and will be in disposable cups.

We will also continue to support the Tender Shoots Garden Club Network (TSGCN). A full list of their talks will appear on their website as they are booked and upcoming talks will be advertised here a few weeks beforehand – along with the ability to download any plant lists or other information – see below.

January

January 10  ZOOM  Doug Stewart “Ten Must Have New Plants”  https://dougstewart.co.uk/    “Working with some of the largest plant producers in the UK, I am very fortunate to see many new plants before they are launched…  Traveling widely in the UK and visiting many of the leading gardens, which are crammed with fantastic plants gives the opportunity to view many of the newest introductions, many of which we are putting through their paces on the BBC Radio Humberside allotment.  Here are just 10 of these plants, which are worthy of a place in every garden…” This Zoom talk is being hosted by TSGCN – see their website for log-in details (members should have received an email with these).

February

February 9  AGM 7.00 pm Dr Peter Thomas  “Forest Fires”  Dr Peter Thomas has been at Keele since 1986.  After working for a year he did his PhD on the regeneration of trees after forest fires at the University of New Brunswick, Canada. He is the author of several books on trees including one for the New Naturalist series.

March  – NB Please note new date

March 30  Don Witton  “Once Seen Never Forgotten”  “Whether it is unforgettable garden scenes, beautiful flower blooms, bizarre plant names or hilarious horticultural encounters, this talk has an eclectic mix of images caught on camera during my garden and wildflower travels around this country and further afield. A colourful and entertaining talk that will last long in your memory.”

April

April  EASTER  No Meeting. Spring Bus trip to Bents Garden Centre and Parm Place, Cheshire.

May

May 11  Maureen Sayer “Foliage Matters” Maureen Sayer is a gardener and practising artist and designer who divides her time between the development of the garden at Southlands, the garden design and consultation service she offers and her own work which she exhibits in galleries and craft shops. In the past she was a senior lecturer in art and design. She is a member of the National Executive Committee of the Cottage Garden Society and a listed RHS speaker.

June

June 8  Samantha Hope  “Plants with a Story“

July

July 13  Robin Pearce – Crazy Daisies – exploring the world of ‘daisy-like’ flowers.  Robin is a retired nurseryman. He continues to growing very wide range of hardy plants, with a special interest in Dahlia, Hosta, Hemerocallis, Pulmonaria, Galanthus, woodland plants, ornamental grasses and hardy ferns. Robin is the former chair of the RHS Herbaceous Plant Committee, RHS Floral Judge, Exhibitor, Judge and Speaker.

August

No Meeting

September

September 14  Alun and Jill Whitehead  “Pasties and Tin Mines” 

October

October 1  Ken Black, “Clematis for All Year Round Colour”  

November

November 9  Sue Clarke, “Hardy Geraniums, the good, the bad and the ugly“

December

December 14  2.00 pm 

2024 Programme of Monthly Meetings

January

January 11th Sally Gregson – Hydrangeas. This is a Zoom meeting with TSGCN

February

February 8th AGM at 7pm followed at 7.30 by Jeff Bates – The Royal Gardens, Windsor

TSGCN Talks

These are available free to members of this club – please contact Helen if you want to know how to join in or look on the TSGCN website.

March 20th Monday – Peter Moore – Plant Breeding– Peter is a Plant Heritage National Collection Holder and also a commercial plant breeder. It’s extremely likely you will already have one of his plants growing in your garden that’s been developed by Peter, such as Buddleia, Philadelphus, Choisya etc. He will be giving us his inside tips on plant breeding. your garden.

March 27th Monday – George Hargreaves – Notable Botanic Gardens of the UK. George is a volunteer guide at Westonbirt Arboretum and will be giving us a tour of the most inspiring Botanic Gardens in the UK.

April 24th Monday – Jackie Currie – How to grow Alliums and the best varieties to choose. Jackie is a PH National Collection Holder and will take us through her collection. (NB This will be a Members & Affiliated Clubs only event)

April TBC Chris Blackburn – Ultra Sonic Pest Control – Learn about the safe way to control animals coming into your gardens without the need to use harmful chemicals.  

Summer break.

September 25th Monday  – Lucy Hartley – Climate change and its effect on our gardens. Lucy is a very talented garden designer running her own consultancy. “The climate emergency has been with us for a while. We all need to do what we can to both mitigate and prepare for climate change. After covering, briefly, what climate change actually means for our gardens this talk will look at ways we can use our gardens to guard and support local biodiversity while sequestering more carbon. It will then cover insight on how to cope with the changes that are coming. Tips are given on how to nurture a more healthy and resilient garden.”

October 26th Thursday – Timothy Walker (former curator of Oxford Botanic Garden) – Bordering on Insanity (creating an all-year-round border). “This talk looks exclusively at the herbaceous border in my wife’s garden and covers the principles and practicalities to be adopted when trying to create a border that is interesting all year round. It concludes with a look at a collection of must-have plants for such a border.”

November 8th Wednesday – Andrew Mikolajski – Do Your Roots Need Doing – Good root growth is essential for healthy and productive plants. How can you be sure yours are performing well under ground when you can’t even see them.

December Christmas Quiz TBC

More talks TBC, further details are on the tendershoots.uk website.