Come to one of our 2025 Gardening Club events.
AGM - Followed by a talk on Seeds by Jason Breed - Mole Seeds (with seed sales)
Mole Seeds are an independent supplier of seeds and vegetable plants based in Colchester. They stock all things seeds including wildflowers, perennials & annual seeds, vegetables seeds and vegetable plants and sundry gardening items.
Jason will advise us of the company’s new seeds for 2025 and seeds will be available to purchase on the night.
Joe Bagley – Houseplants – The House Plant Dr
Joe Bagley is the creator of ukhouseplants.com which influences and teaches people about houseplant care in a simplistic, standardised way.
From top tips, care requirements and common issues, keeping your houseplant alive is just a scroll away.
Nick Bailey (Ticket Event £15.00) Gardeners World 365 Days of Colour (with book sales)
Nick became a regular presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World in March 2016. He has also appeared on BBC 2’s Great British Garden Revival and Big Dreams Small Spaces
After studying horticulture at Hadlow College and receiving a first-class honours degree in landscape design from Greenwich University, Nick has worked across many sectors of horticulture over the last 30 years, including nursery stock production, garden management, garden design, teaching, public speaking, horticultural consultancy, writing and broadcasting.
He has designed and managed numerous gardens throughout the UK, Spain, South Africa and Australia and created his first Main Avenue Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2016 (Silver Gilt). Nick is also the former Head Gardener at London’s oldest botanic garden – Chelsea Physic Garden and in addition to his Gardeners’ World role, he has also appeared on BBC 2’s Great British Garden Revival and Big Dreams Small Spaces.
Plant Sales
Garden visit: Great Dixter
ALL GARDEN VISITS FOR 2025 (DETAILS AND COSTS) WILL BE EMAILED TO MEMBERS
Kate Elliott – Columbine Hall - A garden love affair
Columbine Hall has been the home of Hew Stevenson and his late wife Leslie Geddes-Brown since 1993. They restored the house, gardens and grounds, and have received critical acclaim for their efforts
The gardens have featured in Country Living, Gardens Illustrated, The English Garden, The Kitchen Garden. They also appear in Leslie’s own books, The Walled Garden and The Water Garden.
Kate Elliott came straight from school to become gardener at Columbine Hall in 1997 when she was sixteen. The garden was then in its infancy and she has developed it so well it has been awarded a star in The Good Gardens Guide.
As well as maintaining the garden she takes charge of propagation in the greenhouse and polytunnel and the plant sales. She is a member of the Professional Gardeners’ Guild and the Institute of Horticulture.
Garden visit: Benton End
ALL GARDEN VISITS FOR 2025 (DETAILS AND COSTS) WILL BE EMAILED TO MEMBERS
Garden visit: Hopleys Wildflower
ALL GARDEN VISITS FOR 2025 (DETAILS AND COSTS) WILL BE EMAILED TO MEMBERS
Talk: Barbara Segall – Gardens of the South East
Barbara is an award-winning horticulturist, an author of numerous books and a freelance garden writer whose work appears in specialist gardening publications. Living and writing in Suffolk, Barbara will touch on the inspiration for her book Secret Gardens of the South East
She decided to specialise in garden writing in 1986 and became a student at Otley College in Suffolk, where she obtained a certificate in Amenity and Decorative Horticulture.
Barbara is developing a new town garden in Sudbury, where she grows ornamental and productive plants in containers and in the ground, and is enthusiastic about low-maintenance gardening. For a number of years she grew, bunched flowers and sold flowers at farmers’ markets.
Garden visit: Wolfe Hall, Barrow
ALL GARDEN VISITS FOR 2025 (DETAILS AND COSTS) WILL BE EMAILED TO MEMBERS
138th Annual Flower Show with Quiz - Visit our Annual Show for more details.
RHS Wisley – Flower Show and garden visit
ALL GARDEN VISITS FOR 2025 (DETAILS AND COSTS) WILL BE EMAILED TO MEMBERS
Adam Frost (Ticket Event £20) – Gardeners World - Getting the Most from Your Garden
Adam Frost is an award-winning British garden designer, television presenter and motivational speaker. Best known for his successes at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, he is passionate about inspiring adults and children alike to create their own gardens
Adam is a presenter on BBC’s Gardeners’ World (BBC Two) and also appears regularly on the BBC’s coverage of RHS Flower Show. He has also featured on The One Show and DIY SOS (BBC One) as well as The Alan Titchmarsh Show (ITV). In 2016 he won ‘Best New Talent’ at the RTS West Awards.
Since 2007, Adam has amassed seven gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. He regularly lectures on a wide range of horticultural topics, both nationally and internationally and is a regular contributor to Gardeners’ World and other horticultural magazines. Adam’s first book Real Gardens was published in 2015 by Red Planet Publishing. His second book ‘RHS How to Create your Garden: Ideas and Advice for Transforming your Outdoor Space’ is available now, published by DK.
He is trained in horticulture and landscape design and began his professional career in the mid-1980’s with an apprenticeship at the North Devon Parks Department. Adam later moved to Rutland where he began working with Geoff Hamilton at Barnsdale Gardens where he helped design and create many of the 38 small gardens which are still on show to the public today.
Martin Woods - Sandringham Gardens
In 1997 Martin was offered and proudly accepted the position of Head Gardener at Sandringham, a position he held until April 2022
During his time as Head Gardener, Martin has been responsible for the maintenance and development of almost one hundred acres of garden and parkland including a seventeen-acre Walled Garden, large glasshouse complex, three royal residences and a whole host of associated tasks unique to a large private estate.
Martin has received numerous awards related to his role, the most notable being presented with The Royal Victoria Medal by Her Majesty the Queen who later made him a Member of the Victorian Order, an honour reserved exclusively for those who have personally served the Royal Family.
After a six-month sabbatical travelling Europe and covering around ten thousand miles exploring the Gardens and Parks of eight different countries, Martin has returned to Sandringham where he now works part time as a Project Manager.
Talk: Ed Flint – Companion Annuals for a mixed garden
A true ‘hands-on’ gardener, Edward is the Head Gardener in a private family garden on the Kent / Sussex border where the garden includes extensive Mixed Plantings, Woodlands, Meadows, Vegetables and Cut Flowers
Previous experience designing and building gardens across the UK and Europe after an informal but hugely informative apprenticeship at Great Dixter and Washfield Nursery, under the guidance of Christopher Lloyd and Elizabeth Strangman.
Course tutor on the Art and Craft of Gardening, Great Dixter and lecturer at the English Gardening School for over 20 years. Lover of wild places and believer in the importance of gardening as a craft.
Christmas Social Event
The admission charge to our speaker meetings is normally £2.00 for members and £4.00 for visitors except for the A.G.M. when there is no charge.
Unless stated otherwise, meetings start at 7.30 pm.