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We were blessed to have Nick Martin for our talk on Tuesday, 14 January, 2025. On his own admission, Nick was born a naturalist. As a child, he was fascinated with wildlife and after initially working for the RSPB he is now warden at the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. A month spent photographing wildlife in gardens…
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Don Whitton is a national collection holder of hardy euphorbia and is a member of the Hardy Planters Society. His love of gardening and plants was evident throughout the evening. His talk on 12th November 2024 was full of handy strategies for keen gardeners to survive the dark winter months (November through to February) and…
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Toby Buckland, English gardener, TV presenter and author, gave an enjoyable and entertaining talk on 8th October 2024. It was full of gentle anecdotes and practical gardening tips. The core of Toby’s talk was colour in the garden focusing on ‘everyday’ more common varieties of plants. He encouraged us to think about texture and leaves,…
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On 9th July 2024, returning favourite to the club Doug Stewart gave an interesting and incredibly humorous talk on the history of RHS Bridgewater (designed by Tom Stuart Smith) and the development of the gardens as they are today. RHS Bridgewater in the grounds of Worsley New Hall has a fascinating history. The Halland terraced…
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Geoff Hodge is a knowledgeable horticulturist. He is a freelance writer, author, radio broadcaster and gives talks on many gardening subjects. At his presentation to the Ticknall Gardening Club on 14 November 2023, Geoff started by telling us about Global warming/climate change. He described how we would all have to change the way we garden.…
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All the best things come in little packages, so they say and Rodney Young aimed to prove it when he came to the June 2023 meeting of Ticknall Garden Club. He has perfected the art of growing bonsai trees over many years and the examples he displayed were impressive in shape and variety. The art…
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Neil Timm came to the May meeting of Ticknall Garden Club on 8 May 2023 to talk about a rather underrated group of plants, the world of ferns. They are quite unlike any other plants in that they do not produce flowers and seeds but spores. On a warm summer’s day their fronds bend and…
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Steffie Shields MBE is a lecturer, photographer, historic/landscape/ conservationist consultant and a writer for consumer magazines. She is very passionate about her subject. So much so she has written a book about Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown called Moving Heaven and Earth. I thought I knew a lot about Mr Brown but after Steffie’s presentation to Ticknall Garden Club…
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Green Fingers? Or just green with envy at other people’s success? Whatever your involvement in horticultural pursuits you will be made most welcome at the regular meetings of the Ticknall Garden Club. The club was established in 1990 and has over 100 members. Knowledgeable speakers cover a wide variety of topics of interest to experienced…
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Darren Rudge is not only a Horticulturist but also a horticulture lecturer, writer andbroadcaster. So, as they say, ‘he knows his subject’. Darren has an easy going and refreshing style. At the March meeting of the Ticknall Garden Club he was able to convey a subject that can be complex so easily to an audience.…
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John Scrace was the first speaker of 2023 at the January meeting of Ticknall Garden Club. He came with in-depth knowledge of pests and diseases that can plague the plants in our gardens. He is a freelance pathologist whose advice can be readily accessed on the Royal Horticultural Society website. www.rhs.org.uk He started with the…
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Karen Gimson came to talk to Ticknall Garden Club at their November meeting. As well as being a garden designer she broadcasts on gardening topics at Radio Leicester and writes articles for Garden News. Her wide experience was very evident as she interspersed her talk with very practical advice. She set out to show that…
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Chris Beardshaw proved to be a popular speaker at Ticknall Garden Club’s October meeting. There was a full house to hear what the well-known gardening personality had to say. He believed that gardening links lives together; giving satisfaction and a purpose to life. He would also show how driving ambition can achieve success against all…
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Steve Lovell from Lincolnshire has always combined his passion for nature with his horticultural career of thirty years. In fact he is about to publish a nature diary written during covid called Clowns to Cuckoos. He came to the July meeting of Ticknall Garden Club to talk about encouraging wildlife into our gardens. He emphasised…
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Ticknall Garden Club was treated to a highly entertaining presentation at their June meeting. Doug Stewart travelled from Beverley in Yorkshire to convince us that keeping houseplants was a rewarding experience. He pointed out that it can evolve into a long-lasting love for gardening as happened in his own case. He started by explaining how…
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Philip Aubury came to Ticknall Garden Clubs meeting in May to reassure his audience that there is plenty of scope for planting even without a garden. He included the use of gro-bags, pots, hanging baskets, plastic bags, raised beds and window boxes with lots of useful advice along the way. Tomatoes are ideal subjects for…
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Malcolm Dickson from Hooksgreen Herb Nursery near Stone came to talk at Ticknall Garden Club’s April meeting. He traced his progress from selling bedding plants on market stalls to establishing a successful Nursery selling herbs. During that journey, he was the first to introduce, the now staple, cosmos to the gardener. Along the way, he…
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Gary Carroll came to the February meeting of Ticknall Garden Club to talk about geraniums. But it did not involve the bright and showy bedding plants with which we are so familiar. Gary grows 142 varieties of the humble hardy geranium at his Cranesbill Nursery in Walsall. Hardy geraniums are widespread around the globe in…
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Ticknall Garden Club enjoyed a most interesting talk on the working life of a head gardener at its January meeting. After gaining qualifications in horticulture and landscape design, Pip Smith worked as Head Gardener at three different prestigious locations before now branching out into his own garden design business. He first worked at Winterbourne House…
