Wednesday January 20th 

House Plants (John Ainsworth - Bamber Bridge)

John last spoke to us in 2005 on Greenhouse Gardening. He is a member of the Hardy Plants Society with a 1-acre garden in Bamber Bridge which he and his wife have developed over 25 years. Their greenhouses are full of exotic and fascinating plants.

 Wednesday February 17th

Water Gardens (Bob Hughes - Myerscough College)

Bob has been a lecturer in Horticulture at Myerscough College  for several years having moved north from a post a Kew Gardens.

 Wednesday March 17th

Garden Design and a lot more! (Andrew Shaw - Skipton)

Andrew is one of the North's leading garden designers. Based near Wigglesworth, he is the creator of the nursery and design  centre,  GARDENMAKERS which enjoys a reputation as a formative centre of gardening excellence.

 Friday March 26th

Annual Dinner -The King William, Chapeltown Road, Bromley Cross

 Wednesday April 21st

House Plants (John Ainsworth - Bamber Bridge) Postponed from January  and replacing the Sue Hoy talk, postponed through illness.

John last spoke to us in 2005 on Greenhouse Gardening. He is a member of the Hardy Plants Society with a 1-acre garden in Bamber Bridge which he and his wife have developed over 25 years. Their greenhouses are full of exotic and fascinating plants.

 Saturday May 15th

Spring Outing to Bodnant Gardens 

Bodnant Garden has grown in stature over recent years. The garden has two parts. The upper garden around Bodnant Hall consists of the terraced gardens and informal lawns shaded by trees.The lower portion, known as the "Dell" is formed by the valley of the River Hiraethlyn and contains the Wild garden.

 Wednesday May 19th

Perennials & Grasses (Russ Watkins , RHS, Harlow Carr) 

Russ has stepped in to fill the gap left by our original speaker DeanPeckett who has moved on from RHS  Harlow Carr Russ is one of the expert gardeners at  Harlow Carr and has written on garden topics in the Yorkshire Post.

 Wednesday June 16th

Evening Visit to Bluebell Cottage Garden 

Bluebell Cottage Gardens and Lodge Lane Nursery are set in gorgeous Cheshire countryside a few miles south of Warrington. Lodge Lane Nursery is an RHS partner nursery and specialises in hardy herbaceous perennials, with a typical stock of over 1500 varieties. The gardens offer a 2 acre wildflower meadow and 2 acre bluebell woods.Refreshments are available in the nursery and there is plenty of seating throughout the gardens.

 Wednesday July 21st

Begonias from Start to Finish (Terry Tasker, Southport) 

Terry is Southport Flower Show's Horticultural Manager. He and his wife Shirley run Shirley's Plants  a speciality National Collection of Begonia species & hybrids. If possible Terry will bring plants to sell.

 Friday July 30th to Monday August 2nd

Gardens of Norfolk (Mini-holiday click here for details)

 Saturday August 21st

Annual Show 

At the Barlow Institute. Details of the 2009 Show, including the show schedule are available on this web site and will be updated in 2010.

 Saturday September 4th

Autumn Outing to the Gardens at Ripley Castle and Newby Hall   

At Ripley Castle there are large herbaceous borders which create a riot of colour and a huge range of hot houses containing  a highly impressive collection of tropical plants, ferns and cacti. Ancient wisteria and clematis thrive on the high south-facing walls. The walled kitchen garden contains an extensive herb bed (where we can display our knowledge from Sue Hoy's talk!) and an extraordinary collection of rare vegetables (and get ready for Phil Dunnett!) , grown in cooperation with the Henry Doubleday Research Association.

According to the Yorkshire in Bloom judges, Newby Hall and Gardens is well known in the horticultutal fraternity as an impressive example of a well designed and extensive range of garden features, expertly decorated with a   diverse range of plants. The truly magnificent herbaceous borders are the central feature of the gardens but are by no means the only feature of quality. Garden rooms and themed planting provide a range of style's that can easily be incorporated into most gardens large or small. Of particular value is the work on plant conservation and Newby boasts the best collection of the genus Cornus in the Country

 Wednesday September 15th

Vegetables and Plants for the Winter Garden (Phil Dunnit - Woodplumpton) 

Phil will be bringing plants to sell including vegetable seedlings.

 Wednesday October 20th

Chrysanthemums (Ken Dear - South Wirral) 

 Wednesday November 17th

AGM, Seed Swap and social evening   (Click here for AGM 2008 Minutes)