WE WELCOME ALL GARDENERS TO OUR WINTER PROGRAMME OF TALKS
Talks take place monthly on the 2nd Tuesday at the Village Hall, Longstock at 7.00 pm
January -April Oct -December
The Garden Club is for both experienced and inexperienced gardeners. At each meeting, there is a guest speaker, a chance to socialise with other gardeners over tea or coffee and topical advice from experienced members.
Guest are welcome £3 Raffle tickets £1 each
February AGM 2026 membership is still only £15 for 7 great talks
Winter programme
NEXT MEETING
February 10th AGM with wine ..
Nick Gilbert
‘Gilberts Dahlia Year’ Nick will bring a selection of tubers to buy
Nick runs Gilberts Nursery near Romsey, where they grow over 400 varieties of dahlias; they hybridise to get their own new varieties. and sell dahlias as rooted cuttings and potted plants, not only at their nursery, but also by mail order. Nick has appeared on Gardeners’ World, in the national press and on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time.
March 10th
Pip Bensley Flowers
Climbers What you need to know when choosing climbers
Worked at Hillier Nurseries for many years with Andy McIndoe
April 14TH
Mark Porter a light-hearted, interesting, and informative talk that covers a brief history of the NGS, since its inception in 1927.
Save this date
A plant sale will be held on 16th May 2026 in Mary Matthews’ garden, Stockbridge 8-12 am. Remember to pot up any spare plants you have for the plant sale
8.00-12.00.
Summer Gardens to Visit. The committee have arranged to visit three stunning gardens this summer. See details and sign up at the AGM .
October 13th 2026
Benjamin Pope
- Making the Most of What You Have (how to get the most out of your garden, whatever the size or space)
Ben is currently a Head Gardener for a private garden in West Sussex. He has worked and studied in various aspects of horticulture for the last 21 years and his qualifications include the Wisley Practical Diploma, RHS Diploma and the RHS Master of Horticulture. He regularly writes for Gardens Illustrated and teaches at the Chelsea Physic Garden for The English Gardening School and at West Dean College of Art and Conservation. Ben is also a member of the RHS Herbaceous Plant Committee.
November 10th
An Introduction to the Gardens of Japan.
Graham Bowyer
SE Chair, Japanese Garden Society
December 8th
Members’ evening PowerPoint rescheduled from Dec 2024,
Photos required your garden or gardens you visited
email me before end of October 2027 Please
with mince pies
January 12th 2027
Michael Harvey, is in charge of the Rose Garden at Mottisfont.
For a number of years worked under John Wood at Hinton Ampner
Mottisfont A Rose Garden Paradise –Garden Maintenance.
Feb 9th AGM
AGM with wine
Fran Clifton Head Gardener ‘Hillier Gardens’
Through the Seasons at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens
of our four garden visits for 2024 are below or Book at our March or April meetings
- Richard ‘s Garden Autumn 2025
Past speakers below
January 13th Andy McIndoe
Tuesday 13th January at 19.30 in Stockbridge Town Hall
(Doors open at 19.00)
Andy is the well known ex-Managing Director of Hillier Nurseries, responsible for 25 consecutive Gold Medal winning exhibits at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. He is one of the UK’s leading horticulturists and is a Garden Consultant, Planting Designer, Author, Lecturer and Broadcast
SOLD OUT
Cash bar wine, soft drinks
Don’t forget to bring money for tonight’s special Raffle: 5 amazing prizes to be won
Kindly given by
£50 gift voucher Hillier Nurseries
A magnum of red wine from Stone, Vine and Sun.
A special gift, Longstock Park Nursery
3 Hairy Pot plants, from Kirton Farm
Peter Moore An RHS Stainless Steel Garden Trowel /Bulb Planter
A special meeting will be at Stockbridge Town Hall. SOLD OUT
.Past Speakers and visits
December Christmas 9th with Mince pie
Carol Watson
My wild flowers hot-spots of the world
Always an excellent speaker Carol’s first talk was in 2008 and has been a regularly requested speaker ever since.
November 11th Geoff Hawkins
From 30 Acres to 30 sq yds
Geoff Hawkins, Head Gardener for many years on a 30-acre estate, Mill Court, in Alton, Hampshire. A man with lots of experience! He has been one of the gardening experts to speak on LBC, Southern Counties Radio and Delta FM and is a member of the Surrey Guild of Judges and Lecturers. Now retire The 4th talk to Longstock GC
October 14th Souren Ala
Persiana Gardens
Souren Ala For the last 23 years Souren has been engaged garden design, creation and planting. He began writing for The Hardy Plant (the journal of the Hardy Plant Society) in 2014 and became its editor in 2019. He has a particular interest in bulbs and wildflower meadows.
April 8th Gillian Taylor 2025
Shrubs The Back Bone of your Garden
This is the second time Gillian has come to Longstock in March 2020 she gave us a highly entertaining talk.
March 11th Clare Mitchell 2025
Climate Change and Gardening
It should be an interesting talk about how we adapted to growing plants either too wet or very hot & dry The weather has always been a topic to talk about in England but in recent years we have had extreme making gardening a challenge
Ray Broughton Alpines
Alpines are ideal for small gardens, pots on the Patio
Ray Broughton.
Ray is a highly qualified horticulturist, teacher, lecturer and examiner, with over 30 years of experience in addressing gardening clubs and societies. Ray has spent a lifetime in horticulture, he is ahead of Horticulture at Sparsholt and in 2000 was made a Fellow of the RHS.
Jan 14th 2025
Derek Taylor of Kirton Farm Nursery
The History of the Hairy Pots
Christmas Cancelled power outrage re Schedule December 2026
Members evening
A fantastic selection of photos taken by our members
Over the past 18 months
with mines pies
An afternoon Forest Lav evening
Another great evening and well support
Please join us at our fund raising meeting in aid of Horatio’s Garden,
the charity that provides accessible gardens at NHS Spinal Injury Centres
that nurtures the wellbeing of people after life changing injuries.
Tuesday 12 th November at 7.30pm (doors open 7pm) in Longstock Village Hall
Lucy Thorpe, Head Gardener and Garden Therapist, from Horatio’s Garden, Salisbury will
give a presentation on the gardens, their designs and plants and how they benefit the
Raffle
Horatio’s Gardens sales table
Tickets £5 (free to LGC members)
Oct 8th
Mrs Rosemary G. Legrand,
Spectacular South African Flora and Fauna
A fantastic evening wonderful photos
April 9th
Mr Roger Butler A talk on Pelargonium with plants for sale
March 12th Glen Duggan Fantastic Flora of Australia History of Flowers
Along with his wife Theresa, he is an avid gardener, bird watcher, photographer and bird artist. Glenn specialises in birds of the tropics, whilst Theresa specialises in flowers, plants and butterflies. Glenn has now visited over 100 countries and includes two places few people have visited; Tristan da Cunha possibly the remotest island in the world and the Darien Jungle on the border with Panama and Colombia – one of the most dangerous places in the world!
January 9th Geoff Hawkins The Herbaceous Border
Our next meeting
February 13th AGM with wine
Wilf Simcox
Plants and wildlife of the cloud forest of Honduras
Jan 10th 2023 Member’s evening
This evening was a great success it will be repeated December 10th 2024
2024 Please remember to take photos your garden and gardens you visit
Autumn Winter program at Longstock Village Hall
Feb 14th 2023 GREAT EVENING OVER 90 ATTEND
Andy Mcindoe
Planting for Wildlife: Shrubs, perennials, annuals and bulbs that provide nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects and berries and seeds for birds. A little about trees, meadows and garden habitats.
A special meeting wine and nibbles free to members
March 14th AGM
Antony Powell Colour of the Pyrenees
April 11th By Mr Matthew Soper,
On Carnivorous plants
Hampshire Carnivorous Plants.Ltd
are one of the top nurseries in the UK growing and selling …
Venus flytrap Dionaea muscipula Sarracenia is a plant nursery with the widest range of top American pitcher
Plants for sale after Talk
Horatio’s Garden Thursday the 22nd May 10 – 11.30 Price per person is £20 Max of 20 in the group. Shared cars Full taking names for 2026 visit
Spitfire House, Stockbridge, SO20 6JS on Tuesday the 10th June from 5 – 7 pm. £10 pp to include refreshments Full
Longstock Garden Club 