She set about building a successful nursery (which closed in 2011), developing a garden covering three acres of land and bringing up her kids. The slides showed how much work had gone into her plot. The plant combinations were beautiful ... shame I don't have access to her slides. I was particularly taken by a border filled with Calendula, Dahlia David Howard (orange with dark leaves)and Salvia Lady in Red. She had placed a blue Salvia near by to complement the warm colours. It really worked well.
Another one was bright pink Cleome, against the dark red leaves of Ricinus and Geranium Ann Folkard. The pink was a great match for the red leaves but the purple near the ground set it off.
She had lots of Fuchsias and roses, honeysuckle twisting round clematis, Golden Rod mixed with Crocosmia Lucifer and Red Hot Pokers and masses of Nasturtiums. I envied her the three acres of stunning gardens ...but not the hard work! Altogether an inspiring evening.
The Bingham Garden Club chairwoman and the committee do an excellent job when it comes to getting interesting speakers. They have a special evening with Pippa Greenwood planned for next March. We had Martin Fish last month. I read his column in Garden News every week but it came as a surprise when he started talking about growing up in Blidworth near Mansfield ..... that's where I taught for over twenty years. Sure enough he was an ex-pupil of my old school and had fond memories of a number of my old colleagues.
Garden Club meetings are held September through to May when the summer garden visits are organised. There are seven meetings with speakers; the AGM takes up one meeting and the Christmas social the other. We get all this for a mere £10 per annum! A real bargain by anyone's account BUT it also entitles us to cut price seeds! The committee organises orders from Thompson & Morgan at a 50% discount. I put an order in for £70 worth this month and paid £35. So I have met some lovely people, I have been inspired and educated and I've saved money! Brilliant!
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