Programme 2024 - 2025

Meetings with invited speakers

During the winter months (October to April, with the exception of December) we meet and enjoy illustrated talks from local and national gardening speakers at:

The Old Barn Hall,
55 Church Road,
Great Bookham
Leatherhead
Surrey
KT23 3PQ

The meetings are on Saturdays, and directions to the venue can be found here.  The venue is accessible for those in wheelchairs and there is a loop system for the hard of hearing.

We usually* open the doors at 10.00am and free tea and coffee are served.  At 10.15am there is a plant sale where you can buy good-quality home-grown plants at very competitive prices.  In addition, there is a range of garden sundries, HPS booklets and second-hand gardening books to buy, and a raffle. 

At about 10.45am, the Chairman will officially start the meeting and a guest speaker will talk for about 1 hour followed by a questions-and-answer session.  The topic will relate to plants and gardens.

During the summer months we run a number of garden visits and outline details will be added as they become available.  The garden visits are members-only, so why not come along to a talk and consider joining?.

Disclaimer: All links checked at time of inclusion but SCG cannot be held responsible for subsequent changes by individual websites.

 2024  
  Throughout the summer months we run a series of Members Only garden visits across Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire.
Saturday 19 October
(10.00 for 10.45 am)		 Talk -  David Marsh will speak on 'The History of the London Square'.  This talk looks at the rise of the square, and at the threats and challenges they have faced over the past 400 years and at ideas for their future.  David Marsh is a garden historian, lecturer and writer.  Plant sale.
Saturday 23 November
(10.00 for 10.45 am)

Talk - Timothy Walker will speak about 'In the not-so-bleak midwinter'.  This talk looks at the opportunities for bringing winter interest to your garden.  A botanist, lecturer and previously Director of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden, Timothy was previously with us 3 years ago.

This event is free to members and is followed by the Members’ Festive Lunch. Attendance at the talk and the lunch must be booked in advance.  More details to follow in the Autumn.
2025  
Saturday 11 January (10.00 for 10.45 am)

Talk – Fergus Garrett  will speak about “Succession Planting for a Long Season”.

This talk is about layered, or succession planting, in which plants coexist in one space but perform at different seasons.

Fergus Garrett VMH is an English plantsman, horticultural educationalist and Chief Executive of the Great Dixter Charitable Trust. He is described as one of the most influential living garden designers and horticultural educators in Britain today. Fergus works full-time, hands-on in the garden at Great Dixter, as well as writing and lecturing extensively across the world.   Plant sale.
Saturday 15 February (10.00 for 10.45 am)

Talk – Annabel Watts  will speak about “The Changing Seasons at Munstead Wood”

A talk about Gertrude Jekyll’s garden, Munstead Wood, near Godalming.

Annabel is Head Gardener at Munstead Wood. In 2001, after working as a PA in London for 23 years, Annabel applied for a part-time gardener job she saw advertised at Munstead Wood.   When the head gardener left eleven years later, she was asked to take over and has been Head Gardener there ever since. In 2023 the National Trust acquired Munstead Wood and Annabel now works for them in the same role.   Plant sale.
Saturday 15 March (10.00 for 10.45 am)

AGM followed by Talk – Ben Pope  will speak about “Containing the Unconventional”

A talk focusing on the joys of container gardening and what can be achieved with a little imagination and inspiration.

Ben is Head Gardener for a private garden in West Sussex. 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.  Plant sale.
Saturday 12 April (10.00 for 10.45 am)

Talk – Kevin Tooher  will speak about “Euphorbias for Home and Garden”

A talk about the different euphorbias that can be grown, with the emphasis on hardy, garden plants.

Kevin is a regular speaker and lecturer at several sites across the South East. He is an RHS trials judge and a member of several RHS groups. He is also a regular guest speaker on Radio Kent Sunday Gardening.   Plant and seedling sale.