All the talks are held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in TADWORTH ( unless advised otherwise ) They are either held in the Main Hall or in the smaller meeting room ( where numbers are limited )

 

 Simon Sutcliffe  one of the owners of How Green Nursery will also visit us in Tadworth on 8 September @ 7.00 ( doors open at 6.30 ) to give a talk on New Herbaceous Perennials and Grasses . The talk will be in the main church hall of the good shepherd and he will also bring Plants to buy.

10 October 2026 Julie Verity  Vita Sackville West (and Nicholson),  and Sissinghurst castle – The Quintessential English Garden.  The story of this fascinating married couple and their ‘retreat’ in Kent – Sissinghurst.  10.30 Meeting Room

Julie Verity studied Horticulture and Plant Physiology at university, out of a love of plants. Two degrees and post-doctoral work in New Zealand later, Julie joined industry and reserved her love of plants for as a hobby – gardening. Since then, she has mostly worked in Adult and Executive Business Education. Now with the privilege of retirement, Julie has returned to plants through painting and talking about gardens, gardening heroes and their lives. She speaks at The Guildford Institute amongst other places

14 November 2026 Elizabeth Mooney - Edibles Self  Sufficiency in a small space  10.30 Meeting Room

A little bit of information provided by Elizabeth

I have worked at Wisley for 6 and a half years so 7 by the talk. I am part of the edibles team, working mainly in the world food garden. I am a specialist in annual vegetables but also have a strong interest in perennial veg, and am writing a dissertation on them for the RHS Master of Horticulture programme, which I will have qualified from by the talk. I am a co-author on the recent RHS book on veg growing and a regular on the RHS podcast.

Elizabeth has provided a brief summary of the talk

A few years ago I took the decision to try and be self-sufficient in fresh fruit and veg from my 13x18m allotment and have been managing it ever since. Growing your own brings benefits including fresh and nutritious food, environmental sustainability, and much enjoyment, and while you do not have to be self-sufficient in order to receive this, for me it maximises them. I will talk a bit about why I am self-sufficient, the crops I would not be without, and how I achieve it, particularly through winter and the hungry gap.

 

See March issue of the Garden Mag for an article by Elizabeth about her allotment a fascinating read.