THE meeting was opened by chairman, Jonathan Collins, who thanked everyone for their contribution to the Annual Show and gave out information about the AGM and Annual Supper to be held in November at the Three Ways Hotel in Mickleton.

David Cropp, our speaker for the evening, had kindly stepped in at the last minute following the unavailability of the pre-booked speaker. David’s topic was ‘Defensive Gardening at a Time of Climate Change’. David had some very different approaches to gardening in changing weather conditions, reminding us that plants have been adapting to their environment for millions of years. Changing climate is not a new phenomenon, there have been warm conditions followed by mini ‘Ice Ages’ over many years. Some of David’s ideas were at odds to the usual approach of gardeners who tend to nurture all their plants, sometimes over feeding and killing them with kindness. He suggested leaving non-invasive weeds to provide ground cover, spreading out planting times to suit the conditions rather than following the usual recommended months and being more flexible in our approach to our gardens.

There was a vote of thanks to David followed by the announcement of the competition winner, Mavis Ward, for her photograph of Autumn leaves.

SANDRA REED