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Gardening Clubs

jayne10bjayne10b Posts: 105
in The potting shed
I am interested in hearing if any of you are part of a gardening club?  If so, what kind of activities do you do?  I'm quite interested to meet with like-minded green fingered people, but not quite sure how to go about it.  When I did a google search, it seemed to come up with nearly all school gardening clubs or allotments, and I am not involved with either of these!!

I'd quite like to join some kind of socially minded, garden visits, local project type groups.  Any ideas?
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  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    I've been to a number of clubs over the years, although not gardening clubs.  The problem I find is that many seem to be run by people on a power trip.  They want to control every aspect and won't request or even countenance input or opinion from others.  Worst I came across was a walking group, where if you weren't walking at exactly the pace of "The Leader" there way much tutting and huffing.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I ran my own garden group when we lived in Belgium.  It was small, about 20 members, and we would have a lunch meeting in February to plan our schedule of visits to each others gardens where we could admire, commiserate, advise, suggest and lunch.  All ladies except for one honorary male and occasional hangers on.  Many nationalities who all loved plants but didn't necessarily know about gardening with seasons and Belgian weather and soil.   Very hard to motivate them for external visits unless there was a good lunch on offer.

    Here I have joined a club that organises weekend trips to other regions to see gardens as well as one day excursions to gardens in this region.  We take our own picnic lunch and share and natter.  Sometimes they organise an event with a guest speaker or demos or willow weaving.  Once a year they organise a big plant fair which members help set up and then man our stall and refreshments.

    Look around for what you have in your area.  @Chicky belongs to a good one with regular guest speakers.  @Liriodendron runs a group of volunteers to look after a local park the council can't afford any more.  @LG_L volunteers in a community garden.   Depends where you are and what you want.   If there's an RHS garden or an NT garden near you you could volunteer there.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    try local meetings of the Hardy Plant Society and Cottage Garden Society and also use Horticultural Society for a further search


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • jayne10bjayne10b Posts: 105
    @Obelixx your Belgian club sounds like just what I’m after!  I’m in Bromley, Kent if anyone knows of a local group interested in new members.  @nutcutlet I will google your suggestions!
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    I am a member of the Cottage Garden Society, our local group is very active, visits to gardens, demonstrations,  shows etc. It very much depends on your local area though, some groups don't do much, they may welcome fresh blood as it were. Maybe l have been lucky,  but l have always found local groups (not just the CGS ones)  in various areas to be very welcoming. 
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    We belong to Weston Village Gardening Club (Bath) (sorry, too far away from you in Kent, Jayne). We meet monthly, in the local church (only place big enough) and have guest talkers. There are about 70 members so very well attended. They also organise Potato Days, excursions to other gardens, holidays, local Flower Show and every 2 or 3 years, Open Days for local gardens (about 12-14) in this locality. Any profits help to maintain the local roundabout flowers and village planters etc. Last year we donated two benches for local areas. It's a good group and very friendly.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • PurplerainPurplerain Posts: 1,053
    I am in lots of groups including walking groups and generally find members to be lovely and welcoming. The one group I choose not to join is the Horticulture Society in my area. When the President still measures out his Marigolds and Begonias 60's style I know to stay away. (He lives next door to me).
    SW Scotland
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    @jayne 10b I'm in the area and have experienced the same problem. Let me know if you find anything
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,360
    I've not found anything in the way of garden clubs (talks, visits etc) round here - I'm very envious of Chicky's one. But there are lots of community gardening opprtunities. As Obelixx said, I  volunteer up at Dinosaur Island in Crystal Palace Park, and I've also done some volunteering in the museum garden. 
    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
  • chickychicky Posts: 10,410
    Ours is a village club affiliated to the RHS.  We have over 200 members (of which 100-150 regularly fill the hall for our monthly speakers).  There is an enthusiastic committee who do a lot of organising, and we routinely get fantastic speakers (Nick Bailey last month).  The programme for 2020 is pretty much finalised, and 2021 is well on the way .....so quite a machine.  Having lots of members, and regular plant sales, gives us the funds to pay for one or two more expensive speakers a year, and the promise of an audience of over 100 entices others to come too.  Other villages around and about have their own clubs (maybe not quite as big) and we share speaker ideas with them too.

    if you can find a few people who are prepared to devote their energies to it, you can get a thriving club going .......but you need some grafters, who are prepared to run something that caters for a wide range of people, rather than a personal crusade.  Hope you find something soon 😀
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