Happy New Year! Find out everything that’s going on in the Society this month

Zoom talk from Ken Thompson

Friday 16th January at 7.30 pm ‘No Nettles required: the Truth about Wildlife Gardening’

Ken Thompson is a retired academic who now lives in Devon, but spent most of his career at Sheffield University. He teaches garden ecology on the Kew Horticulture Diploma, and was for 16 years a member of RHS Science Committee. For ten years he wrote a regular gardening column for the Daily Telegraph, but now writes chiefly for Which? Gardening. Gardening for wildlife being such a hot topic, this talk is sure to be popular. Ken’s articles always contain a bit of humour as well as being informative, so we’re sure you’ll all enjoy this talk.

His ‘No nettles required..’ talk will focus on how we can all have a wildlife friendly garden without having to let the garden ‘go wild’.

Ken will demonstrate that encouraging wildlife is actually entirely compatible with ordinary gardening and costs next to nothing. Why should we encourage wildlife? Because we’ll be encouraging the biodiversity of the UK, we’ll be reconnecting with nature, getting more from our gardens and doing our plants a favour too.

Members will automatically be sent the link a few days before the talk. Non-members pay £5, contact chair@mayfieldhorticulturalsociety.org.uk for details of how to pay and receive the link.

Lifting the Gloom: Seedy Saturday

Saturday 7th February 10.00 to 12.30, Mayfield Scout Hall TN20 6BJ

Looking for something to do on a chilly February morning?

Come join us in the Mayfield Scout Hall on Saturday 7th February 10am to 12:30pm for our 3rd Seedy Saturday event. It’ll be a warm welcoming space with free entry and absolutely everyone’s invited. It’s a great place to lift the spirits for a couple of hours and enjoy a warm drink and a homemade treat even if seeds aren’t your thing.

And if seeds are your thing, well, it’ll be like being let loose in the sweetie shop with no parental controls. Perfect for the seedaholics amongst us. They’re in sowing date and free. What’s not to love!

You’ll be amazed by how many varieties of flowers, herbs and vegetables we’ve got available. All in little packets so you can grow a few of many things. What fun! Donations are always appreciated as they help us cover our costs but not expected. Thanks to our generous seed company donors, we’ve a great stock of seeds available.

Our aspiration to encourage the people of Mayfield and beyond to grow things from seed is back with seed sowing demos plus handouts by Tessa for those who are new to the game or would appreciate a refresher.

If you’re lucky enough to have children or grandchildren around, bring them along. There’s a dedicated Critters Corner just for them with free seeds and goody bags. Our 2026 Children's Sunflower Growing competition kicks off too with free giant sunflower seeds and growing guides. And if that’s not enough, there’s free squash and biscuits on offer for those 14 or under. Makes it a very affordable family friendly event.

Did we mention the raffles, wild flower seeds and hardy annual plants we’ll have on offer too?

Hope to see you there!

Last year’s Seedy Saturday team!