All the news from your friendly gardening club

September talk - Tuesday 16th September

Colkins Mill Church, 7.30 for 8.00 pm, Morag Hockin from Rapkyns Nursery, Keeping the Colour going from Summer into Autumn. All are welcome, members free, visitors £5.

Rapkyns is our local nursery which has been growing beautiful plants for over 30 years and is situated on Street End Lane in Broad Oak, on the back road from East Street to Heathfield. Its owner Morag Hockin has transformed it over the past couple of years into a very inviting colourful flowering paradise comprised completely of pots! (If you haven’t been recently, you really should)

Many think it’s a challenge to keep the garden going into autumn but Morag will discuss salvias and many other late flowering perennials that will give you colour right up until the first frosts - in other words right through to November, even December in an average year nowadays - and will also talk about growing plants in a nursery setting.

She will be bringing a selection of plants to talk about, which will all be for sale.

NB. Rapkyns will also be opening for the National Gardens Scheme (NGS) on Wednesday 10th September when Morag will be giving a talk about how they grow their plants at 11.00 and 2.00, £15 to include tea and cake. Pre-booking essential, all details on the NGS website, www.ngs.org.uk.

Seedy Saturday 2026 alert

A long way ahead, we know, but please put the date of 7th February 2026 in your diary! We are already planning next year’s Warm Up the Winter event and we’d like to know how your seed sowing from Seedy Saturday went this year - how did your seeds germinate and plants grow? Is there anything you’d like to see at Seedy Saturday next year?

We’d love to hear about your successes - or indeed failures! It would be lovely to see any photos you might have taken of your gardens or produce this year, especially if they include plants you have grown from Seedy Saturday - send them and/or any comments to chair@mayfieldhorticulturalsociety.org.uk, and we’ll publish a selection in a future newsletter.

September and October are perfect months to collect seed for next year, either for your own use or for swapping at Seedy Saturday, so get those paper bags out and start snipping! Just ensure that the seeds are dried well before storing in envelopes, clearly labelled.

Dates for your diary:

Tuesday 21st October - Ed Flint, The Making of a Woodland Garden: Trials and Triumphs, Colkins Mill Church, 7.30 for 8.00 pm

NB Ed Flint is the head gardener at Tidebrook Manor, which will be opening for the National Garden Scheme again on Sunday 21st September, 11 till 4.30, £8. Another chance to visit this beautiful garden. Advanced booking required via the NGS website.