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In Bradfield Village Hall, the first meeting of the new 2011 season took place. We had an exceptionally large turnout for the talk given by Laura de Beden. Laura, who is part Italian, has an international reputation as a designer and also as a speaker, and is a regular contributor to the national NADFAS programme. It was obvious from the start that she is an excellent communicator. She immediately grabbed our attention with her pertinent comments on how to assess a garden site: how to look at a space, have a vision of the finished result and decide what a garden is to be used for. Her images were perfectly chosen to illustrate her talk. She showed some grim 'before' pictures of gardens which made a startling contrast with the 'after' images of the same sites transformed by Laura's designs into attractive, imaginative gardens. Her artistic sense came across in many of her designs. A particularly brilliant planting plan for a bank reproduced in plants the brush strokes in a painting by Monet. She showed how she had helped her clients to make the best of their gardens by planning vistas and also by creating views of the countryside beyond so that the garden became one with the landscape. I think everyone was disappointed when her talk ended.
Our nursery for the evening was Wolverton Plants and we were as usual so impressed by the wonderful array of plants produced by Julian Jones who, this year, is also coming in September when he is to bring bulbs for autumn planting.

Bob Brown is one of the most knowledgeable and discerning nurserymen in the country and the Club was lucky to have him to give us a talk. His background is in teaching and the science of geology but an early love of plants led him to start his nursery about twenty years ago. It has become well know internationally for a large choice of unusual and attractive plants. To add to his ever growing collection, Bob Brown has travelled widely and he told us he keeps his eyes open for any unusual plant, often spotting exciting specimens growing in such unlikely situations as the verge of a motorway. The main theme of his talk was that if you have a small garden, your palette of plants should be refined to a choice selection. He described the fashions in plants and how these have changed over the years. To-day, he said, everyone is after black flowers and he showed us some remarkable examples, including a black delphinium. He brought a small but representative selection of plants from his nursery and many of us left with some new treasures for our gardens. Bob attracted one of our biggest audiences yet and gave us all an evening to remember.

This was the last meeting of our 2011 season and we were treated to a fascinating look at some of the symbolism and philosophy behind the design of gardens. Caroline Holmes is a garden historian and a designer of period gardens. She has written a number of book,s has produced programmes for BBC Radio and lectures widely, both in this country and also on the international lecture circuit. Her talk to us uncovered the reasons for the choice of statues in a garden - very often it was to broadcast the political ideas of the garden owner - and the symbolic meaning behind plant names and their significance in the design of a garden. Her talk was a bit of a roller coaster ride through garden history but it was a stimulating way to end the season.
Our nursery for the evening was Wolverton Plants who produced their usual display of excellent and affordable plants and, by special request, a selection of bulbs for autumn planting.
The Gardening Club Committee would like to thank all our members for their enthusiastic support throughout the year. The Club can only function with your backing. This year has, I think, been a thoroughly enjoyable one and we are hard at work on an exciting programme for 2012. Next season starts on 10th April, 2012, and the Club Newsletter will be posted to members in February 2012.