On a hot August evening we welcomed retired tree surgeon Gordon Malt who trained at Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, to share his knowledge on this topic. He explained about choosing different supports depending on how individual plants grow, and their situation. His photos showed us a range of plants including unusual ones such as Ribes speciosum, Holboellia latifolia and Itea ilicifolia, as well as underrated old favourites such as Cotoneaster horizontalis which provides several seasons of interest; his complete list will be circulated to members.

After his talk he drew our raffle, and he also brought some lovely home-grown perennials for sale. He judged our monthly competition too, this time Pam took 1st place with her dahlia, Pia 2nd and Sylvia 3rd. Gremlins have unfortunately eaten the other photos, apologies! Over refreshments we browsed our bits’n’bobs table with spare plants, seedlings, books & seeds, and chatted about our free-to-enter Annual show on 30th August which is open to all residents of the local area as well as members. We’re hoping for a good display despite the challenges of this year’s weather.