Talking heads

The days are short, there is no light for gardening after work, and local horticultural societies are halfway through their winter programme of illustrated talks. All over the country, gardeners are gathering, in spartan village halls and echoing church rooms, on every first Tuesday in the month to listen to a ‘speaker’. These talks are designed to entertain, enlighten and generally see gardeners through until the spring, when allotments beckon, and garden visits and flower shows can once more be organised. All towns and most large villages have a horticultural society, which is impressive in an age when people increasingly refuse to join things. But then members of gardening societies are also stalwarts of Inner Wheel and the Women’s Institute, they sit on church councils and serve in charity shops. For them, the word ‘community’ has an older meaning than mere sectional interest.

For speakers like me, the winter is thus a busy time. Neither illness nor foul weather can separate me from my duty to a group of keen gardeners, who gather to hear me speak, on some aspect of gardening or gardens, for an hour (with questions). The invitation to speak usually arrives from the programme secretary, who may well be called Sue, about 18 months in advance. Sue and I discuss date, title of talk, equipment required, likely size of audience and the tricky question of payment. I am grateful for the advance warning, especially if I need to prepare a new talk. Some can be delivered without notes, and simply require the putting of pictures into a sensible order; others involve, in effect, the writing of a full-blown extended essay, a process which takes about an hour for every minute of talk delivered.

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HThomasish

June 4th, 2010 6:04pm Report this comment

For people like me, who live in a developing country where this type of meeting is very unusual, it is very gratifying to have the opportunity to reach the proceedings after the meeting. Please keep posting your results.

Henry,
http://herbgardening-ultimatesecrets.com/herb-garden-plants/

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