March 2025
the Spring Meeting which will be held on the 23rd March 2025 at Thwaite in the classroom with the gardens being open before and after. The talk will be at 1:30pm by Dr Peter Williams on Wonderful Weeds.

Summary: Have you ever wondered why weeds thrive despite your best efforts to kill them whilst cherished plants die even though you cosset them? This talk looks at the amazing strategies that annual and perennial weeds use in their battle for survival against the gardener. It does so by telling the stories of selected weeds (e.g. Chickweed, Rosebay Willowherb and Mare’s Tail) that regularly invade the garden. It also covers plants that were initially introduced as garden plants but ‘jumped the fence’ to become weeds in the general environment (e.g. rhododendrons, Giant Hogweed, Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam). Poppies are covered as a special case and their significance as a symbol of remembrance is covered. This is definitely not a dreary tale of common weeds and how to kill them but suggestions for dealing with troublesome weeds will be made if required!

The speaker: Peter Williams is a retired plant scientist with specialist knowledge of plant ecology, physiology and soil microbiology. He is a lifelong gardener and for many years ran a small nursery that specialised in the propagation of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, especially those for acid soils and woodland environments. He now writes about gardening matters for the Hardy Plant Journal and gives talks both locally and nationally.