All the talks are held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in TADWORTH ( unless advised otherwise ) They are either held in the Main Hall or in the smaller meeting room ( where numbers are limited )

Fittleworth House on 23 June @ 10.30

A self Drive to 

Fittleworth House,
Bedham Lane,
Pulborough,
Sussex,
RH20 1JH

A three-acre tranquil, romantic, country garden with walled kitchen garden growing a wide range of fruit, vegetables and flowers including a large collection of dahlias. Large glasshouse and old potting shed, mixed flower borders, roses, rhododendrons and lawns. Magnificent 115ft tall cedar overlooks wisteria covered Grade II listed Georgian house (not open). Wild garden, long grass areas and stream.

Featured in the English Garden Dec 2024 and Gardens Illustrated April 2025

We will be guided around the garden by the head gardener Mark Saunders who has worked at Fittleworth for the last 30 years . He is also a keen photographer and has his own web site Racing and Green. Check out Fittleworth's Instagram for wonderful pictures 

Costs are £7.00 and this includes refreshments , tea, coffee and  biscuits. Mark has confirmed that people are welcome to stay on after the tour if they want to bring a picnic Lunch as we have arranged to visit a second garden in the afternoon

In the afternoon we have arranged a visit to Meadow Farm , Blackgate Lane , Pulborough RH20 1DF, about 20 minutes away at 2.00 pm, Costs £12 to include tea and cakes 

This is a 2 acre garden, designed and planted by the current owners. Features include colour themed beds, double borders ,pond ,gravel garden . A pleached hornbeam avenue with views of the Sussex Countryside. A walled garden provides fruit , veg, and cut flowers. An orchard with a hazelwood walk, wildlife swimming pond and bog garden and a prairie bed - certainly lots of areas to view.

Neither garden are suitable for wheelchairs. 

You can attend both or one of the gardens Just let us know and we will confirm payment details etc nearer the time . There are  limits on numbers so please register your interest.

This year's Coach Trip is a return visit to RHS Hyde Hall Essex on 16 July 2026.

Set in the heart of rural Essex, and enjoying stunning panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, RHS Garden Hyde Hall is one of the finest gardens in the East of England. This 365-acre site is a haven of peace and tranquility, encompassing a diverse mix of garden styles from traditional to modern. Highlights include the Dry Garden with its fantastic range of drought-resistant plants and the Hilltop Garden with its roses and herbaceous borders. There’s also a Global Growth Vegetable Garden, which showcases vegetables from around the world, and a Winter Garden that celebrates the delights of wintertime.

Since our last visit in 2023, improvements have been made to the Rose Rope Walk, redeveloping the original structure due to the original wooden frames taking a toll after 50 years. The redevelopment was finished last year, so will be looking very new, but the Roses will be looking fantastic in July!

Costs will be £25 per person, with the usual 3 pick up points, Walton Ponds (9.00am), Tadworth Bridge (9.05am) and Lower Kingswood (9.10 am) returning from Hyde Hall at 3.30pm .

Let us know if you would like to join us and we will reserve a seat on the coach for you  and confirm payment details nearer the time. If you would like us to reserve a mobility scooter please advise as we need to reserve these in advance as there are a limited number available.

Any queries just ask!

AGM 12 August 2026 - Speaker from National Trust Munstead Woods , Ian Molesworth, Site Manager

Title of the talk will be ‘Gertrude Jekyll’s Munstead Wood’

 13 August 2026 Shalford House Square Drive, Kingsley Green, West Sussex GU27 3LW

about an hour away from Tadworth ( travel dependant ) 

We have only 10 places available as this is a joint venture with 2 other societies - so if interested please let us know as soon as possible . 

A Garden designer and plantsman’s garden created over the past 30 years. Set in 40 acres with 10 acres of well-maintained gardens, the present owners, Paul Morrow and his partner have over the past 5 years, used their expertise to further develop and expand the garden, adding their creative touch. Opening under NGS last year, attracting huge numbers of visitors, it has been much acclaimed for its spectacular planting and variety.

Explore the 30 acres of well-maintained woodland, arboretum with beech trees, bluebells, large lake and wildlife pond and enjoy a picnic before exploring the cultivated garden.  Take in the view from the stone terrace surrounding the house with its huge Alitex greenhouse, large pots and urns full of seasonal colour.  There are many herbaceous and mixed borders including brightly coloured Dahlias, Canna and Hemerocallis in the newly created sunken garden.  Springs feed the ponds and the 120 foot rill planted with iris polygonatum and hostas which flows down the gently sloping lawn to a lake and shady woodlands area where there are varieties of Acers, Cornus kousa and Hydrangeas

If you look at the NGS Site for Shalford House , you will see some wonderful pictures which may tempt you to join us .

Time : from Midday for walking and picnicing in the Arboretum 2.00pm entry to the cultivated garden.

Cost: £20 including refreshments and the opportunity to arrive from midday onwards to explore the arboretum and have lunch.

Parking: there is a large field parking area adjacent to the house. Directions and details about parking will be supplied.

Simon Sutcliffe  one of the owners of How Green Nursery will also visit us in Tadworth on 8 September @ 7.00 ( doors open at 6.30 ) to give a talk on New Herbaceous Perennials and Grasses . The talk will be in the main church hall of the good shepherd and he will also bring Plants to buy.

10 October 2026 Julie Verity  Vita Sackville West (and Nicholson),  and Sissinghurst castle – The Quintessential English Garden.  The story of this fascinating married couple and their ‘retreat’ in Kent – Sissinghurst.  10.30 Meeting Room

Julie Verity studied Horticulture and Plant Physiology at university, out of a love of plants. Two degrees and post-doctoral work in New Zealand later, Julie joined industry and reserved her love of plants for as a hobby – gardening. Since then, she has mostly worked in Adult and Executive Business Education. Now with the privilege of retirement, Julie has returned to plants through painting and talking about gardens, gardening heroes and their lives. She speaks at The Guildford Institute amongst other places

14 November 2026 Elizabeth Mooney - Edibles Self  Sufficiency in a small space  10.30 Meeting Room

A little bit of information provided by Elizabeth

I have worked at Wisley for 6 and a half years so 7 by the talk. I am part of the edibles team, working mainly in the world food garden. I am a specialist in annual vegetables but also have a strong interest in perennial veg, and am writing a dissertation on them for the RHS Master of Horticulture programme, which I will have qualified from by the talk. I am a co-author on the recent RHS book on veg growing and a regular on the RHS podcast.

Elizabeth has provided a brief summary of the talk

A few years ago I took the decision to try and be self-sufficient in fresh fruit and veg from my 13x18m allotment and have been managing it ever since. Growing your own brings benefits including fresh and nutritious food, environmental sustainability, and much enjoyment, and while you do not have to be self-sufficient in order to receive this, for me it maximises them. I will talk a bit about why I am self-sufficient, the crops I would not be without, and how I achieve it, particularly through winter and the hungry gap.

 

See March issue of the Garden Mag for an article by Elizabeth about her allotment a fascinating read.