THE latest community news from Dyffryn & Talybont

Gardening club

MORE than 30 members and visitors were present on Monday evening, 11 September, to hear Karen Hall’s talk entitled The Late Summer Garden.

Prior to this, the president, Guy Lloyd, gave a very useful talk and demonstration on plant propagation in autumn.

Karen illustrated her talk with many beautiful slides, several of which were from her own garden.

Climate change does and will affect the way we garden, bringing warmer springs, and autumns producing a longer growing season.

Adversely, we will experience more extreme rainfall, either heavier or more frequent, all of which means that we may need to be more flexible in terms of what we choose to grow.

The many varieties of Rudbeckia, together with Echinacia and Heleniums, are all hardy perennials associated with the August garden.

The new colours of Echinacea are expensive and it is advisable to grow the good old species Echinacea from seed early in the spring, to guarantee flowering in the first year.

Ornamental grasses contribute admirably to the late summer look, work well with Rudbeckias and Heleniums and are now a mainstay of popular garden design.

As the light levels change in autumn, grasses threaded through the late season border can look very beautiful.

Attractive late flowering shrubs include Eucryphia, Hydrangeas, some of the new varieties being suitable for growing in pots and Clematis, the seed heads of some varieties adding texture to the late summer garden. Other suitable shrubs include Cotonaster, Prunus, and Salvias.

Several lovely Dahlias mingle well in a late season border together with Asters, Nerines and the White Anemones.

The next meeting will be on Monday, 9 October, at 7pm in the church hall.

Club member Dorothy Round will demonstrate flower arranging. Visitors are most welcome.

If you’re a member of a club, society or group, send your news to [email protected]