Madam,

Val Dyer is right to point to the many benefits of gardening (Rallying call to use or lose gardening clubs) and I hope that readers will respond by joining garden clubs.

However, the picture she paints is unduly negative. Tywyn Garden Club, to which I belong, meets regularly and offers talks by experts, plant swaps and practical tips; meetings attract good numbers and trips are well-supported.

Other local clubs also thrive. Some, being in more rural areas, put a greater emphasis on shows. Meirionnydd Horticultural Society offers the opportunity for local clubs to come together for a range of activities, including the county show.

Clubs aside, there has been recent growth in community gardening, with the excellent example of ‘Edible Mach’ (70 volunteers) now being followed by the leisure centres in Tywyn, Dolgellau and Porthmadog. These are succeeding in drawing in younger people.

Finally, the area now boasts a new garden centre at Dinas Mawddwy. So undoubtedly there is new growth in the garden scene.

If there is a problem, it is perhaps in a deficiency disease, the mutual support that needs to flow between established clubs and the new community garden projects.

Gardening is great therapy, so let’s be positive about our region’s many enthusiastic gardeners and their clubs.

Yours etc

Quentin Deakin, Corbett Avenue, Tywyn.