Members welcomed Martin Rickard to our October meeting and thoroughly enjoyed their introduction to ferns and an insight to "behind the scenes" at Chelsea and Malvern.

Martin has won numerous gold medals over the years and he entertained with his memorable meetings with celebrities and the problems of setting up stands satisfactorily. Wednesday, November 13, will be a must for Alpine lovers, when the former chairman of the Birmingham group of the Alpine Gardens Society, Ian Nex, pays us a visit. Everyone has some form of alpine plant in their garden even if they do not recognise it, so come and discover the "small world of plants". Bring your surplus plants, flowers and vegetables to the trade stand. We start at 7.30pm for coffee before the meeting, which is held in the Village Hall, Chaddesley Corbett.