with Doug Stewart

Doug’s horticultural career started as a young child. He was 13 when he took on his first allotment, and soon after won the contract to supply the village shop with freshly grown vegetables. After training as a professional horticulturist, he worked for a number of organisations, from the propagation department at Hilliers Nurseries, through to slightly more unusual roles such as lecturing in cucumber and tomato production.

For over 20 years he  worked in horticultural education, as Head of Horticulture at one of the UK’s leading land-based colleges and now works as a Professional Associate with the RHS, as a business consultant, and as a trainer.

To keep out of mischief he co-presents a two-hour gardening phone in on BBC Radio Humberside – “The Great Outdoors” which is one of the most popular local radio programmes in the region.

“The Way We Were” is fast becoming one of Doug’s most popular gardening talks.

It builds on a growing passion for collecting and reading old gardening magazines, brochures and books, which as you will see are filled with some strange curiosities…

So how did we garden over 60 years ago and just how much have things changed from the humble shed, to the flower show and of course the very latest products and devices to make gardening easy?

Using the catalogues and gardening magazines of yesteryear as inspiration this talk ponders on adverts for lightweight concrete greenhouses, and why only pipe smoking men seemed to be used in adverts!

Members will be sent Zoom joining instructions by email in advance of the meeting.