Alcester Gardening Club

At the beginning of March the speaker was Michael Townsend who gave a talk entitled Bees and Other Insects in the Garden. Michael has been caring for honey bees for more than 20 years and is the beekeeper for Warwickshire Museum and Warwick University, working with scientists on viruses in bees. He has been on TV and it is his bees you hear buzzing on The Archers! He had tried to tailor his talk to the gardeners among the audience and was fascinating on his subject. His description of the ways bees transmit data to the hive about sources of nectar and pollen was enthralling. Listeners came away with a much greater understanding of what they, as gardeners can do to help the insects and therefore to aid pollination, flowering and fruiting.

Next month, on April 7, the speaker will be Graham Wagstaffe. His talk will be about small front gardens and hopefully will have ideas for more than just block paved parking spaces.

The club always welcomes new members or guests. Membership is still £10 per year. The meetings are mostly on the first Thursday of every month at the Centre in Jubilee Court, St Faiths Road, Alcester. Guests can attend at any meeting for a fee of £2.50. Any enquiries can be made to the secretary on 01789 765105. Join in on the new facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1712411435649137