WINTER MEETINGS
2026-2027
BRIGHTON ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH
BRIGHTON ROAD
HORSHAM RH13 5BD
The venue has disabled access
MEETINGS COMMENCE AT 7.30 p.m.
RAFFLE
REFRESHMENTS
Members – Free entry Guests – £5.00
2026
13th October: Clare Kennett – Clare’s Chillies
Clare will guide us through how to successfully grow chillies and offer us advice around how to care for chillies over winter in order to enjoy happy plants for 2+ more years.
She will bring along plenty of smaller windowsill chillies for sale, of all heat levels!
27th October: Alex Rosenfield – Birds, Birds, Birds
Local Ecologist Alex will be talking about identification techniques of common garden birds, including calls and songs, and diagnostic ID features. He will explain when to see them, where and when they nest, and about their general ecology.
He will tell us how to attract birds to your garden, including feeding and nesting ideas, the pros and cons, and the best plants to grow.
We will hear about the miracle of migration and where birds go, how they get there, how they navigate, the threats to their journey and why birds migrate.
Finally, bird ringing – what it is and how it is used to aid our understanding of bird populations and inform conservation efforts to help protect bird populations across the world.
10th November: Andrew Humphris – Parham Gardens
Andrew will be giving us a talk about his career and how he arrived at Parham. There will be a bit about the history of Parham and the garden.
He will tell us about the projects that they have undertaken over the last six years, and also a look at the new planned plantings.
24th November: Andy Thomas – Christmas, A Festive History
A fascinating and entertaining presentation by Andy Thomas. He uncovers the long and intriguing background to the festive season, from the ancient midwinter celebration of light to the marking of the birth of a messiah. Yet the history of Christmas has not been straightforward.
Andy shows us how, for all the commercialisation, we can still find meaning and enjoy Christmas today while keeping the flame of light alive in the winter darkness.
8th December: Christmas Social
Join us for our annual Christmas Social and enjoy a buffet and hot and cold drinks, a Quiz or two, and a photographic review of the year.
There will also be a Grand Christmas raffle.
2027
12th January: AGM, followed by Horsham Matters – Community Allotment Project
Happy New Year! As usual our AGM will take a short time, followed by a short presentation by
Rob Blaker and his team of volunteer helpers from Horsham Matters. They will tell us about their Community Allotment, which they started up last year.
They will take us through the journey from the initial idea of taking on an allotment to help stock the food banks, to where they are today.
The Community Allotment relies heavily on donated seeds, so if you have any spare packets of vegetable seeds please bring them along, even if they are slightly out of date as they will still be viable.
9th February: Elizabeth Sawday, Apuldram Roses – Roses Grow on You
With 30 years of growing, pruning and occasionally arguing with roses, Elizabeth shares practical tip for keeping roses healthy and beautiful, plus light-hearted stories from her nursery.
She also recalls the early starts and last-minute dramas of exhibiting at RHS shows. A friendly, humorous session for anyone who loves roses-or is simply trying to keep theirs in line.
9th March: Brett Haythorpe – Bearded Gnome Nursery
Brett is a horticulturalist who spent three years working at Tresco Abbey Garden on the Isles of Scilly. Upon returning to Sussex in 2025 he started growing and propagating a collection of plants and forming his business. He will tell us a little about his business and will give us a demonstration on plant propagation.
There will be plants for sale on the evening.
SHOW DATES 2027
Spring Show Saturday, 10th April
Summer Show Sunday, 8th August
Schedules will be available on our website nearer the time.
Photographic Competition categories
(to be judged at the Spring Show):
- Something beginning with ’S’
- A Winter Visitor
- A Bumper Harvest
- A Pop of Colour
SUBSCRIPTIONS
The annual subscription is £20 per person and is due from 1st October. Subscriptions can be paid at our winter meetings or by bank transfer, details are on the membership form that can be found in the menu under Membership. Children of existing members may join with no subscription charge.
If you are unable to print out a Membership Form please email us at horshamhorticultural@gmail.com with your full name and address and we will post one to you.
Visitors are welcome to any meeting at a charge of £5 per meeting.
Click on the below link to download a pdf of our winter meetings if you wish to print this out.