PHOTO GALLERY

Amazing Kathy Brown

(13 November 2004)

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Anyone interested in gardening who did not come to the illustrated talk by Kathy Brown on Saturday 13th November at the Cookham Community Rooms really missed a treat.  Kathy has written many books and owns the beautiful Manor House near Bedford which is open to the public.  She also designs exhibits for the Chelsea Flower Show.  Her talk was on container plants and bulbs, particularly for winter and spring.

Container Gardening

Kathy showed slides of arrangements that she had done for over an hour, she had a natural instinct for colour and what goes well together. She said she started off when she had her first baby having worked for the Bank of England she found herself without a challenge, so she and a friend started offering to plant up pots for people, not having any knowledge of how to do this.  She has come a long way in the last twenty years and now must have literally hundreds of containers of her own.  Many of the containers did not need to be re-done each year and she had some wonderful ideas for containers that looked good in the dead of winter.  There was a break after an hour or so for tea and cakes.  Some of the Gardening Which? members had put together the most fantastic home made tea.  The coffee and chocolate cakes disappeared almost immediately, as did the tasty little sandwiches, flapjacks and fruit bread. 

Margaret Cubley serves tea

Kathy had some of her books for sale and signed them for anyone who wanted.  She has written books on Creating a Cottage Garden, Bulbs for all Seasons, Edible Flower Gardens and Flower Power just for starters and designed this year's exhibit for Frosts at the Chelsea Flower Show. 

Kathy Brown and her Books

Kathy says she also does about twenty lectures a year which keeps her busy, along with looking after the Manor House Garden.  Her book 'Bulbs for All Seasons' won the Garden Writers Guild Award for 2000 for Practical Garden Book of the Year. Her garden is open on certain days in May and June.  It is located at Stevington near Bedford.  For more information on opening days see http://www.ngs.org.uk. Special visits and lectures can be organised for groups.

Kathy's Herbal Basket