Monthly meetings and activities 2020
Covid-19 Pandemic Update: monthly meetings are being held by Zoom online until further notice. If you would like an invite to join these Zoom meetings, please email us at: dbgardeners@gmail.com
We meet on the first Tuesday of every month, unless otherwise stated DBG meetings are held at St Peter’s Crypt, De Beauvoir Road. Tea is available from 7:30pm, meetings start at 8pm.
The meetings are in green below, other activities are in blue. For more information or to sign up for the activities email us: dbgardeners@gmail.com
Non-members are welcome at our meetings a charge of £4 is made to cover costs. Our programme is open to members of Islington Gardeners at a charge of £2. Any additional charges for activities are listed below.
Monthly Programme
7th January 2020
Reflections on Organic Growing
Claire Ratinon is an organic grower and writer, previously based in Hackney, now in East Sussex. She has worked in a range of roles from growing salad on a small organic site in Stoke Newington to delivering growing workshops throughout London. She is passionate about the act of growing plants – especially edible ones – and the potential for this to be nourishing, connecting and healing.
She has been invited to share her growing journey and experiences in talks for organisations including The Garden Museum, the Royal College of Art and Abergavenny Food Festival. She recently presented two features on Radio 4’s Gardeners Question Time.
You can read an article about her, Garden Talent, in Gardens Illustrated September 2019
4th February 2020
A patio jungle in Barnsbury
3rd March 2020
AGM, social and seed swap

The need for nature in an urban environment
Annie Chipchase, Hackney ecologist
5th May 2020 – 7.30pm
Gardeners Question Time
Our first zoom meeting during lockdown was a fabulous Gardners question time when we all learned a thing or two from one another’s experience. An audio podcast is available which you can listen to HERE.
Practical gardening
A zoom meeting featuring a series of practical videos and each followed by group discussion. Topics included Clematis, dead heading, sharpening secateurs and the Chelsea Chop. These are the links to the various videos we discussed:Clematis with Raymond Evison:
https://youtu.be/9MDYpbytPgs
https://youtu.be/fPx_rOnVIHc
How to sharpen a pair of secateurs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30t5FzkoIv8
“How to deadhead a rose” from David Austin Roses:
https://vimeo.com/347579363
How to do the Chelsea Chop:
https://youtu.be/Nlam-M16_v8
Highgrove: Discover its sustainable secrets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAbeYk_vSaI
7th July 2020
Virtual walkabout
4th August 2020
Multicultural Vegetable growing
1st September 2020
Nathalie Puget Garden Design
6th October 2020
Mark Ridsdill Smith of Vertical Veg
Andrew Luke, head gardener at English Heritage’s Wrest Park