Members and their guests were invited to visit Toby Buckland at his nursery at Powderham Castle in Devon on Sat 5th Sept.
Herbs, Hedgerows & History
The Herb Society was offered a warm welcome at Powderham
Recently retired Chairman Barbara Depledge attended the day entitled “Herbs, Hedgerows and History” and sent the following report:
“The day was attended by members living both locally in Devon and others from London, Macclesfield, Leek and the Midlands.
The day started with an upbeat and informal talk from Toby in the marquee on hedgerow and coastal plants found in Devon and also covering some of Toby’s favourite herbs, trees and grasses.
Our group was really amazed by the incredible extent of Toby’s knowledge – he talked for two hours without any notes. Herb Society members had lots of questions so the meeting was very interactive.
Toby is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable speaker
We then had a delicious lunch in the Orangery Restaurant which presented a great networking opportunity for the group.
After lunch the group enjoyed a talk from Jan Greenland, Herb Society Fellow, on herbs from the Ice Age to the present day. Jan covered many aspects of food history and drew the whole talk to a conclusion talking about a very popular herbal beverage today…..Bombay Sapphire gin! Toby presented Jan with a herbal posy following her talk.
Toby with speaker Jan Greenland who is a Herb Society Fellow
Our final session was a tour around one of the stock plant areas of Toby’s nursery. Warm September sun shone for us as we enjoyed lots of interesting discussion with Toby on growing and cultivation tips for a wide variety of unusual edibles, shrubs perennials and the most amazing sunflowers.
Everyone who attended would like to thank Toby for hosting a really enjoyable day
All agreed it was a thoroughly enjoyable day and we would like to thank Toby so much for hosting the day. Our President is working hard to help raise the profile of the Herb Society and this has already been reflected in increasing membership numbers.
To finish the day members took away A Herb Society jute bag with gifts of soap and herbal tea.
For Toby his gift bag contained bubbly, chocolates and a herbal posy for Lisa Buckland. Thanks Toby for a brilliant day!”
Fresh herb plants for sale at Powderham
Sounds like it was a fab day out – it’s great to have such a hospitable President.
Thank you Peter Depledge for the photos.
Herb Society AGM
The next event in our calendar is our AGM and members event on Sat 26th Sept at Garden Organic, Ryton near Coventry. Highlights will be another chance to meet Toby Buckland, a tour of the herb garden at Garden Organic followed by Toby cutting the first sod on the site of the new herb garden.
Full details can be found on page 8 of the September edition of Herbs magazine, or email Lynne in the office at info@herbsociety.org.uk.
Devon Herb Society
Devon residents with an interest in herbs may like to know that a new local group affiliated to the Herb Society has started in the area. Find out more at their new website: Devon Herb Society
