February Meeting

A well attended meeting saw Jack Larter travel up from south of the border to share his knowledge of propagating tuberous begonias from leaf cuttings. 

Propagation of tuberous begonias by leaf cuttings

March Meeting

Betty Kenedy gave a talk on the history of the Society.

April Meeting

The April meeting saw Dennis Need deliver an excellent lecture on multiflora begonias.

May Meeting

John Hamilton gave a short talk on begonia exhibition followed by the annual plant sale. 

Plants were  auctioned by Honorary President Andrew Todd, with his usual blend of humour and knowledge of the plants put up for sale by the members.

American visit

Around thirty members of the American Begonia Society will visit Scotland this summer to see the begonia exhibits at Ayr Show, visit Scottish gardens and meet and exchange experiences of begonia growing with members of the Scottish Begonia Society. Many of the party will arrive in Edinburgh on 23 July for a week long tour of the Scottish Highlands which will see the group visit some of the country’s most famous gardens.

On 30 July begonia week begins with a reception in the recently restored Kibble Palace in Glasgow. The group will spend two days as guests of Glasgow Council visiting the city’s parks, museums and glasshouses including the national collection of begonias in Glasgow Botanic Garden, one of three national collections in the UK and the only one in Scotland.

Next is a visit to The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to hear about research work on begonias. The group will then visit Ayrshire before attending Ayr Flower Show. At Ayr Scottish begonia growers will provide demonstrations on aspects of growing and showing tuberous begonias. There will also be several evening lectures. Finally the two societies will exchange trophies to commemorate the visit. The American trophy has been named after the late Hugh McLauchlan who was a prominent member of both societies for so many years.