THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Need a talk for your garden club? Via Zoom because of Covid-restrictions this winter?
Then I can help!
It is great you are trying to keep your club going, and though Zoom is not the same as getting a group together and talking about gardening live, of the moment, right now it is the best alternative we have got.
How I Do A Zoom Talk For Your Garden Club
I’m very happy to do Zoom talks and have moved about 20% online so far (from end of March 2020 to the start of October 2020) – although that number is growing in the last few weeks!
I did a talk on Thursday night for a group, who were using Zoom for their garden club for the first time… it felt a big step, and the committee had understandable nerves about if it would work… but we ended up having a great time…
Click here for their reaction.
Just so you know more about how a Zoom talk would work, I can:
- Set up the meeting and send you the link to login the day before we start. You then circulate this amongst members who are attending.
- Cost is £75.
- Talks tend to be 45-55 minutes, with a following q and a. I try to use the benefits of Zoom rather than just copy a normal talk – so screen sharing, polling, reactions and discussion are all thrown into the mix.
- At the start I go through how it all works so anyone new to Zoom can get a feel for it too – but so far all Zoom talks I’ve done have been great fun.
If you feel you need a little more help beforehand, I am happy to book a 15 minute practise with a few members or your committee, for an additional £15.
This can be done anytime before the talk, to go through how it will all work, get a feel for polling and reactions etc… and anwer any questions you may have. This may well be useful for you in helping to make sure your group has a fantastic experience and wants to continue.
The 5 talks I have so far adapted for Zoom are:
A Very British Garden – about compost making, dealing with slugs, great plants for your borders and no-dig vegetable growing.
Clippings – about how to prune, roses, wisteria, fruit trees, shrubs and topiary.
Helping The Honeybee – about the best plants for bees.
What Do I Do With This Space – sharing good ideas for your garden about reducing maintenance, stopping plants being eaten and choosing native species.
Diluted – how we use water in the garden, wisely and… not so!
I have more talks planned on further topics when the topiary season finishes for me, and time becomes a little freer…
Any questions do please contact me. But I hope this helps and that we get to meet in person one day, but certainly via Zoom at your garden club if that continues to be impossible for the near future!
Contact Darren Now.
Modern Topiary, the Book, at Garden Media Guild
My book about topiary, Modern Topiary, has been mentioned on the Garden Media Guild newsletter…. As the screenshot says, the book can be read for free online here. At the bottom of the screenshot, it looks like another Garden Media Guild member has a book out called ‘A Year In A Cottage Garden’…. so if that is where your garden heart lies, check that out too! And at the top of the screenshot, it looks like I was listening to Pelleas et Melisande, by Debussy. What a classy chap I am, listening to classical music as I reply to emails. …
Start of the Whitby Topiary Library
I have been offered a space here in the centre of Whitby, south-facing aspect, with some raised beds in, so that I can make a Topiary Library. In my head, a topiary library is a place to showcase the common (and then not so common) shapes you can make out of topiary. With classical topiary plants, as well as some more unusual pieces. This Topiary Library can act as a reference for people to learn more about pruning and clipping. The space is small but the aspect is great and the beds are deep enough to put some plants in. …
Delivery After Dark – From the Makers of The Amelia Project
Last week I spent most nights stood in cold water streams on the moors of North Yorkshire, helping to film a new project called Delivery After Dark from the makers of the Amelia Project. I worked on the Amelia Project back at the end of 2024, lending my terrible vocal talents to a small part in the episode Didius Julianus. But this project is something new – and exciting! – and thankfully only needed me to be filmed, rather than to actually say anything. But not only did I have to stand in cold moving water at midnight, I also …