How the Club Began …

The College was originally known as the Yorkshire Institute of Agriculture, which opened in 1948. It became Askham Bryan College of Agriculture and Horticulture in 1967. It wasn’t until 1996 that the then Principal, Dr Roger Bennett, became keen for the College to become more involved with the local community and amateur gardeners and had the idea of starting a gardening club. The job of getting this initiative off the ground was then passed to a young lecturer by the name of Nigel Harrison, who is now more famously known for his role as a regular presenter on Radio York’s Gardeners’ Question Time.

A volunteer steering group was appointed to help Nigel and a committee was formed under the Chairmanship of Peter Powell. The ABC Gardening Club was finally formed and formally launched in March 1998 and the Club went from strength to strength over the years, growing in numbers through word of mouth to a membership of over 200.

The incumbent CEO remains our President. One other member of staff or student has a place on the Club Committee each year to keep the links with the College in place. The College remains fully supportive, permitting us to use its name and facilities, including the Conference Room and free on-site parking, for our talks, visits and meetings.

How the Club Works

The Club is run by the Committee which meets around four times a year to ensure its smooth running. In April every year we hold our AGM, open to all, at which the Club’s reports and audited accounts are delivered and any new Committee members are appointed.

To find out more about the Committee please click here. A warm welcome awaits at each meeting from one of our committee members on the desk. You will be able to identify them and their roles from our gallery.

Each month too, we send out a Chair’s Chat with notes, news or thoughts from our Chairman, with a Newsletter published quarterly including reviews and photos from our visits.

What the Club Does

As an affiliated member of the Royal Horticultural Society the aim of the Club is to foster the enjoyment and knowledge of all aspects of gardening in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

We have had over 200 amateur and professional gardeners, or people involved in horticulture, to speak on our monthly Club night, as well as visiting gardens around the county, and on our annual weekend coach trips we travel further afield to visit a selection of gardens. This has included trips to Scotland and Norfolk.

We make donations to various charities connected with horticulture, such as Horticap and Perennial.