'If gardening's his life, it's tough on his wife, but if they're digging together, married bliss is forever!'

So says my friend Rosemary, a keen member of Manorbier and District Gardening Club.

Lyn Davies and his wife, from Llangain in Carmarthenshire, were the guest speakers at last week's meeting and they certainly fitted the description quoted above. The CV of Lyn Davies reads like that of a truly devoted gardening enthusiast, listing growing, showing, judging and lecturing as his proven interests. His membership of the National Dahlia Society stretches back 30 years, and for more than eight years he has been an appointed judge for the National Sweet Pea Society and the British Gladiolus Society. His selection as a judge for Town and City in Bloom competitions has meant that he has been active all over the country. He has also been a show bench judge for the Royal Horticultural Society for three years.

Currently as a 'retirement' activity he has prepared and delivered lectures and slide shows on 'Fun in the Garden', aided by Mrs. Davies, which was the event held this month at the Parish Hall, Manorbier.

It began with a warm welcome to guests, members and to Mr. and Mrs. Davies from the recently-appointed chair, Mrs. Pat Henderson. Although new to the role of the 'chairperson', she delivered her words of welcome with warmth, confidence and charm. Everyone was put very much at their ease and there was a sense of anticipation in the air.

This month's announcements included a reminder about Manorbier's famed gardens' 'Open Day' on June 16 - not forgetting the strawberry cream teas included at some, but not all the venues (could you eat upwards of a dozen cream teas in one afternoon! Yes). The proceeds of this event go to the Church of St. James. The club's barbecue will be held in August, the venue yet to be finalised. The Christmas dinner will be held in December, details to follow - just in case anyone was spreading rumours again about the cancellation of Christmas.

Laughter arose at the outset of the talk, so the title of the presentation 'Fun in the Garden' was appropriate and there proved to be many more opportunities to laugh. Mr. Davies has an ebullient personality, a sincere interest in people and their eccentricities and the gift of recall. These were the ideal qualities for someone who has so obviously enjoyed all aspects of his passion for gardening.

Mrs. Davies was his most able supporter for the evening and, apart from an occasional contribution or confirmation, ensured that the slides for this show ran smoothly.

The show began with pictures of exquisite dahlias, grown some years ago for competitions. Mr. Davies explained that a devoted and competitive grower would need to nurture about 1,000 blooms to ensure a few would be in peak condition for the day of judging. As the recipient of many awards, he was asked to join the judging panel and to put his expertise to a different use, awarding prizes: giving not receiving.

We saw slides of previous gardens, mark one, mark two and mark three, from the days when the Davies' lived in their home in Fairwater, Cardiff. The winter version of their garden was also shown, bare and disconsolate and in complete contrast to the summer gardens, which looked like the covers of those seed catalogues that drop through your door at this time of year from far away places in East Anglia.

A number of slides showed winning town gardens that Mr. Davies had judged when living in Cardiff, reflecting the time and devotion lavished on front and back plots by loving hands.

It is probably fair to say that most members present had larger plots than the keen gardeners of many Cardiff suburbs, but it was clear from the slides shown that the suburban gardens were fully exploited for their growing potential. Some of them were tiny (in our local terms), but presented a carpet of tightly packed colours. Others, particularly front gardens, had hanging baskets dripping with flowers, drain pipes festooned with colours and dozens of pots and containers of all sizes and shapes crammed with rich reds, pinks and purples.

Mr. and Mrs. Davies moved to Llangain a few years ago, demonstrating with their slides how they landscaped and planted up their new garden. Hostas and cordylines were favourite choices and the slides illustrating the sweet pea arch, looking like birthday card pictures, had the audience oohing and aahing. Not only did all the plants in the Davies' garden compete for attention, but the greenness and evenness of the grass also invited comments from the audience.

Lyn responded at once to the compliments and offered to share his special recipe for lush, verdant and moss-free lawns. Take one pint of beer, half a cup of... No, wait a moment, it is probably better to hear about this at a live gardening club meeting rather than reading about it.

Warm applause resounded around the walls when the show finished, and Mr. Davies wound up and then answered questions. Pat Price thanked the couple very warmly for their talk and slide show and complimented them on their considerable talents.

Come along to the next meeting at the Parish Hall, Manorbier, on Wednesday, March 10, at 7.30 pm, and listen very carefully to Gerald White, that doyen of gardening experts, talk about 'Growing from Seed'. You need to pay attention, because Mr. White is famous for asking questions of his audience, but is equally quite brilliant at answering them. Then if you want that green grass recipe you can take it home with you, free of charge. A warm welcome, new friends and lots of sound information also awaits you.

P.M.