Kniphofia rooperi
Hello Everyone
November’s on the horizon and the clocks have changed but the news from the Monmouthshire branch of the Hardy Plant Society is here to cheer you through the next wintry months. We’ll start with a bang:
Man to neighbour: “can I borrow your lawnmower?” Neighbour: “No, she’s not home yet”
Q Why do potatoes make good detectives? A Because they keep their eyes peeled.
Feeling better?
Our first talk of the winter season brought Marion Stainton to the hall. Marion entertained us with her talk on ‘The Winter Garden’ in October urging us to consider the ‘brighter’ side of Winter with lots of practical suggestions on how to make the most of your garden for the cold season and illustrated by many photographs and tips on jobs best done in the winter and how to approach them – winter pruning in particular.
At our November meeting on Saturday 8th at the Hall in Little Mill NP4 0HE at 2.30 pm (doors open from 2pm), Stephanie Mahon, the Editor of Gardens Illustrated magazine, will speak about what the magazine looks for in a garden and the process of finding not only the garden and garden owners but also the appropriate photographer and writer so essential for their articles. If you have ever wondered why and how a magazine is put together, then Stephanie can supply the answers. The magazine has just published a beautiful new book, ‘The New Beautiful: Inspiring Gardens for a Resilient Future’, which Stephanie will introduce to us. She will talk about trends in both garden design and horticulture which have developed over the years and how this shift was the inspiration for the book, which features some of the most exciting, beautiful and innovative gardens from all over the world. We hope that copies of the book will be available for sale at the Hall. This promises to be a real treat of a talk. Don’t miss it!
We look forward to Saturday 13 December at the Little Mill Hall when Liz Knight will present ‘How to Make Wild Drinks’, a keenly anticipated talk on brewing using food from the wild, especially interesting with Christmas in sight. Liz runs foraging courses and is the author of ‘Forage – Wild Plants to Gather, Cook and Eat’ and ‘Wild Drinks’. In her 20’s, Liz bought a second-hand wildflower ID book, found scribbled notes about how to eat the plants described in the book, so slowly at first and then, once hooked with greater interest, found wild food not only free, but nutritious and sustainable. Liz now writes and teaches on the subject. Drinks will be available to try on the day – winter warmers and botanical teas both. Numbers for this event will be limited to 25, and tickets must be booked in advance. Ticket price £15.
Tickets may be booked at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/The-HPS-Monmouthshire-Group
| Several members of the Committee are stepping down in March and we need to replace them. We are more like a team than a committee. Our meetings are once a month and for a couple of hours and are both informal and interesting. Please consider putting your name forward. You could shadow a current member as a taster if you like. NB: We especially require someone with bookkeeping expertise. You do not have to be the actual Treasurer and need not attend every meeting but we do urgently require a volunteer NOW or by March at a pinch. Please get in touch if you can help: monmouthshirehps@gmail.com |
Tender Shoots programme: this is an online club with gardening zoom talks during the autumn and winter months. It’s open to all. For more information and to view the calendar of talks, please see: https://tendershoots.uk/programme/. Our membership log-in password is spud.
Tuesday November 4 – Anne Luder ‘Winter Wonders’
Monday November 10 – ‘Birmingham Botanical Gardens, the Glasshouses and its Restoration’
Wednesday November – Martin Fish ‘Happy healthy houseplants’
Monday 24 November – Helen Knowles ‘How to use peat free growing compost’
Tuesday November 25 – Janine Griffiths-Lee – title TBC
November – date TBC Winterbourne Gardens Birmingham
Just to remind you:
We meet on the second Saturday of every month from September to May at the Village Hall, Little Mill NP4 0HE at 2.30 with the doors open from 2pm. The cost will generally be £4 per person for HPS members and £6 per person for non-members (though it may be higher for some speakers) plus £1 for each raffle ticket should you choose to buy some. The ticket cost will be included in the meeting details for each speaker. The funds raised go towards the cost of our speakers and improving our future programme as well as towards our raffle prizes. You can pay at the door or book a place/s by following this link and making payment using either your debit or credit card: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/The-HPS-Monmouthshire-Group
For the rest of the year from May to September, we enjoy garden trips, a summer tea and other social events. For more information, please consult the HPS Monmouthshire Group: hpsmonmouthshire.co.uk
A few points to note: you don’t need to print your ticket as we will be given a list of names; be careful not to tick the optional insurance box if you don’t need it; if you find the event is sold out, let us know of your interest and we’ll add you to its waiting list in case of cancellations. In the unlikely event that place/s have to be withdrawn, or the talk is cancelled or moved to Zoom, those who’ve booked and paid will be notified by email and, where appropriate, a refund or carry forward of payment arranged.
Our local website is www.hpsmonmouthshire.co.uk and the national HPS is www.hardy-plant.org.uk. Both contain very useful information. Monmouthshire local group is open only to national HPS members living in postcodes NP4 to NP44 and bordering areas. We have no local membership fee. To seek assistance with plant queries, please send an email to helpdesk@hardy-plant.org.uk.
We very much welcome feedback, suggestions for speakers or for gardens of interest for future visits. Please send us an email if you have something to say.
And if you can lend a hand in some capacity, we’d love to hear that too.
Happy gardening
Sue
The HPS Monmouthshire Group
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Selling Plants at Meetings
Should you want to sell plants at our meetings (please do), here are some helpful guidelines. If you have enough plants for an entire table please let us know beforehand. Otherwise, please arrive a little before the meeting and put your plants on the shared table/s. We will keep track of the sales and give you your share afterwards.
Whether you sell your own plants or ask others to sell on your behalf, our policy is that of the first £40 of your sales, you give 50% to group funds and retain 50%. Proceeds from your sales beyond £40 are then yours to keep.
Keeping track of sales does depend on your labelling. The following is a system which we’ve found works well and we ask that you use it:
- Each of your pots should have 2 labels, with the text clearly visible/legible.
- One label naming the plant – either with its Latin name or its common name, though both can be used. (You could also add flower colour and expected size if useful, perhaps on the reverse of the label.)
- The other, coloured if wanted, should have your name or identity mark and the asking price. (This label is removed and retained when the plant is sold to enable your sales to be totalled, and then given back to you so you also reuse it at a future sale.)
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For further details of our local group and programme of events, see https://hpsmonmouthshire.co.uk/
To book places at events where booking is open, see https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/The-HPS-Monmouthshire-Group
For more about the national Hardy Plant Society, see https://www.hardy-plant.org.uk/
The HPS Monmouthshire Group is also an Affiliated Group of the RHS, see https://www.rhs.org.uk/
Note: If at any time you would like to be added to or removed from our emailing list or to view or change the personal information The HPS Monmouthshire Group holds about you, please send an email to monmouthshirehps@gmail.com with ‘Personal Information’ as the subject line.
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Monmouthshire Group 