Kniphofia rooperi
Hello Everyone
Welcome to the Monmouthshire Branch of the Hardy Plant Society where the sun always shines and the plants grow tall. Don’t forget that our meetings start at 2pm when there’s time to chat over tea before the talk begins at 2.30.
Our Annual General Meeting on 14 April was possibly the quickest in living memory. In double quick time we approved the accounts, heard a summary of the year from the Chair, and elected our new committee. Roger Lloyd is ex-officio President, Alison McKenzie Chair, Cath Mullin Secretary, Catherine Dooher Treasurer, Jenny Lloyd Deputy Treasurer and Jen Edmunds, Brigid Hamilton-Jones, Helen Westlake and Keith White ordinary members.
Business concluded, we settled back for an excellent talk on summer bulbs by Rob Evans of Pheasant Acre Plants. Although he was under the weather with a cold, Rob brought us inspiration and practical advice for choosing and using ‘bulbs’ (including corms, etc.) such as Nanus Gladioli, Nerines, and Crocosmia for summer colour.
Dates for your Diary
Our April meeting at the hall in Little Mill NP4 0HE is on Saturday the 11th and we are delighted to be welcoming Jane Lindsay of Tynings Climbers. Jane will be talking on, well, Climbers. In this, Jane is highly qualified. Her love of climbers and nursery stock was born when she started work for John Vanderplank who, at the time, had been awarded the national collection of Passiflora. One year’s work experience lasted seventeen, and this together with studying at Cannington horticultural college, has given her a wide knowledge of horticulture. Jane returned to the family market garden upon the death of her grandfather and converted it into a thriving plant nursery. Tynings Climbers is situated in North Somerset on a south facing slope overlooking the Mendips and is run by Jane and Toni O’Connor. They have an excellent website too. It’s well worth a look. https://tyningsplants.co.uk Members £4, non-members £6
The following month on Saturday 9th May we will welcome Roger Lloyd who will present a talk on Grasses entitled Grass Consciousness. They are everywhere these grasses in modern garden design. Whether it’s the New American Movement, New Perennial Movement, Prairie planting or more generally, naturalistic planting, grasses usually feature heavily. This talk will cover the advantages of using grasses, how they are incorporated in garden design, which grass in which location, their care and maintenance, companion planting and a list of favourites. The latter will be provided as a handout. Members £4, non-members £6
Coming Up
A Garden Discussion Lunch will be held at the Chainbridge Inn near Usk on Wednesday 22nd April at 12.30 for 13.00. A two-course lunch is £28 and comprises a main course and a dessert. Menu options will be sent out with your booking confirmation This event must be booked via TicketSource. See https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/The-HPS-Monmouthshire-Group
Please note that we will no longer be using Ticket Source for booking hall meetings as so few people use it. Ticket Source will still be used for booking trips and meals.
Gardens Open locally:
April/May
Saturday 18 & Sunday 19 April – Longhouse Farm
Saturday 25 April – Park House
Sunday 26 April – High Glanau Manor
Sunday 3/Monday 4 May – The Pant
Saturday 9/Sunday10 May – Glebe House
Sunday 17 – Monmouth Gardens
Saturday 23/Sunday 24/Monday 25 – Hillcrest
Sunday 24 – Baileau
Some news from the Hardy Plant Society you may have missed
Social Media: If you are confident with Facebook and Instagram and feel able to make posts to engage the public then please email Steve Bustin chair@hardy-plant.org.uk
Shows and events: We’d love someone (or more than one person) to help represent the national society at shows and plant sales around the country. If that sounds like your sort of thing please get in touch.
Photo librarian: The HPS has an extensive library of plant photos built up over many years and we’re looking for a volunteer to manage this: adding new images, ensuring correct naming, ensuring access for members and non-members, running our annual photo competition.
Trustees: We are looking for two or three new Trustees to join the Board. The Board shapes the future of the HPS and ensures the organisation meets all its regulatory, charitable and financial obligations. Board meetings are held on Zoom every other month and most Trustees take on other roles or specific projects between meetings.
If you’d like to know more, please drop our Chair, Steve Bustin, an email on chair@hardy-plant.org.uk to set up a chat.
For more about the national Hardy Plant Society, see https://www.hardy-plant.org.uk/
Our local group website is: www.hpsmonmouthshhire.co.uk and national HPS is: www.hardy-plant.org.uk. All contain useful information.
We 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
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/, and of the online Tender Shoots Garden Club Network, see https://tendershoots.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
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 