Kniphofia rooperi
Hello Everyone
Hawthorn, bluebells, allium, lilac, iris and peonies, Chelsea chop, May Day, two bank holidays and sun at last. Who doesn’t love the month of May?
We welcomed Jane Lindsay of Tynings Climbers to the hall in April for what turned out to be an excellent and comprehensive talk. It wasn’t hard to see just how much Jane loves her work with plants, all plants, but this talk was about climbers and very good it was too. She and Toni O’Connor run a successful plant nursery in North Somerset not too far from Bristol and have an excellent website which you might want to look at: https://tyningsplants.co.uk/
Nine members came to the Garden Discussion Lunch at the Chainbridge Inn near Usk in April. We were fortunate to have sole use of a side room and to sit at one table so everyone could hear what was being said and participate in the topic – downsizing to and coping with smaller garden spaces as we age. It proved to be an interesting and lively discussion on a familiar topic of great concern to many and very well-managed by our new chairman.
Dates for your Diary
On Saturday 9th May we will welcome Roger Lloyd to the Hall at Little Mill NP4 0HJ. His talk on Grasses entitled ‘Grass Consciousness’ will begin at 2.30. The hall, however, will open at 2pm, allowing plenty of time for a cup of tea and a chat beforehand. Grasses are everywhere in modern garden design. Whatever the style of garden, they play a valuable part. 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.
Please note that this will be the last meeting at the hall until we resume in September. Members £4, non-members £6.
On 3rd June, we are invited to an evening visit to Glebe House and its lovely garden of one and a half acres at Llanfair Kilgeddin from 5 to 7pm. In addition to viewing the garden, the church at Llanfair Kilgeddin with its 16 fabulous sgraffito panels will be open for us to explore. This is a self-drive trip. £15 to include tea and cake.
Please book on TicketSource. www.ticketsource.com/The-HPS-Monmouthshire-Group
On 14th June there is the return of the popular Cantref Open Gardens in Abergavenny, held from 11.30am to 5pmin aid of the Target Ovarian Cancer charity. Tickets on the day available at Christ Church, North Street NP7 7EB or Chapel Farm House, Pentre Road, NP7 7BE.
July/August – please watch this space for further garden visits.
Do add the 6th August to your diary. It’s the date for members and their partners for our annual Members’ Summer Lunch. This year’s is at Hillcrest in Blackwood, an NGS garden and home to Mike O’Leary for 40 years. You are guaranteed a very warm welcome from Mike and there’s lots to see. A buffet lunch with wine is £25.
Book on TicketSource.
Of interest to many of us will be the first meeting of the autumn on 5th September at the Hall in Little Mill when Tim Stretton, head gardener of the Arne Maynard restored Mounton House Garden near Chepstow, will be speaking. The title of the talk is to be confirmed. Not to be missed.
Coming Up
Reminders
If you’re already thinking ahead to seed saving, guidance is now available on the HPS website, so you can get prepared for the seed distribution scheme later in the year.
Cornucopia, the HPS magazine, will also be out soon, packed with some of the Society’s best writing. If you’re not already a subscriber, it’s well worth it – all for just £3.50.
Note, too, that we will no longer be using TicketSource for booking hall meetings as so few people use it. TicketSource will still be used for booking trips and meals.
Gardens Open in Gwent:
May
Sunday 3 & Monday 4 May – The Pant
Saturday 9 & Sunday 10 May – Glebe House
Sunday 17 – Monmouth Gardens
Saturday 23, Sunday 24 & Monday 25 – Hillcrest
Sunday 24 – Baileau
The Veddw House garden, Devauden (home of HPS member Anne Wareham) will be open on the first and third Sundays of June, July, August and September at 2pm-5pm.
Membership
We have been updating our membership database and found that quite a few members had not renewed their membership. Please do check that you are up to date. Head to the HPS website at https://hardy-plant.org.uk/how-do-i#renew for how to renew.
Message from the HPS
As many of you are aware, it is the HPS 70th anniversary in 2027. It is hoped that it will be celebrated by being represented at various events and by creating merchandise that will be available to commemorate the occasion. As these ideas are all progressed, they will, of course, be shared with members.
One idea being pursued is to create a 2027 HPS calendar. This will feature the best photography that members can provide, and each photograph used will be attributed to the member within the calendar. Each month will feature one member photograph, so twelve fantastic photos to display are needed.
The theme throughout the year will be ‘A Passion for Plants’.
There are two categories:
1. An individual hardy perennial, plant group, or border.
2. An HPS event.
Details are on the website at https://hardy-plant.org.uk. You must be logged in and an active member to see the submission form.
The Judges will be Brian Hackett, our ex-Librarian and current archivist, and Steve Bustin, the Society Chair. The closing date for submissions will be 23:59 on June 30th, 2026. As timescales are tight, we are also opening this up to those who have previously submitted photographs in our photographic competitions.
Our local group website is: www.hpsmonmouthshire.co.ukand national HPS is: at www.hardy-plant.org.uk. All contain useful information.
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/
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
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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 