Hydrangea serrata ‘Daredevil’
Hello Everyone
There’s still a back to school feeling in September no matter how many decades have passed since then and now. No lovely whiff of autumn in the air yet, nor the crunch of leaves underfoot, but it’s raining pears, plums and apples so it can’t be far away. And we have real rain. What a treat!
In the spirit of a fresh start and new beginnings, a reminder of the names of our committee members and the aims and ethos of the Hardy Plant Society.
Catherine Dooher – Treasurer
Jen Edmunds
Brigid Hamilton-Jones
Jenny Lloyd
Alison McKenzie – Chairman & Membership Secretary
Cath Mullin – Secretary
Helen Westlake
Keith White
and Roger Lloyd is President
Please do contact any committee member via monmouthshirehps@gmail.com.
We meet at Little Mill village hall, Berthon Road, Little Mill, Pontypool NP4 0HE on the first Saturday of the month between September and May. Garden trips and outings are organised for the summer months. Entry for members for most meetings is £4 and £6 for non-members. Doors open at 2pm, when refreshments are served, so there is time to socialise with other members before the talk starts. There’s plenty of parking.
The HPS Monmouthshire Group is for those who love hardy herbaceous perennials, shrubs and trees and enjoy sharing their enthusiasm with other like-minded gardeners in the county and beyond. We’re part of a network of 45 local groups. We arrange talks by experts from around the UK, private garden visits, plant fairs, seed exchanges and sales and a forum for the exchange of ideas, knowledge, experience, tips and advice.
Dates for your Diary
On Saturday 5 September, Tim Stretton, head of gardens at Mounton House, Chepstow talks about ‘New Beginnings at Mounton House and Tales from a Career in Horticulture’. Mounton House is one of those places that time almost forgot. Designed by Henry Avray Tipping, and now under the stewardship of Arne Maynard, it is tucked away in the hills near Chepstow and is undergoing an astonishing restoration supported by its passionate owners. Not only will Tim talk about Mounton House, but also his distinguished career in some outstanding gardens. Not to be missed.
October brings Paul Green of Green Leaves Nursery who returns to Little Mill by popular demand on the 10th of the month. He will bring with him lots of healthy plants for sale from his nursery in Newent, answering questions as he goes.
Coming up
The wonderful Usk Show is on Saturday 12 September. Advance booking available –
Gardens Open in Gwent:
Saturday 5/Sunday 6 – Little Caerlicyn
Sunday 13 – Highfield Farm
HPS member Anne Wareham at Veddw House NP16 6PH (https://veddw.com) has openings on the first and third Sundays of September from 2-5pm. Adult entry £10.
National Garden Scheme: private visits can be arranged for you or you and your friends or society to gardens which open by arrangement. Full details in the Yellow Book or at https://ngs.org.uk/
Did you know about the HPS Seed Distribution Scheme?
Members are asked to collect seed from plants in their gardens and donate it to the scheme. Seed is donated throughout the summer and autumn, with the donating period ending in October each year. There is no charge for the seed itself, although a charge is made to cover postage and administration.
Growing and collecting seed has its own rewards. It is a great way of really getting to know your plants because it encourages you to look carefully at them at all stages of their growth. Any seed from plants growing in your garden is welcome, however small the quantity.
The closing date for donations is 22nd October 2026. For more detailed information, please consult the HPS website at https://hardy-plant.org.uk/seed
And the excellent HPS publications?
Members receive a year’s worth of The Hardy Plant and the Newsletter as part of their membership. In addition, the Society publishes a series of books you can buy to extend your knowledge of your favourite hardy plants from chrysanthemums to border phlox and everything in between. Cornucopia, which is published twice a year, is a digest of articles from the newsletters of HPS local and specialist groups. HPS members can subscribe to Cornucopia for only £3.50 a year (or £5.50 for non-members), payable with their membership subscription. Anyone, including non-members, may subscribe via the HPS online shop.
Our local group website is: www.hpsmonmouthshhire.co.uk and national HPS is: at 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.
SueThe HPS Monmouthshire Group
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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 