Salix gracilistyla Mount Aso
Programme 2026 – 27
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. The ticket cost will be included in the meeting details for each speaker.
Pay at the door – Cash or Card
The funds raised go towards the cost of our speakers and improving our future programme as well as towards our raffle prizes (raffle tickets are optional of course). Now that we are back to meeting in this larger hall, we have also taken the opportunity to invest some of the proceeds of last season’s programme into a new projector: being able to show larger clearer images will be of real benefit for our speakers and all of us.
Venue
Little Mill Village Hall,
Berthon Road, Pontypool
NP4 0HE
Ample Parking
14 Nov 26. 2.00pm
Pushing the Boundaries
Derry Watkins
https://www.specialplants.net
Another Monmouthshire HPS favourite who brings plants for sale! Derry is a very successful plantswoman, businesswoman and author who has run her specialist Plant and Seed Nursery, Special Plants, near Bath for nearly 30 years. She is an unashamed and enthusiastic plantaholic. In her talk Pushing the Boundaries she says “We all fall in love with plants not suited to our conditions. But with global warming, more and more plants are now becoming possible to grow in this part of the world. this talk discusses why it is worth experimenting with borderline hardy plants and how to increase the likelihood of them surviving.
12 Dec 2026. 2.00pm
The Tropic of Newport
Dave Robinson
@botanical.plantasy.dave
Behind an unassuming semi-detached house on a quiet street on the east side of Newport lies a magical world of enormous tropical plants, a jungle paradise created by Dave, his partner Gemma and their enthusiastic son, Arlo. In just 10 years, they have transformed the blank canvas of a simple lawn into a beautifully curated collection of immaculately maintained rare and exotic plants in a garden of high drama and atmosphere. It’s a knockout.
Dave will walk us through the development of this personal Eden and his amazing plant collection, and will reflect on his transformation from a career in sales to a well-respected expert on sub-tropical gardening, now working at a specialist plant nursery and their new found fame on the BBC, ITV, Times, Telegraph and across social media.
13 February 2027 2.00pm
Pots and More
Thomas Pearson
Thomas started his business, Tom’s Yard in Much Birch, Herefordshire, when he was 23 in 2020 just post Covid. He began by importing hand-thrown pots from Crete but it has grown dramatically since then. He now has an enlarged premises, dedicated suppliers in Tuscany and UK and has significantly diversified his business with a wide range of containers, garden features and furniture. He will tell us his tale.
13 March 2027 2.00pm
Title TBA
Helen Picton
Herefordshire based Old Court Nurseries, established in 1906, & The Picton Garden may be best known as home to the Plant Heritage National Collection of Michaelmas daisies but over the last decade Helen Picton and her husband Ross Barbour have developed the planting
10 April 2027. 2.00pm
Geums
Robin Pearse
Robin’s interest in Geums was developed after his late wife Kristina started to collect them and their collection soon got a bit out of hand. Robin was involved with the RHS Geum Trial at Harlow Carr chaired by Sue Martin the National Collection Holder. His illustrated talk will cover the plants included in the trial and more recent introductions, together with their cultivation. There is a place for Geums in most gardens whether it is the dainty flowers at the front of your border or the bold dazzling taller flowers.
Robin is a retired nurseryman. He continues to grow a very wide range of hardy plants, with a special interest in dahlia, hosta, hemerocallis, pulmonaria, galanthus, woodland plants, ornamental grasses and hardy ferns. Robin is the former chair of the RHS Herbaceous Plant Committee, RHS Floral Judge, Exhibitor, Judge and Speaker.
8 May 2027. 2.00pm
The Resilient Garden
Sally Morgan
A botanist by training, Sally is an author and freelance writer, specialising in resilient, climate change gardening, organic gardening (especially soil and grow your own), smallholding, wildlife and countryside issues. Her articles have appeared in numerous magazines, most recently Amateur Gardening, Bloom and Permaculture Magazione. Her latest books include The Resilient Garden and Allotment Handbook (2024), The Climate Change Garden (2023), The Healthy Vegetable Garden (2021) and Living on an Acre or Less (2016) with more books in the pipeline.
Over the last 20 years Sally has been looking to make her garden more resilient in face of the changes that climate change may bring and how it can cope with extreme weather events, such as drought and severe storms that bring torrential rain. Her talk will outline some of the methods she uses, such as water harvesting systems, permeable surfaces, growing in crushed aggregate and sand, creating shade, plant selection and boosting biodiversity.
