Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June 2026.

Chris Ireland-Jones: ‘Life With a Nursery – and What Comes Next’

Chris Ireland-Jones and his family took over Avon Bulbs, in Bradford on Avon, in May 1987. The business was very small, with only three staff, one of whom was the renowned snowdrop spotter Alan Street.

In 1990 the nursery moved to South Petherton and over the next 34 years they built up a reputation on the show circuit, winning 30 Gold Medals at the Chelsea Flower Show over the years. 

Familiar and well-liked, Chris will be telling the story of his time at Avon Bulbs: life running a nursery, and what happens afterwards. 

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March is “Pay with a Plant” month for members. We don’t charge members for the meetings but instead please bring a plant to help furnish our plant stall at Yeo Valley at the end of the month. Members should put any contributions in the trays by the entrance table.

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Meetings and lectures are held at West Monkton Village Hall unless otherwise specified. All meetings at West Monkton Village Hall are free to members and there is a modest charge of £5 for non-members. The Group has a plant stall and a book stall at most of the lectures listed, and holds a Flower & Pot Plant of the Month competition.

Talks usually start at 11am with doors open at 10:30 for chat, tea and biscuits.

Members will want to give sympathy to Margaret Lister following the recent death of her husband David after a period of trying ill health. He played an essential part in the creation of their Mendip garden, being the fixer to support Margaret’s plantswoman skills.

She reports that he was ‘an unwilling gardener unless machinery could be involved’ but we all know how important mowing, sawing, chopping and mechanical maintenance are.

He attended many HPS meetings and enjoyed garden outings, being a connoisseur of tea and cakes! During his last days he took pleasure in having a garden chair from which he could see work going on and plants growing.

Yeo Valley Organic Garden, Blagdon, Somerset

The Group’s first plant fair of the year is only a few weeks away now! Tickets for morning entry to the fair are on sale now via this link.

Morning entry is via pre-booked ticket only. If you wish to come in the afternoon you may also buy tickets online or you may pay on the gate. Entry is just £5 (£4 for HPS and RHS members). We have a wonderful group of nurseries coming along with their selection of the best and most desirable plants available – some nurseries are new to the Fair and some are returning favourites.

The fair starts at 10.00am and closes at 3.00pm but the garden will be open until 4.00pm. The delightful cafe and Yeo Valley shop will also be open all day. Please ensure that you have booked a parking permit if you are coming in the morning and display it on arrival.

A flyer about the event is attached. If you are able to display it on the Group’s behalf we would very much appreciate it. We would also welcome offers of help which would entitle you to free entry to the event. Please get in touch if you can spare us a couple of hours of your time. 

Many thanks, Jane.

A4 Poster

Double A5 Poster

Our next meeting is on February 14th where Phil Johnson will give a talk: ‘A World of Sweet Peas’.

Phil is the proprietor of English Sweet Peas, in Maldon in Essex, which lists a fine range of cultivars, all locally grown, and holds a National Collection. This talk will cover all things sweet pea, and will also include the story of the nursery’s triumph at the 2025 Chelsea Flower Show. 

Phil’s recent book, A World of Sweet Peas (2024), written with Cecilia Wingård, was favourably reviewed in The Hardy Plant in 2025; it’s a wonderful read and copies will be available at the talk, as well as a good selection of seeds.

www.englishsweetpeas.co.uk

Important

Phil will bring seeds but not the entire set from the nursery. To get the seeds you want please order on his website (above) and use the code FREEPOSTAGE to get your seeds delivered to the meeting itself.  This code is only for orders to be delivered to the meeting, and no others.

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Meetings and lectures are held at West Monkton Village Hall unless otherwise specified. All meetings at West Monkton Village Hall are free to members and there is a modest charge of £5 for non-members. The Group has a plant stall and a book stall at most of the lectures listed, and holds a Flower & Pot Plant of the Month competition.

Talks usually start at 11am with doors open at 10:30 for chat, tea and biscuits.

Fred Rumsey: ‘The Ones That Got Away – Garden Plants in the British Countryside’

Fred Rumsey is a former British Herbarium keeper at the Natural History Museum. Now a Somerset resident and active botanist with a special interest in garden escapes, he will be talking about plants which have broken free from our gardens and become established in the wild, how they have done this and what it may mean to our native ecology. Fred is known to be excellent speaker and a very good photographer, so this promises to be an enthralling talk on an often overlooked topic.

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Meetings and lectures are held at West Monkton Village Hall unless otherwise specified. All meetings at West Monkton Village Hall are free to members and there is a modest charge of £5 for non-members. The Group has a plant stall and a book stall at most of the lectures listed, and holds a Flower & Pot Plant of the Month competition.

Talks usually start at 11am with doors open at 10:30 for chat, tea and biscuits.

 SUNDAYS 1ST ST & 8 & 8TH TH MARCH 2026, 2 – 4 PM MARCH 2026, 2 – 4 PM

AT KAPUNDA, SOUTHSTOKE, BA2 5SH AT KAPUNDA, SOUTHSTOKE, BA2 5SH

A stunning display as seen on BBC Gardeners World with plants for sale

Entry £7 • Tea and homemade cakes

http://www.kapundaplants.co.uk

Our next meeting is coming up on Saturday with Paul Green, not only a talk but a practical demo too.

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Saturday 18th October

Paul Green – ‘Plants for the Season: A Practical Demonstration’

Paul’s nursery, Greens Leaves, based in Gloucestershire, specialises in rare and unusual plants from around the world. He always tests new varieties tested for their hardiness in the UK’s variable climate. In this talk, Paul will be giving a practical demonstration to help us understand how to grow the plants that he recommends for the season. If you’d like to order plants for him to bring on the day, take a look at his website:

http://www.greensleavesnursery.com/index.html

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Meetings and lectures are held at West Monkton Village Hall unless otherwise specified. All meetings at West Monkton Village Hall are free to members and there is a modest charge of £5 for non-members (when space is available). The Group has a plant stall and a book stall at most of the lectures listed, and holds a Flower & Pot Plant of the Month competition.

Talks usually start at 11am with doors open at 10:30 for chat, tea and biscuits.

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Message from Martin Jones (Chair)

Interest in the raffle held at meetings had fallen very low so the Committee decided to buy a few prizes which we hope will be attractive and lead to greater participation. Judging from last month plants and bulbs were popular but we would welcome suggestions for other prizes (tools, garden gloves, chocolates, wine…..?). We are still happy to receive donated prizes if these are garden relevant and desirable!

If you have ideas please contact us.