Saturday 25th April

HPS Somerset Plant Sale
West Monkton Village Hall, TA2 8NE

10.00am to 12.30pm
Entry £1

This is a chance for members to sell off those extra plants you’ve propagated. HPS members and nursery members can book a pitch in the hall: £5 per table.

For those coming to buy, there are always unusual plants and wonderful bargains to be picked up at the HPS Plant Sale – you never know what you’ll find! Open to the public and members alike.

Refreshments will be available. Free parking.

John Horsey (an SHPS member) is arranging a coach trip to Kelmscott Manor, the home and garden of the Arts and Crafts designer William Morris, and Thenford, the arboretum and garden created by Michael Heseltine.

14 additional people are required to fill the coach to make the trip economically viable. If you would like to come, please contact John at johnhorsey6@outlook.com.

The details are as follows:

• The date of the visit is the 19th June.
• We have a 41-seater coach, the minimum size with a toilet! From Taylors coaches in Yeovil.
• The first pick up will be at Cartgate roundabout on the A303 just outside of Yeovil at 8.45.
• The second pick up will be at Wincanton at 9.15.
• We should arrive at Kelmscott Manor at 11.40 where light refreshments are available.
• We leave Kelmscott at 1.00 and should arrive at Thenford at 2.00.

John suggests a packed lunch to eat on the coach due to time restrictions.

We leave Thenford at 16.30 to get back to Wincanton 19.15 and Cartgate 19.45.  The price works out at £28.00 per person if we fill the coach.

Stuart Senior

Saturday 18th April

Shanks House, Cucklington, nr Wincanton, BA9 9QL

10.00am to 3.00pm (garden open until 4.00pm)

Entry £8, payable on the gate

This exciting new Plant Fair promises to be a highlight of the Somerset HPS spring calendar. Restored Georgian mansion Shanks House, surrounded by five acres of formal gardens set in 100 acres of parkland, will be hosting a good number of local nurseries with stalls full of tempting plants. The gardens at Shanks House were originally designed by Tom Stuart-Smith and include bulb meadows which should be in flower at this time of the year.

The Group relies on volunteers to help make these events run smoothly, so if you feel that you could help on the day please get in touch with Jane Hunt, or via the Contact page on our website: https://somersethps.com/contact/. Volunteers will, of course, receive free admission to the Fair. We will also need donations of good, labelled plants for our plant stall, so if you can bring any along to the Fair, please do (labelled if possible!).

We have two exciting events coming up, the Plant Fair at Shanks House and the Plant Sale in Monkton Heathfield. If you are able to promote either of these events, below are two sets of flyers to print and place as you see fit. If you are reading this on email, you’ll need to click into the website to see the download links.

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Coming this Saturday 11th April

Andrew Pitman: ‘Where Does It Come From, and Why?’

Andrew runs Monkton Elm Garden Centre. He studied agriculture and horticulture at Brymore School and then attended Cannington College. He worked his way up to Store Manager from a work experience role at Monkton Elm. In this talk, he will be looking at the origins of some of our familiar garden plants.

www.monktonelm.com

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50% Discount on Plants

Via Ro FitzGerald:

I heard from Saturday’s speaker, Andrew Pitman of Monkton Elm. He will give a voucher to everyone attending which will give a 50% discount on Monkton Elm plants (up to £40 discount total) as long as they take out a (free) Monkton Elm Club Card. Sounds like an attractive deal!

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