From Pauline Foster:

I am ordering 8 road side adverts for our forthcoming Annual Plant Sale to be erected within a fairly local radius of the village hall. I will need some helpers to put the signs up. The locations are A38 about 500 yards away from the junction with the A3259 in the Bridgwater direction; A358 past Henlade on both sides of the road ; A3259 Yallands Hill on both sides heading towards and away from Taunton and, finally, somewhere on the new housing estate at Monkton Heathfield. I don’t have a road number for that one. We will also need the loan of a staple gun to attach the signs to the wooden stakes which I will obtain. My intention is to have the signs and paraphernalia with me at the next meeting, 13th April. Hopefully there will be a merry band of helpers on hand!

Thanks, Pauline.

I shall soon need to send all the booking information to the tour operator. We still have a few places available on the trip (including some single rooms) so if you are thinking of booking please do so very soon. After mid April there will be no guarantee that there will be a room available for you, even if there is space on the coach, but please enquire if still interested after this time.

Until the end of March I can accept your booking with a £50 deposit and the following information:

1. Full name (as on passport) and title;
2. Date of Birth and Nationality;
3. Room type required (single, double or twin);
4. Pick up point required (see http://www.swantours.co.uk);
5. ravel Insurance required? Yes/no.
6. Any special requirements? (dietary, wheelchairs/walking aids, ground floor room required etc).
7. Your e mail address and home address

After 31 March 2019 all bookings must be accompanied by the full payment of £535.00 (plus an additional £135 for each single room booked). All other balance payments are due by 20 April 2019.

The itinerary is as follows:

• 10 June 2019 – 10:00hrs – Guided Tour of June Blake’s Garden;
• 10 June 2019 – 13:30hrs – Lunch at Jimi Blake’s (for an additional 12 Euros to be paid on the day) followed by a Guided Tour of Jimi Blake’s Garden, Hunting Brook Gardens, followed by tea/coffee & cakes
• 11 June 2019 – 10:30hrs – Knockrose Garden;
• 11 June 2019 – 13.30hrs – Lunch stop at Avoca, Kilmacanoge, followed by Valclusa Gardens & Nursery (2 Euros per person entrance payable locally)
• 12 June 2019 – 10:00hrs – Corke Lodge Garden;
• 12 June 2019 – 13:30hrs – Dublin Botanical Gardens (lunch at DBG cafe);
• 13 June 2019 – 10:30hrs – 90 minute guided tour of Mount Usher Gardens (lunch at cafe).

All entrance fees are included (except Valclusa who are asking for a 2 Euro donation on arrival which goes to an environmental charity). Lunches are at your own expense. All timings are approximate.

Thanks, Jane Hunt.

The committee would be pleased to receive donations of plants to sell on the HPS stall at East Lambrook Manor this coming Saturday 23rd. Please bring them to the stall on arrival.

Elworthy Cottage Plants will be selling plants at this Saturday’s meeting – bring some cash and leave space in your car.

Bill.

Saturday 16th March – 11.00am

Mary Payne MBE – ‘Grasses and Perennials Make Good Companions’

Mary is a celebrated garden designer, horticultural consultant, broadcaster and writer who has won Gold at both Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows.  Horticultural advisor to the stunning gardens at Compton Acres in Dorset and Lady Farm in Somerset, in this talk she will be sharing her wealth of knowledge about grasses and prairie-style gardening in general.

Mary will confirm at a later date if she will be bringing plants for sale.

Reminder: Subscriptions for the Somerset Group are now due.

Thank you to members who have renewed their membership for 2019. If you have paid by standing order, bank transfer or by post you should have received your membership card by now. I will be at the meeting on Saturday to accept payment from those who have not yet renewed (find me by the book sales table). Rates are £5 for an individual and £8 for two at one address.

Thanks, Caroline Reeves. Membership Secretary

Sissinghurst is one of those gardens that is truly ‘iconic’. Throughout the latter part of the 20th century Vita Sackville-West made a garden that inspired all who were to follow, and changed the face of modern horticulture.

As a young, devoted enthusiast I was completely in thrall to the style of Sissinghurst. It seemed gloriously ‘natural’; the planting deeply subtle and seemingly careless, although I knew it was highly maintained by experts, both professional and voluntary. And now, looking at it afresh from the perspective of the 21st century, over 50 years since Vita’s death, I can see anomalies. The orchard garden, in particular exhibits a very 20th century style.

Vita planted thousands of narcissi in an attempt to make them appear artless, simple: as if they had just arisen spontaneously. She wrote that when it came to choosing which varieties to plant, she had one rule-of-thumb: to reject the temptation to plant up cheap sacks of mixed bulbs. They would have been much better value, it’s true, but the result would have been crowds of flowers, some of which were in bud, some in flower, and some faded. The eye would have registered a mess.

In 21st century gardens the fashion for sowing meadows and growing wild flowers has taken a grip on our imaginations. If Vita were gardening today I feel sure she would have planted the entire orchard with clouds of our native ‘Lent Lilies’: “hosts of golden daffodils”. And today’s gardeners would have picked up the poetic association.

So, gradually, Sissinghurst is becoming an ‘icon’ of 20th century gardening. It remains true to its roots, and true to the vision of its creator. Troy Scott-Smith is surely standing on the shoulders of genius.

Sally Gregson
March 2019
http://www.millcottageplants.co.uk

From: Yvonne Thompson
Sent: 19 February 2019 10:28
Subject: BBC GARDENERS’ WORLD

Hello there

I am one of the researchers on the BBC’s long running gardening series.

I am trying to find a garden with a collection of crocus, preferably a smaller garden with an expert gardener, but even a larger garden would suffice if they had different varieties. Do any spring to mind at all?

The flowering season of this genus is fleeting, so the other option is to find a garden with a good range of early flowering bulbs and herbaceous plants, including perhaps some species tulips. Again – any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Many thanks and best wishes – Yvonne

Yvonne Thompson
Horticultural Researcher

BBC Gardeners’ World
BBC Studios, Broadcasting House, Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2LR
07884 466 205 / 0117 974 6706

Please use the form below to send Yvonne a message

Saturday 16th February – 11.00am

Nick Wray – ‘Microclimates’

Nick is the Curator of the recently re-established Bristol University Botanic Garden and has been awarded the RHS Associate of Honour.  In this lecture, he will show us how to identify garden microclimates and describe how these can be manipulated to create better growing conditions for a wider and more diverse range of plants.  If you’ve ever wondered how botanical gardens manage to successfully grow plants from all over the world, this is your chance to find out!