If anyone has any Polystichum that are currently producing fernlets on their leaves could they let me/us know, as we might need some for a possible video project.

Thanks, Bill on behalf of Sally Gregson

On behalf of Ro Fitzgerald:

At the Plant Swap in August, I got a small pelargonium of the scented-leaf kind. It’s turned out possibly the nicest I’ve ever had, and at the (splendid) Helen Dillon event today I asked various possible people if it had been their offering. No luck though.

Who brought Pelargonium ‘Blandfordianum’ to the Plant Swap, and do they have any background information on it ? This form has nearly white flowers, and is outstandingly pretty.

Please reply via email or use the Contact form on the website.

This coming Saturday we have our AGM, after which Helen Dillon will give a presentation entitled ‘Moving Gardens?  Only the Best Come Too’. The AGM commences at 10:30am, with the lecture starting at 11:30am. Non-members should arrive around 11:15am, ready for the lecture.

Over the course of 44 years, Helen Dillon and her husband Val created an astonishing garden at 45 Sandford Crescent, Dublin.  Robin Lane-Fox of the Financial Times described it as ‘the best walled town garden one can hope to see’.  Having made the decision to downsize, the Dillons held their final garden opening at the end of September 2016 and say they are looking forward to the challenge of a new plot.  Don’t miss out on this world-renowned plantswoman’s visit to our Group – Helen is a mine of information and a lively speaker with years of experience.
http://www.dillongarden.com

To celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Hardy Plant Society, Helen’s lecture will be followed by a light buffet which is free for members and included in the £5 entry fee for guests.

Booking is required for the event, if you need a ticket please contact Janet Murley (janet.murley@btinternet.com 01884 820840) as soon as possible.

The AGM draws near, so here’s a quick reminder to all HPS Somerset Group members that you need to book seats for yourselves for Helen Dillon’s presentation following the AGM and also tickets for any guests you are inviting. This is for catering purposes (so we know how much to buy) and because there is limited room in the hall. So far there has been a great demand for tickets so please contact Janet Murley (janet.murley@btinternet.com 01884 820840) as soon as possible if you intend to come along.

Please note that non-members of the Somerset Group cannot attend the AGM portion of the meeting so are advised to come along to the hall at 11.15am when they will be able to book in and pay for their seat for the lecture from Helen Dillon which will commence at 11.30am.

In view of the limited space in the hall, the Committee has decided not to have the usual book and plant stalls on this occasion so we will not be able to accept any donations of plants and books at this meeting.

Our guest speaker on 18 November is Helen Dillon, whose talk will follow our AGM.  Details are set out in the programme already posted on the website, but this will be a special occasion open to visitors. There will be a finger buffer and drinks to follow her talk and give people a chance to chat with her afterwards.  Helen’s garden in Dublin has been a horticultural mecca for many years and she has recently moved and is creating a new one with her usual robust approach to its design and the best plants to put in it – “only the best come too!”

Prior booking will be important for this popular event so that we know how many people we will be catering for.  Booking should be made through Janet Murley in the usual way (janet.murley@btinternet.com 01884 820840) If you have already signed up (at our meeting last Saturday) to say that you are coming you need do nothing more apart from turning up!   If you have not yet told us you are coming, please contact Janet as indicated above. Visitors will be very welcome.   Janet will confirm by email wherever possible.   There is no need for visitors to pay in advance, but we will ask them to pay £5.00 when they arrive.  There is no charge for paid up members of Somerset Group.

Members and visitors who have dietary requirements should tell Janet at the time of booking.

Roy

Saturday 21st October – 11.00am 

Mary Benger – ‘The Development of Burrow Farm Gardens’

Mary Benger moved to Burrow Farm, near Axminster, almost 60 years ago and has since transformed the accompanying ten acres of fields into the stunning garden it is today.  Encompassing a variety of different garden styles, Mary’s creation is a feast for the eyes, both within the garden itself and in the views which surround it.  In this talk, Mary will be bringing the development of the gardens to life and guiding us around some of the highlights.

Plants for sale
http://www.burrowfarmgardens.co.uk

This Saturday 16th we resume our season of meetings with a talk from Kevin Hughes and also the 50/50 plant sale.

50/50 Plant Sale

The 50/50 Plant Sale prior to the talk at our September meeting each autumn continues to prove popular.  The Group keeps half the money taken and returns the other half to the seller. The hall will be open from 9.40am – 10.10am to receive your plants to sell.

Please ensure that each plant has two identical labels, both of them bearing the name of the plant, your name and the price.  One will be removed so that the amount you are owed can be totted up and given to you at the end of the meeting, when you can also reclaim any unsold plants and your labels (tip: write in pencil on the labels so that they may be reused).

Selling will take place between 10.20am and 11.00am, at which point the lecture begins.  Offers of help with selling on the day will be most welcome.

Altogether, it promises to be an excellent opportunity to bag some choice plants while the soil is still warm enough to plant them.

Saturday 16th September – 11.00am 

Kevin Hughes – ‘Less Common Trees and Shrubs for the Smaller Garden’

Kevin Hughes Plants is based at Heale Gardens, near Salisbury, where he grows a superb choice of good quality hardy trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials, many of them not widely available elsewhere.   With a vast horticultural knowledge yet an unassuming manner, he is a popular and absorbing speaker.  In this talk, he will be showing us some of the more unusual plants we can enjoy in our own gardens.  Bring a notebook!

Plants for sale
http://www.healegarden.co.uk

Roy would like to point out that Lyn’s pots are not in fact 150cm (5 feet) wide, but that the plants are 150cm in height. The original announcement is amended below to clarify the dimensions. The largest pots are 18 inches (46cm) wide by 13 inches (33cm) deep, but most are smaller than this.

We hope this will assure any hesitant carers.

Lyn Spencer-Mills has asked if we can find caring homes for the plants in her conservatory.  Ken is currently in hospital having fallen and broken a hip and Lyn herself has to go into hospital on 25th of this month and in both their absences the plants will receive no care whatsoever.

There are good and interesting plants available and these are listed below.  Any arrangements to take them away will need to be made before the end of next week, so quick responses are essential.  Lyn has said that any donations for the plants should go to Group funds.  Please contact me (Roy Stickland) urgently if you are interested in helping this humane cause (email; herongates@hotmail.com or phone 01934 843280).  A few plants have already been spoken for, those remaining are as follows:

• Hibiscus rosa sinensis, assorted colours, biclours, singles and doubles
  • 2 pots X 150cm tall (5 feet tall)
  • 8 pots X 80cm – 100cm (2.5 – 3 feet tall)
• Sansevieria ; 5 trifasciata and 1 large trifasciata ‘Black Gold’
• Amorphophallus Konjac

Roy Stickland, Chairman

For information Dulford Nursery is closing down and currently they have 50% off all containerised plants. There are some choice plants including a good selection of Malus, check out their web site.

Via Graham Salmon