Author: Bill Hodgson

February 11th – Meeting Reminder

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Apologies for the last-minute reminder – somehow this one slipped through the net.  I hope you can still make it to this month’s meeting, as it promises to be an interesting lecture.

Our February meeting features Heather Godard-Key talking on Ferns.

Fibrex Nursery is well known for its pelargoniums, but it also boasts possibly the most extensive commercial collection of hardy ferns in the UK.  Heather Godard-Key, co-owner of Fibrex, will be giving us a talk on this ancient family of foliage plants which are so invaluable for shady spots in our gardens.

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

Snowdrop Open Days

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Members have a choice of beautiful gardens to visit to satisfy their galanthus cravings early this February.

Higher Yarde Farm is opening from 10.30am to 3.30pm on Friday 3rd, Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th of February, with profits donated to the NSPCC, and then again on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th of February (same opening times) with profits donated to the Somerset Wildlife Trust.  Entry is £5, and includes tea and cakes.
Higher Yarde Farm,
Staplegrove,
TA2 6SW
Contact Anita or Tom on 01823 451553
Snowdrop aficionados Mike and Jenny Spiller will also be opening their garden at Elworthy Cottage on the 4th and 5th of February, from 11am to 5pm, as part of the NGS Snowdrop Festival.  Admission is £3, and children go free.  Elworthy Cottage Plant Nursery will be open, so come along and find a new treasure to embellish your garden in winters to come.
Elworthy Cottage,
Elworthy (on the B3188, north of Wiveliscombe)
TA4 3PX
Contact Mike or Jenny on 01984 656427

Trees Going Cheap

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Two news items, 1) the Spring booking form is now on the Newsletters page, and 2) cheap trees for February via Stuart Senior:

Somerset Plants is open again from February – but I thought it would be worth while reminding you that we have a quantity of containerised trees which MUST BE SOLD. These are big trees at stupidly cheap prices and will have to be collected from the nursery after we open in February. Click here to download the stock list and prices.

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Meeting Reminder | Jan 14th | Alan Street

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Happy New Year to everybody and welcome back to our monthly meetings. Our first event of 2017 will take place on Saturday 14th January at 11.00am with Alan Street and ‘Small Bulbs’.

As well as being the Head Nurseryman at Avon Bulbs, Alan Street is the creative mind behind the company’s gold medal-winning displays at Chelsea.  An incurable galanthophile, he will be expanding our knowledge of a range of small bulbs; which varieties to choose to achieve a continuity of display throughout spring in our own gardens, and how to care for them.

Plants and bulbs for sale
http://www.avonbulbs.co.uk

An Evening With Chris Beardshaw

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On behalf of Stowey Gardeners via Jane Hunt

Our club is hosting an evening with Chris Beardshaw on Thursday 16th March.  Chris will be speaking on the subject of ‘Painting with Plants’- an illustrated talk which looks at creating floral rewards with less effort and is inspired by traditional English borders but looking for a new style. Chris is a very inspiring and entertaining speaker and we hope that his talk will be enjoyed by as many as possible.  Our venue is the Village Hall in Nether Stowey and the time is 7.0 for 7.30.   Our village is 8 miles from Bridgwater and very accessible from the M5. Tickets £10 to include light refreshments.  For more information and tickets please contact:

Best wishes,
Heather Coates – for Stowey Gardeners

Shepton Snowdrop Festival Poetry and Photography Competition

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On behalf of the Shepton Snowdrop Festival, via Jane Hunt

We are delighted to announce the launch of a Poetry Competition as part of the February Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Festival. This is for you if you have ever written a poem or enjoyed reading one in your school days…or since.

The Competition will be for poems written on the theme of snowdrops – the essence of the Festival. The Festival and the Poetry Competition celebrate the life and work of a snowdrop breeding pioneer – James Allen – who lived in Shepton.

The winning poem will be chosen by Deborah Harvey, an established poet (see below). There are three classes – for ages 6-11, 12-16 and over 16s. A formal awards ceremony will be held as part of the Festival on 19 February in Shepton, when Deborah will announce the winners, and even if you do not win, the writers of a number of selected poems will be given the opportunity to read out their poems. There is no entry fee for submitting poems.

The keen photographers among you will also be interested in the Snowdrop Festival Photography Competition, again with three classes (Under-16, Over-16 and Camera Club members). And on Sunday 15 January we are holding a Workshop on Photographing Flowers which will offer top tips from the Mid-Somerset Camera Club.

There is much more information about the Competition (and about the related photography competition and workshop) on the Festival’s website (www.sheptonsnowdropfestival.org.uk) – go to ‘Competitions’ at the top of the page. This also leads to the entry form. The Poetry Competition closes at midnight on 15 January 2017 – so do not delay putting in your entries.

Any requests for more information or queries to bondchristophere@btconnect.com

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Cornish Grit & New Members

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Cornish Grit

Sorry for the delayed answer to this question. Cornish grit is said to be available from:

  • Sweet Acre Nursery near Glastonbury. I verified this by phone (website)
  • Chelston Nurseries (website)
  • Champions Building Supplies, 4 tonne bags (website)

Two places which no longer supply Cornish Grit:

  • Chamberlains in the Mendips
  • Michael Kings

I hope this helps for those needing supplies. Thanks to the members who replied to the enquiry.

Welcome to new Members

  • Catherine Bond
  • Gordon & Hilary Roberts
  • Anne Kaile
  • Susan Whitehead

We hope you enjoy the group.

And Finally

Penny Berry writes: Members who have not used Riverside bulbs may like to know that I placed an order and was very impressed with the quality of the bulbs and their efficiency.

Meeting Reminder | Saturday 19th November

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This Saturday 19th of November is the Annual General Meeting, in which the committee will be re-elected and the financial status of the Group will be announced.  The AGM business should be dealt with relatively quickly, leaving time for a short presentation on the new Somerset HPS website, Twitter and Facebook pages by Bill Hodgson (me).

The meeting starts at 10am, with the AGM starting at 10:30.  At 11:15 we have our guest speaker, Wolfgang Bopp, talking on ‘The History of Hilliers & The Centenary Border’.

Wolfgang is the director of Hilliers, which won its 70th consecutive gold medal at Chelsea this year, so this promises to be a engaging talk by the top man. Many members will have visited the Arboretum, so it will be fascinating to hear its history. The newly redesigned Centenary Border has been described as ‘a traditional border with a contemporary edge’. At 250 metres long and double-sided, it is an extraordinary creation and…everything is labelled!

Wolfgang is not taking a fee for the talk but our Somerset Group will be making a contribution to the Bursary fund for young trainees at Hilliers.
http://www.hillier.co.uk

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Acer palmatum ‘Beni-Maiko’