Sunday 8th July

HPS Somerset Summer Plant Fair at Lower Severalls, Crewkerne, TA18 7NX

10.00 – 4.00pm     Admission: £4.00     HPS & RHS Members: £3.50

In a change of venue (previously listed as Hestercombe), our Summer Plant Fair will now be taking place in the beautiful setting of Lower Severalls Garden.  This is the first time the HPS has held a Plant Fair at Lower Severalls, and what a wonderful occasion it promises to be.  Diverse specialist nurseries will be gathering to offer visitors the best of their plants in high summer.  CB Plants (Lower Severalls’ own nursery) will also be open.

Tea, coffee and home-made cake available.

http://www.lowerseverallsfarmhouse.co.uk

Nurserys Attending

• Barracott Nursery
• Blooming Hill Plants
• Elworthy Cottage Plants
• Entwood Farm Plants
• Gardeners Delight
• Hardy Way Plants
• Hill Top Nursery
• In Clover
• Kevin Hughes Plants
• MAJ Allison
• Mill Cottage Plants
• Millwood Plants
• Pickett Lane Nursery
• Phoenix Plants
• Roseland Nursery
• Shady Plants
• Wild Thyme Nursery
• Plus CB Plants (resident nursery at Lower Severalls)

For those that couldn’t make Saturday, here’s some photos via Stuart Senior of the 25th Anniversary event.

Help, help help. Having enjoyed Roy Lancaster’s talk so much I clean forgot to ask around to see if anyone well actually any 2 or 3 lovely people would take care of teas for our Saturday 15th of September 50/50 plant sale and lecture meeting. I will sadly not be able to go that month.

On the day in question you would need to bring 3 to 4 pints of milk and 4 packs of biscuits with one of those being gluten free. As it is the 50/50 sale that day you won’t be bored tapping your toes wondering what to do but will get to start serving more or less at the usual 10am start, with the talk starting at 11 and cleaning up easy peasy after the talk.

Help is also needed for the future scheduled dates of:

• 20 October before “Create a Garden as a Work of Art”
• 17 November before AGM and then Keith Wiley on “Erythroniums and other Woodlanders.”

It can be fun and always a sense of satisfaction of rounding our meetings in a social way. Please use the form below to make contact with me directly or call me: 01963 240 605.

Many thanks from HPS Somerset for all offers and of course for your past help too.

Biz Gibbs, Senior Supervisory Tea Lady

 

As the Group celebrates its 25th anniversary we have a treat planned for 2019: a trip to southern Ireland from 9 to 14 June by luxury coach. Our tour operator will be SwanTours of Devon (www.swantours.co.uk)who have offered us multiple pick up points en route so hopefully no-one will have to travel too far to meet the coach.

We will be staying in three star hotels – the Wilton Hotel, Bray for the first four nights, moving to the Maldron Hotel, Wexford for our final night. There will be a full programme of garden visits in between and perhaps an opportunity to spend an afternoon enjoying the sights of Dublin. Gardens to be visited include Jimi Blake’s Garden, Huntingbrook, June Blake’s garden, Carmel Duignan’s Garden, Corke Lodge Garden and Mount Usher Garden.

The cost of the holiday will be £535 per person sharing a twin or double room. Some single rooms are available at a supplement of £135 per person. This is on a half board basis. The cost includes all entrances and admissions*, luxury coach travel and return ferry crossings. Insurance is available at an additional cost of £30 per person.

We need to confirm our reservation with the holiday company as soon as possible so £50 deposit is required per person booking (cheques made payable to “Hardy Plant Society Somerset Group”). Please send to Jane Hunt, Frogs Hole Farm, Brinscombe, Weare, Somerset, BS26 2LH with the following additional information for each person booking:

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 www.swantours.co.uk);
5. Travel Insurance required? Yes/no.
6. Any special requirements? (dietary, wheelchairs/walking aids, ground floor room required etc).
7. Your e mail address or a stamped addressed envelope.

Friends and relatives are welcome to join us for this holiday. Please just ensure that I receive their details as above plus address and telephone number with their deposit.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I will try to help you

Jane Hunt

*I am negotiating an additional garden to be added to the itinerary so there may be a very small increase in cost as a result.

The special event on Saturday 23 June, when Roy Lancaster will be our guest speaker is in celebration of the Group’s 25th Anniversary.

Around 100 members and visitors have booked places, so we should have a good turnout. Booking is still open. After the talk we will be serving a sort of high tea comprising sandwiches, cakes and tea/coffee. There will also be a celebration cake which we shall ask Roy to cut. Arrangements are in hand for the sandwiches, but I would like to invite members attending the event to bring some ‘nice’ cakes to follow the sandwiches.

We will want to cater for people who have a gluten free requirement and one almond and orange cake has already been promised. One other gluten free of a different kind would enable us to offer a bit of choice. Requests of this kind usually get a good response with people joyfully baking their favourite recipe, and I hope this one will be no exception.

It will be helpful if those who are happy to offer a cake would let Biz Gibbs know what they will bring so that she has some idea what to expect. Contact her at biz.carycott@gmail.com Let’s celebrate your culinary skills as well as Roy Lancaster’s talk and our anniversary.

Apologies for sending this message if you will not be coming on the day.

We have been offered a stall at the English Country Garden Festival at the Bishop’s Palace at Wells on Sunday 24th June. Roy Stickland will be overseeing the day but he will need help on the stall to tell visitors about the Society and the Group and perhaps sell a plant or two. In return, helpers will receive a free ticket to the event and be able to park in the adjacent exhibitors’ parking area.
If you can help, please would you contact Roy indicating whether you would prefer a two hour morning or afternoon slot.
We have also been asked to provide help on the entrance gate at our Plant Fair at Lower Severalls on 8th July. We therefore need another five or six people to help – especially in the morning. If you are available that day and aren’t already committed to helping on our own plant stall we would welcome offers of help – once again, free entry to the event is your reward! Please would you contact Roy if you can help for a couple of hours on the gate.

I know you’ll all be glad to receive another of these emails, you can read the SHPS privacy notice by visiting this page, which is also linked from the bottom of the home page. If you have any questions about the privacy policy you can contact us by replying to any of our regular emails, or use the Contact form on the website.

43rd Cerne Abbas Open Gardens (via Jane Hunt)

25 Private Gardens Open June 16th and 17th, from 2-6pm

• Day ticket to all gardens £7.00
• Ticket for 2 days £10.00
• Accompanied children free

Teas in St Mary’s Church from 1:30 pm Plant Stall from 1 pm

Free Car Park (DT2 7GD) open from 11 am

Proceeds divided equally between: Cerne Valley Scout Group & Dorset County Hospital Cancer Appeal

www.cerneabbasopengardens.org.uk

 

---

Isle Abbotts Gardens

Historic village dating from Saxon times, located on edge of Somerset Levels with many thatched stone cottages. C13 Grade I listed church is described as ‘The Jewel in the Crown of Somerset Churches’. Open church tower. 3 well-established unique gardens with many exquisite herbaceous borders.

• Greggs: ⅓-acre garden of many parts, shrubs, borders and vegetable beds joined by winding paths.
• Monks Orchard: ¾-acre garden developed over 14 yrs. Many large mixed borders with lots of unusual plants. Stunning views. Plants for sale propagated from garden. (Home of our member Maureen Bradshaw)
• Monks Thatch: Front garden is a charming Elizabethan style topiary herb garden with water features and gazebo. At the rear is a seductive, private exotic paradise water garden with boardwalk, bridge, spiral courtyard and tropical planting.

Visit the church tower and take a train tide too.

Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th June, full details on the NGS website here.

 

We are privileged to have our President,Roy Lancaster as our guest for our 25th Anniversary Lecture on Saturday 23 June, 2.30 for 3.00 pm.  It is a special event and we would like to have a good crowd to welcome him.  We are issuing invitations to surrounding Groups to join us as visitors.  Members of Somerset Group have free entry, but you must book a place with Janet Murley (janet.murley@btinternet.com) who will send an email confirmation (or a ticket if you book by post) which you should bring with you as an entry pass.  If you do book by post please remember to include SAE for Janet to send you your ticket.

All visitors will be very welcome and the cost for them will be £5.00 which they can pay in advance by cheque sent to Janet (Marigold Cottage, Whitnage, Tiverton EX16 7DT) together with SAE for the return of the ticket.  Visitors arriving without a ticket can pay their £5.00 on the door.

Roy Lancaster’s latest book will be on sale at a discounted price and he will be willing to sign a few copies on the day.  Please let Janet know if you might be tempted to buy a copy so that Roy will have some idea of how many copies to bring.

Roy is always a lively and authoritative speaker with a breathtaking range of knowledge and experience, making this an event not to be missed.

Saturday 28th April – 10.00am – 12.30pm
West Monkton Village Hall Admission: £1

A diverse range of hardy perennials – many unusual – will be on offer at our annual Plant Sale, as well as shrubs, annuals and vegetable plants. Come early to grab a bargain. Everyone is welcome, so bring your friends and relations!

Members can contribute to the plant sale in two ways:

(a) Occupy a table in your own right. If you would like your own table, please contact Roy Stickland. The charge will be £5, payable on the day. This will be waived if you commit to donate all your takings to charity. There are only 16 tables available and they are allocated on a first come, first served basis. NOTE: ALL 16 booked, sorry.

(b) Grow plants to donate to the Group table. If you have plants to donate to the Group table, just bring them along (labelled with the plant name) on the day (please note this is not a 50:50 sale).