We felt this might be relevant to our email readership and members.

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I am contacting you from Children’s Hospice South West, based at your local Children’s Hospice, Little Bridge House in Barnstaple. We are currently promoting our Open Gardens campaign, encouraging individuals to open their garden in support of Children’s Hospice South West. You can find out more about this on our website – https://www.chsw.org.uk/event/group/open-gardens

We would really appreciate it if you would be able to share this with the Hardy Plant Society members, to see if they would ever consider opening their garden, or multiple gardens opening in one village to create a local ‘Garden Safari’. 

We also offer free talks to local groups – your local Area Fundraiser would love the opportunity to talk to your group about the care that we provide, having a focus on the sensory garden here at Little Bridge House and how this helps the children and families we support.

If you have any questions regarding our Open Gardens campaign or to book in a free talk, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Cyra Braunton
cyra.braunton@chsw.org.uk

Tony Kirkham is giving a talk on ‘Growing Greener Trees for Gardens’ to Devon HPS which members and guests are welcome to attend. The talk is part of their AGM day so please note timings to avoid arriving in the middle of Tony’s talk.

Full details on the HPS website here: https://hardy-plant.org.uk/hps-event/growing-greener-trees-for-gardens-tony-kirkham/

Our first meeting of 2024 is coming up on Saturday, with a snowdrops talk:

Micky Little – ‘Snowdrops: The Fair Maids of February’

Mickey Little trained at Cannington, was a nurseryman at Kelways and Head Gardener at Castle Drogo, Hestercombe and Achamore before joining Avon Bulbs as a propagator. His knowledge of snowdrops is extensive and he has been involved in propagating new cultivars of Galanthus over the years. For those of us who are hooked on these welcoming heralds of spring, this is a talk not to be missed.

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On February 29th there will be a coach trip to Ashwood Nurseries, Kingswinford (you can read all about it on the Programme page). Penny Berry will be at the meeting on Saturday to collect booking forms.

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At every meeting we have the Plant of the Month competition. For 2024 we encourage everyone to bring along an offering to expand the competition. Your mission is to bring either a cut flower and / or a pot plant, or both. The competition is usually judged by the Speaker and points awarded towards an annual award at the AGM. 

Roy Stickland also asked me to remind you that the competition includes bulbs and corms, a good time to let these little gems shine.

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See you on Saturday from 10:30am, with the talk at 11am. Guests welcome (£5 on the door).

Below is a flyer for the Somerset Group Early Spring Plant Fair. Feel free to display this in your car, front window, local shop, bedroom or anywhere that might bring in plant buyers, the committee would be grateful.

Here are the details of next year’s Group plant fairs to put in your 2024 diaries and calendars.

• The Early Spring Plant Fair will take place at Yeo Valley Organic Garden, Blagdon on Saturday 23 March 2024. Please note that this is a week earlier than our usual “last Saturday in March” date. 

• The Summer Plant Fair is moving to a new venue, Batcombe House near Shepton Mallet, on Saturday 15 June 2024.

As usual, we will be looking for volunteers to help at both events so please step forward if you can. Free entry to the event is your reward for a short period on either the gate or plant sales table. We will also need plant donations to sell at these events so please think about potting up a few surplus plants now. Evergreens and plants that perform early in the year would be especially welcome at our March fair. Perhaps you have some surplus hellebore seedlings or young plants you don’t need? These could be brought to the lecture meeting preceding the plant fair if necessary.

As many of you are aware, we have been told that the fees for hiring West Monkton Village Hall are going up considerably with immediate effect. Without the valuable funds raised at our plant fairs we will be unable to maintain our excellent lecture meeting programme without substantially increasing membership fees. This means that we really need every member to contribute to making our plant fairs a success by way of plants to sell or physical help on the day.

Nurseryman Tom Nielsen of Biocentric Plants is looking to recycle used flower pots. Would anyone coming to this Saturday’s meeting bring their spare 1 litre and 2 litre plastic pots where Tom will collect them, please!

Many thanks, Jane Hunt

Saturday 14th October, 10:30 for 11am

Razvan Chisu, The Transylvanian Gardener – ‘Confessions of a Plantaholic’

Razvan’s addiction to plants began as a child in his native Transylvania, where he was inspired by fields covered in wildflowers. His passion remains plant-hunting, particularly in Greece and Spain. His wonderful photographs of these trips show vast areas of wildflowers – swathes of silene, crocus, species tulips, etc. – growing naturally and undisturbed. 

As well as helping to stage exhibits at the Tatton, Chatsworth and Chelsea Flower Shows, Razvan works as a garden designer.  He has an eclectic taste in plants and can’t get enough of them, as this talk will reveal.  Succulents are a particular passion, and he loves all plants that bloom in the spring, including snowdrops and cyclamen. 

Visit Rizvan’s Instagram account

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At every meeting we have the Plant of the Month competition. For 2023 we encourage everyone bring along an offering to expand the competition. Your mission is to bring either a cut flower and / or a pot plant, or both. The competition is usually judged by the Speaker and points awarded towards an annual award at the AGM. 

Let’s give Roy and Caroline some competition this year – find your best plants and bring them along on Saturday.