2023
18th February: Tom Clarke – ‘Exbury Gardens: The First Hundred Years’
24th February: Coach Trip to Higher Cherubeer and Stone Lane Gardens
18th March: Helen Picton – ‘Daisy Days: The Rise, Fall and Renaissance’
25th March: HPS Somerset Group Early Spring Plant Fair at Yeo Valley Organic Garden
15th April: Derek Dexter – ‘Fuchsias My Way’
22nd April: HPS Somerset Group Plant Sale
16th May: Self-drive trip to Sperry Barton and Hollam House
8th June: Coach Trip to Dewstow Gardens, South Wales, and Pan Global Plants
11th June: HPS Somerset Group Summer Plant Fair at Lower Severalls Farmhouse
13th July: Coach trip to Spring Pond Gardens and Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants
13th August: Plant Swap and Bring-and-Share Lunch
14th September: Self-drive trip to Honeyhurst Farm and The Bishop’s Palace Garden – cancelled
16th September: 50/50 Plant Sale followed by Katherine Crouch – ‘New Tricks for Old Gardeners’
14th October: Razvan Chisu, The Transylvanian Gardener – ‘Confessions of a Plantaholic’
18th November: AGM followed by Timothy Walker – ‘Bordering on Insanity’
2022
15th January: Sue Applegate – ‘English Wines and Vineyards’
12th February: Michael Marriott – ‘The Rose: The Most Garden-Worthy of All Plants’
12th March: Tamsin Westhorpe – ‘Stockton Bury Gardens Through the Seasons’
26th March : HPS Somerset Group Early Spring Plant Fair
9th April: Sally Gregson – ‘Practical Propagation’
23rd April: HPS Somerset Group Plant Sale
10th May: Self-Drive Visit to Little Ash Bungalow and South Wood Farm
7th June: Coach Trip to Stockton Bury Garden and Stone House Cottage
12th June: HPS Somerset Group Summer Plant Fair at Lower Severalls
7th July: Coach Trip to Mothecombe House, Holbeton and Little Dartmouth Farm
10th September: HPS National AGM, hosted by the Somerset Group
17th September: 50/50 Plant Sale, followed by Charlie Pridham – ‘Climbing Plants’
15th October: Andrew Ward – ‘Marvellous Mints and Perfect Poppies’
19th November: AGM + Fergus Garrett – ‘Designing with Plants’
2021
20th November 2021 – AGM followed by Derry Watkins – ‘Pushing the Boundaries: Borderline Hardy Plants You Can’t Live Without’
16th October – Mary Payne – ‘Autumn: So They Think It’s All Over!’
18th September – 50/50 Plant Sale, followed by Jimi Blake – ‘A Beautiful Obsession’
7th September – Self-drive visit to Stoneleigh Down and Special Plants
6th July – Self-drive Visit to Holcombe Court and Silver Street Farm
4th July – Summer Plant Fair at Lower Severalls
10th June – Self-drive Visit to Westbrook House and Batcombe House
27th May – Self-drive Visit to Pulham Rectory and Ashington Manor
17th April – Vicki Weston – ‘Salvias’
20th March – Dr John Grimshaw – ‘Paying Rent: Plants that Earn Their Keep’
20th February – Timothy Walker – ‘Euphorbias: Probably the Best Plants in the World’
16th January 2021 – Jane Moore – ‘Painting With Plants’
21st November 2020 – AGM, followed at 11.15am by Bob Brown ‘My 30 Best Plants’ (talk given via Zoom)
17th October – Roy Cheek – ‘Irresistible Plants for Butterflies’
19th September – 50/50 Plant Sale followed by Roy Stickland – ‘No, It’s Not Too Big!’
2nd September – Self-Drive Visit to Babbs Farm
30th July – Coach Trip to Broomhill and Abbotsbury Sub Tropical Gardens – Cancelled
5th July – Somerset HPS Group Summer Plant Sale at Lower Severalls – Cancelled
4th July – Plant Swap and Lunch – Cancelled
16th June – Self-Drive Visit to Westbrook House – Cancelled
2nd and 3rd June – Self-Drive Trip to Vellacott – Cancelled
18th April – Jane Moore – ‘Colour in the Garden: Clever Colour Combinations’ – Cancelled
28th March – Early Spring Plant Fair at East Lambrook Manor Gardens – Cancelled
21st March – Dr. Andrew Ward – ‘Marvellous Mints and Perfect Poppies’ – Cancelled due to Covid 19
4th March – Coach trip to the Orchid Festival at Kew Gardens
22nd February – Stephen Griffith – ‘Abbotsbury – Past, Present and Future’
12th February – Winter Social & The Snowdrops of East Lambrook Manor Gardens
18th January 2020 – David Usher – ‘Gertrude Jekyll: Her Plants and Designs’
23rd November – Tom Hart-Dyke – ‘Tales of a Modern-Day Plant Hunter’, plus AGM
19th October – Peter Cantrill – ‘Unusual Herbaceous Plants’
21st September – Marcel Floyd – ‘Clematis’ – plus the 50/50 Plant Sale
17th September – Coach trip to Bicton Park Botanical Gardens
9th July 2019 – Self-drive Visit to Newton House Garden
7th July 2019 – HPS Somerset Summer Plant Fair at Lower Severalls
20th June 2019 – Coach Trip to Sudeley Castle and Gardens
9th – 14th June 2019 – SHPS Group Trip to Ireland
15th May 2019 – Coach Trip to Wildside Garden and Nursery
27th April 2019 – Group Plant Sale at West Monkton Village Hall
13th April 2019 – Kevin Hughes – ‘Joy in the Spring Garden’
23rd March 2019 – HPS Somerset Early Spring Plant Sale at East Lambrook Manor
16th March 2019 – Mary Payne MBE – ‘Grasses and Perennials Make Good Companions’
16th February 2019 – Nick Wray – ‘Microclimates’
19th January 2019 – Jo Hynes – ‘The Winter Garden – Why Stay Indoors?’
17th November 2018 – Keith Wiley – ‘Erythroniums and Other Woodlanders’, plus AGM
20th October 2018 – Dr Laura de Beden – ‘Create a Garden as a Work of Art’
19th September 2018 – Self-drive Visit to Midney Gardens
15th September 2018 – Julian Sutton – ‘How the Plants Became’, plus the 50/50 Plant Sale
12th August 2018 – Group Plant Swap and Lunch
17th July 2018 – Coach Trip to Waterperry Gardens, Oxfordshire
8th July 2018 – HPS Somerset Summer Plant Fair at Lower Severalls
23rd June 2018 – Special Lecture: Roy Lancaster – ‘My Life with Plants’
20th June 2018 – Coach Trip to Iford Manor
16th May 2018 – Self-drive Visit to Watcombe
2nd May 2018 – Coach Trip to The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall
28th April 2018 – Group Plant Sale
14th April 2018- Timothy Walker – ‘Two For The Price of One’
24th March2018- HPS Somerset Early Spring Plant Fair at East Lambrook Manor
10th March 2018 – Brian Hiley – ‘Container Plants and Something Different’
10th February 2018 – Claire Greenslade – ‘Hestercombe: The Restoration of the Edwardian and Victorian Garden’
13th January 2018 – Sue Applegate – ‘Making the Most of Peonies and Irises’
18th November 2017 – AGM & Lecture: Helen Dillon – ‘Moving Gardens? Only the Best Come Too’
21st October 2017 – Lecture: Mary Benger – ‘The Development of Burrow Farm Gardens’
16th September 2017 – Lecture: Kevin Hughes – ‘Less Common Trees and Shrubs for the Smaller Garden’
13th August 2017 – Group Plant Swap and Lunch
26th July 2017 – Coach Trip to Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire
4th July 2017 – Coach Trip to Longstock Park Water Gardens, Hampshire
18th June 2017 – Coach Trip to Cerne Abbas Open Gardens, Dorset
17th May 2017 – Self-drive visit to Burrow Farm Gardens, Dalwood, Axminster
22nd April 2017 – Group Plant Sale
18th April 2017 – Self-drive visit to Haldon Grange, Dunchideock, Devon
8th April 2017 – Lecture: Helen Picton – ‘It’s Not Time for Bed Yet!’
25th March 2017 – Somerset HPS Early Spring Plant Fair at East Lambrook Manor
11th March 2017 – Lecture: Derek Spicer – ‘Conifers’
11th February 2017 – Lecture: Heather Godard-Key – ‘Ferns’
14th January 2017 – Lecture: Alan Street – ‘Small Bulbs’
19th November 2016 – AGM & Lecture: Wolfgang Bopp – ‘Hilliers’
22nd October 2016 – Lecture: Mark Wash – ‘Crocosmias’
24th September 2016 – Somerset HPS Autumn Plant Fair at Forde Abbey, Dorset
17th September 2016 – Lecture: Janet Buist – ‘Salvias; Their History and Cultivation’
7th September 2016 – Self-drive visit to Mapperton House & Gardens, Dorset
5 July 2016 – Coach Trip to Kiftsgate Court Gardens & Fibrex Nurseries
1 July 2016 – Lecture & Buffet – Mary Toomey – “Plants with Impressive Pedigrees”
7 June 2016 – Coach Trip to Cranborne Manor Gardens
23 April 2016 – Group Plant Sale
20 April 2016 – Coach Trip to Aberglasney Gardens & The National Botanic Garden of Wales
9 April 2016 – Lecture: David James (Allwoods Nursery) – “From Pinks to Peles”
26 March 2016 – Early Spring Plant Fair at East Lambrook Manor Gardens
12 March 2016 – Lecture: Julian Sutton (Desirable Plants) – “The Botanical Gardener”
13 February 2016 – Lecture: John Wood (Head Gardener at NT Hinton Ampher) – “Roses – their history and cultivation”
16 January 2016 – Lectures: Helen Mount – “The Hardy Plant Society Conservation Scheme” and Stuart Senior – “The man who planted trees”
21 November 2015 – AGM & Lecture: Troy Scott Smith (Head Gardener at NT Sissinghurst) – “Revitalising Vita”
15 November 2015 – Winter Lunch at Illminster
17 October 2015 – Lecture: Neil Lovesey (Picket Lane Nursery) – “The History (and Future) of the Cottage Garden”
19 September 2015 – 50/50 Plant Sale & Lecture: Hilary Little – “Along the Floral Highways of Patagonia”
15 September 2015 – Self-drive visit to Lady Farm and Mill Cottage Plants
9 August 2015 – Plant Swap & Lunch at Long Sutton
7 July 2015 – Self-drive visit to High Garden & Nursery
13 June 2015 – Coach Trip to The Mead Nursery & Seend Open Gardens,
Seend Manor & Seend Park Walled Garden
27 May 2015 – Coach Trip to Rousham House & Broughton Grange
25 April 2015 – Group Plant Sale
11 April 2015 – Lecture: Sally Gregson (Mill Cottage Plants) – “Epimediums”
14 March 2015 – Lecture: Peter Lindley (Hidden Valley Nursery) – “Around the World in 80 Plants”
17 February 2015 – Coach Trip to Mary Keen’s Garden & Rodmarten Manor
14 February 2015 – Lecture: Tom Mitchell (Evolution Plants) – “Hellebores from the Picos to the Caucasus”
17 January 2015 – Lecture: Joseph Atkin – “Aberglasney”
15 November 2014 – AGM & Lecture: Bob Brown – “So Many Plants, So Little Space”
18 October 2014 – Lecture: Duncan Coombs – “Hidcote”
1 October 2014 – Coach Trip to The Picton Garden & Hanbury Hall
20 September 2014 – 50/50 Plant Sale and Lecture: Roger Turner – “Michaelmas Daisies”
10 August 2014 – Plant Swap & Lunch at Long Sutton
4 June 2014 – Self-drive Visit to Regency House and Springdale
6 May 2014 – Coach Trip to Brian & Sue Dockerill’s garden in Pontypridd ….
and Edith Morgan’s garden in Swansea.
12 April 2014 – Lecture: Andrew Ward – “Plants that Excite”
2 April 2014 – Coach Trip to Trebah Garden …
… and Glendurgan Garden.
29 March 2014 – Early Spring Plant Sale – East Lambrook Manor Gardens
15 March 2014 – Lecture: Ro FitzGerald – “Love it or loath it – garden styles and plant fashions”
15 February 2014 – Lecture: Clive Groves – “The Secret World of Violets”
18 January 2014 – Lecture: Timothy Walker – “Boggery in the Garden”
1 December 2014 – Winter Lunch at Blostin’s Restaurant, Shepton Mallet
16 November 2013 – AGM followed by Lecture: Stephen Lacey – “What makes a great garden?”
19 October 2013 – Lecture: Ron Scamp – “Daffodils”
14 September 2013 – 50/50 Plant Sale and Lecture: Diana Guy – “Cottage Gardens”
6 September 2013 – Visit to Cadhay & Little Ash Bungalow
11 August 2013 – Plant Swap & Lunch at Shipham
10 July 2013 – Coach trip to Bryan’s Ground, Aulden Farm & Ivy Croft
29 June 2013 – 2oth Anniversary Lecture – Roy Lancaster
The Hardy Plant Society Somerset Group 