Tag: gardening

Meeting Reminder: Saturday 19th, Bulbs from South Africa

On By Bill Hodgson

Saturday 19th October

Paul Cumbleton – ‘A Growing Addiction: Bulbs from the Winter Rainfall Area of South Africa’

Paul Cumbleton was head of the Alpine Department at RHS Wisley Garden for 11 years. He has grown alpines for over 30 years and also has a particular interest in Pleione and the winter-growing South African bulbs. The winter rainfall area of South Africa has some outstanding, wonderful, and sometimes weird but beautiful plants. In this talk Paul will give an overview of this increasingly popular group of plants and explain how to grow them.

Meetings and lectures are held at West Monkton Village Hall unless otherwise specified. All meetings at West Monkton Village Hall are free to members (except for the Group Plant Sale in April), and there is a modest charge of £5 for non-members (when space is available). The Group has a plant stall and a book stall at most of the lectures listed, and holds a Flower & Pot Plant of the Month competition.

Peat Free Seminar at Devon Group

On By Bill Hodgson

Devon Group Hardy Plant Society would like to invite any interested parties to join us for our next meeting. Please share this email with your members if appropriate.

Peat Free discussion/seminar on Saturday 5th October at Longdown Village Hall, near Exeter EX6 7N
Doors open at 2 for 2.30pm start. Entry for visitors/guests £3, to include tea/coffee and biscuit. Members plant sales table, cash only.

Panel members will be: Alistair Griffiths, Head of Science and Collections at RHS; Jeremy Wilson, Stretegate Camellias, Bob Brown, Cotswold Garden Flowers and Catherine Dawson, Melcourt Composts.

We are planning two halves to the seminar, the first half hour or so, will be a discussion forum, moderated by the Devon HPS chair. The aim is to discuss some of the fundamentals behind the peat-free debate, to allow the panel members to comment on the up-to-date picture regarding peat-free use, the future prospects and challenges of peat-free, and, as the members of HPS are mostly either users (or potential users) of peat-free bagged compost and/or containerised plants, a discussion on best practice and overcoming known issues while using peat-free.

The second half hour will then be an Audience Q&A, so please have your questions ready.
Many thanks

Helen Brown

Secretary
Devon Group