Hello Garden Group members
Welcome to the latest edition of ‘Cuttings’ - the Gardens Group periodic newsletter.
Well, I’m guessing like me you have given huge sighs of relief to see the rain coming! The plants very quickly perked up here in the Gower Peninsula in South Wales, and grassy areas are returning to their natural green. Some trees & shrubs are showing signs of an early autumn with leaves changing colours in abundance.
A couple of things that I would like to draw your attention to:
Firstly, to National Trust members - I have two free tickets for a Behind the Scenes tour of Munstead Wood at 1pm on Friday, September 18th. You have to be a National Trust member to avail of this. Munstead Wood was the home of renowned plants woman Gertrude Jekyll and recently been taken over by the National Trust – more details here. If interested, please e-mail me – first come, first served.
Secondly, Kew Gardens has a special £10 entry on Tuesdays (normally £25) from now the end of December. Highlights during this time include a Henry Moore exhibition and autumn colour in the Arboretum. Perhaps you would like to host a visit on one of those Tuesdays? I’m very happy to support you in any way if you can help out with this.
For those in Wales, this September sees more than 200 of Wales’ historic sites, landmarks and hidden gems offering free entry, events or guided tours. This is under CADW’s (the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage) annual celebration of Welsh heritage and includes many National Trust properties – full details here.
What is coming up:
First up on September 10th finds us at St. Fagan’s Castle, near Cardiff, for a private tour of the Castle Gardens by it’s head gardener. Many that visit this popular place do not even know that there is a Castle there, so it is another interesting area to explore. Option to have lunch afterwards. Details here.
Essex, and the gardens near Colchester created by the renowned Beth Chatto is our port of call on September 16th . Currently topical, given the recent drought conditions across the country, the dry gardens she controversially created were well ahead of it’s time. But there is also much else to see there, along with a fine café and plant centre. See here for details.
Quick on the heels of this is our visit to Munstead Wood near Guilford on September 18th– please see note above – if you are interested, please e-mail me.
We have visited Thenford, Lord Heseltine’s garden near Banbury in the past to see their impressive snowdrop collection. It also is renowned for it’s Autumn Colour so we’re making a return visit there on October 30th: See here for details.
To round off the year, we have our annual trip to a garden that is lit up for the festive season. This year it is to West Green House near Hook in Hampshire on Thursday, December 3rd. We have had some very enjoyable visits there in the past and this promises a veritable feast for the eyes!
Nothing happening near you?
We appreciate that many, if not all, of these events are a long way away for most of you. But there could be other members relatively nearby that would come along to an event if someone put it on. Could you be that someone? It is very rewarding to see people enjoying what you have arranged. It does not have to involve much planning – simply decide on a place and date, and send me the details if you are unable to add it to the website. No recceing is usually needed, as paths are clearly marked on maps provided on arrival. Parking, toilets and cafes are generally are on-site. Select a place that you would like to visit anyway, so in the unlikely event of nobody else showing up, you will still enjoy it. More detailed guidance on putting on garden events can be found here. I will support you in any way I can. Any questions, please feel free to get in touch.
Happy gardening/garden visiting everyone and I look forward to seeing you at an event sometime.
Best wishes
Neil
Gardens Group Co-Ordinator.
https://www.goc.org.uk/groups/gardens/
