February 2018

New National Plant Collections

We are delighted to welcome nine new National Plant Collections:

Aloe and Gasteria (hybrids raised by Peter Brandham), Historic Collection

Epiphyllum (hybrids raised by Eric Hodkinson), Historic Collection, both in Derbyshire - hailed as a mecca for cacti lovers, Abbey Brook Cactus Nursery add these to their existing collections

Agapanthus (pre-2005 cultivars), Horticultural Collection in Gloucestershire -protecting the particularly vulnerable cultivars from pre-2005

The Guernsey Nerine Collection, Horticultural Collection - the Guernsey group of Plant Heritage has been nurturing a significant collection of the "Guernsey Lily"

Buxus (spp. and cvs. of Europe, NW Africa and Asia), Reference Collection, Hampshire - perhaps attempts to control box blight are not as futile as we think

Francoa, Horticultural Collection in Hampshire - a rarely grown evergreen perennial that's perfect the shady, more difficult areas of the garden

llex, Reference Collection in Hampshire - a great day out, Highfield Hollies grows Ilex of all sizes and varieties

Malus (Welsh cultivars), Reference Collection in Wales - a veritable Welsh treasure, this orchard grows apples of either Welsh origin or a long-standing tradition of being grown there

Helleborus (Harvington Hybrids), Horticultural Collection in Worcestershire - Webbs Garden Centre pays tribute to local breeders of stellar hellebores, the Nunns

More information on these new collections will be available on the news section of the website soon and also in the spring Journal: www.nccpg.com/About-us/News.aspx

Don't miss out on the AGM & Members' Weekend in Dorset - 27-29 April 2018
We have had a terrific response so far and are extending the booking deadline to 20 February to fill the last remaining couple of rooms. 

Download the brochure to see the full itinerary and booking form. To book please contact national office on 01483 447540 or membership@plantheritage.org.uk.

Thank you to all the members who have already booked their places.

We will be staying in the historic market town of Wareham at the heart of the Isle of Purbeck in beautiful Dorset. There is plenty to do in the area and the weekend includes visits to several delightful Dorset gardens, including Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens.

Don’t miss out on the great plant swap
The Plant Exchange is a good way to acquire hard-to-find plants for free and support conservation in the process. Members across the nation have been busy propagating plants to share in the exchange, many of them rare and unusual.

You will have the opportunity before the deadline at the end of February, to bid for plants being offered, via your Plant Exchange Co-ordinator. If you have not been contacted, or your area does not currently have a coordinator for the Plant Exchange, please  email Lucy Pitman  or call on 01483 447540.

Groups will then collect plants from the National AGM and Members' Weekend on 27-29 April 2018 in Wareham, Dorset and distribute them to their new owners.

Workshops now open to our members
You may already know that we run a popular workshop programme that is free for Collection Holders. We are opening up some of our workshops to members for a nominal fee and hope to be able to make more opportunities for our members to attend workshops in the future. There is an opportunity below to attend a workshop on plant health and also some feedback from a recent workshop on botanical drawing.

Plant Health workshop
Book by 28 March for a Plant Health workshop with lunch included in Ponteland Northumberland on 19 Apr 2018.

The full day workshop is kindly organised by our North East group and includes talks from:

Andrew Kirkwood, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA):

The Work of the Plant Health Inspectorate

Pests and Diseases Coming Our Way

Katy Hayden, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh: 

Keeping Clean for Conservation: Biosecurity at Botanic Gardens

The workshop is free to Collection Holders, but places are available to members for £15. To  book please email: 
membership@plantheritage.org.uk by 28 March.

Beautiful botanic drawings
We have had very positive feedback from our first botanical drawing workshop which took place Sheffield Botanical Gardens on 8 February. 

The workshop was led by artist Sue Vize SBA and focused on a study of tulips.

One attendee said:

"Thank you for the opportunity to meet so many plant enthusiasts like myself and learn so much about art at the same time. 

Sue was such an encouraging teacher and exceptionally talented in her own right. My drawing is the best by miles that I have ever achieved."

We are very impressed with the standard of pictures we've seen so far. Huge thanks to Sue Vize for sharing her expertise and talent. We hope to run similar workshops for more members in the future. Watch this space.

A golden start to shows season for National Plant Collections
National Plant Collection holders got off to a great start at the RHS Early Spring Plant Fair at the Lawrence and ‭Lindley Halls in Westminster this week, with gold medal winning displays from Birmingham Botanical Gardens (Cyclamen) and Ottershaw Cacti (Haworthia, Gasteria and Astroloba).

Next up, the Yorkshire group will have a stand ‭at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show ‭on April 26 to 29 and the Worcestershire ‭group will be at the Malvern Spring ‭Festival from May 10 to 13, with a display featuring plants of seasonal ‭interest (many from local members) ‭representing National Collections ‭from around the UK. Helpers are ‭always welcome for either the spring or autumn festival; please contact ‭Margaret Stone at stone.brockamin@‭btinternet.com.

Find out what more we have planned for shows season in the spring issue of The Journal.

We're looking for Trustees
Are you looking for an opportunity to give something back through volunteering as a charity trustee?  We are looking for two Trustees to join the board of Plant Heritage in 2018.  We are particularly looking for Trustees with experience in PR and Journalism, Fundraising and other key areas.

Application forms and role descriptions are available on our website. Applicants are invited to complete the short application form and return it to the Chief Executive, Sarah Quarterman, by Monday 12th March.

Volunteer vacancy
The Board of Trustees are looking for a volunteer with experience of writing minutes of meetings, and preferably some understanding of charity governance, to support the smooth working of the Board and Council governance arrangements.

The time commitment would be 15-20 days a year, to cover 4 Board and 3 Council meetings including preparation, attendance and drafting/agreeing minutes.  Meetings occur either in Surrey or London.  For more information please email Sarah Quarterman.

What new National Plant Collections would you like to see?
Our conservation team are in the process of reviewing the potential plant groups to highlight in this year's Missing Genera campaign to find plant groups currently missing from National Plant Collections.

The campaign, which we launched in 2016, has so far been successful in helping us recruit new collections and cast our conservation net wider. We have our first collection of Gingkoas a result and other missing plant groups are at proposal stage.

If there's a particular plant group you'd like to see a National Collection of, one that is currently not represented in National Collections, it would be lovely to hear your ideas. We can't promise to use them all, but do email them to comms@plantheritage.org.uk by Monday 26 February.

Find out more about our Missing Genera campaign on the website.

Coming up in the next few months...
There are plenty of early spring plants to go and visit over the next few months and many opportunities to enjoy fascinating talks from plantsmen and purchase hard-to-find plants from plant sales. Here are a selection from around the UK.

OPEN DAYS TO VIEW NATIONAL PLANT COLLECTIONS 

4 March
Helleborus, Hazles Cross Farm Nursery, Staffordshire
24-25 March
Hyacinthus orientalis, Mr A K Shipp, Cambridgeshire
25 March
Corydalis, Prof Brian A Whitton, Co Durham
31 March
‭Saxifraga, Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire
1 April
Corydalis, Prof Brian A Whitton, Co Durham‭
1 April
Malus & Pyrus (Scottish heritage apples & pears), Malus (Scottish cider apples & Tidnor Wood collection), C Drummond-Herdman, Megginch Castle, Perth & Kinross
6-8 April
Heuchera, × Heucherella & Tiarella, Mr & Mrs D R Fox, Plantagogo in Cheshire
8 April
Muscari, Mr R J T Hobbs, Norfolk
14-15 April
Scotland's Daffodil Festival, Backhouse Heritage & Education ‭Centre at Rossie Estate in Fife
14-15 April
Primula auricula (Border), Drointon Nurseries in Yorkshire
15 April
Juglans & Pterocarya, Mr I Bond, Gloucestershire
17 & 22 April
Nothofagus, NTS Crarae Garden, Argyll & Bute
21-22 April
Camellia reticulata cvs. & hybrids, The Honorable EAH Boscawen, Cornwall
28-29 April
Epimedium, Mr Roger Hammond, Essex

TALKS & EVENTS

6 March 
Talk: ‘Alpines and bulbs - from mountain to market’ by Rob Potterton, of Pottertons Nursery, North Wales
7 March 10.45am
Talk: 'Plant breeding developments in the ornamental garden' by Tom Sharples, horticultural manager at Suttons; also plants for sale, Devon
8 March
Talk: ‘The Secret World of Violets’ by Clive Groves, of Groves Nurseries, the National Collection Holder, Dorset
8 March
Talk: ‘The Dorothy Clive garden’ by Kathryn Robey, the curator of the garden, Shropshire
8 March                                                             
Talk: ‘Margaret Owen – The Patch’ by Jim Almond, Warwickshire
10 March
Talk: ‘Snowdrops: Why all the fuss?’ by Alan Briggs, Cambridgeshire
10 March
Talk: ‘Plantsman’s choice’ by Colin Ward, of Swines Meadow Farm Nursery, East Midlands
10 March
Talk: ‘Hellebores and companion plants’ by Glenis Dyer, of Elm Close Garden, Gloucestershire
10 March
Talk: ‘Cowden Castle Japanese garden history and restoration’ by Kate White, the head gardener, North East
10 March
Spring meeting and talk: ‘Designing with plants at Great Dixter’ by Fergus Garrett, the head gardener, Sussex
12 March 
Talk by Vicky Fox from Plantagogo, National Collection Holder for Heuchera, x Heucherella and Tiarella, Staffordshire
12 March
Talk: ‘The effect of climate change on our gardens and wildlife’ by Dr Michael Keith-Lucas, Surrey
13 March
Talk: 'Pulmonarias' by Margaret Stone, who is revising the HPS Pulmonaria book, Worcestershire
15 March 7.30pm
Talk: ‘National Collection of Meconopsis at Holehird Gardens’ by Pat Murphy, Hampshire and Isle of Wight
15 March
Talk: ‘Hardy exotics and creating microclimates’ by Colin Ward, of Swines Meadow Farm Nursery, Herts & Beds
17 March
Talk: ‘Gardening trends over the past 40 years - what next?’ by Diana Guy, former chairman of East Dorset
18 March 10am-3pm
Plant fair at Tavistock, Bedford Square, PL19 0AQ, Devon
21 March
Talk: ‘National Collection of Rhododendrons at Brodick Castle’ by Tim Keyworth, the head gardener, Ayr and Arran
24 March
Talk: ‘Hepaticas: the Ashwood Story’ by Sam Hopes, who works at the nursery, Suffolk
24 March 1pm
Propagation event: at The Salutation in Sandwich, led by Steve Edney, the head gardener, Kent
28 March 7.30pm
Talk: ‘Cyclamen and Hepatica – jewels of the garden’ by Diane Clement, Cheshire
3 April
Talk: ‘Sweet peas – all you need to know about growing them and Lathyrus species’ by Tom Atherton, National Sweet Pea Society, North Wales
8 April 10am-3pm
Plant fair at South Molton Pannier Market, EX36 3AB, Devon
9 April   
Talk: ‘Walled Gardens’ by Richard Rallings, of Mynd Hardy Plants, Staffordshire
9 April
Talk: ‘Alliums for your garden from April to September’ by Jackie Currie, the National Collection Holder, Surrey
10 April 7.30pm
Talk: ‘Some West Coast garden favourites’ by Maurice Wilkins, former head gardener at NTS Arduaine Garden, South East Scotland
10 April
Event: 'Garden shrubs and trees' - members are invited to bring live material for discussion, Worcestershire
12 April
Talk: ‘The wild garden’ by Colin Varndell, Dorset photographer and naturalist, Dorset
12 April
Talk: ‘Shady Characters: rare and less common shade loving plants’ by Andrew Ward, of Norwell Nurseries, Shropshire
12 April                     
Talk: ‘My Chelsea garden experience’ by Rosy Hardy, of Hardys Cottage Garden Plants, Warwickshire
14 April
Talk: ‘Plant Histories and how they arrived in Britain’ by Andrew Sankey, garden lecturer and consultant, Cambridgeshire
14 April
Talk: ‘Minimum effort for maximum effect’ by Mary Payne, MBE, horticulturalist and lecturer, Gloucestershire
14 April
Talk: ‘The Georgian gardener’ by Michael Brown, the historian (come in Georgian costume if you dare), North East
15 April 11am
Gala: 'To the ends of the Earth; plant conservation and plant hunting' with speakers Timothy Walker, the botanist, and Tony Kirkham, head of the arboretum at RBG Kew, plus plant sales, Norfolk
15 April 10am-4pm
Plant fair at Burrow Farm Gardens, Axminster, EX13 7ET, Devon
18 April 
Talk: ‘Plants of the Drakensberg’ by Ian and Carol Bainbridge, Ayr and Arran
19 April
Talk: ‘How National Collections work and how to set one up’ by Judy Barker, hardy Chrysanthemum Collection Holder, Herts & Beds
21 April 
Talk: ‘William Morris – the designer’s garden’ by Alan Edmondson, the garden designer. Plus seedling swap, Dorset East
21-22 April 10am-4pm
Essex group plant fair: RHS Hyde Hall, Chelmsford, CM3 8ET
22 April 
Spring plant fair at Arley Hall with specialist nurseries and members’ plant stall, Cheshire
22 April 10am-2pm
Plant fair at Totnes Civic Hall, TQ9 5SF, Devon
25 April 7.30pm
Talk: ‘Daylilies – the poor man’s orchid’ by Mark Zenick, specialist Hemerocallis nurseryman, Cheshire
28 April
Talk: ‘28 to 360 acres: the delights and possibilities of RHS Garden Hyde Hall’ by Robert Brett, the curator, Suffolk