Chelsea Flower Show 2008

Congratulations to Rothamsted Research who were awarded a well deserved Gold Medal for their display; "The diversity of willow and its role in combating climate change".

David Rhodes and John Rockliffe were awarded a Silver Gilt Medal for their display of Begonia. Well done!

Capel Manor Spring Show 2008

Margaret Easter exhibited Thymus and Satureja from her NPCs at Capel Manor Spring Show and was awarded Highly Commended for her educational display. This was a good result considering April is very early for thyme and not every nursery received an award.

Celebrity Lecture 2007 – An Evening with Chris Beardshaw

More than 230 people, group members and visitors, packed into Rothamsted Conference Centre, Harpenden on 18th October for "An Evening with Chris Beardshaw".
This was not an evening of slides or considerations of recent climate effects on our gardens.  This was a personal, joyous, funny and informative flow of conversation with a responsive audience of gardeners.  Chris spoke of how much he had learned from his grandparents; when and how to take cuttings, from his grandmother (in the main just after flowering when the plant’s hormones are in full flood), how to get rid of pests (use athlete’s foot fungicide spray on the roses and perfume on mole hills), as well as the more masculine approach to getting rid of moles (leaving the motor mower running and thumping) and the importance of using tepid water when growing tomatoes.  Chris combined gossipy anecdotes with some good hard science; his description of contractile root systems was fascinating and his take on osmosis should be compulsory in all botany and horticultural classes.

News Round-up Summer-Autumn 2007

Anne Godfrey, owner of Daisy Roots Nursery, supplied plants for the Fetzer Vineyard display at Chelsea which was awarded a Gold Medal.  Congratulations to all involved.

Margaret Easter, Holder of National Plant Collection^® of Thymus, launched her new thyme at Chelsea, Thymus ‘Marjorie’.  It is named for her mother, her gardening inspiration and has been trialed by Merediths, the new plant division of Blooms of Bressingham and is now available under licence.  It was included in Blooms display and also on the Hertfordshire Hardy Plant Society stand, as one of the Celebrity Guests.  Thymus ‘Marjorie’ was also featured in the August BBC Gardeners World Magazine on the New Plants page.

Several members of Herts & Beds Group attended the launch for the redesigned Gardens of the Rose.  The gardens opened to the public at the beginning of June.  We are delighted to announce that the Gardens of the Rose will be hosting our Grand Plant Sale in June 2008.

Anne Godfrey exhibited at the Hampton Court Flower Show in one of the selling booths outside the main marquee and received a top award for her display and the quality both of her sale plants and backup stock behind her booth.
Dr. Ian Shield, Holder of Salix NPC^® at Rothamsted Research, was interviewed in August on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours in a discussion on biofuels.

Judy Barker, NPC^® Holder of Chrysanthemum, hardy garden sprays, is a member of the Chrysanthemum Trials Committee involved in the RHS Wisley trials.  An article, written by Graham Rice and featuring the plants in her Collection, appeared in the November edition of The Garden.

The ISHS Commission for Nomenclature and Cultivar Registration, has appointed Margaret Easter to the position of International Cultivar Registration Authority for Thymus.  This will be provisional until the publication of the Thymus booklet, scheduled for summer 2009, which will include the necessary check list of cultivars.