Our next meeting will be on Thursday July 11th when Ruth Plant will give a talk entitled Dieramas – the Harebells of Africa. Ruth will tell us about Dierama (commonly known as Angels Fishing Rods): where they come from, the different types, heights and colours, their history and how to successfully grow this elegant plant in the UK. She has been collecting and growing Dierama in her cottage garden in Staffordshire for the last 15 years. She now has 31 species and 23 cultivars growing in her garden and on her allotment, and was awarded Plant Heritage National Collection status in 2016, one of only 3 UK National Collections of Dierama. Her garden at Haughton near Stafford is open under the NGS ‘Yellow Book’ Scheme (including this month – see below) and in July 2018 her collection in the garden was featured on BBC Gardeners’ World.
Before the end of June there is just time to squeeze in a Flower Power Fair:-
Sandon Plant Fair – Sunday 28 June 2024 at The Dog & Doublet. The Dog & Doublet, Sandon Road, Sandon, Staffs ST18 0DJ, is literally opposite the main gates to Sandon Hall and will be offering food and refreshments all day. ADMISSION IS FREE to all. As always there will be a wonderful selection of quality plants on sale for you to buy, as well as accessary stands and a warm welcome back to Staffordshire Wildlife.
During July and August several local Staffordshire gardens are open under the NGS Scheme including Ruth Plant’s garden – Yew Tree Cottage on July 4th, 11th, 18th and 21st. Check in your yellow book, on the website or the app for full details of all open gardens.
There are also three Shropshire gardens open for the Shropshire Historic Churches Trust – details on their website but the one in August is not too far away, near Newport.
Have a look on our Useful Links page for websites listing gardens to visit over the summer break and send us your photos for the Gallery – it might prompt a few more visits. There are already some there.
As many of you will know Kathryn, our Treasurer, has been seriously ill. We recently sent her a bouquet of flowers, beautifully arranged by Peggy Leslie, to wish her well.
We hope you have a lovely summer – maybe the weather will improve (!) – and manage to get out and about. Our next meeting in September features Simon Gulliver who will look at gardens inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement. Full details on the Programme page.
Stone Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society 