Our meeting this month is Thursday April10th in the Christ Church Centre at 7.30pm (tea/coffee and biscuits from 6.45). John Cullen of John Cullen Gardens will tell us about his obsession with Achilleas. His first packets of seeds, from the local garden centre, were marrows and Achillea. There, his love of all things horticultural began. John Cullen Gardens in Lincolnshire specialise in plants for pollinators, as well as culinary and medicinal herbs. The Gardens hold the National Collection of Achillea millefolium and have over 30 medals including Silver at the coveted RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Gold at BBC Gardener’s World Live and the Blenheim Palace Flower Show.

Lots of plant fairs and NGS gardens opening this month within (fairly) easy reach of Stone starting with the Plant Hunters’ Fairs – check on their website for buying tickets.

Sat – Sun 5 – 6 April Weston Park, Shifnal TF11 8LE 10am-4pm Gardens & Fair £5.00 TICKETED

Sun 13 April Middleton Hall, Tamworth B78 2AE 9am-4pm Gardens & Fair £4.00 TICKETED

Fri 18 April Whittington Castle, Oswestry SY11 4DF 10am-4pm Free Entry (P&D Parking)

Sun – Mon 20 – 21 April Dorothy Clive Garden, Market Drayton TF9 4EU 10am-5pm Gardens & Fair £5.00

Flower Power Fairs have a local fair on Sunday April 27th at Sandon Hall, Sandon, Stafford ST18 0DL  (Please use the entrance opposite the Dog and Doublet Inn). Open at 11am.  Last entry to the fair will be 3.30pm. Admission £4.00 (card preferred, but cash welcome). You can also buy ADVANCE TICKETS ON LINE via Sandon Hall’s website.  Don’t forget to bring cash for the plant stands.  

Also at Sandon and also on Sunday April 27th from 2 – 4pm is the Sandon Church Bluebell Walk. “In late April, Sandon Woods is filled with our native British Bluebells. Get some fresh air and join us for one of our famous seasonal walks. Our walk will start at the church and cover around miles*. Waterproof walking boots recommended! Back to the church for tea and cake. £5 per person and no need to book in advance – just turn up on the day.” *Probably about 2 miles is our guesstimate.

Quite a few gardens are opening for NGS this month, although none right on the doorstep. If you don’t mind travelling a few miles though there are plenty to choose from –

Saturday & Sunday April 5 & 6 Upper Farm Garden Rushton, Telford TF6 5AG

Saturday April 12 Cherry Tree Arboretum Cherry Tree Lane, Woore CW3 9SR

Wednesday April 16 Goldstone Hall Gardens Goldstone, Market Drayton TF9 2NA

Sunday April 20 John’s Garden at Ashwood Nurseries, Ashwood Lower Lane, Ashwood Nr Kingswinford DY6 0AE 

Sunday April 27 Westwood House Oldbury, Bridgnorth WV16 5LP 

Wednesday April 30 Hundred House Hotel Bridgnorth Road, Norton, Telford TF11 9EE 

There’s plenty happening between now and our next meeting on April 10th when John Cullen will tell us about his “healthy obsession with Achillea”. As usual we will be at the Christ Church Centre; tea/coffee from 6.45 and the meeting starts at 7.30pm.

Remember to bring your booking form and cheque for the May 29th coach trip to Norwell – this trip is likely to fill up fast!

If you missed our trip to Ashwoods Nusery and John’s Garden they have some Winter Open Days on March 15, 21 and 29 and Spring Open Days start on April 5th.

The Plant Hunters’ Fairs start in March and our first local (ish) one is in Northwich at Arley Hall and Gardens on Sunday March 23rd. The following Sunday – March 30th – is much closer to home at Sugnall Walled Garden. Both are from 10am – 4pm; £5 for Arley Hall, £1 for Sugnall.

Then in April they are at Weston Park on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th, 10 am – 4pm and £5 entry; tickets in advance. Full details of all the Fairs and how to buy tickets are on their website.

Flower Power Plant Fairs start in April, including Sandon Hall – more details on their website.

Some gardens are now opening for the NGS but most are further south and west. The Millennium Garden in Lichfield will be open on Sunday March 23rd from 1 – 5pm and will cost £4.

Trentham Gardens Spring Bulb Festival starts on March 30th and runs until May 18th – it looks as if it could be well worth a visit.

Further afield RHS Bridgewater has a Spring Plant Fair organised with Plant Heritage North West from Saturday 5th – Sunday 6th April. Admission fees to the garden will still apply.

Our next meeting is Thursday 13th March, 7.30pm, at the Christ Church Centre, Stone.

Our speaker, Duncan Coombes, will talk about Japan’s Gardens and Countryside.

It is peak Snowdrop time so now is your last chance to get out and about to see various collections. Attingham Park is still open with plenty to see, as is Rode Hall, among others. These ones are in the woodland at Loynton Moss near Woodseaves.

Don’t forget our coach trip to Ashwood Nursery and John’s Garden on Thursday February 27th. If you booked a place on the coach you will soon have all the details sent to you – look out for them. The coach will leave the Stone House at 9.00am prompt.

Our Summer coach trip on May 29th is to Norwell in Nottinghamshire. We will visit Norwell Nurseries and Garden followed by a walk around the village when we will visit the Saxon church of St Laurence. Details and booking forms at the March meeting.

Our next meeting will be our AGM starting at 2pm on Thursday February 13th for members only. This will be followed at 2.45pm by a talk – Exotic Gardening – given by Zdenek Valkoum from the Dorothy Clive Garden.

Please note the change of time and that daytime parking charges will apply.

Last year many of our members attended a talk on Snowdrops by Val Bourne at the Moorcroft Heritage Centre. This year on Friday February 7th she will be the speaker at their event A Celebration of the Winter Garden. Booking is required and you will find full details on their website.

Somewhat belatedly we have noticed that Tatton Park Gardens are free to visit on Tuesdays to Fridays until Friday February 14th; you will still have to pay for parking.

Trentham Gardens have a series of Winter Tree Walks on Wednesdays throughout February (you need to book) and in March their Spring Bulb Festival starts. Don’t forget that if you are an RHS member you can visit the Garden free (January – March) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The Dorothy Clive Gardens are also open for winter visits (and free for RHS members) until March 1st on Thursdays – Sundays. They have several events and workshops (including one on pruning) coming up too so look on their website for details.

In addition to all that, it is Snowdrop season. Some are out in Trentham Gardens as well as our own gardens but there are special Snowdrop Walks you can book at Rode Hall until March 1st. You will also find displays of snowdrops at the Lovell Quinta Arboretum, free admission for RHS members. For snowdrops in the wild you can visit the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust Reserve at Loynton Moss where they carpet the woodland at this time of year. They are also starting to flower in our local lanes and woodlands.

There are some talks from TSGCN coming up this month – free for our members to log in.

Wednesday Feb12th – Katherine Crouch – Grow the Food You Can’t Buy

Thursday Feb 20th – Catherine Horwood – Penelope Hobhouse & her great contribution to horticulture

Monday Feb 24th – Charlie Harpur – Re-wilding – the planting at Knepp Castle

Full details on the TSGCN website.

Our next meeting will be our AGM starting at 2pm on Thursday February 13th for members only. This will be followed at 2.45pm by a talk – Exotic Gardening – given by Zdenek Valkoum from the Dorothy Clive Garden.

Please note the change of time and that daytime parking charges will apply.

Tendershoots Garden Club Network (TSGCN) have several Zoom talks coming up in the next few weeks including one on bulbs for year-round colour on Monday 27th January and Schrodinger’s Garden on February 7th. You can find details to join these and others on their Programme page.

If you missed our January Zoom talk on Gardening in a Changing Climate you can find the recording on the Tendershoots Private Members page, but it is only available for a few more days.

In the meantime the talk on the Flowers and Gardens of Barbados the following day was well worth watching and the recording of this is still available on the Tendershoots website.

The photo (by the way) was taken over Christmas in Cambridgeshire. We were not eating outside that week.

Helen and the Committee would like to thank you all for your continuing support throughout 2024. We have a packed programme booked for 2025 and will soon be planning for 2026. However we do need help from January 2025 onwards to keep this thriving club going. Please contact any current committee member if you think you could find an hour or so each month to assist with planning, phone calls, emails or any of the other admin involved in putting our programmes and trips together and making sure everyone knows about them.

Our next meeting is January 9th via Zoom with Tendershoots. Sue Fisher from Devon will be talking about Gardening in a Changing Climate. This is a private members-only meeting for which you will need the members’ code. If you can’t remember it don’t worry – just look out for your usual Update email with the information. You can find details of this talk and others on the Tendershoots website.

Don’t forget that our February meeting on the 13th is the AGM and is being held in the afternoon – at 2pm followed by the talk from Zdenek Valkoum on Exotic Gardening. Remeber you will need to pay the daytime parking fee too. Further details next month.

Meanwhile thank you once again for your support in attending our meetings and bringing plants to sell (and buying even more). We wish you a very happy Christmas and successful gardening in the New Year.

Our next meeting is on Thursday December 12th at 2pm in the Christ Church Centre. Our Speaker is Margaret Thompson, a National Trust Guide at Little Moreton Hall and her talk is A Medieval Christmas.

Admission is free but by ticket only. There will be a draw for the lucky ticket number. If you haven’t yet got your ticket you need to contact Helen (or Dawn) by Monday Dec 2nd.

Remember that daytime parking charges will apply.

There are two Tendershoots Zoom talks to join with before then – Thursday Nov 28th Hilary Hutson – Patio Panache and Thursday Dec 5th – Wayne Williams – Cyclamen, all 20 species & their cultivation. Both start at 7.30pm.

If you want to continue to receive news from TSGCN you will need to re-register on their website. This will also give you the new Zoom link and password for these Members- only talks.

It may be winter (or wintery) but there are still gardens to visit. Those of you who are RHS members will be able to visit Trentham Gardens free on certain days for the next few months as well as the Dorothy Clive gardens and Biddulph Grange. Check the Handbook for others.

We hope to see you all on the AFTERNOON of December 12th for mince pies and an interesting talk.

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday November 14 when Sarah Haisley will talk about The Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odorata). Based in Chorley, Sarah has been growing and exhibiting sweet peas for the last ten years. She is an active member of the National Sweet Pea Society.

Don’t forget that the Dorothy Clive Gardens will be open for the Autumn/Winter season on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am – 4pm.

Tendershoots have some more talks in the coming weeks including one on Monday 28th October when Saul Walker will talk about Woodland Gardening: The art of Growing in Shade. Details on the Tendershoots website. If you wish to receive emails from Tendershoots about upcoming talks you will need to register (or re-register) as they have a brand new email newsletter service which will replace the existing email system.  So to ensure you continue to receive email newsletters, please signup on the website by clicking the purple button on the homepage.

Our October meeting is on Thursday 10th at 7.30 at the Christ Church Centre when Andrew Ward of Norwell Nurseries and Gardens will give a talk – The Late Show, Autumn’s Floral Finale. He tells us don’t put your garden to bed at the end of August; September and October can provide better weather and an absolute cacophony of colour. Norwell Gardens are renowned for their autumn display stretching through to November, led by asters that don’t get mildew, glorious richly coloured salvias, Gauras with their light wafty butterfly-like blooms all against a backdrop of stately, elegant grasses, and many others. Find the right ones for you and how to grow them easily.

Andrew trained as a Plant Breeder and started Norwell Nurseries and Gardens 29 years ago with his wife Helen. The garden holds over 2,500 different varieties of plant and has featured in many magazines. It is renowned for colour from spring but especially in the autumn when the National Collection of Hardy Chrysanthemums can be seen.

Please note that we will not have a plants sale table this meeting as Andrew will be bringing plants with him for sale – you will be able to pay by cash or card. You can also pre-order for collection at the meeting by going to the website.

Members last date for booking a place on our Glorious Gardens of North Wales holiday with Regent Travel next June is Friday October 11th.

A few photos from our trip to RHS Harlow Carr are now up in the Photo Gallery as well as some photos from other garden visits by members. In the meantime the Dorothy Clive Gardens will be open for the Autumn/Winter season on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am – 4pm.

Our next meeting is on Thursday September 12th at the Christ Church Centre at 7.30 – tea and coffee will be available from 7pm. Admission is £2 and guests are welcome.

Our speaker this month is Simon Gulliver with a talk Gardens of a Golden Afternoon which looks at how the Arts and Crafts movement inspired architects and the gifted amateur owners of some of our most beautiful houses to create masterpieces of garden design; combining quality of materials, craftsmanship and artistry. Embedded in it is a case study on the original inception for the landscape around Stoneywell and Ernest Gimson’s and the Barnsley Brothers’ homes in the Cotswolds. The talk debates what constitutes an Arts & Crafts Garden: is it the values that led to its creation that makes it Arts & Crafts, or merely a style consisting of a collection of typical garden design elements found in gardens of that period?

The picture above is taken from the 5th edition of The English Flower Garden by William Robinson, published on 1896, and shows the borders at Broadway in Worcestershire.

Also this month is our coach trip to RHS Harlow Carr on September 19th. There are still a few places available – contact Helen for details.