2025

Thursday September 25th was our coach trip to the National Memorial Arboretum. Here’s a few photos from the day – including the Landtrain we used to tour the site:

Towards the end of June we had a holiday with Regent Travel to some of the gardens in North Wales. Harold, Sue and Helen have sent a few photos – From Bodnant

From Plas Cadnant and Plas Brondanw

From Portmeirion

and the final garden of the trip Wollerton Old Hall

The late April sunshine has brought a lot of colour into our gardens

Spring has arrived in our gardens and here’s a few photos to prove it!

Helen’s crocuses and snowdrops were looking glorious in the sunshine

We have had a couple of photos from our February outing to John’s Garden and Ashwood Nurseries

2024

Chris has been off on holiday to Cambridge – first to Anglesey Abbey

and then to the botanic gardens for more autumn colour and ideas

Our trip to Harlow Carr on September 19th proved popular, despite the early start. Erica has sent a few photos – wonder how many were secretly tempted by the slide?!

Another garden to visit this summer is Arley Hall. Erica went earlier this month and sent several photos – here are just two of them

Our visit to Powis Castle in July was much enjoyed – and the weather was kind too. Several of us admired the precision of the hedge cutting.

Biddulph Old Hall was the venue for a Perennial visit. The Hall is not often open but well worth it with a beautiful rose garden, extensive views and a (muddy) walk alongside a stream towards Biddulph Grange.

Its summer already and garden-visiting time. Here are a couple of photos from two Herefordshire gardens visited recently. First is Highnam Court, open one Sunday a month from April to October, June was the ideal month to go as the roses were in full bloom. Do have a look at the photo gallery on their website for more photos and a video showing an aerial view of the gardens. A visit to the church is a must as well!

The second garden is The Laskett, gifted to charity Perennial in 2021 by Sir Roy Strong, it too has restricted opening times and pre-booking is advisable.

In late Spring a visit to Alnwick

2023

December 28th Photo Challenge.

We asked for photos of plants in flower on December 28th, however the weather was so bad that we extended it to the end of December (the weather was still bad!) We had photos from a couple of gardens, Station Approach and local hedges (including a very early celandine)

Autumn

A few photos from Kathryn – one of her hoglets has survived and the acers are showing off their colours

Helen’s garden is looking very autumnal

In September we had an autumn visit to RHS Bridgewater – the hydrangeas, we were delighted to see, featured on Gardener’s World the next day!

We have had a few photos from the London holiday back in June when we visited RHS Wisley

Kew Gardens

and then, on the way home, Waterperry Gardens

A few pictures from a brief visit to some gardens near Edinburgh in late September including Dr Neil’s Garden at Duddingston

Inveresk Lodge Garden near Musselburgh

and Malleny Garden at Balerno

And, of course, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh itself

Marianne has sent some photos of favourite plants in her garden this September – Dahlias Firepot and Penhill Watermelon (it’s huge!) and Brugmansia

In July and August several of us explored gardens near and far on our holidays.

This is Westonbury Mill Water Gardens in Pembridge, Herefordshire – a fascinating and enchanting place full of surprises from the water-driven cuckoo clock to the horse galloping through the wildflower meadow and the quirky ‘bottle house’.

On May 25th a bus full of garden visitors went to Coton Manor in Northamptonshire

As Spring turns to summer the Wisteria starts to fade and the roses to bloom. Irises too are arriving in all their glory

Our April bus trip to Bents Garden Centre and Parm Place in Cheshire was much enjoyed by a full coach load – and it wasn’t just plants we came home with this time. No photos from Bents but a few from Parm Place, with its extensive views towards Jodrell Bank, and also the village of Great Budworth.

The village of Great Budworth was well worth exploring and several of us walked around after visiting Parm Place

The gardens are starting to wake up in February and so are the bumblebees

2022

Our afternoon December meeting speaker Margaret Leslie had some wonderful ideas for festive flower arrangements –

A coach full of members and friends went for a visit to Ashwood Nursery and John’s Garden on September 15th. It was a beautiful sunny, but slightly chilly, day – ideal for exploring gardens and plants.

Kathryn has a new resident in her garden- a hoglet. She says it eats mealworms but has yet to master the art of eating slugs etc. She may have to run a training course for it soon!

Late summer brings many changes to our gardens. Marianne has sent these photos of Digitalis ferruginea and the seedpods of her Podophyllum

July and August summer holidays and members are on their travels. Here’s some photos of a trip to the area around Cambridge – Flowers in the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens, Elton Hall, Byron’s Pool Nature Reserve and the walled garden at Wimpole Hall.

On June 27th we had a holiday in Yorkshire vising Brodsworth Hall and gardens, Daleside Nurseries, York Gate, Burnby Hall, Breezy Knees garden and nursery, Stillingfleet Lodge garden and nursery, and Firvale Allotments. You can find a little more information and more photos here.

June 13th was the day we had our trip to RHS Bridgewater. Lots of ideas, especially on the theme of sustainability and reducing waste in our gardens. Thanks to Dawn for many of the photos

On June 9th our speaker Mike King from Shropshire Sarracenias brought a lot of plants with him (he didn’t take quite so many home again)

Now June is here the gardens are starting to burst with colour from the irises to the roses with a few others (foxgloves, snapdragons . . .) on the way. Here’s a wonderful clematis from Helen’s garden – variety unknown, so if you think you might know which one it is please tell Helen.

A few photos from Chris’s garden as May slides gently into June (the scent from those roses fills the whole garden).

May is the month for our Annual Plant Sale, held at St Michael’s Community Hall on May 9th for the first time since 2019 (there being a slight hiatus due to ‘you know what’ in the intervening years). The hall was filled with plants that members had grown from seed or nurtured from various cuttings and divisions, potted them on and willed them to grow and thrive in time for May 9th. There was everything from corms to tubers, shrubs to veg, and culinary herbs to ornamentals. It wasn’t just the tables that were full – the floor was as well. With many thanks to all those who contributed their plants and those who bought them – the tables and floor were nowhere near as packed with plants by lunchtime!

May also brought the early summer flowers –

two plants from Marianne – Digitalis monstrosa and Peony delavayi

some photos from Jackie’s garden –

and these photos from Dawn’s garden

Spring has finally arrived and the flowers are reappearing across our gardens

It’s been a very wet and windy February this year. Jackie has sent in a few photos from her garden.

We’ve just received some photos from last Autumn taken on a trip to Devon and RHS Rosemoor

Including some of their new ‘Cool Garden’

Winter

We asked for photos of colour in the garden on New Year’s Day

and then for ‘winter colour’

2021

Late summer

The County Show was also held in late summer this year and Margaret (‘Peggy’) Leslie won First Prize for her two entries and received the Salver and Best in Show Cup for her Pedestal entry entitled Arabian Nights. Her entry for ‘Five Blooms’ was called On Parade.

Late summer is dahlia time (among others) – here’s a few ‘Bishops’ and their ‘Children’.

And some more late summer blooms include Echinacea, Gaura, Gladioli, Cosmos, Rudbeckia, Acanthus, Eryngium and Zinnias.

Spring

March 1st is the first day of meteorological Spring and the last few days of February have been gloriously sunny (even if the nights have brought sharp frosts) and our Spring flowers have started to bloom. These first few are from Becky’s garden –

and a few from Chris’s garden

Winter

The Hellebores are really coming into their own in late winter

And a winter-flowering honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) will fill the garden with scent for several months

A few more winter garden photos – these from Hilary

Some of the plants in our gardens over the winter of 2020 – 2021 with special mention for the snowdrops

Despite the snow there was plenty of life in the garden including a ladybird finding shelter in Magnolia stellata

2020

Autumn

Some  of the plants in our gardens during September, October and November

Summer

A few photos from Jackie’s garden

Some of the plants in our gardens this summer (these photos have appeared in blog posts)

Spring

Here are some photos from Kathryn’s garden showing it is perfectly possible to grow a lot of plants in a small space – just think pots and vertical –

Some of the flowers that have appeared in our gardens during March and April while we have been isolating. A few more were on our main page earlier on.

February 2020
Photos from our visit to Colesbourne Gardens, a famous snowdrop garden, with tour guide and garden owner Sir Henry Elwys – which was much enjoyed by everyone, despite the weather.

January 2020

We’ve had a few photos of plants in flower in members gardens – hellebores and snowdrops from Jackie

and some random pots and plants from Chris – including an Osteospermum (which surely should not be flowering now), winter-flowering honeysuckle and a peony starting to come through.

2019

November

Even at this time of year there is still plenty of colour in our gardens

June 2019 trip to Telford and Wollerton Old Hall.

We have just received some photos from our June trip to the British Ironworks and Wollerton Old Hall gardens where quite a few plants may have been purchased.

The 33rd Annual Open Show of the Stone Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society 2019

Held on September 14th at Walton Community Centre. Photos are by Martin Robinson – many thanks to him for taking and sending them.

The Trip to Harrogate (April 25th – 28th 2019)

Many thanks to Nicky Lawrenson for sending all these photos.

The Harrogate Show

The visits to Newby Hall, The Valley Gardens, RHS Harlow Carr and Betty’s Tearooms

And finally on the way home and the visit to Don Witton’s allotment to see the Euphorbias

October 2019

Don Whitton from Sheffield came and gave us a wonderful slideshow as he took us season by season through the vibrant perennials that add excitement and colour to our gardens; in the second part of his talk he discussed the many different types of Euphorbia that will grow in our gardens and that add a dash of colour all year round, but particularly in the Spring. We also had the opportunity to buy some of the plants he grows on his allotment. You can see photos of his allotment and some of his National Collection in the slideshow above from our Harrogate trip.

September 2019

Our September meeting was a week early and saw Alun and Jill Whitehead from Aulden Farm near Leominster give us an illustrated talk about the gardens they have visited in the wilds of Shropshire. These included places such as Gredington and Stokesay Court which opened in aid of Historic Churches; Cardington Gardens, Avocet (in Plealy), Windy Ridge (in Little Wenlock), The Dower House (Morville Hall), Moortown (near Wellington) and Preen Manor (in Church Preen) which opened under the NGS; as well more well known gardens such as Hodnet Hall, and Wollerton Old Hall plus Hawkstone Park Follies – not so much a garden as a Victorian adventure park.

They brought lots of plants from their nursery to sell and our members also filled our  sales table with lots of tempting goodies.

July 2019

Neil Timm from the Fern Nursery not only brought lots of wonderful ferns for us to buy he also gave us a really fascinating and informative talk on ferns – covering their history, morphology and physiology. He discussed our native British ferns and which ones were suitable for our gardens and showed us many from other countries which also do well in our climate. We also had a brief digression into those relatives of ferns – the clubmosses, filmy and water ferns, Pillwort and Horsetails (Equisetum species), when we learnt a few ways of ridding our gardens of that pernicious weed but also heard of a few Equisetum species that are better behaved. From ferns that like damp shade to ferns that enjoy growing in old walls and rock crevices – we were seriously entertained and informed!

June 2019

Our monthly meeting in June saw us transported to much warmer climes for the evening as we explored the flora of Maderia and the Azores with Razvan Chisu. He had also brought some plants to sell as had many of our members – our Sales Table was quite crowded at the beginning of the evening.

Our gardens too have been doing well despite (or perhaps because of?) the rain. Helen’s Indigofera was definitely blooming well last month and plants in other gardens were growing rapidly.

May 2019

This month Dr Keith Ferguson took us to North America to explore the many plants which came from there and we now grow in our gardens.

The Annual Plant Sale held the previous weekend was a great success. Many thanks to all who donated plants, and to those who bought them. There were not that many left for our plant sale table at the May meeting.

April 2019

At our April meeting Byron Machin gave a fascinating glimpse of the many wild orchid species to be found (if you know where to look!) in the Peak District. The result of nearly ten years of research his talk briefly looked at the physiology of native orchids – as this is one reason for their rarity – before discussing in more detail the species to be found in various habitats month by month through the year. Many published floras (there are ones for both Staffordshire and Derbyshire as well as more general ones) will have distribution maps showing 1km squares where orchids have been seen but, as Byron pointed out, firstly a 1km square is quite a large area and the fact that an orchid was seen there one year does not guarantee  it will still be there the next. Climate change, changes in land use and  tourism all have an effect on plant distribution.

In readiness for our Plant Sale next month a great many plants were available on our members sale table this month – this was taken at the end of the meeting after many plants had already been purchased.

March 2019

Richard Rallings from Mynd Hardy Plants gave us a glimpse of the history of walled gardens from ancient Persia to the modern day and explained how they worked and why and how their use changed over the centuries. He also brought some of the plants from the Nursery to tempt us into spending our money (it wasn’t difficult!).

February 2019

This month Mike Byford from Hazlescroft Nursery came to talk about Hellebores. A fascinating talk that took us through the ancestry of our garden Hellebores and discussed where the various original wild species grow and what this tells us about the conditions we should try to provide in our gardens (not what we might have thought). He also brought some of his Hellebores for sale. On our own plant sale table we had some kits to grow oyster mushrooms on a loo roll – cue much bemusement as to why Helen was selling loo rolls that evening, but many were persuaded to buy a kit and have a go. It will be interesting to hear the results.

Time to go on Snowdrop walks – whether round your own garden or someone else’s. Have a look at the NGS website for gardens open this month. Jackie has sent us some photos of her snowdrops and and an Iris just coming into flower.

Its nearly time to get your dahlias out as well – have you checked them to make sure they are ok wherever they are stored? To inspire you here’s a photo of Helen hiding behind her well-named Giant Dahlia

January 2019

Our first meeting of the year and, after the AGM, David Emley kindly stepped in at (almost) the last minute to talk to us about watching wildlife in Staffordshire. In an absolutely fascinating talk he emphasised how fortunate we are in the UK and in Staffordshire that naturalists have been recording our weather and wildlife for generations.

This means we are able to map the changes in distribution and population of various species of plants, birds and insects – many of which have changed quite drastically within the last 20 years. The atlases shown in the slide show below date from the 1970s and are now seriously out of date with regard to many species – Himalayan Balsam to name but one.

The change in distribution of the Collared Dove was another example – unknown in the UK when this list of British birds was published in 1952, twenty years later it is shown as  becoming established across much of the UK, although largely still in the east. Now, it is one of the commonest birds in our towns (along with the wood pigeon – both driving us mad with their incessant calling), while populations of the Turtle Dove have plummeted.

There are many different reasons for these changes (not all down to climate change, although that does carry a lot of the blame) and David discussed these with us with many more illustrations. It was a talk we all felt we could happily listen to again . . and again!

2018

Barbara has been on holiday to Singapore and has sent us this photo of a chrysanthemum taken in the Botanic Gardens there – along with a photo of the board beside it explaining all. Is she sending us a challenge?!

Stan Griffin and Vickie Newman from Craig House Cacti, West Bromwich gave us an entertaining and very informative talk on cacti and succulents in November. We now have no excuse for knowing the difference between them and our plants should be a lot healthier and happier as we learnt how to look after them properly. There was a good selection of plants to buy and you just had to admire the waistcoat and jacket they were wearing!

Our sale of Gardenalia in October proved very popular again as lots of members cleared out the ‘junk’ from their sheds and offered it for others to buy – those elusive and powerful loppers, lots of large pots or lots of small pots, surplus seed trays, assorted garden tools (there seemed to be a lot of hoes and rakes this year!) as well as bird boxes and bird tables. We also had a well-stocked plant sale table. Our thanks to all who brought items for sale as well as to those who spent their pennies (and pounds). Unsold stock will be donated to Oak Tree Farm and Stone in Bloom.

Also happening in September was the NVS Branch Show at Malvern where our President David Forrester was one of the judges –

The 32nd Annual Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society Show was held on September 15th 2018. Martin Robinson took some photos early on Saturday morning as competitors were arriving and setting up – illustrating just how much care and thought goes into each exhibit.

Neil Hammersley took a few snapshots during the prize giving by Stone’s Mayor

And we also have a few photos from the Show itself after the judging had taken place.

Somewhat belatedly we have received some photos from the London weekend back in June 2018.

July 2018

Dr Steve Reynolds came on July 12th to talk us through some of the pests and diseases we could find on our plants. It was a fascinating evening discussing the whys and wherefores of plant responses to stress and to disease. Several members brought in their sickly specimens for a diagnosis after the talk as well.

We also had our usual (and popular) plant sales table – keeping all sickly plants well away!

July 8th when we visited Abbeywood was one of the hottest days of the year. We still managed to get a couple of photos however

May 2018

On May 12th Dr Michael Jones took us to the Gambia to view their flowering plants. A fascinating botanical trip  – even the ‘weeds’ were wonderful! Our plant sale table was full at the beginning of the evening with lots of lovely bargains.

Our Plant Sale on May 5th this year was a great success – the photos show the Hall before the public arrived to help clear the tables.

This time of year sees many gardens hosting ‘Tulip Festivals’. One such at Pashley Manor Gardens in East Sussex was visited by one of our members. Bloms had provided the bulbs and catalogue and it was possible to visit them in the marquee for advice and to place orders (and, yes, squirrels do bite the heads off tulips and eat them!). It’s not too late to find a festival nearer to home or even an NGS garden with wonderful displays this Bank Holiday weekend.

April 2018

Our first trip of the year (on 21st April) was fairly local – to Middleport Pottery (home of the Pottery Throwdown) for a quick visit and a bite of lunch by the canal, or in the cafe, and then on the the main event of the day – a trip around the grounds of Keele University to view their collection of flowering cherries. This was followed by a cream tea at Whitmore tearooms. We were very lucky with the weather – it was a beautiful, warm and sunny day so quite a few members donned their walking boots and sunhats to join the tour around Keele, where we were given lists of the cherries (which had obliged by flowering in time) and a map to follow, although our tour was guided as well.

Our April meeting featured an entertaining and informative talk and slide show by Brian Ellis as he discussed some of his favourite plants from his nursery. A handout listing all the plant names helped enormously with any scribbled notes we felt inspired to make! He also brought a selection of plants for sale on the night; our Members’ sale table was also emptied out by the end of the evening.

In March 2018 (thankfully the snow had mostly gone) Kevin Pratt travelled down from Stockport to talk about the private gardens he had worked in around Cheshire. He now runs a small nursery – Village Plants – and brought along a few for us to buy – which, of course, we did. There were also a few plants for sale on our Members’ Sales Table and some good raffle prizes to be won.

After the AGM in January 2018 Gwen Johnson from Staffordshire WIldlife Trust gave us an illustrated talk on wildflowers – who knew the Rugeley Bypass could be so fascinating?! The following photos were not taken there but from various locations around the UK including Trentham and Hem Heath

2017

The 31st Annual Open Show of the Stone Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society was held on Saturday September 16th 2017 at Walton Community Centre. The Show was well-attended by both visitors and exhibitors. For those of you who were unable to attend (and even those of you who did) we hope you enjoy the slide show below, with thanks to Martin Robinson for taking (and sharing) the photos –

On July 27th 2017 a coach full of members enjoyed a trip to Middleton Hall and to Burrows Garden at Brailsford where they had tea and cake before setting off for home.