Chelsea Flower Show
Tuesday 21 May 2024
MPG has arranged for members to have all-day entry from 06.30 on the first day of RHS Chelsea again this year, making a magical opportunity to look round the almost empty show ground before normal opening time, with sit-down Champagne breakfast.
MPG AGM via Zoom
Wednesday 26 June 5.30pm for 6pm
Our AGM meeting will be held via Zoom on Wednesday 26 June at 6pm, open to all members. The first 30 minutes or so will allow the committee to update members on MPG business, activities and plans. Following this more formal part of the session you can then relax and enjoy an interesting talk from this year’s guest speaker Noel Kingsbury.
Arundel Castle and its gardens
Thursday 27 June 2024
A morning guided tour of the award-winning gardens, including roses, stumpery, water features, kitchen garden and glasshouses, will be followed by afternoon entry to the castle. Lunch will be available in the coffee shop/restaurant after the garden. Approximate timings: 10.15am – 4.30pm. Cost: £32 per person. A car park opposite costs £5 for the day. Trains from London Victoria are twice hourly, the best timing being 08.35 – 10.02. A lift can be arranged for a limited number arriving on this train to make the three-minute car journey, or a taxi costs between £5 and £7.
Cheshire summer garden tour
Monday 8 – Thursday 11 July 2024
Our 2024 summer trip is to Cheshire, where we will have the opportunity to visit a number of renowned gardens including Ness Botanic Gardens, Arley Hall, and RHS Bridgewater together with a variety of private gardens, not usually open to the public. We will stay at Nunsmere Hall, a delightful country house hotel, which was built for an Edwardian shipping magnate, and still retains some original features. Booking is now open.
Serge Hill, Barn Garden and Plant Library Visit, Hertfordshire
Thursday 25 July 2024
We will be visiting the gardens of the Stuart-Smith family – home of the landscape designer Tom Stuart-Smith, his wife Sue and sister Kate. The gardens have been developed significantly in recent years, and now include a new Plant Library, with more than 1500 varieties of mainly herbaceous plants laid out on a grid system through which you can walk to study them. Serge Hill itself is next door, set in parkland with a walled garden planted by Kate Stuart-Smith, Tom’s sister.
Autumn bulbs of Lycia
Sunday 20 – Sunday 27 October 2024
We plan to offer a one-week tour in south-west Turkey staying in Kalkan, Cirali and Side. There will be visits to Simena, Phaselis and Termessos, for the wild flora as well as for their history. Members should see Colchicum stevenii (shown in the picture), C. boissieri, C. variegatum, C. sanguicolle, purple-throated Crocus mathewii with white C. cancellatus subsp. lycius, also Sternbergia clusiana and many cyclamen. The leader will be Başak Gardner one of the guides on our April 2023 tour in Croatia.