News

Following investigations into a Q&A facility for MPG members, it is now possible for members to communicate about Mediterranean plants and gardens via the MPG website. This new MEMBERS’ POSTS facility is only available to members and is accessed by logging into the Members’ Area. Here, there is an option to create a NEWS post which is publicly visible on this News page of the website. The second option is a post that can be read and responded to by MEMBERS ONLY, for example to ask questions about plants and gardens. The photograph in this NEWS post is of the Quiver Tree Forest at Gannabos, Namaqualand, South Africa, visited during the MPG tour in August 2025.

Today’s Gardeners’ Question Time on BBC Radio 4 was recorded at the Eden Project. MPG member Catherine Cutler, Eden’s  head of horticulture, spoke about the initial planting, started 25 years ago, notably of the rainforest area which has developed dramatically from a desolate moonscape. Some plants which were initially tiny have had to be removed as they become huge trees. Catherine has been particularly involved in the Mediterranean biome, where she is pictured here. She has been a member of MPG for ten years. Five of the Eden Project staff are members of MPG.

Nominations for election to MPG’s management committee have closed in preparation for the AGM on 3 July. Jackie Hunt (pictured) and Andrew Mayo (who chairs the Tours Committee) are standing for election for the first time. John Fielding, Heather Martin and David Mason are standing for re-election. Incumbent MC members appointed in previous years and remaining in office are Sharon Horder, Anne Keenan, Gill Robinson and Michael Stearns. The committee can consist of up to nine members so the election is not contested. Information about the current MC members is on this page of the website.

Thanks again to bulb specialist company Jacques Amand International, many of us were able to enjoy the opening hours of the first RHS members’ day at Chelsea on Tuesday 20 May with the showground almost empty. “The bliss of seeing all the outside gardens  before the 8am crush was so special. An organised breakfast with somewhere to sit and relax before hitting the marquee was the icing on the cake,” commented a garden designer member of MPG. Another member spent most of the first hours in the great pavilion. We are very grateful to Nesta Jolliff (pictured on the Jacques Amand stand).