News

Stephen Cole sadly cannot continue in this role and so Andrew Mayo has agreed to take it on. Andrew had a career in business and academia, but has had a 50-year interest in plants of all kinds, particularly in alpines and Mediterranean flora. He chaired an Alpine Garden Society branch for 25 years. He created a garden In Cyprus over 20 years and now has a “natives” garden in SW Australia where he spends half the year and continues to learn about the amazing flora there. He has travelled widely, with 44 years walking in the European mountains with a friend, and recently joining various botanical tours. In February this year he led the MPG tour in western Cyprus.

Matthew Pottage is moving in May to be head of horticulture and landscape strategy at the Royal Parks, which include Bushy Park, Green Park, Richmond Park and Brompton Cemetery, after 20 years at RHS Wisley where he has been curator for nine years. Matthew was the youngest ever curator when appointed but had been at Wisley for 11 years before that. MPG benefitted from Matthew’s guidance at Wisley especially during our visit in September 2016 when he showed members round and gave a fascinating talk. Photo credit: RHS / Lee Charlton

John Grimshaw, MPG guest speaker in 2017 and now director and curator of the Yorkshire Arboretum, was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List for services to tree health and conservation. Thanks to John Fielding for the photo.

After months of all-day work on the bulbs in his nursery, plant-loving MPG member and tour leader Oron Peri is now in Canada giving talks about Alpines and bulbs of the Mediterranean. He starts today in St John’s, Newfoundland, then goes on to Halifax (Nova Scotia), Montreal, Victoria B.C., Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa and finally Toronto. Picture shows Allium callimischon ssp. haemostictum, found in Greece and Albania as well as in Oron’s nursery in northern Israel where the photo was taken. Our thanks to Oron for letting us use his image.

Gill Robinson was elected the sixth secretary of MPG at today’s management committee. Gill, a retired architect, lives principally in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, and also has a converted olive mill with garden in the Var, France, where she and her husband enjoy spending as much time as possible. Gill and Alan have been members of MPG since 2015.

We noticed this plant at Abbotsbury during the 2019 Dorset tour. It was not labelled but was subsequently identified by John Fielding as Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’ from a photo I took.  We planted this one on our rock garden in autumn 2020, where it has performed magnificently. Its pink/purple bracts provide the display and last for at least two months before fading in late August; the small flowers are well hidden but attract a good number of bees. This hybrid between O. rotundifolium and O. scabra received an AGM in 2012.  Being Mediterranean, it enjoys a dry sunny location and is strongly recommended. The RHS is conducting a large trial of Origanum cultivars so it will be interesting to see how ‘Kent Beauty’ performs, and if it has rivals of similar style. – Michael Turner