News

MPG member Lindsay Blyth was reminded by our visit to Great Dixter last month that when she was married in 1957 and moving to Calcutta, her parents gave her cactus collection to Christopher Lloyd of Great Dixter. On return to England in 1960, Lindsay went to see Christopher and the garden. However, she was welcomed by his mother who spent ages showing her round the house, talking about herself and Edwin Lutyens and showing the embroidery done by her sons. As Lindsay looked longingly out of the windows, she saw Christopher deadheading in rubber gloves but there was no escape. Finally, the house tour ended and Lindsay thought at last she would spend time with Christopher in the garden. But his mother’s voice rang out, “Christopher darling, it’s time for lunch.”

Congratulations to MPG member Oron Peri whose image of Crocus korolkowii in its native habitat in Tajikistan has won the North American Rock Garden Society photo contest 2022 in the category ‘In the wild – rock garden plants in nature’ on Instagram. Oron is the owner and operator of the specialist Seeds of Peace nursery in Israel. We look forward to him being the botanical guide on MPG’s November trip in the Peloponnese. Between now and then he will be on a lecture tour in New Zealand.

The impressive grandeur and moving ceremonial of the Queen’s funeral broke several records – the turnout on the streets particularly in London, the number of people who watched it on television, and the length of time people queued for, among others. Britain’s pageantry was outstanding as usual. Our picture shows a touching more modest tribute photographed by Lesley Jones at Great Dixter during the MPG visit last week, which was attended by 21 members and guided by Fergus Garrett.

Congratulations to Sue Bennison on her 90th birthday which she has been spending in Northumberland with her family. Sue was a founder member of MPG and a valuable contributor on the first management committee continuing until 2017. She was the designer and organiser of wonderfully varied and popular summer garden tours in the UK – in Kent and Lincolnshire during the period when MPG was being formed, and in Herefordshire, Norfolk and Dorset after the association was formalised. Thank you to Vicky Bennison for the picture taken on the day.

Julia Corden, tours committee member, and MPG bursary holder Caroline Pheasey attended the Beth Chatto Symposium at the University of Essex at the beginning of September. The theme this year was “Rewilding the mind” with discussion of low water use, low maintenance and environmentally sensitive horticulture. More controversial rewilding was the subject of a recent article by MPG member Charles Quest-Ritson which can be read by clicking here. Thank you to Julia for her picture of Amaryllis belladona with allium seedheads taken during the garden party in the garden of the late Beth Chatto which formed part of the event.

MPG member and website manager Sharon Horder recently became deputy head gardener at Wadham College, Oxford, a promotion from her role on the garden team at Merton College. Both gardens are moving from formal, classic English styles to embrace more contemporary, sustainable options, with gravel gardens using dry-tolerant plants and Mediterranean species such as Dianthus carthusianorum, Euphorbia characias, Thymus vulgaris and Salvia sp. Sharon completed the Professional Gardeners’ Guild three-year traineeship in 2020. There are now seven MPG members in five Oxford colleges and at the Botanic Garden.