The Hardy Plant Society uses our Bursary fund to enable applicants to conduct research and investigation into suitable plant projects. We have three new reports for your enjoyment on our bursary reports page. Most have beautiful photos and great detail on the locations visited and plants encountered. These reports are available to everyone as part of the charitable goals of the society and are well worth reading.
Richard Baines: 2023 Botanical Expedition to North West Vietnam
Richard is the Curator of Logan Botanic Garden. He was joined on his trip by Alan Hannah the Senior Horticulturist at Logan Botanic Garden and Kirsty Martin who oversees the propagation unit and Vietnamese plantings at Blarney Castle and Gardens.
Expedition Brief
- To collect living material from a wide range of plant species, principally in the form of seeds located in the Lai Chau & Lao Cai provinces.
- To allow the resulting plants to be grown at RBGE, Logan Botanic Garden, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Blarney Castle & Gardens.
- To focus on collecting ferns, members of Gesneriaceae, Zingiberaceae, Magnoliaceae, Ericaceae, and Theaceae for study at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.
- To collect Rhododendron species for scientific research by Dr David Chamberlain, Botanist, RBGE.
- To research the identification and species distribution of the genus Magnolia.
- To conduct specialist field research that will lead to a better understanding of species distribution and conservation issues that threaten plant populations.
- To continue to deliver lectures on the flora of N.W. Vietnam to promote the conservation of plants from this area and raise public awareness.
- To collect material from critically endangered trees such as Aesculus wangii & Rhoiptelea chiliantha for ex-situ conservation programmes.
Chris Taylor: Bursary Trip to USA
Join RHS Horticultural Advisor Chris on his trip to three of the USA’s botanical gardens and the New York High Line.
Missouri Botanical Garden (MOBOT) in St Louis, was established in 1859 by Henry Shaw. A wealthy industrialist originally from Sheffield, UK, he said “Horticulturists are the highest of all mortals without which civilisation would not exist”. A claim I imagine most gardeners would be happy to go along with! It’s North America’s oldest continually operating botanical garden, covering around 70 acres (32 hectares). The present aim of the garden, amongst others, is to conserve living collections of plants from across the globe. They grow not only species but also cultivars for public display.
Julia Wilson, Hamish Sinclair, Christina Nicholson, Jonny Davidson, Francesco Gorni, Miriam Bazzicalupo, Jacop Calevo: Hardy Orchids of Crete
Join a diverse collective of seven horticulturists and plant scientists with a shared passion for hardy orchids. Who all work within a public display or botanic garden and are currently involved with or are beginning to initiate projects which display, research, con-
serve, cultivate, and educate about Hardy Orchids.
Aims and objectives
- To observe a range of hardy terrestrial orchids in their native habitat. Making in-the-field identifications. Learn about local habitat, aspect, terrain, soil type, moisture levels, and also such things as plant variation, plant associations, density, evidence of pollinators, and the influence of human activity. All of which will aid us in our various current work endeavours.
- Meet with local orchid enthusiasts and plant groups, organisations, and gardens. Including Annika Kyparissi and members of the Mediterranean Garden Society, David Capon a local Ecologist, and visiting Omalos Botanical Garden.
- Peer learning and the sharing of skills and knowledge both whilst out on field trips and during shared evening meals.
Aidan Hopkinson: An Exploration into the Plants of New Zealand and the Habitats they Dwell in.
Following his completion of the Horticultural Trainee Technician Scheme (University of Cambridge Botanic Garden) and the PGG’s Traineeship in Horticultural Practices, Aidan explores the native flora and habitats to increase knowledge of how best to use them in UK planting.
Aims
- To become familiar with the identification of a wide range of New Zealand flora, much is endemic, and many of the families not so familiar to me, native alpines, and ferns especially so.
- To become familiar with the growing requirements of native New Zealand flora, particularly alpines, including observing in the wild.
- To become familiar with the propagation methods and cultivation techniques gardens employ with these species.
- To become familiar with how gardens use and display native flora, similarly, the ways domestic gardens employ said species. Thereby gaining ideas on how best to display these species in the UK.
- To become familiar with the conservation threats to native flora, such as introduced pests, agricultural activity, and the conservation work being done to rectify, such as ex-situ in botanic gardens but also in-situ.
- To become familiar with how the native plant collections are curated, what information is databases, and the roles each garden sees itself playing.
Stacey Mcgovern: Grass Roof Company- Workshop at Hilltop, Planting in Brownfield Sites.
Join Stacey as she attends a workshop learning about John Littles experiments with sustainable gardening, and working to promote the creation of wildlife habitats.
Introduction:
John Little of the Grass Roof company began creating living roofs for shelters of all kinds back in 2008 and began experimenting by using different types of substrate as the growing medium. He has since become an expert in his field by experimenting on the sloping site at his home by growing seeds in varying recycled substrates; essentially, in anything other than topsoil, to much success.
“The workshop I attended, was to promote and educate the attendees of Little’s experiments at Hilldrop, supporting the idea that drought-tolerant hardy plants grow and thrive in substrates other than soil and compost with little intervention.”
