We have to start with some very sad news. Our Treasurer, Tom Fenton, died suddenly last week. As well as being Treasurer and a Trustee, Tom was Chair of HPS Essex and bought passion, commitment and a sharp mind and wit to his roles. He will be much missed and we send our deepest condolences to his partner, Sara and the rest of his family.
Watch the video below and read on to find out about what’s happening across the HPS this month, including the imminent arrival of our new look Hardy Plant Journal, which will land on your doormat towards the end of the month. In the same envelope you’ll receive this year’s Seed List, your chance to access some of the thousands of donated seeds to enjoy growing in your garden next year.
We’ve just launched the formal search for a new Editor for our esteemed Journal, which has this month been shortlisted for ‘Gardening Publication of the Year’ by the Garden Media Guild and we pass our congratulations to Souren Ala for shepherding our Journal to this accolade. The award winners will be announced later this month. If you’d like more information about the Editors role and to submit an application, please download the job description and application form here.
Steve Bustin, Chair HPS
If you prefer to read Steve's message in the video, the transcript can be downloaded here.
News
- Seed Distribution
- New Look Journal
- Val Bourne Podcast
- Zoom talks
Seed List Arrives This Month
The Seed Distribution Scheme launch for this year is approaching, This year the deadline for orders will be December 22nd at 5pm. When the list is on the website and ready to take orders we will send an email to all members.
New Look Journal
Later in the month you will receive your copy of the new look Journal, which will combine Seedlings too. This new design remains the same size and takes into account the history of the publication. This edition will also contain details of new member benefits, discounts from well known brands that members can take advantage of.
Podcast with Val Bourne
Our President Val Bourne has recorded an interview with Hort Week magazine talking about gardening, writing, the Hardy Plant Society and her life in horticulture. It's an interesting conversation and free for everyone to enjoy.
Scottish and Northern Borders Zoom Talks
Our Scottish and Northern Borders group have arranged four Zoom talks by leading gardeners which are and open to the public for £5 each.
- Jim Blake about his garden at Hunting Brook (tickets)
- Saul Walker on woodland gardening (tickets)
- Richard Barnes on plant hunters (tickets)
- Timothy Walker on creating an all-year border (tickets)
Click below to visit the Scottish and Northern Borders page on our website to learn more about each of these talks.
Can you help?
Would you like to get more involved with the HPS and bring your time and talents to bear on the future of the Society? We currently have a number of roles open and are looking for people who might like to come onboard and join our large team of much-valued volunteers.
It’s a great way to meet new Hardy Planters, expand your own knowledge and experience and help the Society to thrive.
Treasurer
Following the unfortunate death of Tom Fenton we would welcome enquiries from anyone (member or otherwise) who might be interested in becoming Treasurer of the society.
Please drop Steve an email on [email protected] for more details.
Editor of The Hardy Plant
Anyone with an interest in helping assemble our prestigious journal should get in touch with us. We have a job specification and the role has a small stipend attached. Some experience of commissioning and editing articles and an interest in getting involved in the design and layout would make an ideal candidate.
If you would like more details on any of these roles or to have a chat about what might be involved, please contact our Chair, Steve Bustin, on [email protected]. We are also very happy to look at people sharing roles as a ‘job share’ to help spread the workload, if you’d be interested in taking on the role with a friend.
New on the website
If you haven't already please take a look at a new articles from our contributors:
Cold Glasshouse Propagation - Kevin Line
We’ve recently had a new glasshouse constructed / installed at the Lakeside garden, part of my legacy here as Head Gardener. The dimensions are 10×8 ft, facing due south to receive plenty of sunlight, the ideal aspect being east / west for a glasshouse siting.
On a Chalk Hillside – October 2025
Continuing my look at plants that self-seed here, I will start with some biennials. As I mentioned last month, Vipers Bugloss does very well here, and its leaf floret in the first year looks rather like Digitalis, which do not really seed themselves around regularly here, just popping up now and then.
Bursary Report: Report of my trip to Ulm University
My journey to Ulm began at a skip at Kew. I was on my first placement as a Horticulture Apprentice in the Woodland garden and was taking a wheelbarrow load of green waste to the skip. This was my last job of the day on site before heading back to base with my team, and then to the mess room before going home.
Bursary Report: Alpine Flowers of the Upper Engadine
The Upper Engadin is a region of the Swiss Alps within the canton of Grisons. With an elevational range between 1800m and 4048m above sea level at Piz Bernina, it hosts a wide range of habitats and is known as a hotspot for alpine botany.
The area has alpine meadows, scree fields, wet mires and pine woodlands, and the high elevation means plants tend to flower late in the season after summer snow melt.
Bursary Report: Expert Assistant in Grassland Restoration & Monitoring in Latvia
This internship allowed me to work as an expert assistant with the Latvian Fund for Nature, working alongside the University of Latvia, focusing on the conservation and restoration of species-rich grasslands.
The placement combined species identification training, ecological monitoring, and applied conservation, while offering me experiences that will directly shape my professional development and future research.
Bursary Report: Talking Plants: Digging into the Details
This report captures the highlights of Talking Plants: Digging into the Details, which took place between the 5th and 6th of September 2025.
The two-day symposium included a wide range of speakers who discussed substrate, biodiversity, planting design, and management with maintenance.
Bursary Report: Alpine Flora of Switzerland and Germany
My journey began in Switzerland with a week in the Bernese Oberland, a region celebrated for its dramatic mountain scenery and rich botanical diversity. The trip was organised through Naturetrek, a company specialising in expert-led botanical and wildlife tours, and led by David Tattersfield, an ecologist and botanist whose knowledge and enthusiasm greatly enhanced the experience.
We always want to hear from anyone who can write about plants and gardening. If you have something you'd like to see published, please get in touch.
Events at Local and Special Interest Groups
Below is a listing of Local & Special Interest Group Events around the Country. Most are open to guests for a fee. For more details click the link below and check with the organisers of the specific event for more details including the venue location.
- Sat 1st Nov at 14:00 Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire group: Group AGM followed by Winter Colour in the Garden. Beating the Winter Blues – Geoff Hodge
- Sat 1st Nov at 14:00 Northamptonshire group: Totally Tulips – Pip Smith
- Sat 1st Nov at 14:00 Hertfordshire group: The Serge Hill Project – Millie Souter
- Sat 1st Nov at 14:30 Shropshire group: George Forrest and Ernest Wilson: In Search of Special Plants – Matthew Biggs
- Sat 1st Nov at 14:30 Devon group: Late Summer Garden – Jack & Laura Willgoss
- Mon 3rd Nov at 19:30 Cheshire and Friends group: Design in Colour – Jeff Bates
- Mon 3rd Nov at 19:30 Middlesex group: Don’t Underestimate the Potential of the Dark Side – Lynne Moore
- Wed 5th Nov at 19:00 Cornwall group: Wild Flowers of Cornwall – David Chapman, Photographer
- Wed 5th Nov at 19:30 South Pennine group: The Dark Months – not just Snowdrops – Diane Clement
- Thu 6th Nov at 19:30 East Yorkshire group: The Dark Months – More Than Just Snowdrops – Diane Clement
- Sat 8th Nov at 14:00 Herefordshire and Mid Wales group: Developing and Maintaining a Wildflower Meadow – Wolfgang Schaefer
- Sat 8th Nov at 14:00 West Midlands group: Gardens in the Age of Chivalry – Michael Brown. Followed by AGM
- Sat 8th Nov at 14:00 Worcestershire group: DAISY DAYS – THE RISE, FALL & RENAISSANCE OF THE MICHAELMAS DAISY – Helen Picton
- Sat 8th Nov at 14:00 Wiltshire and Avon group: A Buzz in the Garden – Richard Rickett
- Sat 8th Nov at 14:00 Monmouthshire group: Behind the Scenes at Gardens Illustrated Magazine – Stephanie Mahon (Editor)
- Mon 10th Nov at 19:30 Galanthus group: Snowdrops in a Virginia Garden – Blooms from October to March -Timothy Calkins (USA)
- Tue 11th Nov at 19:30 Clwyd group: A Shady Garden – Diane Clement
- Tue 11th Nov at 19:30 Rutland group: Gardens of the Arts and Craft Movement and Edwardian Gardens- Camilla Anderson
- Tue 11th Nov at 19:45 Berkshire group: Daffodils and Spring Flowering Bulbs – Ray Broughton
- Thu 13th Nov at 19:30 Scottish and Northern Borders group: A Beautiful Obsession – Jimi Blake
- Fri 14th Nov at 19:00 West Yorkshire group: Chasing the Rainbow Iris – Eileen Shone
- Fri 14th Nov at 19:30 Nottingham group: Bombproof Roses for the Modern Gardener – Val Bourne (Vice-President HPS)
- Sat 15th Nov at 13:45 Fenland group: AGM followed by Talk subject TBC – Colin Ward
- Sat 15th Nov at 14:00 Derbyshire group: The Story Tellers Garden – Martin Stott
- Sat 15th Nov at 14:00 South Wales group: Plants with a Story – Samantha Hopes
- Sat 15th Nov at 14:15 Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire group: AGM foloowed by The Story of our Garden – Kathy Robins (member & ex national Society Chair)
- Sun 16th Nov at 10:30 Sussex group: New, Rare & Unusual Plants – Tim Fuller MEMBERS ONLY
- Sun 16th Nov at 14:00 Essex group: Carnivorous Plants – Chris Cheswright
- Mon 17th Nov at 19:30 North West group: A South Lakeland Garden – Alan Oatway
- Sat 22nd Nov at 14:30 Dorset group: Grow Great Veg – Pippa Greenwood
- Sat 29th Nov at 13:45 Western Counties group: Gardens are mostly about sex, death and deliciousness…James Alexander-Sinclair
- Sun 30th Nov at 14:30 Kent group: Talk – ‘Alliums’ – Ed Flint
- Mon 1st Dec at 19:30 Cheshire and Friends group: Arley a Garden for all Seasons – Gordon Baillie
- Mon 1st Dec at 19:30 Middlesex group: Interactive Festive Meeting
- Wed 3rd Dec at 19:00 Cornwall group: Can a Plantaholic Downsize? The Creation of a New Garden- Tricia Howard
- Wed 3rd Dec at 19:30 South Pennine group: Gardening on the Menu – Martin & Jill Fish
Join the Hardy Plant Society
Help us spread the benefits of plants and gardening. Our members tell us they feel relaxation, happiness, satisfaction, calmness and love from plants and gardening. We want to see these benefits reach everyone, and at the same time improve our environment.
Since 1957 we’ve been promoting plants and helping our members adapt to changes in our environment. Entirely member funded, we run a network of local groups around the country and are always looking to start more.
All memberships provide many benefits including
- The option to join any of our local or special interests groups
- Three copies of The Hardy Plant (in full colour, by post)
- Immediate access to the members area of our website with access to all our news and articles
- Free plant advice through our advisory service
- Participation in the Conservation scheme
- Participation in the Seed Distribution Scheme
- The option to subscribe to Cornucopia for an additional fee
Thank you for reading!
