Visit to the National Collection of Aeonium

Stephen.J.White lectured at Sparsholt University Centre Hampshire for thirty three years specialising in Higher Education courses in Landscape and Garden Design whilst also running a busy garden design business concentrating on the restoration / recreation of historic gardens in the UK and abroad.

Upon retirement he became interested in the Genus Aeonium after a 2010 holiday of sub-tropical garden visits in Cornwall and whilst initially just growing the colourful cultivars he became fascinated by the diversity of their wild parent species from the Macaronesian Archipelago and from Morocco, Kenya, Yemen, Somalia and Ethiopia.

His Plant Heritage National Collection of over a six hundred half-hardy plants grown in outdoor raised beds and pots and in a greenhouse and cold-frames in the winter aids in the identification of true to type specimens whilst also furthering research into the cultivation techniques in the UK and the distribution of propagation material of some 171 taxa of wild species, sub-species, natural varieties and forma as well as his developing collection of their diverse interspecific hybrids.

The Visit:

The visit will start with a short introduction to the Genus, its diversity, habitats, forms, growth habits and specific cultivation techniques in the UK. Members will then be able to walk round and view the collection and Stephen will be on hand to talk more specifically about the plants, their cultivation, propagation and any problems that may arise.

There will also be a plant sale - cash only please.