Surrey Plant Heritage Group

Local Group

The Surrey Group is a vibrant group supporting the plant conservation work of Plant Heritage with an active programme of talks in Cobham,Surrey. We also hold propagation workshops, organise trips to gardens and nurseries, organise stalls at local fairs and fetes and have two plant fairs at Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking.

Surrey Group indoor meetings are held on the second Thursday of February, March, April, September, October and November in St Andrew's Church Hall, Churchgate House, Downside Bridge Road, Cobham, KT11 3EJ. Doors open at 7.00pm and the talk starts at 7.30pm.

We have talks by knowledgeable speakers on all aspects of plants and horticulture, a plant sale, raffle, refreshments and a Flower of the Meeting competition. Visitors are welcome and asked to donate £4 at the door. Visits to National Collections and notable gardens are organised throughout the year.

Please contact email Surrey Group for details.

Photographic Competition 2024: 'Triumphant' is the title for this year. The winner will be chosen at our AGM in February.

Plea for Plants ... and Search for Seeds: We always encourage members to propagate plants for sale at our Plant Fairs, we have a propagation group, we provide practical help to National Collection Holders in Surrey and we take an active part in the Plant Exchange Scheme and Plant Guardian scheme. We also donate our spare seeds for sale on the PH stand at the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.

Dispersed Collections Project

In 2020, as part of our endeavours to conserve the diversity of garden plants, the Surrey Group decided to begin a project to start some dispersed collections. Dispersed collections are not held by any one person on any particular site and the plants are dispersed among members of the group. Dispersed collections have the horticultural advantage of being free of those problems normally associated with monocultures in terms of their susceptibility to pests and diseases. From the point of view of a collection holder they are additionally free of that particular fear of losing plants, since identical 'backup' plants are held by other group members.

Two new collections have been proposed an Ajuga collection and a collection of the Tigh-na-Garth strain of 'Ben' Helianthemum bred by John Nicoll and commonly available in the 1920's and 1930's.

Participation in this project is open to all Surrey Group Members so if you would like to have a part, of what will hopefully become, a Plant Heritage National Collection of plants growing in your own back garden then do get in touch with the Dispersed Collections Project.

If you would like to see how we are doing our lists of plants acquired and those we are still looking for are below : -

What We Have: -

Proposed Ajuga Collection - Plants Acquired

Proposed Helianthemum Collection - Plants acquired

What We Are Looking for: -

Proposed Ajuga Collection - Plants listed in RHS Plant Finder (Since 2020) but not yet obtained

Proposed Helianthemum Collection - What we are missing

National Collection of *Chaenomeles* cultivars held by David Ford: *Chaenomeles* *speciosa* 'Geisha Girl'

© D Ford

National Plant Collection of *Kalmia* at Squires Garden Centre in Milford: *Kalmia latifolia* 'Peppermint'

© Plant Heritage

Three National Plant Collections are held by Ottershaw Cacti - *Astroloba, Gasteria* and *Haworthia: Haworthia* 'Big Band'

© Ottershaw Cacti

OUR ARCHIEVE

For our special Lockdown Newsletter : -

Flower of the Month Competition

In light of the recent global crisis our normal meetings held from September through to April have had to be cancelled as has our accompanying Flower of the Month/Meeting competition. We have now brought this popular competition online for all to enjoy.

All our thanks to the kind judges of our competition for giving their time and expertise during lockdown.

2020

May Jill Otway, RHS

June Tom Brown, Head Gardener West Dean Gardens

July Timothy Walker, Lecturer, Botanist, Gardener, Author

August Martin Fish, Consultant, Personality & Chair of RHS Tender

Ornamental Plant Committee

2021

May James Miller, Propagator, Gibraltar Botanic Gardens

June Cherrill Sands, Garden Historian

July David Hunt, NT Enthusiast, Amateur Photographer, Lecturer, Rambler

Lecturer

Results 2020

Entries and Winners May 2020

Entries and Winners June 2020

Entries and Winners July 2020

Entries and Winners August 2020

Results 2021

Entries and Winners May 2021

Entries and Winners June 2021

Entries and Winners July 2021

Our Annual Newsletter

Published once a year and available as a printed or electronic version. All our news, competitions, trips and articles written by members of the Surrey Group.

2019

2020

2021