Dorset Group
We are a friendly and enthusiastic group, established in March 1996. We have two speaker meetings a year at Brownsword Hall, Poundbury, with a plant table for members to "bring and buy". Several visits to members' and other Dorset gardens are organised during the growing season, covering a different part of the county each time. Details of our events are usually lpublished in February in time for our spring meeting. There is a £5 per annual membership fee, and members need also to join the national CGS.
The national Cottage Garden Society was formed in 1982 for the benefit of owners of small gardens who want to keep alive the tradition of gardening in the cottage style and to encourage an interest in old fashioned flowers of merit and their varieties and cultivars. It aims to be a friendly and informal Society, bringing together amateurs and experts who share an enthusiasm for this type of gardening. The subscription is £12 single and £15 joint membership and the website is at http://www.thecottagegardensociety.org.uk
Come and join us
If you'd like to join the Dorset CGS, send your name and address by e-mail to .
Members News
Our membership remains pretty constant which is most rewarding in these times of austerity. Thanks go to our committee and all members who continue to support us.
Suggestions for gardens visits are always welcome. We are particularly interested in gardens that are not normally open to the public - yours or a hidden gem you have discovered. Also dates of interesting events, plants sales and village open days would be helpful. Please email Rob Sharland on bbs@robshar.plus.com Events planned for 2012 are as follows:-
Speaker Meetings
These are held at the Brownsword Hall, Poundbury, Dorchester starting at 2.00 pm. Arrive early for plants! Non members welcome, £3. The Poet Laureate pub in the village square is popular for lunch as is the Garden Centre nearby.
For our first meeting of the year, on Sunday 4 March 2012 at Poundbury, we are very pleased to welcome back Derry Watkins. Her talk this time is entitled ‘Gravel Gardening - Low Maintenance and Drought Tolerant Plants’. She is a very enthusiastic speaker and will bring many of her excellent plants and seeds with her for sale on the day. With the increasing shortage and cost of water throughout the world, we thought this talk may help us to contribute in some small way to the conservation of this essential resource.
Recent Speakers
For our March 2011 meeting, we were lucky to have Malcom Shennan, a most entertaining speaker, who gave us an illustrated talk on ‘Shrubs and Trees for the Small Garden’. A lifelong gardener, Malcolm was fortunate in having Lawrence Johnston as a godfather and learnt much from his frequent visits to Hidcote.
In Autumn 2011, we had a great talk by David Manners about Wildlife in the garden. His digital pictures were stunning with ‘microscopic’ views of some hairy individuals, the majority of which turned out to be friends, not foes as many of us had assumed. I am referring of course to his insects and creepy crawlies!
Garden Visits
31st May 2012
We are returning to the Beaminster/Melplash area to visit some new gardens. Our program is as follows
10.00 am Sylvia and John Love
Small garden packed with lovely mixed planting. Plant stall + coffee and biscuits
11.30 am Manor House
Fabulous parkland garden of 16 acres with watery walks along the river, ponds, wildflower meadow and beautifully restored walled garden. Although an NGS garden, it will be opened just for us with their gardener Mary Anderson on hand to answer all our questions.
3.00 pm Christine and Maurice Jeffrey; Ray and Barbara Guiver
2 gardens full of cottage garden planting.
Plant Stall + tea and cakes.
Many thanks go to Rose Smith for setting up these contacts
Recent visits
Thursday 12th May 2011
We decided this time, by way of a change, to visit some ‘Town’ gardens in the north of Dorset.
Thursday 1st September 2011
We visited two gardens in Christchurch:- Annalal’s garden, an exquisite small garden having considerable artistic interest with unusual sculptures; and the Red House Museum which had a beautiful herb garden where tea was served. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed the estuary scenery. Thanks to Mary Reader for arranging this.
Speaker Meetings and Plant Sales
Speaker meetings are at Brownsword Hall, Poundbury, Dorchester, starting 2 pm. Arrive early for plants! Non members welcome, £3. Free to members. The Poet Laureate pub in the village square is popular for lunch.
Nurseries in the West Country
These are some favourite small nurseries used or owned by Dorset CGS members.
Coldharbour Nursery
(opposite The Silent Woman Inn), Bere Road, Wareham Dorset
Tel: 01202 696 875
Ferns, grasses, herbaceous perennials
Elworthy Cottage Plants
Elworthy, Lydyeard St Lawrence, Taunton, Somerset
Tel: 01984 656 427
Unusual herbaceous plants; penstemon, pulmonaria, hardy geranium,
grasses
Little Groves Nursery
Tunnel Road, Beaminster, Dorset DT8 3HB
Tel: 01308 862030
Herbs and other aromatic plants - good value
Lower Severalls Nursery
Crewkerne, Somerset TA18 7NX
Tel: 01460 73234; Fax: 01460 76105
Herbs and herbaceous perennials, many ususual
Mill Cottage Plants
The Mill, Henley Lane, Wookey, Wells, Somerset BA5 1AP
Tel: 01749 676 966
Traditional, unusual and period plants. Campanaulas, pinks, hardy
geraniums, ferns and grasses.
The inclusion of the above establishments is for information only and does not imply any special endorsement by the Cottage Garden Society.