Worcestershire HPS 20th Anniversary Celebration

The first meeting of a new local HPS group in Worcestershire was held on 11th November 1995 in Lecture Room 10 at the Frank Parkinson Centre, Pershore College when Bob Brown spoke about 'Unusual Hardy Perennials". We were delighted to be back for our celebration on Saturday 12th September 2015.

All the comments are from members who attended.


The organisers with Cathy Rollinson, HPS Chairman
From left, Marilyn Wrightson, Judith Doughty, Worcestershire Group Chairman Jan Vaughan, John McGhee, Cathy Rollinson, Kathryn Elrick Smith

“thoroughly enjoyable event”, “real pleasure to be able to attend”

“Excellent speakers”, “all the speakers inspiring, thought provoking and amusing”, “Plenty of time between talks to catch up with old friends”

John Massey ‐ Autumn into Winter
John is a local nurseryman, plant breeder, plant collector and, above all, a passionate gardener. He acquired Ashwood Nurseries as a teenager in 1968, and is now known for his introductions, particularly of hellebores and hepaticas, as well as his own garden which we visited as a group last year.

“John Massey calm and laid back”

Fergus Garrett ‐ Succession Planting
Fergus joined Great Dixter as Head Gardener in 1992 and worked closely with Christopher Lloyd during an important time in the garden’s development. Now he combines his gardening role at Dixter with that of Chief Executive of the Great Dixter Charitable Trust as well as lecturing and writing.

“Fergus rattling along at 100mph”

Alistair Bayford ‐ Parks Matter: the Value of Parks
Alistair is a chartered landscape architect, Park Manager of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from October 2012 until May last year when he became Assistant Director of Strategic Parks Management.

“Alistair Bayford's presentation was so refreshingly different from our usual talks”, “A very good choice to bring Alistair to give a different slant on gardening”


Cathy Rollinson thanked the group for inviting other HPS members to their celebration.

Nurseries Cotswold Garden Flowers, Avondale and Brockamin Plants did a brisk trade from registration and through the breaks.

There were displays showcasing group activities over the last 20 years and there is a special commemorative edition Newsletter produced by Jackie Davies and Jan Vaughan. Jackie is a founder member who is still active within the group.

Final comment by a member: “you [Worcestershire Chairman Jan Vaughan] seemed so calm throughout which in turn created a most professional and happy day”

See the autumn newsletter for a more detailed report of the day.