News
Our regular newsletters to members include articles on all aspects of gardening, information about past and forthcoming events and updates on the work of the SGT Council and committees. Members are invited to contribute relevant articles and/or photographs to the newsletters. See more news on our Instagram pages.
YOUR CHANCE TO VOTE FOR GARDEN OF THE YEAR [April 2025]
Somerset’s Hestercombe Gardens has been shortlisted for a Garden of the Year Award and the winner will be decided by public vote. The award, sponsored by Christie’s, has been run for more than 40 years by Historic Houses (HH), an association of around 1,000 independently owned and operated houses, castles and gardens of major historical importance.
Any garden of an HH member, that is regularly open to the public, may be entered for the award. Whittled down to a shortlist of eight by the judging panel, the finalists compete to win the votes of the public and HH members all summer. In addition, the panel will make a second, direct award to a garden it feels embodies excellence on a smaller scale which might have less opportunity to influence the popular poll.
This year the shortlist for the main award consists of Arundel Castle Gardens, West Sussex; Hole Park, Kent; Ilford Manor Gardens, Wiltshire; Lowther Castle, Cumbria; Penshurst Place and Gardens, Kent; Raby Castle, Park and Gardens, Co Durham; Wollerton Old Hall Garden, Shropshire and Hestercombe Gardens, Somerset. If you wish to vote for Hestercombe, here is the link: https://www.historichouses.org/vote-goya/
“THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR PLANTING” [April 2025]
A pair of boots belonging to Gertrude Jekyll – co-designer of the formal gardens at Hestercombe in Somerset – is among the highlights of what promises to be a fascinating special exhibition at the British Library in London this Spring. Drawing on an incredible collection of books, papers, photos, art and tools, Unearthed: The Power of Gardening aims to show how vital gardens and gardeners have been for our wellbeing and society.
Alongside Miss Jekyll’s boots, visitors can expect to see beautiful botanical illustrations, short films, the world’s oldest mechanised lawnmower and ancient herbals. Other exhibits include a 16th century guide to tending a garden, a container for collecting plants used by Darwin and a mini travelling greenhouse. According to the British Library, ‘Unearthed celebrates gardening as a force for creativity, resilience and community through the remarkable stories of the people and plants that shape our gardens.’
The exhibition runs from Friday 2 May to Sunday 10 August 2025 – click on this link to book tickets Unearthed: the Power of Gardening
THE GARDENS TRUST FIGHTS FOR THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD BY PLANNERS [March 2025]
The Gardens Trust, of which Somerset Gardens Trust is a member, has launched an urgent appeal for help in the light of the Government’s proposed changes to the UK planning system.
Ahead of a new Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the Government has indicated that it intends to strip a number of organisations – including The Gardens Trust – of their right to be consulted on relevant planning applications.
Currently the Trust is a statutory consultee for all planning applications that might affect a site nationally designated on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.
Explaining the move, the Government has said the reforms are designed to remove the bureaucratic burden and speed up building as part of its agenda for growth.
In response, The Gardens Trust asks: ‘who will stand up for the landscapes we love? Who will safeguard our green heritage for future generations?’ It argues that its expertise ensures that development is done sensitively, respecting all that these special places have to offer while still allowing for progress.
Strong opposition to the proposed reforms has been mounted by the Trust which is asking for help in the form of donations towards legal fees, research, lobbying and advertising. It also wants people to spread the word and consider writing to their MP about the reforms.
Somerset Gardens Trust has an active role in researching historic parks, gardens and landscapes in the County and feeding into the comments made on planning applications by The Gardens Trust as a statutory consultee.
HELP PAINT THE COUNTRY YELLOW [February 2025]
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is asking for our help in mapping the UK’s daffodils and in tracking down three of the rarest varieties.
Celebrating 100 years since it played a crucial part in preserving this cheerful harbinger of Spring, the RHS has launched a Daffodil Diaries project running until St David’s Day, calling on us to record where we see the flowers and describing them. By entering our findings on its website, we will be helping the RHS understand the environmental influences on the plants and come up with ways of preserving this diversity for the future.
The RHS is also keen for us to look out for three varieties it fears might be disappearing -Sussex Bonfire, Mrs R O Backhouse and Mrs William Copeland. Pictures and descriptions of these can be found on the project pages of the website: https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/daffodil-diaries
With their sunny colours and nodding habits, daffodils are a sign that Spring is coming but they are not just a pretty face. Grown originally for medicinal uses, the plants are currently being harvested for their source of galantamine which is used to treat Alzheimer’s.
Daffodils originated from the Iberian Peninsula and north Africa and may have been brought to Britain by the Romans but certainly we have made them our own now as 90% of the world’s cut flower daffodils are grown here.