Our Society's calendar year starts in March. Details will be posted online and via our printed newsletter in January. To receive our newsletter you must be a paid-up member of the Society.
View our meetup.com interactive calendar. You may download it to iCal, Google Calendar, RSS, Atom and other feeds. A quick digest of our upcoming events and activities is listed below.
2012 Calendar
12 May Saturday - Plant, Fruit ad Veg Sale was a great success in NW2, off The Vale. However, we need a new garden for year. If you can help, please email as soon as possible our Secretary at yvonnebm@madasafish.com London NW2.
June - Coach outing --now confirmed contact Rosie Hunt e; rosiehunt@blueyonder.co.uk tel. 020 7586 4979
12 July Thursday 6.30 pm to 8 pm - Summer Garden Party, London NW8. Admission, £5; Members, £4. (Revised final date and admission prices 13 May 2012)
1 September, Saturday - Autumn Show at Gospel Oak Methodist Church
September - Weekend away to the Floriade in Holland - now confirmed contact Ann Jones e: gardann@yahoo.co.uk 020 7435 6666
Travel details received 21 April 2012:-
For Hampstead Horticultural Society, Brighwater Holidays present---
Floriade 2012 (and after, see below, for our other coach trip)
7 – 10 September 2012
4 days from £445.00 for HHS members
£455.00 for Non HHS members.
Included in the price
•
Three nights dinner, bed and breakfast at a 3-star hotel in the Arnhem area. All rooms have private en-suite facilities
•
Rail travel from London to Brussels in standard class (first class up-grades available on request)
Rail travel from London to Brussels in standard class (first class up-grades available on request)
•
Comfortable coaching in Belgium/Holland
Comfortable coaching in Belgium/Holland
•
Entrance to Floriade 2012; the gardens of Piet Oudolf, De Wiersse and Appeltern; the Kalmthout Arboretum
Entrance to Floriade 2012; the gardens of Piet Oudolf, De Wiersse and Appeltern; the Kalmthout Arboretum
•
Services of a Brightwater Holidays tour manager
Services of a Brightwater Holidays tour manager
Not included (per person)
•
Single room supplement £75.00
•
Insurance £45.00 (under 65); £80.00 (65-74); £95.00 (75 and over)
Insurance £45.00 (under 65); £80.00 (65-74); £95.00 (75 and over)
PLEASE NOTE RE THE GARDENS: FLORIADE AND THE PIET OUDOLF GARDENS ARE DEFINITES, THE OTHERS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BUT WILL BE AS GOOD AS OR BETTER/MORE INTERESTING THAN THE OTHERS.
FOR BOOKING FORM PLEASE CONTACT
ANN JONES
[gardann@yahoo.co.uk]
Tel:- 020 7435 6666
A deposit of £75 (£85 non members) is payable to confirm your place.
Deposit cheques should be made payable to 'Hampstead Horticultural Society'. Brightwater will invoice you directly for the balance
If you would like to come & are happy to share, but don’t have a companion I will try and match you up with a fellow gardener
Held once every ten years, Floriade, the World Horticultural Exhibition, is the leading showcase for Dutch horticulture, providing a wealth of interest for the horticulturally minded and a colourful and uplifting experience.
Covering a vast area of specially landscaped woodland near Venlo in the province of North Limburg, close to the German border, Floriade 2012 comprises five separate areas, linked by tree-lined avenues, each with its own theme.
The areas are Relax & Heal, showing how horticulture makes our lives healthier by promoting our physical and mental wellbeing; Green Engine, which demonstrates how horticulture is an important economic engine and supplier of green energy; Education & Innovation, focusing on increasing horticultural knowledge throughout the region, which will continue to benefit in years to come; Environment, which shows how living and working in a green environment improves our quality of life; and finally World Show Stage, which promises to provide some of the liveliest exhibits, celebrating the myriad connections between nature and culture around the world.
In addition to our full day visit to Floriade, we tour some of the best gardens Holland has to offer.
We will visit the private gardens of Piet Oudolf, Holland’s leading designer-nurseryman, and the country garden of De Wiersse, described as one of the most beautiful gardens in Holland. We also visit the famous model gardens at Appeltern and on our way through Belgium we take the opportunity to visit the splendid arboretum at Kalmthout.
Itinerary
Friday 7 September 2012
We depart from London St Pancras International railway station on a morning Eurostar service to Brussels.
On arrival we are met by our local coach and transfer to the Kalmthout Arboretum, near Antwerp.
The arboretum began life as a small nursery in 1856 and was only developed as an arboretum by the de Belder brothers, Robert and Georges, who purchased the property in 1952. From 1984 onwards Robert and Jelena de Belder commenced their plantings with an inspired vision, and the arboretum reflects their detailed attention to colour, form and texture. There are two ponds, a pretty pavilion draped with variegated ivy, and a pleasant country house with a terrace, surrounded by old rhododendron hybrids and reached by the Old Conifer Avenue.
In many ways the arboretum has the feel of a large private garden and this is attributed to Robert’s wife, Jelena.
Later we continue into The Netherlands to our hotel in the Arnhem area. Dinner is served in the hotel’s restaurant.
Saturday 8 September 2012
In the morning after breakfast, we depart for Venlo in the south-western corner of The Netherlands, close to the German border, the venue for Floriade 2012.
We have a full day here to explore the extensive site which was created specially for the event in an area of natural woodland. The site comprises five separate areas, linked by tree-lined avenues, each with its own theme:
Relax & Heal shows how horticulture makes our lives healthier by promoting our physical and mental wellbeing and includes topics such as healthy eating - including seasonal and regional produce - the food festival, rituals and religions, and sports activities.
The predominant feature of Relax & Heal is organic shapes. There are no straight lines here, but fluid paths and soft, lustrous, grassy hillocks, creating a harmonious landscape. Planting theme: ‘summer visitors’.
Green Engine demonstrates how horticulture is an important economic engine and supplier of green energy, with the sector’s entire supply chain, from product development and logistics functions to applications and contact with end users, on display. The design is inspired by industrial designs, machines and motors, a fantastic pas de deux of technology and nature. Planting theme: ‘pioneers’.
Education & Innovation focuses on increasing horticultural knowledge throughout the region, which will continue to benefit in years to come. The design theme is one of constant changes of perspective. Huge ground-features ensure that you won’t be able to view the entire field in just one go, as a result the landscape entices you take a journey of discovery. Planting theme: ‘explorers’.
Environment shows how living and working in a green environment improves our quality of life, covering topics such as the green city, better garden architecture, climate-neutral entrepreneurship and our perception of the new living and working landscape. The design clearly refers to a city, but one bursting with greenery, which in turn attracts all kinds of creatures, such as birds and butterflies, creating a sustainable symbiosis between city and nature. Planting theme: ‘acrobats’.
World Show Stage promises to provide some of the liveliest exhibits, celebrating the myriad connections between nature and culture around the world. The design here is intense and lively, with water playing a vital role, uniting the various continents and as a shared source of all life on Earth. Planting theme: ‘seducers’.
We return to the hotel for dinner.
Sunday 9 September 2012
After breakfast this morning we drive to the east of Arnhem to Piet Oudolf’s Private Garden at Hummelo.
The revered garden designer Piet Oudolf, figurehead of the New Perennial movement with his own distinctive style inspired by English gardens, progressed from designing private gardens for his neighbours to Best in Show at Chelsea in 2000. Since then the gardens he has designed include the Millennium Garden in Chicago; the Evolution Garden at Floriade 2002; The September 11 Garden at Battery Park, New York; new borders at Wisley and a new walled garden at Scampston.
His own garden features expansive, naturalistic plantings of many grasses and late flowers, but to obtain the plants his designs require he has had to breed his own. Using a combination of locally available varieties and those he travelled widely to find, the result is a fascinating and unique garden
In the afternoon we visit the country house garden of De Wiersse, described by a leading Dutch newspaper as “The most beautiful garden in the Netherlands”.
Surrounded by farmland and woods lies the moated manor house, with 38 acres of garden and 74 acres of landscaped parkland lived in, designed and managed by the same family since 1678. In this historic and beautifully-kept garden a sequence of surprises awaits the visitor avenues and pergolas; meadows and formal parterres; fountains and statues and bridges over a gentle stream. The majestic structure of the wild garden, with walks beneath ancient trees and a serpentine beech tunnel, is balanced by a practical kitchen and cutting garden and an intimate sunken garden with wide English borders.
Dinner is served on our return to the hotel.
Monday 10 September 2012
This morning following breakfast we check out of our hotel and head for the nearby Gardens of Appeltern. Here nearly 200 model gardens of every type display innumerable plants and gardening products for every conceivable purpose, and are a source of inspiration, information and enjoyment for everyone.
Later, we return to Brussels where we will catch a late afternoon Eurostar service back to London St Pancras International railway station, where the group will disperse.
Included in the price
•
Three nights dinner, bed and breakfast at a 3-star hotel in the Arnhem area. All rooms have private en-suite facilities
•
Rail travel from London to Brussels in standard class (first class up-grades available on request)
Rail travel from London to Brussels in standard class (first class up-grades available on request)
•
Comfortable coaching in Belgium/Holland
Comfortable coaching in Belgium/Holland
•
Entrance to Floriade 2012; the gardens of Piet Oudolf, De Wiersse and Appeltern; the Kalmthout Arboretum
Entrance to Floriade 2012; the gardens of Piet Oudolf, De Wiersse and Appeltern; the Kalmthout Arboretum
•
Services of a Brightwater Holidays tour manager
Services of a Brightwater Holidays tour manager
Not included (per person)
•
Single room supplement £75.00
•
Insurance £45.00 (under 65); £80.00 (65-74); £95.00 (75 and over)
Insurance £45.00 (under 65); £80.00 (65-74); £95.00 (75 and over)
That ends our information for The Floriade trip. Now follows details for our coach trip to the gardens of Colchester and Epping, in B--I--G letters!
Hampstead Horticultural Society
COACH TRIP
to two Essex gardens:
Copped Hall, Epping
to see the extensive recently restored gardens, including
the walled kitchen garden. Drinks will be served in the café.
and Beth Chatto’s, Colchester
where we will be able to explore the internationally acclaimed
gardens of drought, water and woodland situations and buy plants.
Bring a packed lunch or visit the Tea Shop for a light lunch.
Sunday 17th June
---------------------------------------------------------------
Booking Form
Please reserve me ........... seats at £28 (member) and ............ seats at £30 (guest)
Cheques payable to Hampstead Horticultural Society
(we do not normally refund coach trips charges)
I/we will join the coach at Waitrose at 9.15am or Lyndhurst Road at 9.30am
(delete as appropriate)
Name ....................................................... Telephone no ..........................................
Mobile no ..............................................
Please post to Rosie Hunt, 56e King Henry’s Road NW3 3RP
Telephone: 020 7586 4979 Email: rosiehunt@blueyonder.co.uk
Other events in the Hampstead Horticultural Society calendar include:
August/September - Coach outing in England - to be confirmed
4 November, Sunday - Prizegiving and illustrated lecture at Burgh House, Hampstead
Email us: contact page
