Membership

We are delighted you would like to join our Hardy Plant Society regional Kent group. If you would like to join you must also be a member of the National group which you can find here.

A few notes about activities of the Kent Group

Winter lectures

From September to April there are monthly meetings (mainly lectures) which are usually held on the last Sunday of the month starting at 2.30pm. We have interesting and varied speakers coming to speak to us. At meetings there is a sales table and members are invited to bring plants for sale. These should have a plant name label and also a second label with the price and the owner’s name. The owner will get 75% of the price with 25% going to society funds and should collect their money and any unsold plants at the end of the afternoon.

A 'Book Sales' table operates in a similar manner. A slip of paper with the name of the vendor and the price required is put into each book, 25% going to the society. Members are asked to collect their money and unsold books at the end of the meeting. There is also usually a plant display table. Members are encouraged to bring material for the table. Somebody will be on hand to help and advise. Plant labels, permanent markers, botanical cards and other sundries are available for sale at meetings.

Kent Group There is a raffle which is drawn after the lecture. This is followed by the very popular tea and cake. If you are a dab hand at baking there is a list for members to volunteer to make a cake for future meetings. There is a nominal charge for meetings which includes Tea and Cake. Non members are welcome at our meetings, so do bring your friends. Seedling Swap This is held after the talk at our April meeting. Members bring spare seedlings to swap or you can buy some at a nominal charge. Christmas meeting / Garden Tea Party. These are held in alternate years.

The Christmas meeting is held earlier in the month than our other winter meetings. It is a good opportunity for members to get to know each other in an informal and fun setting. Typically the day starts with morning coffee followed by informal talks, a Photographic Competition, a buffet lunch, a light-hearted quiz and then plant display and “Gardeners’ Question Time”. We end the day with tea and mince pies. Details appear in the Autumn newsletter. Booking is necessary and members will be contacted to discuss what food they can bring for the event.

The Garden Tea Party is held during the summer in a member’s garden. It is an informal meeting with a tea party and plant sales Garden Visits These are predominantly during the summer months and are often to members’ gardens. They are usually tours of a private garden, accompanied by the owner or main gardener who will describe the development of the garden, draw attention to particularly interesting plants or features. There is usually time for further questions or informal discussion. Refreshments are usually available. Garden visits also have to be pre-booked.

Extended Visits

Occasionally there are day, weekend or long weekend visits planned. The last one was a three day trip to visit Oxfordshire gardens.

Workshops & Study Days

Workshops and study days are held from time to time. Plant Sales We attend one or two of the ‘Plant Fair Roadshows’ Plant sales annually where specialist nurseries are invited sell their plants. As mentioned above from September to April, at our winter meetings, there is a plant sales table where members bring surplus plants to sell. E-mail reminders We send out regular e-mail reminders of Kent Group activities to our members.

WhatsApp HPS Kent Group

This was started for members to interact to discuss plants and gardening related topics. Members often post photographs of interesting and flowering plants.

Facebook page

There is a private HPS Kent Facebook page which, as a member, you can join. Area Groups Parts of the county are covered by Area Groups. This is something that was started because members in a local area wanted to get to know others in the vicinity. There have to be volunteers prepared to organize events which might range from visiting each other’s gardens or a get together over coffee or even something more elaborate such as a longer trip. These are not events run by the Kent Group and very much depend on the enthusiasm of people in the area. The contact names and addresses are in the newsletter. We have a very varied and full programme of events which may differ from the above format as we are very flexible and the committee are always open to suggestions from members.