An eventful and entertaining meeting held at Roundwood Park School! Our guest speaker Joe Sharman of Monksilver Nurseries was seriously delayed on his journey from Cambridge due to many major road closures!

As our Chairman was away on holiday, committee member Glyn Goodwin improvised splendidly for an hour with a series of entertaining asides including several jokes from the recently departed Ken Dodd’s joke book!

One of our members Gillian Whitbread boldly stepped in to the breach with a masterclass on one of her favourite flowers the snowdrop currently giving some colour in this grey winter month.

Still awaiting the arrival of our guest speaker (who was continually updating us on his progress!) an impromptu question and answer session was developed by Glyn involving members and guests. How to stop squirrels eating bulbs provided an entertaining range of answers from mothballs to airguns.

Two members gave suggestions to the perennial problem of killing moss was well received. A propriety brand ‘Mo Bacta’ and Ferrous Sulphate were recommended and are available from local garden centres.

At last Joe Sharman arrived and after some calming down and cups of tea he gave us a masterclass on the huge varieties of hellebores available backed up with a colourful slide show.

Basically there are two distinct types, stems and stemless with the latter having leaves at ground level. The stem variety are all evergreen and grow profusely on sloping ground.

Hellebores niger have black roots and thrive in an acid soil and come in a range of colours from red/white/pink and green.

The range of hellebores has grown significantly over the last few decades thanks to leading breeders like Helen Ballard who have perfected the art of creating the subtle colours and hues of hellebores we see today.

Hellebores are unique to their area. Those grown in Harpenden will have unique characteristics as will those grown in nearby Batford or Wheathampstead.

Members were able to purchase a whole range of spring plants including snowdrops, daffodils and of course many different species of very healthy looking hellebores which hopefully made Joe’s arduous journey worthwhile.

For further advice and information visit the website: monksilvernursery.co.uk

or visit: Monksilver Nursery, Oakington Road, Cottenham,Cambridge, CB24 8TW