KHS Outings

1. Borde Hill; on Tuesday 13th July there will be a coach trip organised by Mike Kidd to Borde Hill in Sussex (just north of Haywards Heath). All those who enjoyed the outing to Loseley last year will also love this, because here too there is a Tudor mansion surrounded by extensive and beautiful grounds, including the formal gardens packed with flowers, then parkland, woodland and lakes, commanding beautiful views of the surrounding countryside, all this with a restaurant offering coffee on arrival, homemade lunches and cream teas (or you can bring your own sandwiches if you prefer). There is also a tempting plant nursery.

2. Great Dixter; on 21st September, there will be a coach trip organised by Gareth James to Great Dixter, the famous garden in Kent/Sussex created by Christopher Lloyd and Fergus Garrett – at that time of year the exciting colour combinations of dahlias, cannas and other vibrant plants should be at their best. A visit inside the historic house, which is full of atmosphere and artifacts, will also be on offer. Since Great Dixter opens at 2.0pm, this allows time to stop on the way at Merriments, a very extensive plant nursery attached to a skillfully designed garden and a restaurant.

The cost for each of these trips will be £25 per person to include the coach, a tour of the house and of the garden. The coach will start from Kew Green at 9.30 and return about 5.30. There is a form attached on the newsletter for you to return with a deposit of £5 per trip if you are interested.

3. Royal College of Physicians; for our local London excursion, arrangements are in progress for a visit later this year to the Royal College of Physicians. The garden is tiny but packed with medicinal plants, and there will be an explanatory talk by the Curator, which has been highly recommended by a KHS member.

Another trip suggested at the AGM is a visit to the Manoir aux Quatre Saisons in Oxfordshire, to see the garden and sample the menu of Raymond Blanc.

The winter season of talks is in planning and will begin on 11 November with a talk by Chris Sumner of the London Parks and Gardens Trust on Garden Squares www.londongardensonline.org.uk. We hope also to invite Dr Paul Smith of the Millennium Seed bank and Dr Nigel Taylor of the RBG to talk to us.

We would welcome a KHS member to help us with organising events – so if anyone out there enjoys organising events please contact Carole Brougham!