Wessex
Group of the
British Clematis Society
We are members of The British Clematis Society and the
Wessex group of the society.
Elsa Spath
Natascha
March 1st 2003
The Wessex group of the British Clematis
Society was formed by Royston Prior of New Milton in Hampshire. We
attended the first meeting of the group, in Lyndhurst Community Centre. There
were 33 clematis enthusiasts in attendance, which was extremely good for the
first meeting. Roy and his wife had thought there would be between 15 and 20, so
well done Roy for exceeding your expectations.
The talk was on Roy's interest in clematis since he was 5 years old, he brought
along several clematis, ranging from small pots of clematis he has grown from
seed, to a "Pixie" which was just coming into flower.
He started his talk by telling us about his garden, which he had transformed
since buying the house, from what the previous owner had told him, "That
nothing could possibly grow in the soil that was there". Undeterred Roy set
about double digging and incorporating horse manure into the shallow soil and
clay.
When planting clematis Roy digs a hole, about 18x18x18 inches, and returns the
soil into the hole, mixed with a peat based potting compost and some bonemeal.
He also explained how to prune, the groups of clematis i.e. Group 1,2 and 3,
which each clematis belongs to, the group can be found in most clematis
catalogues, or on the label brought with the plant.
A slide show followed, with pictures taken by Roy in his own, and friends gardens, he also showed pictures which were taken on visits to Longstock Water Gardens and Hilliers Gardens both near Romsey. Roy's hard work in his garden, preparing the soil, pruning and feeding the plants, showed in spectacular pictures of his clematis.
Roy then answered questions on all aspects of clematis growing.
Thank you Roy for your enthusiasm and hard work in starting this new group, we look forward to the next meeting.
We left the meeting with 3 packets of
seeds in our pocket (We did pay for them Roy) One of Integrifolia mixture, a
Viticella mixture and a Large flowered mixture, we have never grown these type
of clematis from seed before, but will give it a try, patience will be required
as Roy's examples of seed grown clematis took about 8 months to germinate. The
only clematis we have ever grown from seed were those described as "Orange/
Yellow" which are mainly Tangutica /Orientalis types. They germinated in less than a month, and
flowered in the same year.
Roy can be contacted on 01425 621477
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A couple of the days out that
where arranged by Roy can be seen below.
Mike Brown’s garden at Shillingford Click
here for pictures and description of our visit.
A visit to Longstock Park Gardens Romsey to see the collection of Macropetalas and Alpinas. Click here for pictures and description of our visit.
