I hope you are all well and looking forward to getting stuck into planning visits and planting your gardens. Given what we have all been though over the last couple of years it is heart-warming to see so many groups return and now starting to book visits and shows. Don’t forget, if you need insurance and haven’t ordered it yet please contact rhsgroups@sports-insure.co.uk who will be able to set it up for you ready for the show season and all your meetings.
Our team looks after the lovely RHS Affiliated Societies as well as the RHS Partner Gardens and recently we have been joined by our latest member, Gemma Murdoch, who some of you may already have chatted to. Gemma spent 10+ years in Events Management within the Culture and Heritage sector and after starting her family she decided to let her passion for all things ‘green’ take the lead and luckily for us, joined our team! Gemma, Janice and Susie can all be contacted at affiliated@rhs.org.uk
Tree survey
In the wake of the recent storms, the RHS is conducting a Tree Damage Survey. If you, or someone you know suffered damage to any trees please help us by completing the survey. It’s open until Sun 6 March and will help us understand the types of trees affected by the recent storms and consider recommendations for more resilient options.
The more people we can get to enter data, the better, so do pass this link on to colleagues, family and friends.
Check a sweet chestnut
This citizen science project seeks to map sweet chestnut trees in the UK and to monitor signs of the invasive Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp, Dryocosmus kuriphilus. The project uses two online reporting tools, Treezilla for mapping the trees, and Tree Alert for reporting tree pests and diseases to the plant health authorities.
If you are interested in helping this project, you can take part yourself or display the attached leaflet on a noticeboard or contact jassydrakulic@rhs.org.uk for a stock of leaflets for visitors to pick up. Alternatively, you can spread the word through your newsletters or mailing lists.
As the days get longer and you start to plan your visits for the summer please see the attached RHS Shows Discounts leaflet. Do see if there is anything that might be of interest to you and your group.
The new updated RHS Affiliated Societies Info Pack is also attached. Do have a read and note the changes in medal awards and insurance.
As you are probably aware for those of you who have individual RHS Membership there are over 200 Partner Gardens in the UK and overseas that offer free entry at certain times to our Members, but also many of them offer group discounts regardless of RHS Membership. Do look on our website here for full list of RHS Partner Gardens then see their group discount conditions. Happy visiting!
If your society is looking for a judge for your show or a speaker for an event don’t forget we have a brilliant on-line selection waiting for you! Click on this link and enjoy browsing. https://www.rhs.org.uk/judges-speakers
Happy gardening everyone,
Kind regards
Susie, Janice and Gemma
Affiliated Societies & Partner Gardens
Royal Horticultural Society