40th Anniversary of the EAGG

For those members who were not able to come to this celebration, it turned out to be a superb day. The weather was exceptionally warm for early May and the venue (Haughley Park Barn) was perfect.

The day was organized by Heather & Brian Massey with the help of Maureen Thompson and Tony Venison. Members were greeted on arrival with sherry and canapés (made by Heather, Sheila Gilpin and Jackie Smythe) and there were photographs of members during the year at various events, which caused interest and amusement as well! Sarah Cook had some Cedric Morris irises on display.

The floral arrangements had been assembled beautifully by Maureen Thompson and new member, Heather Pickard.

Lunch was excellent, followed by a photographic journey through some splendid English gardens, some known to us and some not, interspersed with music, prose, poetry and images, presented by Clive Boursnell and Barbara Grant.

The afternoon ended with members walking round the tranquil grounds of Haughley Park.

- ✽ -

Our President gives us a background to the 40th anniversary of the EAGG below:

‘Ladies & Gentlemen - as your President, it is my privilege and great honour to welcome you all to the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the East Anglian Garden Group.

40 years ago Jenny Robinson was the Group's first President and she was to have been our guest of honour today, as she is also the Group's last remaining surviving founder member, but as most of you know, Jenny is still recovering after only very recently having come home from hospital. She was immensely looking forward to being here today and flowers and our best wishes have been sent on behalf of us all.

The East Anglian Garden Group grew out of the British Iris Society. Jenny was a founder member of that too; she remembers sitting in Sir Cedric Morris's garden at Benton End, near Hadleigh, along with Lucy Walmsley, who, she says, was a very good gardener with a wonderful garden near Rattlesden and a man from Saxmundham whose name Jenny forgets. From their discussion the Iris Group was formed. The British Iris Society's Yearbook records that its first two meetings were held at Benton End and the 9th, in early June, was in Mrs. H.C. Wolton's garden in Bury St Edmunds, where members entered irises in a competition; all the prizes for blooms of species irises being scooped up by Jenny and a Mrs Moullin. Mrs Wolton's son, John Wolton, is one of our members, of course.

After a few years, members felt concentrating wholly on irises was too restrictive and as many members were also lily enthusiasts, the Group became the Iris and Lily Group.

Sir Cedric was a keen breeder of lilies as well as irises and one of his lilies called Viking is still grown by one of our members today.

Time passed and members' interest in other plants, besides irises and lilies, led to the decision that the Group should become the East Anglian Garden Group. That was when Jenny became the first President. She recalls a meeting that was very tightly packed with members who came to hear Alan Bloom from Bressingham give a talk. At that time he was a leading nurseryman and breeder of border perennials, a very eminent plantsman and the author of several books about them.

Well, the tradition of the EAGG having really good, authoritative speakers continues and April's meeting, when Fergus Garrett from Great Dixter was with us drew an almost full house.

In the Iris Group's first year, the Group made a visit to Sissinghurst Castle in Kent when Sir Cedric's friend, Vita Sackville-West, grew some of his iris cultivars. Now Sissinghurst's retired head gardener and property administrator, Sarah Cook, is one of our members.

Looking at this summer's programme of outings, you can see that the tradition of visiting good and famous gardens continues. These include gardens belonging to some of you and some of you will recall visiting Peter Mancroft's quite breathtaking garden in Norfolk last autumn - and that same garden featured in the April edition of the English Garden magazine.

Not only are there expert gardeners among us but also high caliber specialists like Ivan Dickings - an expert plant propagator who, I believe, could make a pine needle strike root if he so chose.

We are also thrice-blessed in having some of our expert members as speakers, and we can look forward to listening to Chris Grey-Wilson talking to us on poppies in the Autumn.

Many years ago when I was relatively young and even more foolish that I am now, I occasionally gave talks to horticultural societies. At that time I was deputy Editor of Amateur Gardening magazine and staff were expected to give talks. I remember having finished my talk to a gardening society and answered questions when I found that Society's Chairman was standing beside me. ‘I hope my talk was alright' I said. He replied ‘oh yes, that was alright, quite alright, but you know, a few days warm sunshine would do a lot more good.'

Well, today the sun is shining on our celebrations and we are here to enjoy ourselves. Before we start lunch, I would like to propose a toast to the East Anglian Garden Group and its further success in the future. So please be upstanding - let's take up our glasses and drink a toast to the East Anglian Garden Group'.

Tony Venison
Founder Member of the East Anglian Garden Group

Ps.

Members visiting this page might be interested in the first Newsletter (Newsheet No. 1) issued by the East Anglian Garden Group in March 1968 (relating to the above article by Tony Venison) a copy of which was discovered in a late member's files.