Fern World Newsletter Issue 3

Fern World

BPS Newsletter - Autumn 2011

Issue 3. Produced by the BPS Publicity & Marketing Team

Front Cover Image : Polystichum setiferum cultivar

Photography : Liz or Alison Evans unless stated

Fern World Editor’s Letter

The importance of keeping records...

(above: query Blechnum?, Costa Rica)

Ferns, in all their shapes, sizes, colours

and patterns provide an endless subject

matter for the keen amateur photographer.

I have long had an interest in photography,

and taking portraits of ferns for the sake of

a „good picture‟ rather than a record of the

species itself. However, I have recently

been thinking how great it would have

been if at the time I had made clear notes

of what the species were! I wanted to use

the above image as the cover for this

Newsletter, but sadly cannot identify the

species. Any thoughts, anyone?!

Signing Up: If you wish to receive an

email notifying you when a new issue of

the Fern World Newsletter is published,

please sign up to the online mailing list

which can be found at the link below:

http://eepurl.com/bGLcz

Hello & welcome to the 3rd edition

of the Fern World Newsletter!

For those who don‟t already know, this is

one of the online news sources for the

BPS - British Pteridological Society - the

society for fern enthusiasts.

We have had an exciting summer, which

included winning gold medals from the

judges at this year‟s Gardening Scotland

and Southport Flower Show - see pages 4

to 7 for the photos!

There are plenty more events planned that

we hope will get the word out to the public

about ferns and the society in general -

whether at the RBGE „Ferns & Fossils‟

weekend planned for September (see p.8),

or the work we are planning to undertake

alongside the National Trust (see p.9).

Whether you are a member or not, we look

forward to seeing you in the future!

As always, if you have any suggestions

about the content for the newsletter,

please feel free to contact me, Liz Evans,

at the Publicity email address:

[email protected]

Further information about the society can

be found on the BPS

website at:

http://www.eBPS.org.uk/

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/bps/

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/bps/

Contact the Publicity Team : [email protected]

The BPS needs you!

BPS 2012 Fern Calendar

This autumn Bryan Smith will be producing

another BPS Fern Calendar containing

members‟ photos. This is your chance to

have your own favourite fern photo in-

cluded for all to see. Anything along the

„fern‟ theme will be considered – fronds,

plants, fern beds, artefacts, memorabilia

etc. All he requires is that:

the photo is in landscape format

the photo is in colour

you include details of what it is and

where it was taken

you took the photo

Please send low resolution candidates to

Bryan at the following email address by

the end of September.

[email protected]

BPS Field Meetings

At the beginning of each year, the Meetings

Sub-Committee plans the BPS‟s programme

of national and international field meetings

for the following year. The success of these

field meetings depends very much on the

meeting organisers and the choice of loca-

tion.

So, we‟d particularly like to hear from mem-

bers about places where they would like to

spend a weekend (or longer) seeing ferns.

More importantly, we‟d like to hear from any-

one willing to lead a fern field meeting.

Each of the field meetings has a member of

the Meetings Sub-Committee assigned to

help the organiser, so you won‟t be “going it

alone”.

Plus, as you will have gathered from past

meetings, visits can include both the coun-

tryside and gardens.

So, please send me your ideas for fern loca-

tions, and more importantly whether you‟d

be prepared to lead a field meeting.

Many thanks,

Bryan Smith

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Don’t forget the BPS Website : www.eBPS.org.uk

Gardening Scotland 2011

The Education Sub-Committee put on a gold medal winning display of ferns at

the BPS stand at this year‟s Gardening Scotland. The event was held at The Royal High-

land Centre in Edinburgh from the 3rd to the 5th of June, and attracted one of the biggest

crowds in its 12 year history (see the event website: http://www.gardeningscotland.com/ ).

A carefully chosen combination of ferns belonging to BPS members, and some which

were on loan from Binny Plants ( http://www.binnyplants.com/ ) made up the eye-catching

display of contrasting frond shapes and defect-free plants. The theme was to show off to

the gardening public the beguiling beauty, intriguing interest, and huge variety of ferns

that can be grown outside, in the greenhouse, and in the home.

Plenty of people stopped to admire the stand and then to chat about the ferns and fern

cultivation - hopefully our presence at these events will raise the profile of the BPS. All

agreed that it was worthwhile, but also hard work,

and that we should think about creating a Shows

Sub-Committee within the BPS.

The words in this write-up have been adapted from Frank

McGavigan’s report for the Bulletin with thanks. The full

report will be published in the next Bulletin.

Photos are all by Yvonne Golding or Alison Evans.


Gardening Scotland 2011

Photos showing the display of ferns, and a

close-up of the gold medal. Members had a

good time both manning and visiting the

stand!

On the previous page, a photo of the show

stopping giant gorilla which helped Great

Gardens Ltd win Best Show Garden Award!


Southport Flower Show 2011

Members of the BPS were also successful at this year‟s Southport Flower Show,

which ran from the 18th - 21st of August ( http://www.southportflowershow.co.uk/index.html ).

Here are just a few snapshots from the show - as always the full write up will appear in

the next edition of the Bulletin, which is available to all BPS members.

Right: BPS Secretary Yvonne Golding

with the Challenge Cup, flanked by Gold

medal winner Michael Hayward and BPS

member Roland Ennos.

Below: The Society stand, put together

by Michael Hayward, won a Gold from the

judges. The theme of this year‟s stand

was „Heritage‟.

Facing page: some more snaps from

around the show!

Right: the winning entry for the BPS

Challenge Cup - Adiantum aleuticum.

“Best fern in the show.” - Martin Rickard

All photos Y. Golding or M. Hayward


Southport Flower Show 2011

Above: Robert Crawford with the

Happilands Trophy, which is awarded

for the highest number of first prizes

for the Ferns in classes 9-17. Robert

is also a member of the BPS.


Ferns & Fossils 2011

Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th September : A free event at the

John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Some of you may have attended the

successful Ferns & Fossils Day held at

Manchester Museum in 2009, and ob-

served what a good way it was to in-

troduce the general public to ferns.

We hope the event in Scotland this

year will be a similar success! A few

people work very hard to make this

happen - if you would like to volunteer

to help on the day, please contact

Heather from the Scottish Group.


BPS Woodland Trail Project

Many heritage properties in Britain have woodland trails that are popular with

visitors. They are often also good places to see our British native ferns. In accordance

with the aims of the Society, it is hoped that the BPS Woodland Trail Project will:-

inform and educate the public about our native ferns

encourage the public to look for and record ferns

The Education Sub-Committee are working on basic informative leaflets for use at sites

with woodland trails. In order to raise the profile of the project, a series of events are

planned. Initially these will be on National Trust properties, with the first taking place at:

Nymans in West Sussex from October 13th to the16th

(See their website: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-nymansgarden2 )

Guided walks will be held on each day at 11.00 and 14.00, with BPS members on hand

to help the public with identification of the ferns.

It is hoped that this project will be extended to other regions in 2012.

If you would like more information on this project, or to suggest a possible site for an

event, please contact Alison at:

[email protected]

The Education Group are also planning

fun and informative educational materials on

ferns for the younger generation of potential

fern enthusiasts, and with this in mind, we

would like to introduce you to Pterry The Fern!

Pterry is an adaptation of the BPS logo, and is

currently serving as the picture on the BPS

Facebook „profile‟ - which is slightly different

from the Facebook page. The Facebook page

can be viewed here without needing to sign up:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fern-

World/158140624207890


Other Fern News

Moorbank Botanic Garden: May 16th

BPS member Yvonne Golding organised a

small exploratory trip to Moorbank: Newcas-

tle‟s Secret Garden after being contacted by

OPAL Education Officer Helen Weddle, who

is based there and wanted some advice on

developing the fern collection. The garden

is leased by the University of Newcastle‟s

Botany Department, and contains many fine

examples of fern species, including some

which belonged to a former BPS President.

Hopefully this is the beginning of a long and

fruitful collaboration with Moorbank in future.

Above: the team at Moorbank (Photo: Y. Golding)

The Firs has a Blog!

While Moorbank is Newcastle University‟s

Botanic Garden, The Firs is Manchester‟s.

Sadly, the funding for this wonderful garden

is under threat. You can follow the story of

The Firs on their blog, here:

http://uombotanicalgardens.wordpress.com/

Garfield Park Conservatory Appeal

The Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago,

USA, was constructed between 1906 and

1907, as a series of naturalistic landscapes

under glass - like an early Eden Project. It

houses many species of plants, including a

large fern collection. Sadly, on June 30th of

this year it suffered catastrophic damage in

a hailstorm which shattered many of the

glass panes - including those in the roof of

the Historic Fern Room. To read more on

this story, or if you wish to help, go to this

link: http://www.garfieldconservatory.org/

A ‘Fern Garden’ Wiki

Work is under way to compile an online list

of ferns in BPS member‟s gardens on a

Wiki page. It would be accessible to BPS

members wishing to find out where particu-

lar fern species grow in the country. For

more information, and to find out how to

contribute, please contact Roger Golding

at: [email protected]

Spore Exchange Vacancy

The post of Spore Exchange Organiser is

going to become vacant in the not too dis-

tant future. Would anyone like to take over

this position? All the equipment and full

training would be provided. Please contact:

[email protected]



Still to come in 2011...

Regional Meetings:

September 3rd:

Dryopteris submontana monitoring

Monsal Trail / Litton Dale, Derbyshire

Manchester & North Midlands Group

Contact: Yvonne Golding

September 6-7th:

Athyrium distentifolium monitoring

Bridge of Orchy & Glencoe

Scottish Group

Contact: Frank McGavigan

September 10th:

Yorkshire Museum Trust Garden & York

Cemetery

Yorkshire Group

Contact: Bruce Brown or Alison Evans

September 10th:

Ness Gardens & Hilbre Island

Northwest Group

Contact: Michael Hayward

September 17th:

Fern Varieties, St Leonards-on-Sea

South-East Group

Contact: Julian Reed

September 17th:

Swanton Novers Wood, Norfolk

East Anglia Group

Contact: Tim Pyner

September 22nd:

Olive Mason’s Garden, Dial Park

South Wales & Borders Group

Contact: Brian Dockerill

Do you live in a part of the country

not currently covered by one of

the regional groups?

Would you like to suggest a new

regional group, or like to lead a

meeting in your area?

Please feel free to get in touch!

[email protected]



Dates for the Diary

National Meetings:

September 27th - October 1st:

Isle Of Man

Exploratory meeting to contribute fern re-

cords to a proposed IoM flora due 2014-

2015.

Contact: Jennifer Ide

October 29th:

Autumn Indoor Meeting, Kew

Propagation talk by Nigel Rothwell, and

viewing of fern collections.

Contact: Pat Acock

Regional Group AGMs:

October 8th:

Yorkshire Group AGM

RHS Garden Harlow Carr

October 9th:

Scottish Group Meeting

Adrian Dyer‟s garden

October 15th:

Northwest Group AGM

Holehird Gardens, Windermere

October 22nd:

Manchester & North Midlands Group

Indoor Meeting

Possibly Manchester Museum

October 22nd:

East Anglia Group

Autumn Indoor Meeting

Hosts Bryan and Gill Smith, Lowestoft

November 5th:

South-East Group Autumn Meeting

Host Pat Acock, St Mary Cray

Coming Up in 2012:

January 28th 2012:

East Anglia Group Indoor Meeting

Thurlow, Suffolk

February 18th - March 4th 2012:

BPS Tour of South Africa

Details of all the Meetings are also

available on the Meetings Calendar:

www.my.calendars.net/ebps


And finally...

Thanks for reading!

The Publicity and Marketing Team hope

you have found this Fern World Newsletter

interesting and enjoyable. Is there any-

thing else you think we should know about,

or maybe a topic that should be covered in

the next issue? Please do get in touch!

BPS Members also receive:

Regional Group Contact details:

Yorkshire Fern Group

Leader: Bruce Brown

Email: [email protected]

South East

Leader: Paul Ripley


East Anglia

Leader: Tim Pyner


North West England

Leader: Peter Campion


Cornwall

Leader: Matt Stribley


Scotland

Leader: Frank McGavigan


South Wales & Borders

Leader: Brian Dockerill


Manchester & North Midlands

Leader: Yvonne Golding


Fern World Newsletter Issue 3

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