MHS members’ event

Our speaker tonight is Dr John Hughes who is going to tell us about Tresco Abbey Garden, which its website describes as a “perennial Kew without the glass”.

Founded in the 19th century by Augustus Smith around the ruins of a Benedictine Abbey, the garden is now a sanctuary for over 2,000 exotic species from the southern hemisphere and subtropics - from Brazil to New Zealand, Myanmar to South Africa. It is home to plants from every Mediterranean climate zone, flourishing just 28 miles off the coast of Cornwall, on a tiny island in the Scillies. 

John is a member of the RHS Tender Ornamental Expert Group, an expert on Cacti and other succulent plants and judge at all the major RHS shows including Chelsea. He has also been awarded the Veitch Memorial medal by the RHS for services to Horticulture.

Tonight his talk will take us round this fascinating subtropical garden. It will showcase some of the rare tender plants grown and discuss the challenges that the oceanic climate offers.