The Historic Roses Group Members Page Garden visits, Summer 2002 At the time of updating this site, there were still a few places available on the Historic Roses Group tour of French gardens this summer. The tour begins in Lyon on 31 May, visits rose gardens there and in the Loire valley and finishes in Paris on 7 June. Because a number of members come from abroad or prefer to make their own travel arrangements, the tour will start in Lyon and end in Paris, with travel from England an optional extra.      In Lyon we shall visit the Parc de la Téte d'Or, which has a large collection of roses of all types, and La Bonne Maison, the beautiful garden planted and developed by Mme Odile Masquelier, the former president of Roses Anciennes en France, who has an extensive collection of old roses.      On the way to Saumur in the Loire valley we shall stop to visit the gardens and nursery of the famous rose breeders and growers, Delbard, at Malicorne, a few miles east of Montlucon. We shall spend a whole day at Doué-la-Fontaine which has two interesting rose gardens: the public rose garden and Les Chemins de la Rose. The public rose garden has a fine collection of twentieth-century French roses and a museum devoted to rose essence while Les Chemins de la Rose is a recently planted garden devoted to showing the development of roses over the centuries.      The tour will make a short visit to Pépinières Loubert, one of the leading French old rose nurseries at Les-Rosiers-sur-Loire. We are also planning a visit to La Roseraie de Commer to see the collection of Gallica roses assembled by Professor François Joyaux. On the next day we will visit Pithiviers, to see the beautiful display garden at Les Roses Anciennes de André Eve and André Eve's own private garden. Then, on the last full day of the tour, we will head for Paris to visit the two most famous rose gardens in France - Bagatelle and the Roseraie de L'Haÿ les Roses. The tour disperses the following morning after breakfast.     To find out if there are still vacancies, contact Brightwater Holidays, Eden Park House, Cupar, Fife KY15 4HS. Tel: 01334 657155. Fax: 01334 657144. E-mail: [email protected] Later in June, a one-day outing to visit three important private gardens in Gloucestershire and north Wiltshire has been arranged. On Saturday, 29 June the Historic Roses Group visits Stancombe Park, Hunt's Court and Pound Hill House, all of which have first-rate rose collections and each of which is distinctive, extensive, and full of interest for members. We start at Stancombe Park near Dursley, where the modern garden has been created by Mrs Basil Barlow over the last 30 years. Peter Coates, Nadia Jennett and Lanning Roper all contributed to the spectacularly designed and planted gardens around the house. At the bottom of the valley is something totally different: a nineteenth-century Grade I gothic folly garden which has been described as “an open-air ghost train journey without the ghosts.” Evelyn Waugh wrote part of Sword of Honour in one of the summerhouses. Hunts Court is in the next village, North Nibley. It is a fine plantsman's garden with an strong emphasis on roses (450 cultivars and species - many of them rare), and an exceptional nursery attached. The owners, Keith and Margaret Marshall, have been members of our group since its foundation. Their garden has grown over the years, as they expanded into the farmland: they recently took in a little more for an arboretum. We shall spend the middle of the day here, and picnic in one of the barns. The final garden, Pound Hill House, lies just south of the M4 and belongs to Philip and Barbara Stockitt. The garden is formal and stylishly structured in neat garden rooms, with much use of topiary and Cotswold stone walls. Planting is dense, luxurious and exuberant - and everything is very well-grown. This is scarcely surprising since Barbara Stockitt is a successful nurserywoman, the sister of David Austin (`Barbara Austin' is named after her) and her daughter is the garden designer and Gardeners' Question Time panellist Bunny Guinness. Booking and further details from Jim McIntyre, Rose Cottage, Main Street, North Leverton, Retford, Nottinghamshire DN22 0AN Tel: 01427 880673. Conferences, Summer 2003 In order to plan ahead, it may be wise to note now that two important rose conferences are scheduled for the summer of 2003. First will be the 10th International Heritage Rose Conference being held in Germany to coincide with the celebration of the centenary of the Europa-Rosarium Sangerhausen on 4-7 July 2003. This will provide an opportunity to see what is arguably the world's finest collection of roses of all kinds and periods. Further details can be obtained from Eilike Vemmer, Hornkampsweg 3, D-38159 Vechelde-Wedtlenstedt, Germany. This is followed by the World Rose Convention being held in Glasgow on 17-24 July 2003. Being organised by the Royal National Rose Society and Glasgow City Council, the very full programme will include a series of lectures and discussions, an international rose show and several social events. A 6-day pre-Convention tour will start in London and will include the best of English rose gardens as well as the RNRS British Rose Festival at Hampton Court Palace. Post-Convention tours will include visits to sites of interest in Scotland. Further details of this event can be obtained from Glasgow City Council Land Services, 37 High Street, Glasgow G1 1LX.  E-mail: [email protected]