HAVE you noticed how easy it is to overlook interesting places on your doorstep?

This was brought home to me last Friday, when the Society had its final meeting of this season’s programme of talks.

Of course I’ve been to Old Court Nurseries in Colwall and of course I know that the nursery is home to the national collection of Michaelmas daisies, but I was totally unaware of its history.

The presentation by Helen Picton, granddaughter of founder Percy Picton, was a revelation. The nursery owes its foundation to a member of the Ballard family, a Colwall dynasty of engineers and other skills who have, over the centuries, made major contributions of both local and national significance and who have featured in our previous talks.

Initially working for and with this family, Mr Picton went on to hone his horticultural skills elsewhere, before returning to Colwall and taking over Old Court. There, he applied his experience to breeding Michaelmas Daisies, which had hitherto been tall and rather straggly plants with a very limited range of colours. He set his mind to rectifying these shortcomings and successfully improved the plant, so that today’s range is both wide and diverse, one of the most popular being the dwarf varieties, suitable for the smaller garden.

The Picton family has developed and exhibited its creations for many years - winning many RHS medals in the process - and is recognised as being the leader in its field. Nowadays, the nursery has widened its interest into the world of alpines, and I look forward to re-stocking my ancient rockery with some of their beautiful plants.

I am now in the process of finding speakers for the new season, which will start in September, so if any member has a particular subject to suggest, please let me know.

MARY WINFIELD