Many of Britain’s plant societies are close to folding as their ageing memberships dwindle. What will it take to make sure they remain central to British gardening’s culture?
The British Iris Society, known to friends and loved ones as the BIS, who has died aged 94, was familiar to horticulturists for many generations. Born out of the need of a group of iris enthusiasts post the first world war, the society was formed to exchange views and knowledge of this beautiful and interesting genus of plants. Enduring the rigours of the second world war, the BIS became an invaluable escape for men and women returning from conflict and provided a relief from the years of adversity that followed. At its peak, it was a thriving organisation holding shows across the country, actively engaging in efforts to breed new varieties and encouraging the cultivation of threatened iris varieties by amateurs. The BIS is survived by loved ones; the Hardy Plants Society, The Alpine Garden Society and the Scottish Rock Garden Club. It will be sorely missed by its international counterparts the American Iris Society, the Species Iris Group of North America and the Aril Society International. The society passed away in its sleep on the November 19 at its annual general meeting after years of struggle with an ageing membership, an inability to find new committee members and a lack of ability to move with the fast pace of modern horticulture...
It’s a sad read, isn’t it? I really hope I never have to finish writing this obituary, but I am afraid to say the British Iris Society is on its last legs. Unless something significant changes at its AGM, it may well die just a few years before its centenary. It’s not the only one of Britain’s plant societies in this predicament either. Not all that long ago we lost the Eucryphia Society, and some of our other local and national plant societies seem to be heading in the same direction.
Related: Let's put endangered plants in the spotlight | Robbie Blackhall-Miles
Continue reading...from Gardening blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2fIEjSc
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