What's New
Free Clematis Webinar Monday December 9, 2024
From the International Clematis Society:
December Webinar Open to Members and the Public
Growing Clematis from Seed with Mike Miller - US
Mike will discuss:
how to identify viable clematis seed; different methods of sowing the seed (peeling vs. not peeling, cold stratification requirements, etc.); growing on the germinated seed to maturity; results from species seed vs. hybrids; and
the International Clematis Society’s Seed Exchange Program.
AND
Getting Clematis to Rebloom
With a Panel of Experts: Deborah Hardwick - Ohio US,
Susan Toler - Oregon US, and Fiona Woolfenden - UK
The panel will cover:
when, how, and what not to prune back in summer to get a fantastic rebloom of clematis later in the season; when and what fertilizer to use to promote rebloom; deciding on a watering schedule; which types of pruning should be used on various groups of clematis.
Listen to these experts to hear what they do in their gardens to extend flowering time or to schedule clematis to flower at a specific time.
When: Monday, December 9, 2024
12pm US/CA Eastern Standard Time
Please check what the time would be where you are: US/CA Central Standard Time, 11am; US/CA Mountain Standard Time, 10am; US/CA Pacific Standard Time, 9am; UK time, 5pm; Germany and The Netherlands time, 6pm; New Zealand Daylight Time, 6am next day.
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
Zoom Link to the Webinar:
https://swarthmore.zoom.us/j/81003066243
Spread the word about this Webinar as it is open to the public!
Free Zoom Lecture with Harry Jans - Southern Peru
Tuesday 22 October 2024, 7.00pm BST
FREE TO ALL
Harry Jans will give a lecture about the upcoming tour to southern Peru, in the mountains around Arequipa, the country’s second largest city. He will talk about plants from the Colca Canyon and the unexplored high Andes of Moquegua.
Arie Vanspronsen wins 2024 NARGS Chapter Service Award
From the moment Arie Vanspronsen joined the Ontario Rock Garden & Hardy Plant Society in 2007, he has shared his energy, enthusiasm and knowledge for the betterment of the group.
For the past 10 years, Arie has coordinated the donation component of our Seedex, spending countless hours from September to December each year to solicit, receive, document, sort and trouble shoot over 1000 donations. He has become the de facto leader of the Seedex committee, monitoring and participating in all aspects of the Seedex. Over the past 4 years, he has admirably shouldered the additional burden of ensuring that the Seedex ran smoothly despite restrictions brought about by Covid.
Arie has been a member of our board for 8 years, first assuming positions of director and vice-chair, then then stepping up to the position of chair. He is now serving a second term as our past chair. Twice in this time, he has taken on additional responsibility to fill a board position that was prematurely vacated.
Arie is a strong advocate for the art of rock gardening and growing alpines. With his passion and outgoing personality, he has forged friendships and cemented contacts with like-minded people. His personal connections have opened doors for other ORG&HPS members to benefit from exposure to leaders in the alpine gardening community in Canada and Europe. He and his wife, Lee, welcome visitors to their award-winning garden, both on an informal basis and as part of our organized garden tours. As the garden evolves and his collections grow, he has shared his experience through presentations at our meetings and regular postings on our Facebook page.
The list of Arie’s other contributions is long! His first undertaking was to facilitate the donation, transportation and pricing of a large selection of choice perennials for our major plant sales. At most sales, there are treasures from Arie’s latest undertaking, whether it be a unique hypertufa trough, one of his beloved ginkgos, a splashy cyclamen, or a delicate wee daphne. He has recruited many members and quickly bought them into our pool of volunteers with his trademark “face-to-face” request. Arie is one of the first to arrive and last to leave meetings, lending a hand wherever needed. For each of the past 4 years, he has ensured that one or two ORG&HPS members are honoured as recipients of NARGS Chapter Service Awards. Most importantly, Arie is generous, thoughtful, eager, reliable, patient, compassionate and supportive. All are qualities that ensure the success of an organization like ours.
Post Script: Since this nomination for the Chapter Service Award was written in January, Arie has had on-going health problems. Despite this, he has continued to participate as a board member and to mentor our new Seedex co-ordinator, Lucille Yates. Arie recently tendered his resignation from the board, effective in November 2024.
Click here for the list of past ORG&HPS winners of the NARGS Chapter Services Award.
Early Christmas present? How about a trip to Patagonia?
It may still be toasty summer, but spring can come sooner than you think! Early December in Patagonia is peak season for flowers like Rosulate Violas, Patagonian Petunias and the brilliant red Chilean Fire Tree (Embothrium coccineum), not to mention Scarlet Gorse. Join Panayoti Kelaidis (Senior Curator of Denver Botanic Gardens) and Marcela Ferreyra (leading botanist of Patagonia and author of a shelf full of books about this region) on a trip early in December. Do check out the trip description in this link—and join us on a trip of a lifetime! https://www.botanicgardens.org/our-impact/trips-travel
