Elizabeth Zander, program chair of the Berkshire Chapter of NARGs, will speak on 'Vertical Gardening at our October 16 meeting.
“Most alpines in nature grow wherever the wind takes the seed,” she observes. “Many times this can be in a vertical crevice or a slope with loose scree. In these places there is less competition and great drainage.” Zander will explore how this translates to crevices and screes in the garden. She will also share construction techniques of her Goshen, Conn., garden – including the raised saxifraga bed built by Zdenek Zvolanek.
Zander directed the NARGS Seed Exchange from 1994-96, edited the Berkshire Chapter NARGS Newsletter for many years and served as president of the chapter.
We'll meet in 404 Plant Science Building (Whetzel Room) on the Cornell University campus. Brown bag lunch at noon. Program begins at 1:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Plant of the Month
From John Gilrein, Plant of the Month coordinator
Since our September speaker will be talking about rocks, rather than plants, our September Plant of the Month wasn’t dictated by the topic. One of our members, Harold Peachey, grows a lot of plants from seed, and I was able to obtain a nice, diverse assortment of plants. There may be a few surprise additions, but the current mix includes:
1 – Sun to part shade, good well-drained soil.
2 – Part shade to sun, damp to moist soil.
3 – Sun to part shade, well-drained to very-well-drained soil.
As usual, the plants will be a good deal for our members. Thanks Harold for the interesting selection from your private nursery!
Since our September speaker will be talking about rocks, rather than plants, our September Plant of the Month wasn’t dictated by the topic. One of our members, Harold Peachey, grows a lot of plants from seed, and I was able to obtain a nice, diverse assortment of plants. There may be a few surprise additions, but the current mix includes:
- Gentiana depressa (1),6-10”x18-24”, nice green mound after blooming, purple flowers, good looking foliage.
- Primula japonica (2), flowers in various pink shades, red, or white.
- Aquilegia, early blue (3), low growing, blue flowers.
- Aquilegia frangrans (3), the only fragrant columbine, purple to light yellow flowers.
- Allium x 'Mt. Everest' ,18”, late blooming (now) white flowers (3)
- Veronica alpina (3), mat forming, blue flowers.
- Ruellia ciliata f. depressa (3), very small plant with purple leaves with white flowers.
- Cheilanthes lanosa (3) (hairy lip fern, these are still small), lip fern is a versatile fern for sunny areas or woodland edge-even a cave man could grow it!
1 – Sun to part shade, good well-drained soil.
2 – Part shade to sun, damp to moist soil.
3 – Sun to part shade, well-drained to very-well-drained soil.
As usual, the plants will be a good deal for our members. Thanks Harold for the interesting selection from your private nursery!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Updated: Members only plant sale August 21 - Set up starts at 11 a.m.
From David Mitchell and BZ Marranca, plant sales coordinators
I hope you've been enjoying the hot summer. Please think about potting up plants now for the sale in August.
Plans are set for this year's members plant sale to be held at Ken Post Lab on the Cornell University campus. (View google map.)
You may join for 2010 at the meeting for $10 ($15 for families). It's still a great value since we have half of our program year ahead of us.
I hope you've been enjoying the hot summer. Please think about potting up plants now for the sale in August.
Plans are set for this year's members plant sale to be held at Ken Post Lab on the Cornell University campus. (View google map.)
- 11:00 a.m. Arrive, get your plant sale number and help with sale set-up.
- 12:00 noon Lunch break (bring your own, this is not a dish-to-pass meeting)
- 1 p.m. Plant sale begins.
You may join for 2010 at the meeting for $10 ($15 for families). It's still a great value since we have half of our program year ahead of us.
Dan Snow to speak Sept. 18
Dan Snow, the author of: "In the Company of Stone: the Art of the Stone Wall," will give a talk at our September program on "Dry stone construction: a 'fitting' medium for the rock garden." He believes that: "The earth is alive and continually tries to take back what it has given up." Snow’s walls and artwork always embody this dynamic between the earth and the structures he creates.
Save the date, details will follow. Meantime, visit Dan's website:
http://www.inthecompanyofstone.com/
And here's Dan's bio:
Dan Snow is a designer of outdoor spaces in stone, and an art maker specializing is dry stone constructions. He has been building with stone since 1972 when he worked on the restoration of a 13th century Italian castle. His career as a professional dry stone waller began soon after, in his native Windham County, Vermont, with retaining wall and field fence reconstructions. He apprenticed with Scottish “dry stane dyker” Dave Goulder in 1986 and on return to Scotland in 1994 passed the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain, Level 2, Craftsman Certification Test. Snow became a DSWA certificated Mastercraftsman in 2000. His dry stone constructions have included stock-proof fences, pillars, stiles, staircases and arch bridges. Utilitarian works have expanded to include garden follies, grottos and grandstands as well as environmental art and non-functional, abstract and figurative works of sculpture.
In 2001 Snow authored “In the Company of Stone”, published by Artisan, with photographs of his work by Peter Mauss. “Stone Rising”, a film by Camilla Rockwell, released in 2005, captures the spirit of Snow’s constructions and chronicles the process of their creation. Snow’s second book “Listening to Stone - Hardy Structures, Perilous Follies, and Other Tangles with Nature”, was published by Artisan in October 2008. His work has been the subject of articles in “This Old House” and “Vermont Life” magazines, and the “New York Times.”
Dan Snow has instructed many workshops in dry stone walling and lectured on the craft across the USA, Canada and Great Britain. In 2003 and 2007 he taught environmental art workshops for the University of Art and Design, Helsinki. In 2008 and 2009 Snow worked with Kansas State Landscape Architecture students rebuilding pioneer homestead walls and creating a permanent sculpture for the grounds of the Beach Museum of Art. As a DSWA Examiner he has organized test venues and tested dozens of applicants in the craftsman certification scheme.
Save the date, details will follow. Meantime, visit Dan's website:
http://www.inthecompanyofstone.com/
And here's Dan's bio:
Dan Snow is a designer of outdoor spaces in stone, and an art maker specializing is dry stone constructions. He has been building with stone since 1972 when he worked on the restoration of a 13th century Italian castle. His career as a professional dry stone waller began soon after, in his native Windham County, Vermont, with retaining wall and field fence reconstructions. He apprenticed with Scottish “dry stane dyker” Dave Goulder in 1986 and on return to Scotland in 1994 passed the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain, Level 2, Craftsman Certification Test. Snow became a DSWA certificated Mastercraftsman in 2000. His dry stone constructions have included stock-proof fences, pillars, stiles, staircases and arch bridges. Utilitarian works have expanded to include garden follies, grottos and grandstands as well as environmental art and non-functional, abstract and figurative works of sculpture.
In 2001 Snow authored “In the Company of Stone”, published by Artisan, with photographs of his work by Peter Mauss. “Stone Rising”, a film by Camilla Rockwell, released in 2005, captures the spirit of Snow’s constructions and chronicles the process of their creation. Snow’s second book “Listening to Stone - Hardy Structures, Perilous Follies, and Other Tangles with Nature”, was published by Artisan in October 2008. His work has been the subject of articles in “This Old House” and “Vermont Life” magazines, and the “New York Times.”
Dan Snow has instructed many workshops in dry stone walling and lectured on the craft across the USA, Canada and Great Britain. In 2003 and 2007 he taught environmental art workshops for the University of Art and Design, Helsinki. In 2008 and 2009 Snow worked with Kansas State Landscape Architecture students rebuilding pioneer homestead walls and creating a permanent sculpture for the grounds of the Beach Museum of Art. As a DSWA Examiner he has organized test venues and tested dozens of applicants in the craftsman certification scheme.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
July/August newsletter
It's here in reader-friendly .pdf format: http://www.acnargs.org/newsletter/201007.pdf
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
