David Osborn has been growing and hybridizing hollies in Shelburne County for 10 years. His breeding goals include more hardiness, more interesting leaf colour and plant form, and heat and wind tolerance. He says, “There are a surprising number of holly species that could be grown in Nova Scotia but are not. The presentation will detail what is available, with photographs and some plants in pots”. His gardening interests are eclectic from hollies to rhododendrons to rock gardens to hardy…

Talk by Jiri Papousek, avid rock gardener and active member of the Czech Rock Garden Society. September 20th, 2015, at 7 pm at the Bedford Lawn Bowling Club, 1800 Bedford Highway, Bedford, Nova Scotia Jiri is an enthusiastic grower of cushion plants, dwarf conifers, and daphnes. Around his house you can find several crevice rock garden constructions, peat blocks and currently he is building alpine tunnel with a tufa wall. He is also known under his nickname Alpine parrot.http://www.czrgs.cz/ ARHS…

"Looking for Little Epiphanies" George Woodard is the long-time Superintendent of the Howard Phipps Jr Estate in Old Westbury, Long Island:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/karlgercens/sets/72157624882552019/ He is a member of the New York chapter of the American Rhodo Society which awarded him the bronze medal to recognize his service to the chapter as well as 30 years of rhododendron hybridizing to combine the colors and superior truss sizes of the west with the hardiness of the eastern hybrids. With a connection to family and…

Jan 5 Garden design with Joe Bidermann. Certified Landscape Designer, Joe Bidermann’s design and build landscaping company has won may awards in Nova Scotia. Please visit his website to see some of his work: http://www.joebidermannlandscaping.com

Food improvement: a tour of the modern breeder's toolkit Dr. Sean Myles is the Canada Research Chair in Agricultural Genetic Diversity at Dalhousie University. A New Brunswick native, he received his training at Oxford, the Max Planck Institute, Cornell and Stanford before settling in Wolfville. He is deciphering the genetic codes of agricultural species in order to accelerate the breeding of improved food. His research focuses on apples: he established and manages the Apple Biodiversity Collection - an orchard with…

Soil prep and planting, with a panel of digging gardeners Like our panel on pruning in October, this group of real gardeners will give brief presentations about soil preparation and proper planting of rhododendrons as well as a wide range of other plants. The talks will include demonstration, tips and experiences from members’ gardens. Audience questions and participation is encouraged.

We would ask our members to take a look through their library to ensure they do not have one of the 23 books that our currently missing from the ARHS Library. The missing books are indicated in Red beside their name in our library listing. If you find any could you please let our librarian know and/or return it during the March meeting. We appreciate you taking the time to double check!

Clematis for everyone and Everywhere,  Marion Jarvie. Marion is a passionate plantswoman who has been gardening in Thornhill, ON, for over forty years. An accomplished photographer, she teaches regularly at the Thornhill Botanic Garden and has lectured all over North America and in the UK. Check out her website at http://www.marionjarvie.ca

Todd Boland  — Small Rhododendrons and other Ericaceous plants for the rock garden. This presentation will highlight hardy (zone 5) dwarf rhododendrons that lend themselves to rock gardens, along with closely related genera that can used as companions. The plant selections are based primarily on those which are growing in the rock garden at the Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden Bio: Todd is the research horticulturist at the MUN Botanical Garden. He was instrumental in the designing and installations of…

Steele Lecture:  Mike Stewart talk:   “Rhododendrons and Their Journey to Your Garden” Mike is a past President of the American Rhododendron Society, and is the current President of the Rhododendron Species Foundation and Botanical Garden in Federal Way, Washington.  Mike and his wife Maria, owners of Dover Nursery in Oregon, have traveled to Sichuan, Yunnan, and eastern Tibet in search of species rhododendrons. Mike’s presentation, “Rhododendrons and Their Journey to Your Garden”, will focus on species rhododendrons and the legendary…