Calendar PVC NARGS

Here's what's coming in 2012

The programs are firm even if all the details are not yet worked out.

Meetings are 9:30 am for coffee; 10 am presentation unless otherwise noted.

Potomac Valley Chapter

North American Rock Garden Society

www.pvcnargs.org

February 2012 Program

“Extra Dry, On the Rocks”

Tour the JC Raulston Arboretum’s Xeric Gardens

with Garden Leader, Charlie Kidder

When: Saturday February 18 --- 9:30 am coffee; 10 am program

Where: Brookside Gardens Visitor Center Auditorium, Wheaton , MD http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/

“The JC Raulston Arboretum (JCRA) has long believed that since plants don’t read, and know nothing of the cultural requirements we ascribe to them, almost any plant is fair game for trialing in the arboretum’s North Carolina Piedmont gardens,” explains Charlie Kidder. The Garden Leader of the xeric gardens at JCRA, Charlie will show us where this open-door plant philosophy has led in the xeric gardens, and tell us about some of its history.

Early attempts with xeric plants met with mixed success; even so, some specimens have persisted for more than twenty years. Beginning in late 2006, the JCRA began an expansion of its xeric gardens, with an emphasis on proper bed preparation to improve long-term plant survival. Several years later, a wide variety of plants from the U.S. Southwest, the Mediterranean, South America and Australia have thrived, providing blooms during every season, as well as structural interest throughout the year. Charlie says, “We’ll see the many successes-- along with an unshrinking examination of a few of our duds-- as we take a warts-and-all photographic tour.”

About our speaker: Charlie Kidder has been a volunteer at the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh , North Carolina since moving to the area in 2003. He also maintained the entrance gardens at the North Carolina Museum of Art until its expansion. Charlie serves as Garden Leader for the JCRA’s xeric gardens, conducts tours and has served on the Board of Advisors for four years. A regular gardening columnist for the Crozet (VA) Gazette, Charlie is an occasional contributor to the Triangle Gardener. Currently gardening on a Zone 7B-but-almost-Zone 8 half-acre in Cary , North Carolina , Charlie will try to grow almost anything, but is partial to agaves, yuccas and other prickly plants.

When: March 3

Where: Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, MD

Steven Whitesell, Landscape Architect, "Small Rock Garden Design: In Celebration of Artifice"


POTOMAC VALLEY CHAPTER NORTH AMERICAN ROCK GARDEN SOCIETY
HOME ABOUT US CALENDAR JOIN US CONTACT US BULLETINS GALLERIES ARTICLES SITE MAP	Calendar 2012 PVC 2012 CALENDAR OF EVENTS All meeting are Saturday mornings- 9:30am coffee; 10am presentation, unless otherwise noted. Coffee/Tea and donuts to be provided at meetings but it is proposed to provide lemonade only at workshops and plant exchanges, unless we have a volunteer to do coffee there. 2012 Here's what's coming in 2012 The programs are firm even if all the details are not yet worked out. Meetings are 9:30 am for coffee; 10 am presentation unless otherwise noted. Potomac Valley Chapter North American Rock Garden Society www.pvcnargs.org February 2012 Program “Extra Dry, On the Rocks” Tour the JC Raulston Arboretum’s Xeric Gardens with Garden Leader, Charlie Kidder When: Saturday February 18 --- 9:30 am coffee; 10 am program Where: Brookside Gardens Visitor Center Auditorium, Wheaton , MD http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/ “The JC Raulston Arboretum (JCRA) has long believed that since plants don’t read, and know nothing of the cultural requirements we ascribe to them, almost any plant is fair game for trialing in the arboretum’s North Carolina Piedmont gardens,” explains Charlie Kidder. The Garden Leader of the xeric gardens at JCRA, Charlie will show us where this open-door plant philosophy has led in the xeric gardens, and tell us about some of its history. Early attempts with xeric plants met with mixed success; even so, some specimens have persisted for more than twenty years. Beginning in late 2006, the JCRA began an expansion of its xeric gardens, with an emphasis on proper bed preparation to improve long-term plant survival. Several years later, a wide variety of plants from the U.S. Southwest, the Mediterranean, South America and Australia have thrived, providing blooms during every season, as well as structural interest throughout the year. Charlie says, “We’ll see the many successes-- along with an unshrinking examination of a few of our duds-- as we take a warts-and-all photographic tour.” About our speaker: Charlie Kidder has been a volunteer at the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh , North Carolina since moving to the area in 2003. He also maintained the entrance gardens at the North Carolina Museum of Art until its expansion. Charlie serves as Garden Leader for the JCRA’s xeric gardens, conducts tours and has served on the Board of Advisors for four years. A regular gardening columnist for the Crozet (VA) Gazette, Charlie is an occasional contributor to the Triangle Gardener. Currently gardening on a Zone 7B-but-almost-Zone 8 half-acre in Cary , North Carolina , Charlie will try to grow almost anything, but is partial to agaves, yuccas and other prickly plants. When: March 3 Where: Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, MD Steven Whitesell, Landscape Architect, "Small Rock Garden Design: In Celebration of Artifice"