37th NARGS Western Winter Study Weekend in Everett, Washington - a few pix

[Lori S.]

I had the pleasure of attending the recent 37th NARGS Western Winter Study Weekend in Everett, Washington from March 9-11 - my first NARGS event!  (And, as the only member of the nominating committee in attendance, I also had the honour of attending the 2012 NARGS Annual Meeting - very interesting!)  As the Winter Study Weekend was a very enjoyable and informative event that I think would be great interest to other members, I thought I'd post a few photos from the displays and garden visits.

The hall outside the banquet and presentation room was the site of trough displays and book sales.  Here are but a few of the beautiful troughs that were on display - many were fish-box troughs, and there was an excellent demo on making these, as well.  (Pardon the photo quality - my camera reacted badly to the reflections from the bank of windows behind the display!)
Arenaria ex. Wallowa Mts., Androsace carnea and Gentiana verna in a gorgeous pumice trough:


A splendid planting of Salix candida 'Silver Fox', Taxus cuspidata Nana Aurescens, Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana' and Cyclamen coum:


Chamaecyparis obtusa cv., Saxifraga cv., Asplenium scolopendrium and A. trichomanes, Iris reticulata 'Harmony', Thymus 'Highland Cream':


Saxifraga paniculata ssp. minutissima (red-backed form), Saxifraga 'Whitehill', Primula 'Wharfedale Ling', Arenaria sp., Saxifraga bronchialis:

[Lowry]

Betty Lowry's garden was open on Monday March 12 for Study Weekend guests.  Over night it snowed 5" and the garden looked like this on March 13.

[Spiegel]

It must have melted by the time Elisabeth Zander and I got there in the afternoon.  The garden was my highlight of the weekend.  Many years ago Harold Epstein told me if I was ever in Washington near Seattle, Betty's garden was not to be missed.  He was so right.  The whole Meeting was really excellent, well-planned and a lot of fun.  Congratulations and thank you to all the people who worked so hard for so long to make this a wonderful event.

[RickR]

Betty, your garden is so nice in the snow, I can only imagine what it might look like when all the plants are to be seen!

Thanks for posting, and welcome to the forum!

[Lori S.]

Hello, it is great to see you posting here, Betty and Ned!  
It was such a delight to see your garden... truly the most beautiful garden I've ever seen!  We were fortunate to get there after the snow, as well, when everything looked green and fresh and spring-like again, and enjoyed a most gracious tour all through the garden... and marvelled at the extensive alpine beds, the fabulous plants, the many greenhouses and even an alpine house!  
I can't even imagine the design skill involved in creating such a wonderful garden - the placement of every bed and shrub and tree struck me as absolute perfection.  Did it evolve area by area, or did you have a grand plan for it from the beginning?  
I was deeply impressed too by the huge raised alpine beds... and also by the alpine bed along the driveway constructed of what appeared to be a pebbly conglomerate (actually recycled concrete slabs - brilliant!)
Thank you so much for opening your garden!  

Here is but a tiny glimpse of the beauty of the Lowry garden (seen above in brief snow cover, and shown here later in the day), for those who were not so lucky as to see it in person:

                  


I join Anne in congratulating all who were involved in making the WSW such an enjoyable event!  Thank you for your hard work!