Rock Garden Quarterly

... and I took it that way Cliff - sorry if it sounded like anything else !!

Just to let people know that I haven't forgotten that I said I'd put up some parts of the Quarterly on the website for those who aren't members. Took a little while to get permission from AdCom and now I'm knee-deep in the spring issue but I will get to it - promise.

Haven't managed to get parts of the winter issue posted on the site yet (but new webmaster Chris and I have started discussing it). But if I haven't managed that I have just managed to get the proofs finalized with Allen Press - so the spring issue should be dispatched on or before March 25th if no unexpected problems crop up.

Allen Press have now dispatched copies of the Spring issue of the Quarterly so it is even now winging or crawling its way across North America and the rest of the world. I reckon it looks pretty good and the only mistake I've noticed is an error in my own email address which is correct in my profile here and was correct in the previous issue. Had to revise the page (back of Contents page) to meet up with USPS regulations and have obviously managed to create the error then.

Anyway - it's in the post!

Rather staggered to hear that Len Lehman in Pennsylvania had his copy at the end of last week (less than a week from dispatch in Kansas). Maybe post is quicker this time since we're not up against Christmas this time.

Mark

As a contributor you have some extra copies coming your way from Bobby Ward as well as your own member's copy. Interesting to know which arrive first.

Glad the cover appeals - its always good to have an image that works (thank you for that) and that's relevant to one of the main articles inside.

You did really well Trond - I don't know who has yet got it in the UK. But it got to you really quickly which is great.

Arrived here at the bottom of civilization a day or two ago...... :D

Cheers Dave.

Looks like UK and Australia to go - yours did really well Dave. Hope to get down to your area this next January - maybe we can meet up.

And I'm glad the Allium article grabbed you Stephen - every time I edit an article about an article from a real enthusiast about almost any group of plants I want to grow them. So I got more Allium seed from the Surplus Seed distribution (as well as rosulate viola seed which I'm trying to germinate after the article about them) .... and anyway, I'm fascinated by what an extreme salad is .... and what's your avatar/picture?

As far as UK is concerned - it seems to take about 3 weeks away from Christmas - so you might just get it before the International Ian & Maggi, and Cliff.

McGregor wrote:

Looks like UK and Australia to go - yours did really well Dave. Hope to get down to your area this next January - maybe we can meet up.

That would be really great Malcolm.

Please let me know closer to the time of your plans.

Cheers Dave.

The RGQ arrived on the west coast of Canada today.  Beautiful layout and photos making it very attractive to pick up and dip into.

Got  mine today too.  Another very compelling issue!  Great job to all involved!

Looks like north-east Scotland is ahead of England for deliveries!

It turned up in my post shortly after posting the last comment - of course!

Sorry not to have been in touch with people here - but along with Cliff and Fermi and quite a few others we were meeting up at the 8th International Rock Garden Conference in Nottingham, UK. Great sweep of lectures by a swathe of world experts. Lots of NARGS members were there so I'm sure the news about the event will filter through to people in a whole host of ways.

Anyway I'm now working on the next issue although the deadline for stuff is not quite yet as I'm traveling a bit in May and then over to the Annual in NH in June - really looking forward to meeting up with everyone. Don't think people will quite have the Quarterly before the Annual but it should be with them pretty quickly after they get back.

..... and Ian gave a great presentation based on his garden and the growing principles behind it - enthusiasm radiated from the stage !

Just to keep people in touch with progress - the latest Quarterly is now at the printers being proofed and will finally be signed off immediately after the Annual so the new Officers and Board members elected will be listed. Should be in the post by July 6th.

We are now on our third account manager in four issues since I took over - not my fault honestly - but I'm hoping that we can get the sort of output we are looking for.

As anticipated the Fall issue of the Quarterly went into the post in Kansas yesterday (July 6th) - it's always good to know that it is on it's way to people just as I'm starting to work on the next issue. In response to feedback I have tried with the printer to address the problem of rather low key color and density. Hope the results please you. I'm pretty happy with it.

Well spotted Mark - now the summer issue is in the post I'm starting work on the fall issue - sorry about that.

And my own copy has now arrived in the post with all the extras for the seed exchange. This year I'm going to make every effort not to lose the forms that are needed - already collected some seed and will make the effort to package it up properly and post it off in good time with all the paperwork.

Looking at the latest copy after a couple of weeks break it really does look like we are starting to get somewhere with the reproduction of photographs - this time both color and the density of the pictures seem to be what I've been aiming for. And with the quality of the pictures that people submit I feel that high-quality printing is vital. This time there were some great pictures from Yoko Arakawa that really needed the improved quality to show just how good they were, a range of pictures for the Allium article and thanks to all the photographers, and I was really happy with the way that Lori Chips's drawings came out, and the pics in Marilyn Farr's article on the Picos de Europa.

Now all we have to do is try and maintain the same high standard for the Fall issue - among other things there will be the second part of Stephanie Ferguson's article focussing on some of the stunning plants she's growing.

It's not here yet!  What sense does that make?  Perhaps it is backlogged by the recent though very brief postal strike.

Sorry for that Lori. Not sure what the normal time is for it to get to Calgary but it was posted out on the 6th and usually most people have it inside three weeks. So I'd expect it to arrive in the next few days.

The fall issue of the Quarterly is now in the post (well done again to Allen Press) - so members should be receiving it over the next three weeks. Nice to get it out by the end of September which is on target. And we have a few days of heatwave - hotter than it has been all summer!

As always there are some great pictures in the Quarterly - Stephanie Ferguson gives us the second part of her account of her magnificent crevice garden with pictures of some stunning plants. And among other nice contributions: Rock Gardening from Scratch is about planting containers, David Sellars writes about building a tufa cliff, and Doris Taggart discusses some of the plants that can be seen in the Columbia River Gorge in March (just in time for the Annual Meeting in WA).

Pretty cover as well!

Enjoy
- Malcolm

And for those who wonder what I do the rest of the time - I've been getting my adult students started on their literature course over the last three weeks, and preparing presentations for the Mason-Dixon Chapter on October 15th and two presentations for the New York tri-state meeting on October 16th. Hope to meet up with many of you at one or other of those events.

M

Sorry Mark - those aren't mentioned (and your links are all identical which makes life more difficult) but if you fancy writing a note on them for the Quarterly as an addition to the piece by Doris please feel free. I'm looking forward to seeing the spring flowers in the CRG - only been there much later.

And thanks Rick & Mark - we all love hearing that people are happy with what we're doing.

Just been and looked at the links and Allium robinsonii looks great - unfortunately it's probably not going to be in flower in March but what a stunner!

That sounds like you don't still have it.