Study Weekend Reports?

IMYoung wrote:

Hi, Folks,
just wondering if anyone attending the recent Western Study weeekend or the upcoming Eastern weekend will be coming online here to give us a flavour of these events?
(said quietly and in a voice full of hope!)

I will be there for the Eastern Study Weekend at Devens, MA.  I live a mere 6 miles from the event, so might actually "run" over to the event as 5-6 mile runs are my standard daily fair, but to keep from being totally sweaty upon arrival, maybe I'll drive on over ;D  I'll bring a camera and notepad, and hope to report back with a summary of the event.

And the Young's won't be the only one interested . . .

(Note; Linda Boley from the Rocky Mountain Chapter of NARGS reported on the 2010 WWSW Meeting in Medford, Oregon.  Following is her report)

Five Days in Medford, Oregon (March 5-7)

A big thank you to NARGS, the Siskiyou Chapter, and all those who worked so hard to present a wonderful Western Winter Study Weekend in Medford, Oregon.

This was my first Study Weekend and my first time in Oregon. I was fortunate to receive a stipend from both the national and my local Colorado NARGS chapter. What an opportunity. Thank you all.

I flew out of and back into Denver with the dominant colors being brown and white. Medford however, welcomed me with the color green and trees and shrubs in full bloom. Yes, even the rhododendrons and camellias were blooming. If I hadn’t had my suitcase stuffed with great new rock garden plants needing a new home, I would have stayed longer to bask in more of Medford’s wonderful spring gardens and countryside.

The eight of us from Colorado managed to squeezed in just about every event, lecture, garden, restaurant, and nursery that was possible. The garden tours were the highlight for me. Everyone was so welcoming and knowledgeable and the gardens so fascinating with many specimens not found in our zone 5. Although they were in the early stages of their spring, there was much to see. I enjoyed the variety of garden layouts, hardscapes, garden art, and plant varieties.

With the help of our GPS Garmin and Lee Curtis’s astute driving ability, we managed to locate all our destinations and more. The countryside had amazing scenery for my Colorado eyes with large balls of mistletoe clutching the leafless limbs of the oaks; huge, majestic evergreens; and rolling hills of vineyards. Mosses and lichens covered the trees, rocks, fences, etc. Oh, to have more of that ‘friendly, aging-character’ here.

John Grimshaw’s plant excursion of Ethiopia was very informative culturally and botanically. Most of the country is under cultivation or heavily grazed by livestock and yet there were very nice pockets of interesting plants including the 18 foot Lobelia rhynchopetalum trees. Rick Lupp gave use good growing, cultivation and propagating tips for daphnes. I’ll be trying more with better drainage and adding a little pellet fertilizer in late winter. M. Nevin Smith presented a very nice list of “New Plants from the Wilds of California”. It was interesting to hear the wholesale nursery’s point of view on the struggles with sale-ability and public popularity when growing plants. Kelly Dodson and Sue Milliken gave us a very entertaining and informative plant hunting tour of China - kilt and all.  Mike Bone was at his best as he toured us through the “Golden Mountains of Central Asia and One Day in the Tien Shan”- great plants and great adventure stories.

Thank you for the opportunity to attend my first NARGS conference, Linda Boley.

Hi, Linda!  Many thanks for this report on your first NARGS Study Weekend.... from the enthusiam you show, I'm guessing it is not likely to be your last.
Really good to hear that grants(stipends)  are available to help to visit these events.

The Talks sound grand and you and your fellows seem to have really made best use of your time and done a great job of fitting in all the activities, even all the visits.... Good Job!

I'll bet that before you attended this event you would never have imagined how much fun it would be or how much you would learn !?!

Sharing your thoughts  and reactions to the event with us all is not only a way of getting those of us not able to attend up to spped with the happenings, but it will surely let "newbies" know that it is well worth joining in the next one of the Study weekends... and I hope, that will also hold true for many NARGS folks who will be encouraged to visit the UK next Spring to attend the 8th International Rock Garden Conference_Alpines 2011 in Nottingham, England, in April.
See this link for more information:
www.alpinegardensociety.net/events/Eighth+International+Rock+Garden+Conf...

This is a truly exciting international event where you can meet and discuss with like-minded happy plant lovers for days on end! Ian and I will look forward to seeing many of you there!  :)