SRGC DISCUSSION WEEKEND- and SHOW Friday 4th – Sunday 6th October 2013

[Maggi Young]

DISCUSSION WEEKEND  Friday 4th – Sunday 6th October 2013

This weekend has been organised to take place in the Grant Arms Hotel, Grantown on Spey
http://www.visitgrantown.co.uk/

Provisional Programme

Friday 4th October
1500 Registration
1945 President’s welcome
2000 The Jim Archibald Lecture - Elsa Pooley: Bulbs of South Africa
2100 The small bulb exchange

Saturday 5th October
0800 Plant staging
0930 Local woodland walks, excursions and visits
1030 Show, plant sales (open to the public)
1345 Clint Callens: The quiet charm of Paris and Podophyllum
1445 Alan Furness: Growing celmisias in a Northumberland garden
1600 The Harold Esslemont Lecture - Martin Sheader:
Exploring for plants in Patagonia
1830 Drinks reception, conference dinner, show presentations and plant auction

Sunday 6th October
0915 Elsa Pooley: Plants of the Drakensberg
1100 The William Buchanan Lecture - Chris Brickell: Cultivating daphnes
1200 Show and plant sales open
1330 Malcolm McGregor: A world full of saxifrages?
1440 The John Duff Lecture - John Mitchell:
Rock gardening developments at the RBGE
1530  1600  President's closing comments .

We are delighted to have been able to retain the cost of the
weekend at under £198 per person for the weekend for two persons
sharing (see the Secretary’s pages for full price details and order form). The
preceding Thursday night or following Sunday nights are both available at
£65 ppn DB&B. Outside this period the Grant Arms will welcome your
company at the normal rate.

Accommodation at the Grant Arms Hotel is in double, twin or single rooms. If you book a
twin or double room please indicate the name of the person with whom you are sharing
on the reverse of the booking form. Otherwise, we will use our judgement in finding you a
room-mate. The Grant Arms Hotel has 48 bedrooms once these are filled we will accommodate
delegates in the Garth Hotel a minute’s walk across the Square.

If you have any further queries please contact Carol Shaw at:
(srgcsec@googlemail.com).

We look forward to seeing you all in October.

Some details about the Speakers for the Weekend :

Elsa Pooley is a South African who has lead tours which Have been enjyed by SRGC members.
See: http://www.pooley.co.za/

Clint Callens is one of the young members of the plant-loving Callens family of Belgium. Their nursery is a treasure trove of Trillium and the like!   http://www.greenmilenursery.be/

Alan Furness is the Wizard of Hexham- capable of growing all sorts of dificult plants and someone who has really "cracked" the method of keeping New Zealand alpines happy in his Northumberland garden - and on the show bench! He holds a National Collection of Celmisias. Alan is a familair figure at SRGC weekends, he has attended for many years. http://www.alpinegardensociety.ie/sources/AGS%20Newsletter%2048%20Summer%202007.pdf

Martin Sheader, more often than not in company with his wife, Anna-Liisa another  plant enthusiast, is known for his plants and also for his travels - he is a recognised expert on the plants of South America and his appearance at the DWE will be eagerly awaited. He is currently cooperating on a photographic guide to the mountain flowers of Patagonia due for publication in 2013.     

Chris Brickell- Edit July 2013 - Chris is no longer able to attend- see  post below:
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10060.msg281861#msg281861

Malcolm McGregor,  a major figure in the world of Saxifraga is the author of "Saxifrages: A Definitive Guide to the 2000 Species, Hybrids & Cultivars."  Malcolm served very successfully as Editor of the SRGC Journal The Rock Garden and is now lending his expertise as Editor for the North American Rock Garden Society's Quarterly publication. Again,  Malcolm is no stranger to SRGC  weekends.
http://www.timberpress.com/speakers/author?id=1328


John Mitchell is the Alpines Supervisor at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh convenor of the SRGC Edinburgh Group and Chairman of the Meconopsis Group.  John is known here as a Forumist, of course.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-19063530




Attached-
Details of the weekend and other attractions  Discussion Weekend 2013.pdf (120.16 kB - downloaded 257 times.)

Booking form    SRCDWEbookingformpdf.pdf (147.96 kB - downloaded 206 times.)

[Maggi Young]

Very few places left- book soon to avoid missing out!

[Carol Shaw]

All the residential accommodation at the Discussion Weekend is now booked  If you would like to attend please e-mail me srgc.sec@googlemail.com and I will put your name on a waiting list. We could take a maximum of four more day delegates, if you are interested in going this route then take a look at the Ravenscourt House Hotel http://www.ravenscourthouse.co.uk and the Culdearn House Hotel http://www.culdearn.com

You'll still need to book with me as day delegates and send in your booking form and cheque - please e-mail me before making a final booking at either hotel to confirm we still have space 

[Maggi Young]

Stop press - news about the DWE -

Carol Shaw tells me that due to a cancellation, there is  one
twin bedded room available at the Discussion Weekend in the Grant Arms.
The person, or persons, who book this will need to be reasonably fit as they
will have to climb a flight of stairs and walk along a corridor to the room,
nothing arduous but no good for anyone needing lift access.

A chance to grab the last available room!

[Maggi Young]

A little reminder of  last year's DWE - today I received from Reiver's Team member Ann Sinclair, these photos....

 The first is of the rock garden bed created in the garden of the Cairndale Hotel - see here for pix of the construction work from 2012  http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=8113.msg258265#msg258265

SRGC bed in 2013


and the second is of a raffle prize .....
Ann Sinclair was the subject of much amusement when her raffle number came up and she sent her husband, Ian, out to collect a prize, saying, "pick 'e deid-lookin' ane" ( choose the pot that appears dead.....) - well, it's not looking so dead  in Ann's garden now, is it? Ann sends  her thanks to John Amand for donating her super prize, this  Cypripedium

[Maggi Young]

A change to the advertised programme :
Unfortunately Chris Brickell is no longer able to attend.

His place is taken by Jiří Papoušek from the Czech Republic. 
Jiří  is a customer care specialist in worldwide express company. He visits  the European mountains regularly every year: his favourite place is the area of Lago di Garda in the Northern Italy. He is an enthusiastic grower of cushion plants, dwarf conifers and especially daphnes. Around his house you can find several crevice rock garden constructions and he has just  built an alpine tunnel with a large tufa wall.
He was one of the organisers of the recent Czech conference and is a popular speaker.
Jiří  will talk on 'Propagating and Growing Daphnes from Cuttings to Crevice Garden'.

[Maggi Young]

There has been  a very late cancellation for the DWE and so  there is a double/twin room available at the Garth Hotel for this exciting event   4th -6th October 2013.

A super opportunity for any of you who are able to make travel arrangements at short notice   

Anyone interested needs to e-mail or phone Carol Shaw  by Monday evening (30th September) please.

srgc.sec@googlemail.com     01309 641 405

[David Shaw]

We are ready and waiting for YOU!
Rain overnight has now cleared. The rest of the weekend is now forcast to be grey, cool but DRY.
Enjoy

[Brian Ellis]

Hope you all have a great time. 

[Anthony Darby]

Enjoy yourselves, and here's hoping there's a good bar. 

[David Shaw]

Two full shelves plus a cobinet of malts. I think we should enjoy ourselves - hic!

[David Nicholson]

A cobinet of malts? Have you been at 'em already David?

[David Shaw]

Oooo, and I can't even claim that the 'a' and the 'o' are adjacent keys .
Day one over: complaints - nil: minor hicups - few: fun factor - massive: good result!

[Maggi Young]

Weather here very nice - hotel comfortable  and talks going well Show pretty with good colour- Forrest Medal turns out to be awarded to a Cyclamen mirabile from Roma Fiddes. Some other forumists featuring in prizewinners too and local "stars" like Tina Finch.
 
Kent Gardener (John Finch) battered his flight bag until it fitted the template, to avoid a large charge each way for hold luggage from Easyjet  and was awarded an ovation from his fellow travellers!
 
Peter and Beryl Bland were  tired after their VERY long train journey but Peter was still able to pass on kind wishes from Tony Willis.

President Carole was pleased to rediscover the charming  Belgian custom for three kisses from Clint Callens, one of today's speakers- who geve us a super talk on Paris and Podophyllum.

Angie , Darren and Hans Joschko- among others, would have loved Elsa Pooley's talk last night on some great South African bulbs.

Food good - just thought I'd add that as an afterthought!!

[David Nicholson]

Kent Gardener (John Finch) battered

Must have been at David Shaw's cobinet

Well done to Roma, was this her first Forrest?

Have a great time everyone.