Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
SRGC Shows and Events => Events => Topic started by: Maggi Young on June 24, 2013, 11:23:34 AM
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Scottish Rock Garden Club 1933- 2013- Anniversary Party
2013 is our 80th anniversary. A birthday party was held at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre on Sunday 23rd June. The day included talks by two of our long-standing supporters, picnic lunch and a chance to visit the Explorers Garden.
The day began with tea and coffee.Lectures for the day were by Ron McBeath and our friend Panayoti Kelaidis from Denver Botanic Garden.
Lunch was a picnic - literally!
Later there were refreshments in the Douglas Pavilion at 3:30 p.m.
The weather was not as good as might have been hoped for late June, but a photo has arrived to show the assembled crowd from the event - thanks to Anton Edwards for these 8)
Scottish Rockers celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the Club - assembled outside the Explorers' Garden
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( this photo is wide and will require scrolling to see the whole group - but I wanted to let you see everyone as clearly as possible!!
Panayoti travelled from the USA for the event - but he was beaten in the air-miles stakes by Kim Roberts from New Zealand ! Kim is sitting ( on the large rock, left, next to Jean the Wyllie Wifie) in the front row
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To our great regret, Ian and I were unable to attend this historical party (we are both unwell at the moment)
- imagine our increased chagrin when we saw these pictures of the meconopsis on offer......
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The blue poppies are often associated with Scotland, since they grow so well here and , of course, they are the symbol of the Explorers' Garden so they were a fitting subject for this tea-time treat ;D
I do not know who made all those yummy cup-cakes - they do look to have been a cheery reflection of a happy occasion.
Long Live the SRGC!
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Get well soon, 'you'se two's' - it wouldn't have been a 'proper' party without you both - though the gathering looks ready for fun.
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This must be catching.... sure hope we all recover quickly.... Must have been a great party folks, even if it does look a bit chilly.
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There are a lot of happy faces there, Christine, as you say, in spite of the "summer" weather ;)
Ours is a splinter group : the Scottish (W)RECKED Gardeners Club ;) ;D
- may we all at least be just "creaking gates"
From : a creaking gate hangs longest
a proverb that ill people often live longer than healthy ones. ( a creaking gate still always works, it just creaks a lot !) :) :)
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To return the conversation to a more civilised level - my best wishes for a speedy recovery for all those who were unable to attend as they were 'under the weather' :-*
We were under a different kind of weather and I have many pictures (including people!) to post when I get back home from work later.
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Thank you Peter, both for your kind wishes to the sick (and the mischief-makers!) and for the prospect of more photos to come. 8)
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I do not know who made all those yummy cup-cakes - they do look to have been a cheery reflection of a happy occasion.
Julia made the cakes, - on Thursday night when I spoke to her, she still had 200 to ice! Presumably this was a repeat of those done for the Explorers own 10th anniversary earlier in the week? A big thanks must go to Julia and her helpers for organising such an enjoyable party. Apart from the events yesterday, she had organised an outing to Keltneyburn on Saturday where 12 of us saw 8 different orchid species, plus some hybrids. No doubt these will be amongst Peter's pics in due course.
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I've finally worked through my pictures of the event on Sunday - it was dry when I got home from work, so weeding took precedence. There are a lot of photos that I haven't included; folks who were there will be relieved that there no pictures of them with eyes half-closed, the backs of their heads, their 'bad' side, etc (with one exception which will be obvious later). I was trying out a new camera with a phenomenal zoom on it, so there are some paparrazi-style photos thorough foliage etc.
1. Let's start with a general view of people chatting at coffee time before the proceeedings began. On photos where there are a lot of people, I have not included names (and on some of the others, there are names missing - it's nothing personal, I have the same problem with plants also). :-\
2. Ron McBeath gave the morning talk with a review of some of the varoius growers, past and present, who were/are of special note in the club's history, and whom he had encountered. I also took some photos of Carole starting the proceedings and Julia introducing Ron, but the lighting in the hall was tricky, and it was difficult to catch people at a moment when they weren't moving.
3, 4, 5. Lunchtime discussions
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6. Further lunchtime discussion: Pearl Dale, Mike Dale, Tom Green and Barry Caudwell.
7. After lunch, as there was time before Panayoti's talk, I wandered up through the Explorers Garden. This Rhododendron 'Mrs T H Lowinsly' was in the peak of condition where other many other rhododendrons were just past their best.
8. First of the paparazzi pictures: Steve McNamarra, Ann Christie, Ian Christie and Jens Nielsen
9. A newly-planted trough on the verandah of the Douglas Pavillion. There were a number of these, all attractively labelled as shown - this was my favourite.
10. The Meconopsis were looking stunning. I have not tried to identify species/varieties, suffice it to sat that they belonged to the blue group (mostly). :D Ann Christie in background
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11. Also in the meconopsis area was this magnificent group of Primula (P. alpicola I presume)
12. Meconopsis close-up
13. Primula and Meconopsis medley
14. A white Meconopsis for variety
15. Raindrops on Meconopsis - a clue as to why they grow so well! ;)
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16. Margaret and Henry Taylor
17. Jim McGregor looking deep in thought as he reads one of the descriptive display boards.
18. The audience settling down for the afternoon talk
19. Afternoon master of ceremonies, Ian Bainbridge.
20. Christine McGregor was there to represent the AGS and convey their best wishes for the SRGC's 80th birthday. The RHS was represented also, but I have no pictures of Colin Crosbie or Jim Gardiner.
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21. Panayoti Kelaidis gave a wide-ranging, and fascinating talk on steppe plants in the afternoon, showing a wide variety of plants from around the various stepe regions of the world that thrive in Denver.
22. Bette Ivey gave the closing address with her usual witty observations: here she is addressing her fans.
23. The audience were still awake!
24. Gathering for the photoshoot which began this thread
25. A patient photographer - Anton Edwards waits for the excited crowd to calm down.
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26, 27, 28. Afternoon Tea was served in the Douglas Pavillion. This gave me the opportunity to take photos of people following me up the path through the garden - and still reach the tea-tent as one of the first in the queue. ;D
29. It was worth the trek.
30. Lionel Clarkson said I should take a picture of a half-eaten cupcake. So I did. ;D ;) ;D
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31. The 80th birthday cake - they were cutting it as I left (3 hour drive home) - I hope it was as good as the cupcakes.
32. You couldn't stop people talking, even with cake. Liz Mills in centre and Stan da Prato on the right.
33, 34. Views inside the Doulgas Pavillion, lined with pictures taken by Julia in Bhutan, and decorated with what looked like Pitlochry's answer to the prayer flags of the Himalaya.
35. At this point I had to leave but these primulas caught my eye as I walked back through the garden.
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36. Couldn't resist a final photo of unsupecting people on the veranda of the Douglas Pavillion.
37. One final plant - a white Dicentra spectabilis
Many thanks to the organising team for a wonderful weekend - I think that special thanks are due to Julia who seemed to be involved in just about everything.
The photos from the previous day's visit to Keltneyburn will follow later.
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What grand pictures, Peter - are you pleased with the new camera's performance?
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Oh yes, especially the 50x zoom. Useful for candid photography. :)
Although I actually bought it for bird photography mainly.
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Oh yes, especially the 50x zoom. Useful for candid photography. :)
Although I actually bought it for bird photography mainly.
Yes, I imagine it will be great for capturing birds - I know how far away you must have been from the Douglas Pavilion to take that verandah shot so grabbing shots of passing birds - or plants at the back of the border - should be a breeze.
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Wonderful account of the day Peter, many thanks for doing that, much appreciated!
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Further pictures from the Pitlochry weekend, this time from the Saturday before the main event. I planned to travel up to the area to visit the Keltneyburn reserve which had been billed (very accurately) as a fabulous orchid site. There was to be a guided walk at 2pm, and arriving in the area a few hours earlier, I decided not to visit any of the gardens in the area in view of the poor weather with frequent passing showers. There had been a report on the internet the previous evening about a Common Rosefinch (they're not at all common in the UK) at Loch Tummel so I decided to head there and try out the new camera. The bird was easily found, with telescope wielding admirers in attendance, so I've included the best of my photos, but in the conditions, it really was pushing the camera to its limits.
38 Common Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus
I'm not really the type to travel long distances just to see a rare bird, but as I was in the area... (Inevitably, having returned home to Newcastle on Sunday, one was reported in Newcastle on the Monday)
I arrived at Keltneyburn just before 2pm in pouring rain to find the assembled group led by Julia (she was everywhere!) standing in waterproofs and sheltered by umbrellas. We spent an hour in the reserve, during time which we were blessed with bright sunshine (and the sight of two Roe deer) before the rain re-started as we reached the cars. In find that on these botanical trips I invariably lag behind after the first plant taking photographs, so can miss out on the 'official' identifications, so the following errors in naming (of the Dactylorhizas especially) are all my own work. ::)
39 Consensus of opinion was that this was a hybrid, possibly Dactylorhiza fuchsii x purpurella, which would make it D. x venusta.
40 Fragrant orchid Gymnadenia conpsea
41 Small White Orchid Pseudorchis albida
42 Greater Butterfly Orchid Platanthera chlorantha. A first for me - I've only seen Lesser Butterfly Orchid before.
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The reserve was certainly living up to it's billing as an orchid-lover's paradise! :D
43, 44 A nice patch of pale Dactylorhizas near the top of the reserve seemed to be definitely Dactylorhiza maculata
45 Prior reconnaissance by Julia with the reserve manager had allowed her to locate a group of Bird's Nest Orchid Neottia nidus-avis under a birch tree
46 Another Neottia, easily overlooked in the lush grass was the Common Twayblade Neottia ovata
47 Back down near the lower part of the reserve, in the last of the sunshine, another Fragrant Orchid Gymnadenia conopsea
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48 Another Dactylorhiza, this time from the bottom of the resrve, seems to me to be a classic Dactylorhiza fuchsii
At this point we returned to the cars and the rain started. Most of the others went of to Cluny Gardens, something that I should have done also, but I was already soaked from kneeling in wet grass to take photographs, and I headed to my hotel to dry off. The weather improved in the evening, so I travelled up onto the moors on the Blairgowrie road to take some atmospheric photographs. I'll finsh with one of those.
49 Pitlochry moorland
Incidentaly, if the hybrid orchid was a fuchsii x purpurela hybrid, I did not see any on the reserve. The were however a lot (2-300) by the road junction with the A9 just north of Pitlochry. Unfortunately there was nowhere nearby to safely stop the car for a photograph, and I did not feel like walking over a quarter of a mile in the pouring rain when I can photograph them nearer home, if not in such large numbers. You'll just have to imagine the scene. ;)
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Excellent images, Peter ... which camera and lens did you eventually purchase?
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Panayoti Kelaidis is clearly enjoying his Scottish visit - he filled a camera card at Ian Christie's place and he's been blogging about onions at the RBGE and reporting exuberantly on the Bainbridge's garden - but again it seems the Brits and the Americans are divided by a common language - the Prezz and her husband live at Woodhouselee not Woodhousely ;) :D
See PK's blog here : http://prairiebreak.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/woodhousely-private-scottish-garden-and.html (http://prairiebreak.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/woodhousely-private-scottish-garden-and.html)
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Cliff,
It's a Canon Powershot SX50 bridge camera, so it has it's limitations, mainly due to the depth of field being greater than I'm used to with an SLR. I find that it's difficult to throw a background out of focus with plant pictures, but for bird photography it's great once you get used to it (I'm a Nikon user normally, and all the buttons are in unfamiliar places!).
The other plus point is that it's small and light, so I'm more likely to carry it on a day to day basis, and it's often said that the best camera in the world is the one you have with you. A further not-so-minor consideration is that to get a similar zoom potential for my Nikon, I would need their new, very heavy 800mm lens (it apparently costs around £15,000 - that's not a typo) and a 1.4x converter (costing a further few hundred pounds). It would be more versatile, but I'm sure my bank manager is happier I chose the lighter option (the 800mm lens weighs about 4.5kg). ;D
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Many thanks, Peter ... I'm considering purchasing a back-up camera for our forthcoming trips to California and New Zealand and there are a brace of bridge cameras that have appealed. Your images are excellent adverts for the Canon. I too am accustomed to Nikons and have always been reluctant to switch allegiances because of lens mounts, etc., but in the case of bridge cameras this doesn't actually apply. it's always good to get the thoughts of a knowledgable, expert and well-practiced user, many thanks.
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Nice to see what I missed Peter. Looks as if everyone was enjoying themselves.
Wish I was able to take pictures like you have done and with a new camera. I have had my Canon for two years now and I still can't figure it out.
Angie :)
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Cliff, perhaps I should also mention that is takes 12Mp Raw files and has good image stabilisation, quite impressive in a bridge camera. Apparently it's become very popular with bird photographers, both here and in the USA since it was introduced about six months ago. I've posted a few pictures in 'General subjects > Wildlife June 2013' today as well.
California and New Zealand - I have to say I'm exceedingly jealous. Do you want someone to carry your bags? 8)
Angie, I may not have had this camera long, but I've been taking photographs since the age of ten, so that's er.... a long time. Eventually it all begins to sink in. ;)
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Sandy Leven's two personal reports of the Pitlochry Party Day are now on the main website - in two parts - links are below
SRGC Pitlochry Celebration Part 1 (http://files.srgc.net/general/Pitlochry80thpart1.pdf)
SRGC Pitlochry Celebration Part 2 (http://files.srgc.net/general/Pitlochry80thpart2.pdf)
These are quite large files and may take a few minutes to download.