Third Czech International Rock Garden Conference -May 2017

[Maggi Young]

From the Committee:

"How are you doing during this week? Today some information about Jiri (known also as the Alpine Parrot) Papousek's garden

 Jiri in his garden combines various features, enabling him to grow a wide range of plants with quite different requirements. You can see here two areas with crevices from limestone and also from slate, collected during construction of new highway. All slate stones were manually loaded on trailer  with help of his sons Vaclav and Ondrej. On the East side of house Jiri built a 10 metres long tunnel covered with the roof and with  tufa wall inside. Tufa was transported again on trailer with manual loading from quarry located 700 km from the garden. Tunnel shows encouraging results in a cultivation of various plants like dionysias, saxifragas, dwarf daphnes etc. In other part of the garden you can see  raised beds from granite and  peat blocks on more shaded sides. There is also new alpine house for the cultivation in pots. Jiri likes to propagate wide range of plants from cuttings, his main focus are cushion plants, daphnes and dionysias.

[Maggi Young]

Next garden lined up for visits....
"As gardens may be known to those who attended the conference last years we promise you to see the changes and improvements.
 Garden Jiří Pospíšil, Dobřichovice
 Here is a memorial of late Ota Vlasák design of rock garden from the local limestone boulders, setting to the layers by heavy machinery. The layers are broad, massive. Regularly pinched Pinus mugo decorate the outcrop built in the front of an ancient cottage of late parents of the owner Iva Pospíšilová. Blue Moltkia petraea is nice spot on the high ridge above south facing side ridges. There is perfect top dressing among cushion forming alpines. Good to see is elegant pale pink marble trough with tufa and smaller plants. Saxifraga longifolia loves this stony place.
 Garden is modern and large with nice rhododendrons, conifers and huge Magnolia tree. There is romantic pool with water cleaning plants suitable for swimming. Visitors enjoy hospitality of Iva, having coffee in big open fire place pavilion or tasting pumping beer during conference."

[Maggi Young]

More photos form the garden of  Jiří Pospíšil and Iva Pospíšilová

[Maggi Young]

Next garden on the conference list....

"We are able offer a visit of very mature universal rock garden and natural garden in cooler nest placed to the northern bottom of Brdy Mts.
 Garden  of Jiří Sládek, Malý Osek
 The cooler microclimate with small brook and great care of the owner make an oasis after visiting gardens in hot Czech Karst. Soil is neutral to acid here so everybody enjoys nice collection of rhododendrons, rare conifers, woodland plants and spring bulbs. Alpines are seen in groups of troughs and small outcrops made from different stones. There is pleasant turf and fresh baked refreshment offered by Mrs. Sládková. The owner Jiří Sládek is lover of experiments with rock garden plants including dwarf Daphnes. Pond is very natural enhanced with horizontal layers of limestone slabs and colours of nice shrubs and smaller conifers. Acers are in good shape here, Cedrus atlantica is shaped into friendly gate."

[Maggi Young]

more from the garden of  Jiří Sládek

[Maggi Young]

Last but not least, the garden of  Zdeněk Zvolánek.

 "Zdenek Zvolanek (ZZ), the famous Czech crevice gardener, designer and builder has been rock gardening for 40 years at the 'Beauty Slope' above village Karlik in the Czech Karst. At the rented property (Czech Republic State Forest) in the state reservation called Beauty Slope there is 50 years old story of rock gardening; first lazy work in only for the weekend used recreational garden and then quite intensive rock work and planting dry tolerating plants for last 20 years. The garden has natural dolerite cliff (a remain of a medieval monk quarry) but plenty of structures looking like a weak crevice bed; it is a school example how to set alkaline volcanic stones into visible order. No rhododendrons are here to be seen. Rock garden is not watered last 6 years. The plants are mainly from Western Northern America, The Balcan Peninsula and Turkey. Moltkias, Aethionemas, Acantholimons, Dianthus, Daphnes and Sempervivums are the strongest players. The front crevice outcrop at the street is made from local limestone slabs. At the patio terrace is now fresh tufa miniature rock gardens with smaller alpines and watering. The rock garden is very large for a private person."

[Maggi Young]

some plants from the "Beauty Slope"

Convolvulus cneorum


Lewisia cotyledon


Daphne


Daphne


Sternbergia sicula

[Maggi Young]

last from ZZ -  Gentian clusii subsp. clusii 'Zdenek'

[ranunculus]

Well, our flights are booked … Easyjet have a sale starting today … so roll on May 2017 and our second visit to beautiful sunny Prague.  Who else is going?

[fermi de Sousa]

Will and I are booked in and flights too!
I think a certain Pixie may also be looking at a return visit!
cheers
fermi

[Maggi Young]

There are still some places left - so if anyone is thinking about a return visit, or going to the  Czech Republic for the first time, I'd suggest making a booking as soon as possible. You'll have a wonderful time! Interesting conference speakers and gardens to visit that are beyond super.

[Yann]

Gonna try to do the return trip in 48h, already busy with travels in the mountains at the same dates.

[Maggi Young]

Update of the  Preliminary Program

• Wednesday 10.5.2017
  • Registration (afternoon)
  • Dinner
  • Introduction
  • Lecture 1: Robert Wallis - "Reaching the Heights of Turkey"
    
• Thursday 11.5.2017
  • Lecture 2: Brigitte Fiebig and Michael Mauser – “Plant exploration in  Iran with BG Tubingen”
  • Lecture 3: Zdeněk Zvolánek  – “The Crevice Garden and its Plants”
  • Lunch
  • the Pruhonice park (alpinum)
  • Lecture 4: David Rankin – “Searching for long-lost primulas”
  • Dinner
  • Lecture 5: Panayoti Kelaidis – "Keeping in Steppe: cushions and rock plants from the semi-arid plateaus of the world, and how to grow them in a garden setting"
    
• Friday 12.5.2017
  • Lecture 6: Vojtěch Holubec – “Chinese flowering Paradise”
  • Lecture 7: Henrik Zetterlund – “Bulbs in nature, in the GBG and in my private garden”
  • Lunch
  • Lecture 8: Martin Hajman – “The arctic rock garden in Tromsř”
  • the Pruhonice park (botanical garden)
  • Social dinner (raut)
    
• Saturday 13.5.2017
  • Garden Tour
  • free evening without dinner
    
• Sunday 14.5.2017
  • Garden Tour
  • Concert (Marika Singers)
  • Farewell dinner
    
• Monday 15.5.2017
  • May Exhibit of the Prague Rock Garden Club

[fermi de Sousa]

   

• Sunday 14.5.2017
  • Garden Tour
  • Concert (Marika Singers)
        

Cultural AND Horticultural!
So looking forward to this conference
cheers
fermi

[/list]

[Maggi Young]

Just about 15 spaces left for this event - book quickly or miss out!!