MeetingsQuestions?PublicationsSeed ExchangeBooksGardensSlides & VideosLinks

National MeetingsLocal ChaptersSpeakers' Tour

New England Chapter

of the

North American Rock Garden Society

Loiseleuria procumbensMembership in the New England Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society is $10 per year (2008). Membership is open to all members of NARGS (National membership is required). The Chapter's primary focus is on NARGS members who garden in eastern Massachusetts (Worcester County and east), New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island and parts of Vermont.

The New England Chapter meets eight to nine times a year. It publishes four or five newsletters a year (which may optionally be sent by email). Newsletters are normally mailed about 3-4 weeks prior to the February, April, September and November meetings. There is a Chapter library. The Chapter has a spring rare plant auction and a September seeding sale, and sponsors several alpine/rock garden plant shows at monthly meetings. The Chapter often sponsors sales tables for member's use at the June Tower Hill Botanic Garden Sale and the fall Society Row Sale.

Chapter meetings normally begin about 10 am and end in mid-afternoon. The meetings usually feature two speakers, or a speaker and a discussion topic. We sometimes have speakers from overseas. There is normally a hospitality hour and BYO lunch at noon. Meetings are held on Saturday or Sunday at the Waltham (MA) Field Station, Garden in the Woods (Framingham, MA) or at the Goodnow Library in Sudbury, MA.

Some New England Chapter meetings may be held at outstanding public or private gardens throughout New England to give members an opportunity to observe choice plants expertly grown. Many years the Chapter sponsors a weekend getaway to visit gardens and talk about plants.

The Chapter holds an annual meeting in October or November which features a nationally known speaker, lunch and presentation of awards. In addition to the NARGS Chapter Service Award, the New England Chapter occasionally awards the Walter F. Winkler Award to an outstanding plant person

The New England Chapter sponsors a sub-chapter: Maine Members of NARGS. For information about the Maine group, contact Ann Guild or Robert Garcia.



Please note that the late summer and fall meetings have been moved so that they occur later in the year.
The seedling sale is now in early September, and the annual meeting is in early November.


Chair Dianne Huling
Vice Chair Rosemary Monahan
Secretary Helen Herold
Treasurer Ernie Flippo
Editor Helga Andrews

2008
 Speaker/Topic Site
Saturday, February 9, 2008 There will be no official plant show, but bring anything that looks good for show & tell.
10:30 Brief business meeting.
11:00 Plants of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with an Emphasis on Ericaceous Species. Speakers: Sally and John Perkins
12:00 BYO Lunch. Last names M-R please bring snacks.
1:00 Panel discussion: Annuals for the Rock Garden. Chapter members Mike Saganich, Jan Sacks, and Rosemary Monahan will get the discussion started, but we invite everyone to participate.

 Sudbury Grange, Sudbury, MA
Saturday, March 8, 2008
 10:15 Plant show setup.
10:30 Brief business meeting.
11:00 Trips to Yunnan - Chinese plants and how to grow them. Speaker: Ted Elliman, who works at GITW, is a very good botanist on New England flora, and also has travelled often in Yunnan Province in China
12:00 BYO Lunch. Last names S-Z please bring snacks.
12:30 Plant show judging ends.
12:45 Discussion of plant show.
1:00 Panel discussion: The first 3 plants you would take along if moving house. Leader: chapter member Ernie Flippo

March Plant Show Classes
1. Bulb, corm or tuber
2. Rock garden plant
3. Alpine house plant
4. Primulacea
5. Woodland plant
6. Foliage plant
7. Open class
8. Trough or container

 Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA
Saturday, April 12, 2008
 10:15 Plant show setup.
10:30 Brief business meeting.
11:00 From Emerald Carpet to Amber Wave: Serene and Sensuous Plants for the Garden (Native Ferns, Moss and Grasses). Speaker: Bill Cullina
12:00 BYO Lunch. Last names A-F please bring snacks.
12:30 Plant show judging ends.
12:45 Discussion of plant show.
1:00 Panel discussion: Favorite Nurseries Near and Far. Leader: TBA

April Plant Show Classes
1. Bulb, corm or tuber
2. Rock garden plant
3. Alpine house plant
4. Primula
5. Primulacea other than Primula
5. Woodland plant
6. Foliage plant
7. Dwarf shrub or conifer, no bonsai
8. 3 pots, rock garden plants
9. 3 pots, woodland plants
10. Trough or container
11. Open class

 Goodnow Library, Sudbury, MA
Saturday, May 3, 2008 10:30 Brief business meeting.
11:00 Trough Gardening. Speaker: Betsy Knapp from Rochester, NY
12:00 BYO Lunch. Last names G-L please bring snacks.
1:00 Rare and Choice Plant Auction - Ernie Flippo, Auctioneer.
Please bring plants to donate (and money to buy rarities you must acquire).

 Waltham Field Station, Waltham, MA
June 2008 Garden visits: TBA
Saturday, Sept 6, 2008 10:30 Set up for seedling sale
11:15 Brief business meeting.
11:30 Show and tell about any especially interesting seedlings or plants.
12:00 BYO Lunch. Last names M-R please bring snacks.
1:00 The annual Seedling Sale.

 Waltham Field Station, Waltham, MA
Saturday, Oct 18, 2008
 10:30 Plant show setup.
10:45 Brief business meeting.
11:00 TBA Speaker: TBA
12:00 BYO Lunch. Last names S-Z please bring snacks.
12:30 Plant show judging ends.
12:45 Discussion of plant show.
1:00 Discussion topic: Putting the Garden to Bed, led by chapter member Stefan Cover

October Plant Show Classes
1. Rock Garden Plant
2. Woodland Plant
3. Plant Shown for Foliage
4. 3 Vases, Plants in Bloom, Different Species
5. Asteraceae in Bloom
6. Planted Trough or Container
7. 3 Pots, Plants From Seed Germinated in Current Year
8. Fern or Fern Ally
9. Open Class

 TBD
Saturday Nov 15, 2008 11:00 Schmooze
11:45 Brief business meeting, presentation of awards and election of officers.
12:00 Catered Lunch (reservations required)
1:00 TBA Speaker: TBA

 TBD

This is a tentative schedule: dates may change and speakers will be filled in later

To check on an upcoming meeting, see the Chapter Newsletter which is available at the libraries of Arnold Arboretum, Garden in the Woods and Tower Hill Botanic Garden, or bookmark this page.

You may join the Chapter at any meeting or by sending annual Chapter dues of $10 to the Treasurer at 264 Wales St, Abington MA 02351, or by first joining the National by writing to NARGS Executive Secretary, PO Box 67, Millwood, NY 10546.

When you send in dues, please note if you would prefer to receive the newsletter by email, and include your email address.

Last updated: 2 April, 2008.