ROBIN PARER will present“An Introduction to the Geranium Family and the Newest to Look Forward to Growing.”.

Most gardeners have a plant from the Geranium Family (Geraniaceae) in their gardens, be it pelargonium in containers, hardy geranium in the perennial or shrub border, or erodium in the rock garden: the breadth of the family and the choices within it are astounding. We’ll do a quick tour through this family of hidden delights and talk about what is new and exciting coming out of Europe for 2013-14.

Robin Parer is an Australian-born horticulturist who lectures frequently to garden groups and societies throughout North America. She has been featured in Garden Design Magazine, Horticulture Magazine, Martha Stewart Living magazine, Sunset magazine, The New York Times, and House and Garden Magazine, as well as having appeared in many other newspaper and magazine articles.

Robin Parer has owned and operated Geraniaceae Nursery in Marin County near San Francisco, California, for the past 30-years, and has collected and propagated over 500 geranium species and selected colour forms and hybrids. She also has a large collection of erodium species, scented-leaf pelargonium, angel and pansy-face pelargonium and rare pelargonium species from Southern Africa. She has traveled widely, collecting both in the field, and from nurseries in the U.K., Europe, South America, Southern Africa and Australasia. She is a regular participant in the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. She has won Best of Show several times for her Marketplace Exhibit, and has also received an Outstanding Marketing Presentation Award. She has also received an Annual Award from The California Horticultural Society for Outstanding and Meritorious Contributions to Horticulture in California. She is currently writing The Gardener Lovers Guide to Hardy Geraniums for Timber Press.

Specimen plants from her collection of Geraniaceae are displayed in a one-acre demonstration garden along with a collection of perennial flowering shrubs, and garden sculpture by local artists. The pelargoniums live in a 10,000 sq. ft. commercial greenhouse which is full to overflowing. The garden and nursery are open by appointment.

RICHIE STEFAN

RICHIE STEFAN will talk to us about “Fabulous Ferns”

Many of us will have had the pleasure of having Richie Steffen as our tour guide when visiting the Elizabeth Miller Garden, north of Seattle.

A well-known personality on the Pacific Northwest horticulture scene, Richie joined the Miller Garden in 2000, bringing with him a variety of horticultural expertise. After moving from Maryland to Seattle in 1989, he worked at Sky Nursery in Shoreline, as propagator/nursery manager for the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden and as a part-time instructor for the horticulture program at Edmonds Community College. He currently serves as a board member of the Rhododendron Species Foundation and the Hardy Fern Foundation (past-president).

At the Miller Garden, Richie oversees the plant record database and general horticulture, and manages the garden’s special collections, including rare plants, ferns, hepaticas, woodland plants, rare bulbs and alpine plants. Richie keeps ahead of horticulture trends throughout the country by traveling, plant collecting, visiting gardens and networking with other horticulture professionals. He regularly lectures and writes and is always ready to share his enthusiasm for plants and the people who grow them. Richie is a superb photographer and is building an archival image collection at the Miller Garden. His photos can be seen in many regional publications and on the Great Plant Picks website: http://www.greatplantpicks.org

Registrants will be able to enjoy lectures on Friday evening, Saturday morning and Sunday morning…..several specialty nurseries from the area, and from Washington State, will be on site with a selection of their plants for sale during the breaks… and there will be an informal reception on Saturday evening at Tom Hobbs’ Southlands Nursery.

One of the joys of all study weekends, open garden tours, will be grouped in the South Surrey/Langley area on Friday afternoon, Vancouver on Saturday afternoon, and on the North Shore on Sunday afternoon, with possibly a garden tour on the Sunshine Coast on Monday for people who wish to explore in the area for a little longer.

More details and a link for on-line registration will be posted towards the end of the year. Registration will commence on February 1st, 2013 and full descriptions of speakers, topics, etc. will be available at that time.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
June 14, 15 and 16, 2013 Hardy Plant Study Weekend Vancouver (3 days – UBC campus)

Trillium chloropetalum