March 2

 

time, location, and details TBA

What a special treat to this Rock Garden illuminary

 

Sunday March 2nd at 1PM

West Madison Agricultural Research Station

 

 

Panayoti Keladias

 

'Plants of the Caucasus' including countries such as Armenia and Georgia

 

Panayoti Kelaidis represents the Gardens in educational, professional and promotional endeavors as an expert in horticulture, science and art. He also acts as a liaison to botanical societies, professional horticulture organizations and green industry members. Kelaidis has worked at the Gardens for 30 years in many capacities. Most recently, he was the Curator of Plant Collections, where he supervised the curatorial staff and directed inventory, maintenance, interpretation and integrity for over 15,000 kinds of living plants. His far-reaching knowledge of horticulture in the mountainous and dry climate of Colorado has aided Plant Select®, a plant introduction program where Panayoti has helped discover and name numerous plants, as well as disseminate nearly 10 million plants. He designed the plantings for the world-renowned Rock Alpine Garden and helped implement Wildflower Treasures, South African Plaza and the Romantic Gardens among many other gardens at Denver Botanic Gardens.

Kelaidis helped plan and stage over 12 regional, national and international gardening conferences in Denver. He is a past president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Rock Garden Society as well as the American Penstemon Society, and serves on many professional horticulture society boards. He is also the recipient of the Award of Excellence from National Garden Clubs and the 2000 Arthur Hoyt Scott Medal from Swarthmore College. He has delivered speeches in over 70 cities throughout the world on a wide range of horticultural topics and has published over 100 gardening works.

(Source: http://www.botanicgardens.org/press-room/press-kit/resource-panel)

 

Photo
Panayoti Keliadis

 

May 4

 

time, location, and details TBA

Paul Spriggs

 

co author of The Crevice Garden

 

Paul Spriggs has been rock gardening for 23 years and building crevice gardens for the last 16. He is a professional gardener and landscaper, and an avid plant explorer, photographer and mountaineer. He has a passion for all wild plants, especially miniatures, collecting and cultivating them in various gardens in his hometown of Victoria, British Columbia. Paul learned the art of crevice garden from one of its innovators, Zdeneˇk Zvolánek. He has built many crevice gardens in public parks and private homes ranging from small feature troughs to large installations with many tons of stone. Paul is passionate about spreading the crevice gospel through lectures and workshops, by having served as president of the Vancouver Island Rock and Alpine Garden Society, and by proselytizing to whomever will listen. Paul can be caught growing sunflowers and dahlias as a guilty pleasure and hanging out with his growing family.

 

Here is an interview with Paul

Crevice gardener & author, Paul Spriggs

 

September 7

 

time, location, and details TBA

Mark Akimoff

Illahe Rare Plants

owner, head grower

 

Mark Akimoff is the owner and head grower at Illahe Rare Plants. 

 

Mark’s early interest in plants was fostered by spending summers with his grandparents who both had indelible green thumbs with a beautiful garden and fruit orchard. Having grown up in a horticultural family, Mark started working with plants at a young age as a nursery hand for his uncle that grew palm trees for the landscape industry on Kauai.

 

Mark would go on to study biotechnology at Montana State University until he decided to move back to Oregon to study horticulture at Oregon State University. In 2001, Mark graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture Science.

 

After graduating from OSU, Mark was hired as the propagator for the legendary Rae Selling Berry Botanic Garden where he mentored under Jack Poff and many of Portland’s horticultural legends. Mark would go on to have a successful 25-year career as a professional horticulturist that spanned large scale wetlands, riparian and environmental restoration projects for government, estate gardening and groundskeeping to teaching horticulture at the community college.

 

While Mark’s personal interests in plants runs wide, propagation has always been a specialty, especially of rare and difficult plants. Mark’s passion for rock gardens and alpine plants often has him exploring in the high country for wildflowers. In the gardens at Illahe Rare Plants, Mark trials dryland and xeric plants looking for the best plants to better help gardeners create a garden that is able to thrive in a changing climate.

 

December 6th (date tentative)

 

West Madison Reseach Station

SEED PACKAGING MEETING

 

Our next meeting will be Saturday, December7

at the West Madison Agricultural Research

Station. We’ll package seeds for the NARGS

seed exchange, starting at 9 and usually done in

early afternoon. Come at whatever time fits

your schedule. Pizza will be served at noon.

This is always a fun time, visiting and catching

up on gardening questions and issues.

Damon will bring books inherited from the

libraries of Iza Goroff and Waid and Tom

Vanderpoel, members who were experts on a

variety of horticultural themes including rock

gardening. Perhaps some of them will make a

good Christmas present for yourself or a friend!