West of Scotland Local Group autumn 2020 meetings by Zoom

[Richard Green]

I am pleased let you know that the West of Scotland Rock Garden Club local group of the Scottish Rock Garden Club has planned a series of online talks this autumn.  These will take place online using Zoom, with which you may have become familiar over the last few months.

Monday 5 October at 7.30pm  - short introductory meeting to make sure everyone is familiar with the technology.
Monday 12 October at 7.30pm  - Richard Green from Balfron Station talking about "China - beyond the crowds" about the plants of Yunnan and Sichuan.
Monday 9 November at 7.30pm  - Michael Thornley from Glenarn, Rhu  talking about  “On the Wild Side: growing rhododendrons in Scotland“.
Monday 14 December at 7.30pm  - Petra Palkova from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh talking about "Between a rock and a hard place - a year at the Botanics”.

We shall have a short Zoom "Coffee and social meeting" for half an hour or so at 7.30pm on Monday 5 October so that we can say hello to each other, and Richard can go over the basics of Zoom, and ensure everyone is comfortable with the new technology!

All these meetings will start promptly at 7.30pm, so please join a few minutes before the start time to be sure we have time to let you into the meeting after you have entered the "Waiting Room".

If you are new to Zoom, then be assured it  is  not  hard to take  part.    All members and friends are welcome, but please ask interested friends to send their names to me by email, so we know to invite you on the night.

If you would like to be added to the invitation list for any of these meetings, then then please send me an email to rkpgreen(at)aol.com letting me know which meeting(s) you are interested in attending.

[Richard Green]

Thanks to those who have already been in touch.

Others who are interested, please let me know in advance if you would like to attend, and I can send you an invitation link.

[Richard Green]

The initial setup meeting on Monday went well.  Several people from other Local Groups have show interest, as well as from those who live too far away from a local group meeting venue to usually attend in person.

If any other SRGC member would like to attend one or more of the meetings, then please PM or email me for details of the link to allow you to attend these online slide shows.

[Richard Green]

There is still space in the audience for tomorrow night's talk.
Let me know if you would like to attend and I can send the link. 

[Luke-S]

Hi Richard,

 I would like to attend the Zoom meeting this evening if possible.

Thanks
Luke

[Maggi Young]

Super Zoom talk by  Richard - many  thanks for  that - also for the  chance  to spot  so many  chums after  such a  long  gap with  no SRGC meetings or  shows.  Very  pleasant  evening - and as  hostess Alison Ward  said  - no need to wish us all "safe  home" - since  we were  already  there!

[fermi de Sousa]

I was tempted to join in at 5:30 am our time but I needed the sleep as I had to drive to Bendigo later that morning!
I'm looking seriously at December as a possibility!
cheers
fermi

[Maggi Young]

Time  zone  differences  are  the  main problem for  international involvement for  these  zoom talks -  Arie  and  Lee  Vanspronsen in Canada had to  get  up at 4.30am to join Cliff  Booker's  AGS  talk the  other  day!  Not  sure  how  many  would  be  game  for  such and  early  start- or the  UK folks for  a  late night  talk. A lot  of  speakers  might  mot  be  exactly  sparkling  at that time  of  day, either!!

[Richard Green]

I was looking out for you Fermi, and sorry that you couldn't make it. 
We hope to see you in December.

[Richard Green]

Our online talk this month is this coming Monday evening 9 November at 7.30pm GMT:

Michael Thornley from Glenarn, Rhu will be talking about  “On the Wild Side: growing rhododendrons in Scotland“.

Put a note in your diaries, and if you haven't already received my email notification which I sent out in the last few days, then please get in touch with me to request the zoom link, and ask to be put on the e-mailing list for future talks.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Richard,
it was great to join the talk and to hear Mike's experiences of growing Rhodies in Scotland. I was chuffed to hear the story about his contact with Keith James who was a past President of the Ferny Creek Hort Society. I just got off the phone to his widow, Maisie, who was delighted to know that they were remembered in Scotland. She said that Mike was a great host when they visited Scotland and organised a number of gardens for them to visit - Glenarn of course being a highlight,
cheers
fermi

[Richard Green]

Hi Fermi
It was great to have you with us, and hope the time difference was not too difficult. Also glad that Mike's comments went down well and have been appreciated. It was wonderful to see the international reach of the Forum.

[Maggi Young]

For any  who missed Richard's talk on China  it is being hosted again by  "The  Caley " (Royal Caledonian horticultural Society - on March 2nd at  7.30 via Teams.
  This  is one the Caley talks  free  to all if you register via the  Eventbrite  booking system

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/china-beyond-the-crowds-tickets-137634176527
 


This is a joint talk with the Scottish Rock Garden Club - speaker Richard Green

About this Event

This talk covers the flora of Yunnan and Sichuan. You will see the scenery and plants encountered in a trip through the mountains of southwestern China in 2019. The area is a mecca for botanists and has attracted plant hunters and seed collectors for the last 100 years on account of its exceptional botanical diversity. The talk is lavishly illustrated with pictures of plants such as meconopsis, primula, corydalis and many other genera. You will be enthralled by the type and numbers of plants seen as well as the amazing landscapes of the area.

Richard Green is a retired chartered accountant. He has been Treasurer of the Scottish Rock Garden Club since November 2014.

As a keen walker, Richard is interested in seeing plants in the wild. He has botanised in many mountain ranges in Europe, including the Picos, Pyrenees, Dolomites and Alps. He has visited the Atlas in Morocco, and both the Rockies and the Andes in the Americas. Further afield he has looked for, and photographed, plants in New Zealand and western China.