Eighth International Rock Garden Conference, 2011

[Lesley Cox]

At a pound a week, say $3NZ, I'll definitely make the Conference in 2021! Of course I'll be 78 but I'll bet there will still be a few older than that. Joining me David? And I'll bring Susan M. I'll need someone to push the chair.

[David Nicholson]

At a pound a week, say $3NZ, I'll definitely make the Conference in 2021! Of course I'll be 78 but I'll bet there will still be a few older than that. Joining me David? And I'll bring Susan M. I'll need someone to push the chair.

Lesley, I don't plan more than one year ahead any more

[Lesley Cox]

At a pound a week, say $3NZ, I'll definitely make the Conference in 2021! Of course I'll be 78 but I'll bet there will still be a few older than that. Joining me David? And I'll bring Susan M. I'll need someone to push the chair.

Lesley, I don't plan more than one year ahead any more

Oh I do. I figure if I only plan one year ahead that's probably all I'll manage. So I'm planning for my 100th.

[Maggi Young]

Some more information just gleaned from the AGS website about the rates for Additional nights accomodation before and after the Alpines 2011 Conference which I know many of us were waiting to hear....


Additional nights accommodation are available at the Conference Centre before and after the Conference.

Bed & Breakfast - £52

Bed, Breakfast & Dinner - £70

Reservations can be made online for Wednesday night and Sunday night  :
see http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/sales/conferences/bookings/2011/ for online bookings

If you are interested in booking additional nights’ accommodation, or if you would like information about alternative hotel accommodation in the area, please contact AGS Centre for details.

The booking slip to print out has not yet been modified to include the shoulder nights but I am sure you can just write them in, until a new form is prepared....

 Conf2011BookingForm.pdf (20.04 kB - downloaded 189 times.)is a booking form pdf to print out to use if you wish to book by post...or you know someone who might.....
There is no address on the form telling you where to send it  so you'll also need this:
The Alpine Garden Society
AGS Centre,
Avon Bank,
Pershore,
Worcestershire.
WR10 3JP
United Kingdom

[Liz Mills]

Ian the Christie kind and myself have just come back from a meeting in Nottingham with the AGS.

We had the chance to look round the whole Conference venue and were very impressed.  The East Midlands Conference Centre is a new building with excellent facilities.  The lecture hall can accommodate over 400 people.  The seating is steeply raked so visibility will be excellent - and perhaps most important of all, the seats are comfortable!  We also met the IT/AV team and were very impressed by the replies to any of our questions.  There are 11 good sized 'meeting rooms' on the ground floor (and 3 more upstairs) with partitioning which allows some of them to be combined into bigger units - ideal for workshops, display areas, powerpoint presentations, etc.  And of course there are bars and informal social areas for when we want to relax.

Accommodation is in a student hall some 5 - 10 minutes walk from the Centre.  Because this is student accommodation all the rooms are singles with an en-suite and couples will need to request adjoining rooms when they book. All the rooms are a reasonable size with broadband connection (bring your own connecting cable to the phone socket), telephone, tea and coffee making facilities.  There is a large common room plus a dining room where breakfast and dinner (except on Saturday evening) will be served.

Tours  There will be 3 tours:  
Pre Conference in South of England
Post Conference in Scotland - 2 weeks with option of 1 week only. The first week will end at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh on Saturday 23 April which is Easter Weekend.
North Greece, led by John Richards end April/May
Details of dates and approximate costs will be available soon.

There will be 7, possibly 8 Workshops.  The aim is to concentrate on horticultural aspects though I noticed that there will also be one on digital photography and another on the use of the Web.

There will also be a limited number of free places for students.  Application forms will be available shortly either on the AGS website or from AGS Centre.  The deadline for applications will be mid September....change of deadline : now forms must be received at Pershore by  30th November 2010 .
Send forms to :Christine McGregor (Society Director)
Alpine Garden Society
AGS Centre
Pershore
Worcestershire
WR10 3JP

Look forward to seeing you there.

[Maggi Young]

Exciting news for Alpines 2011, Liz!
The  information about all these ancillary "happenings" is most welcome and will be much appreciated by those who have been seeking this level of detail.

I would like to record our appreciation to you and to Ian C. for your very long car journeys to and from Nottingham to bring us this report.

Your enthusiasm for the facilities at the Conference Centre will allay the fears of those who remember the old place, used for the previous event in Nottingham..... the new centre is a super venue and will surely provide an excellent "home" for all of us heading there in April 2011.
I know I was impressed by what I saw from the EMCC website, where one can see that the  facility is recently purpose built.

Thank you so very much for bringing this great information about the event to our members.

[David Nicholson]

Italian stage 1 at evening class. Do I qualify?

[Maggi Young]

Italian stage 1 at evening class. Do I qualify?

Very funny, David.....what sort of disguise had you in mind? You can always try your luck with the AGS application forms.... I don't think they'll buy it but bona fide students ( matriculation cards, registration reference from their college etc ?!!) will be more than welcome to apply for the Student places at Alpines 2011.

[Lesley Cox]

There will also be a limited number of free places for students.  Application forms will be available shortly either on the AGS website or from AGS Centre.  The deadline for applications will be mid September.

Look forward to seeing you there.

I'm definitely a student of something. I'll just wait a few more days until Air New Zealand or someone offers free flights to the UK and then I'll be booking for the Conference.

I do like the logo. Alpines San Frontieres. (Should that be Sans? I'd better study French. )

[Maggi Young]

Some more info about the Alpines 2011 Conference.....
 the Workshop sessions from 13.30 to 15.00 on Friday and Sunday, will each last 45 minutes and the subjects will include.......

Crevice Gardening - Alan Furness
Digital Photography - Doug Joyce
Maintaining Bulb Collections - Rannveig Wallis
Meconopsis & Woodland Plants - Ian Christie
Practical Aspects of Alpine Gardening - Vic Aspland
Websites & the Internet - Jim McGregor

...... and.... there are another couple of subjects and Leaders to be confirmed.

Some pretty interesting subjects there, I hope you will agree........ now to decide on which to choose....   

[Maggi Young]

Follow these hyperlinks  (.... click on the blue lettering ) for the Alpines 2011 Booking Form
 and the form to apply for an
 Assisted Place for a Student for Alpines 2011  

Remember.... To qualify for 'Early Bird' discounts,of £100 off the conference fee, the discounted price must be paid in full before 31 August 2010.

The deadline for receipt of applications for Assisted Student Places at the event must be received by the 30th November 2010. ( This deadline may be extended if all places are not filled at this time.

Forms should be sent to:

Christine McGregor (Society Director)
Alpine Garden Society
AGS Centre
Pershore
Worcestershire
WR10 3JP

All details about eligibility for these assisted conference places are shown in the application form.
Assisted places are available for students or individuals who are on horticultural courses or who have embarked upon a career in horticulture within the last ten years.
If your application is successful the Award will cover the Residential cost of the Conference which includes your accommodation and subsistence at the Conference. Travel to and from the venue will be at your own expense.

[Maggi Young]

Eighth International Rock Garden Conference Tours
  

The Tours are being organised by the AGS and, as with the Conference itself, bookings must be made via the Alpine Garden Society.

For more detailed information please contact the AGS Centre, +44(0)1386 554790   email ags@alpinegardensociety.net  or  see        http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/tours /forthcoming/Eighth+International+Rock+Garden+Conference+Tours/53/

Two ONE Pre Conference tour is being offered,it will be led by  Christopher Bailes, Curator of the RHS Garden Rosemoor.

  4/10/10 Please note  one  pre conference tour has been cancelled for lack of interest, only Tour 2 will now take place and we believe this one to be fully subscribed.
Tour 1 - Gardens in the South West
 Monday April 4th – Sunday  April 10th Cancelled

The tour will start from Bristol and visit many of the great gardens in the South West and finish at the RHS Garden at Wisley to look behind the scenes and enjoy the 50th Anniversary Rock Garden. Travel will be by coach with Bed and Breakfast at comfortable hotels- I night each at Barnstaple Hotel, Moorland Hotel, Pier House Hotel, and the Holiday Inn, Guildford and 2 nights at the Falmouth Hotel.
Gardens to be included in the tour will be, RHS Rosemoor, Marwood Hill Garden, The Garden House, Wildside Garden and Nursery, Tregrehan, Trewithen, Trellissick(NT), Glendurgan(NT), and RHS Wisley.
 
Cost £600.
For persons wishing to book both tours the cost will be  £1000
Single Supplement £25 per night
 
For more detailed information please contact the AGS Centre, +44(0)1386 554790   email ags@alpinegardensociety.net  or  see www.alpinegardensociety.net
 
For more information about the gardens follow the links below.

RHS Garden Rosemoor  www.rhs.org.uk/rosemoor

Marwood Hill Garden  www.marwoodhillgarden.co.uk/collections.php

The Garden House   www.thegardenhouse.org.uk/

Wildside Garden and Nursery  www.wileyatwildside.com/4.html

Tregrehan House   www.tregrehan.org/index.htm

Trewithen Gardens www.trewithengardens.co.uk/home

Trelissick     www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-trelissickgarden/

Glendurgan  www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-glendurgangarden

Wisley   www.rhs.org.uk/Gardens/Wisley


Tour 2 - Gardens of the South East and East Anglia
This tour will  be led by Christopher Bailes, Curator of the RHS Garden Rosemoor.  
      
 Sunday April 10th – Thursday April 14th  

The tour will leave from Wisley on April 10th and visit mostly private gardens in the South East and East Anglia before heading north to visit the AGS Centre Garden at Pershore and another private garden and nursery before driving on to the Conference in Nottingham on April 14th.
 Travel will again be by coach with Bed and Breakfast at comfortable hotels to include 2 nights at Holiday Inn, Guildford, 1 night Holiday Inn, Colchester, 1 night en route to AGS Pershore., tbc.

Gardens to be included in the tour will be RHS Wisley, Robin & Sue White’s Daphnetum  & garden, Peter Erskine’s Vale Cottage garden, David Haselgrove’s Pelham House garden, Rod and Jane Leeds’ Chestnuts garden, Beth Chatto’s garden and nursery, Kit Grey Wilson’s Red Lion House garden, AGS Pershore and John Massey’s garden and Nursery at Ashwoods.
 
Cost £440. Single Supplement £25 per night

 
This Tour is now fully subscribed.


For more detailed information please contact the AGS Centre, +44(0)1386 554790   email ags@alpinegardensociety.net  or see www.alpinegardensociety.net  
For more information about some of the gardens follow the links below.

RHS Wisley   http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardens/Wisley

Beth Chatto Garden and Nursery   http://www.bethchatto.co.uk/

Ashwoods  http://www.ashwood-nurseries.co.uk/


Post Conference Scottish Tours
 4th October 2010  These Tours have been cancelled by the AGS. However, it is hoped that delegates wishing to visit Scottish Gardens after the  conference will consider making private tours.....it is hoped that  there will be the same gardens, and more, available to vist  by private arrangement.
We regret any disappointment caused by the cancellation of the AGS Tours and hope to soon be able to offer alternative suggestions.
See this page for details when these are finalised, as you will appreciate, we have had short notice to make these arrangements   :
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6088.0    

Two suggestions for visiting Scottish gardens are offered: some large and some small private gardens but all with much to interest Conference visitors.
The East and West coast variations will be headed  by, Tour 1, Sue and Mike Thornley and Tour 2, Ian Christie ( past President of SRGC) who will be joined on some days by Liz Mills, President of SRGC, all are great plant enthusiasts
 
Tour 1 - Gardens of  Western Scotland

Monday April 18th – Saturday April 23rd

Tour Leaders -  Mike and Sue Thornley (of Glenarn)

The tour will leave the Nottingham Conference Centre and head north to Edinburgh for four days visiting fantastic west coast gardens, before returning to the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. Travel will be by coach with Bed and Breakfast at comfortable hotels, 2 nights Edinburgh and 3 nights at Inverary.  

Gardens to be included in the itinerary include, Glenarn, Crarae, Torosay Castle on the Isle of Mull, Duart Castle, Arduaine, An Cala, Benmore and Eckford and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. It is also hoped to visit one or two alpine nurseries in the Borders en route from Nottingham to Edinburgh


For both tours it is important that participants are comfortable walking reasonable distances each day with some uphill sites included.
 

For more information on the larger gardens to be visited, please follow these links :

Glenarn Garden  http://www.gardens-of-argyll.co.uk/gardens/glenarn.html

Crarae Garden   http://www.gardens-of-argyll.co.uk/gardens/crarae-garden.html

Duart Castle    http://www.duartcastle.com/

Torosay Castle, Isle of Mull   http://www.torosay.com/index.html

Arduaine Garden  http://www.arduaine-garden.org.uk/

An Cala Garden  http://www.gardens-of-argyll.co.uk/gardens/an-cala.html

Benmore Botanic Garden     http://www.rbge.org.uk/the-gardens/benmore

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh  http://www.rbge.org.uk/
 
Post Conference Scottish Tours
 
Tour 2 - Gardens of Eastern Scotland

Tour Leader - Ian Christie

Saturday April 23rd to Thursday April 28th


Gardens it is hoped will be included in the itinerary are, Cluny, the Explorers Garden, Glendoick, Margaret and Henry Taylor’s garden, Cambo, Evelyn  & Lewis Stevens' garden, Sandy and Anne Leven’s garden, Cyril Lafong’s garden, Branklyn Garden and Kevock Garden and Nursery.





 For both tours it is important that participants are comfortable walking reasonable distances each day with some uphill sites included.



For more information on the larger gardens to be visited, please use these links:
 
Cluny House Garden   http://www.clunyhousegardens.com/

Explorers Garden   http://www.explorersgarden.com/home.html

Glendoick Gardens   http://www.glendoick.com/

Cambo House Gardens  www.camboestate.com/GARDENS-and-WOODLANDS.aspx

Branklyn Garden   http://www.branklyngarden.org.uk/

Kevock Garden  www.kevockgarden.co.uk/index.html

Edradour  Distillery !  www.edradour.co.uk/index6.html

[Maggi Young]

Here are two pdf documents  with further details of dates/places for the Conference Tours: one for the Pre Event Tours and one for the Post Event Tours......

Pre Tours to English Gardens   PreTours to English Gardens.pdf (282.63 kB - downloaded 243 times.)

Post Tours to Scottish Gardens   Post Tours to Scottish Gardens.pdf (279.19 kB - downloaded 205 times.)

[Maggi Young]

 The programme for Alpines 2011 has been revised in the light of the sad death of Jim Archibald, one of the proposed speakers for the event. The new programme is as follows:

Revised Alpines 2011 programme

Thursday 14 April 2011
15.00-16.00   Registration
16.00-16.30   Tea
16.30-17.30   Welcome & Opening Lecture-Brian Mathew: provisional title ‘Ever-changing Frontiers: of all sorts!’
19.30 onwards   Dinner
    David Haselgrove ‘ Southern Hemisphere Treats’

Friday 15 April 2011
09.00-10.00   Harry Jans ‘Plant Hunting on the Roof of the World’

10.00-11.00   John Richards ‘Asiatic Primulas Old and New’

11.00-11.30   Coffee
11.30-12.30   Martin Walsh ‘The High and Low in the Himalaya’

12.50-14.15   Lunch
13.30-15.00   WORKSHOPS
15.00-16.00   Toshio Yoshida ‘Endemism in the Sino-Himalayan Alpines'

16.00-16.30   Tea
16.30-17.30   Henrik Zetterlund 'Beyond the Last Frontiers with Jim Archibald'

19.30 onwards   Dinner
    Robert Rolfe ‘Location, Location Location: Alpines Near and Far, Narrowly Endemic and Nationalistic'


Saturday 16 April 2011
There will be a one-day National AGS/SRGC Show all day.
09.00-10.00   Keith Wiley ‘An Holistic Approach to Alpines in the Garden’
10.00-11.00   Todd Boland ‘Alpine Plants of Newfoundland through to the Appalachians’
11.00-11.30   Coffee
11.30-12.30   Bob Wallis ‘Fritillaries on Four Continents’

12.50-14.15   Lunch
13.30-15.00   Free Time (to allow opportunity to see Show)
15.00-16.00   John Good ‘Alpines in a changing world’

16.00-16.30   Tea
16.30-17.30   John Watson ‘Three decades in the Andes’
19.30 onwards   Dinner
    Roy Lancaster ‘My world of Plants’
    Plant Auction
Sunday 17 April 2011
09.00-10.00   Ian Young ‘Highland Gathering’

10.00-11.00   Michael Kammerlander ‘Juno Iris – the Persica Group and Some Others’
11.00-11.30   Coffee
11.30-12.30   John Grimshaw ‘Giants and Dwarfs: the Alpines of Africa’

12.50-14.15   Lunch
13.30-15.00   Workshops
15.00-16.00   Vojtech Holubec ‘Central Asia: Plants under burning sun and cooling snow’
16.00-16.30   Tea
15.00-16.00   Christopher Grey-Wilson ‘A Lifetime of Alpines’

[Maggi Young]

There are ten days left to benefit from the 20 per cent discount on booking for the Conference ---- don't miss out......