E-magazine feature on SRGC Website

[Maggi Young]

IRG 120 December 2019

The  International Rock Gardener  reaches  its  120th issue,  marking ten years of this free magazine. Begun in January 2010 (as an experiment for one year !) IRG has proven to be a success. I little  thought, when the  idea for IRG was first  discussed with  Zdeněk Zvolánek, J.Ian Young and  myself, that I would  be  editing  it  for  ten years  - with  more  in sight!

The kindness and enthusiasm of our authors, who have so selflessly shared their work with us, and the appreciation of our widespread audience, who are also representative of our international ambitions are the ones we must  thank for this  achievement.

This anniversary edition contains descriptions  of  two new plants, named for the “Watson  Girls” ( as I  have  been calling them); from John and  Anita Flores  Watson; an introduction to the various cultivars now available  of Fritillaria imperialis from Willem Wietsma and Ronald van den Berg, and a review of some delightful little geranium species from Allan Robinson.
 
Best  wishes  for the  coming  year!



Download the  issue here  : http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Dec261577394152IRG_120.pdf

[Maggi Young]

Welcome to a new year of IRG - we  look forward to bring a varied  range  of  articles  again this  year. Issue  121 begins  with a tale of how a  shed roof  can become  a  garden – and  the great results  that can be  obtained  from  such a  garden, even using the  most  readily  available  alpine  and  rock garden  plants as Michael Thomson shows to spectacular effect.
From America, nurseryman and  expert  photographer  Jeff Wagner,  who has  a  soft  spot  for  woody  plants and  trees, as well as  alpines, shares  his  photos  showing the  scenery and  town life  of  Yunnan, from a NARGS ( North American Rock Garden Society) trip to  China  in 2018 -  Panayoti Kelaidis  wrote  of this  trip in  IRG 121, with  more  emphasis  on the  flowers. It’s good to have here a wide flavour of the country they experienced. 

Finally for this  month  we  cooperate  with The  Rock Garden, the twice  yearly  print  journal of  SRGC to show  a range  of  photos  to accompany  an article in the January issue, TRG144 of a trip  by  Connor  Smith to have  a work placement  in the  Schachen Alpine  Garden, the  mountain garden of the  Munich  Botanical Gardens.

Download IRG 121 here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020Jan301580422005IRG_121.pdf

Cover photo: Chinese roadside - photo by Jeff Wagner

[Maggi Young]

Thanks  to Jenny  Wainwright-Klein ( of the  Munich Bot. Gdn and the  Schachen Alpine  Garden) via Connor  Smith who has  sent these  corrections  to  Connor's  article  in IRG121 

Jenny tells  us  that her ....
"last collecting trip to Lesotho was co-funded by the SRGC and the Foundation for International Horticulturists Exchange - Stiftung internationaler Gärtneraustausch http://www.gaertneraustausch.de/   and not the Hamburg BG.

Our Primula involucrata has been verified as Primula munroi subsp. munroi and Primula yargongensis is P. munroi subsp. yargongensis"

https://primulaworld.blogspot.com/2015/01/primula-involucrata-or-primula-munroi.html

Many thanks  to  Jenny  and  Connor  for this!

[Maggi Young]

 International Rock Gardener - IRG 122 February 2020   

edit 28-02-20 Technical problem solved - thanks  to Fred Admin -  link for  IRG122  is 
http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020Feb281582900723IRG122.pdf

Sjaak de Groot & Ben Zonneveld describe two new tulip species from the Altai mountains in Kazakhstan, named for Anna Ivaschenko and  Diana Everett.   John and Anita Watson write more  about the  flora of South America and describe a new rosulate viola species.  Finally, Frazer Henderson shares a suite of photographs, as an “extra”  to his article on the Tien Shan which was recently published  in the  Rock Garden 144, print  journal of  SRGC. (The Rock Garden, published twice  a year, is only  available to full SRGC Members)
 

Cover photo: Barneoudia major F.& W.12595, photo J.M.Watson.

[Maggi Young]

Free  reading  matter from SRGC - International Rock Gardener 123 March 2020

IRG 123 cover photo: Galanthus plicatus subsp. plicatus  - photo D. Zubov.     




Contents
pages  3-41         Genus Galanthus L. in the Caucasus: Dr. Dimitri Zubov, Ukraine.

pages 42 - 56       
 Sarah meets her namesake. Zephyranthes sarae is still alive and kicking at Tambillo:  John and Anita (Ana Rosa Flores) Watson   

pages   57  - 61     Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail: Will Hembree   

Click the  link to download the  issue : http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020Mar261585255661IRG123.pdf

[Maggi Young]

 This month in IRG 124 –

Connor Smith on dwarf conifers for the rock garden
John and Anita Watson demystify more South American rosulate violas
Dr Martin Sheader writes of the ourisia hybrids using South American species which he made with his late wife Anna-Liisa.

There are no flower  shows on at  present as  the UK and  many  other  countries, are locked down because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Trying and testing times for us all – the  SRGC is  mindful of  the  health and  safety of our members and the general public and so SRGC events  have  all been cancelled for  the  foreseeable  future, including  the Alpines  ’21 Conference. The virus is everywhere and no respecter of persons.
We have been shocked to learn that Martin Sheader has been very ill with the Covid-19 virus and we wish him a speedy return to full health, his three sons and his loving family.



   Cover photo: Ourisia microphylla in the wild in Chile - photo Martin Sheader.

Download the  IRG 124 here:  http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020Apr231587675747IRG_124_April_2020.pdf

[Maggi Young]

Dr Martin Sheader writes of the ourisia hybrids using South American species which he made with his late wife Anna-Liisa.

There are no flower  shows on at  present as  the UK and  many  other  countries, are locked down because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Trying and testing times for us all – the  SRGC is  mindful of  the  health and  safety of our members and the general public and so SRGC events  have  all been cancelled for  the  foreseeable  future, including  the Alpines  ’21 Conference. The virus is everywhere and no respecter of persons.
We have been shocked to learn that Martin Sheader has been very ill with the Covid-19 virus and we wish him a speedy return to full health, his three sons and his loving family.

Great news that Martin Sheader  is  making  some  progress, albeit  slow - we  can now  have  better  hope  for  his  recovery.

[Maggi Young]

IRG 125 - May  2020  online  now 

Cover photo: Crocus harpkeae in habitat JJVV-022, photo Jānis Rukšāns.



This month in free e-mag IRG  we have two short  pieces  from John and Anita  Watson in Chile, description of a new Crocus species from  Jānis Rukšāns &  a  report from the  Beauty Slope, a Czech garden.  We hope you enjoy these presentations.

Click this link to download this issue: http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020May211590085317IRG125.pdf

[Maggi Young]

This month the IRG has articles which we  hope  you may wish to consider for projects of your  own.

Ian Christie gives tips on grafting – for Daphne in this instance, though the system is of course similar for other woody plants too.
New contributor John Beaulieu, from Midhurst, Ontario, Canada, had a plan to repurpose an old metal tub - and made a neat miniature rockery with it.
J. Ian Young revisits an SRGC crevice garden venture at Inverewe Gardens on the west coast of Scotland and expresses his regret at the cancellation of this year’s planned follow-up event.

Download the  International Rock Gardener (IRG) e-magazine for  free here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020Jun251593107822IRG_126.pdf

Cover  image  IRG 126 - Zdenek Zvolanek and  Paul Spriggs, photo by  J. I. Young
 

[Maggi Young]

In IRG free e-magazine  this month - an interview  with talented Czech grower  Ján Zaujec  by Zdeněk Zvolánek and a  project for the  garden from Irish alpine enthusiast , Ken Devine, looking  to find more  planting  space.

Download  the  issue  here: https://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020Jul301596141584IRG127.pdf




Cover picture:  Leontopodium nivale – photo Ján Zaujec

[Maggi Young]

Just  two articles this  month in the  60 pages  of  IRG – first is indicative  of the  fine  collaborations that are possible in the plant world – John and Anita Watson have been aided and abetted by various friends to illustrate their article on Viola uniquissima and its habitat and the plants  found  in that area. Wonderful photos have been contributed mainly by Marijn van den Brink and also Leonora Rojas to complement the Watson’s images. The second is from Kenton J. Seth from Fruita, Colorado, giving tips on growing Castilleja. One of the finest modern crevice garden makers, Kenton is a man with a passion for nature - loving the plants as well as the mountains.

Download the  issue  here:
https://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020Aug271598561104IRG128.pdf


Cover picture:  Cumulopuntia ignescens, photo Marijn van den Brink.



Special congratulations to Kenton on his recent engagement to the mountain-biking poet Tori Miner! 

[Maggi Young]

The  September  2020 issue  of  International Rock Gardener (IRG)   free  e-magazine  is  online  now -it  has  articles  from  Vojtech Holubec and  from John and  Anita  Watson - further  feeding the  interest  for  the  plants  of  Chile.

 We  have  been very  upset  to be  told that not  only have  John and  Anita  both been infected  by Covid-19 but   John has  had  to be taken back to hospital as  he  was  becoming  more  ill.  We  are  sure  all our  readers  will join us  in sending  them both our  very  best  wishes  for  a  speedy  and  full recovery.

You  can find  IRG 129 here:
https://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020Sep241600957311IRG129.pdf


 Cover  image:   Salix capraea catkins - photo John M. Watson

[Maggi Young]

We  have  good news on the  health of  loyal contributors recently troubled  by ill-health – Martin Sheader  is  continuing to recover  from his  Covid-19 experience  and  returns  to the  pages of the  IRG with a report  on South American Adesmia species. John and  Anita Watson, who were  also struck down by this frightening  virus, with John being in hospital  in a bad way, have  happily  been reunited at  their  home and we  hope  they will soon be able  to contribute  once  more to our  pages. It is  when this pandemic affects  those  known to us that it  becomes  clearer that it  will be  haunting  all our  lives  for  some  time  to come. Less welcome news  is  that of the  death of  former  SRGC President Glassford Sprunt who for many years was  proofreader and indexer of  the  IRG and was a  supporter  of  SRGC for  decades. Our condolences  go to his  loving  family – he  will be  much missed.

In this IRG we also take a look back through history to remember the original collectors of a well- known American plant, Calochortus lyallii – brought to us by Arthur MacKinnon of Washington State. Zdeněk Zvolánek and Franz (František) Paznocht combine to introduce a saxifrage cultivar which they hope will become more widely grown.

Click here to download  IRG130: https://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020Oct291603992737IRG130.pdf


Cover photo: Autumn colour in Highland  Perthshire, photo Julia Corden

[Maggi Young]

 This month in International Rock Gardener 131, the  free online  magazine,  articles include the description of a new species of tulip from  Uzbekistan brought to us by J.J.(Sjaak) de Groot  &  K.S. Tojibaev.
Next a new combination in Montiopsis  from John and Anita (Ana Rosa Flores) Watson.  Zdeněk Zvolánek (who we are delighted to congratulate on his award  of  the  AGS' premier  honour, the  Lyttel  Trophy)  highlights Dionysia khuzistanica and a delightful cultivar, which Martijn Jansen raised and has named for his son,Thom. This is complemented by photos from Ewelina  Wajgert of the dionysias in the  garden of Josef Mayr.  Our final article this month is presented here as a tribute to our  late  proof-reader and the  former  President of the SRGC, Glassford  Sprunt.

You may download  IRG131 here:   https://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020Nov291606654069IRG131.pdf

Brief Index of IRG 131 November 2020

Cover photo: Montiopsis tricolor, Anita Watson
Award for Zdenek Zvolanek 131/3        Tulipa bactriana – species  description – J.J. de Groot  and  K.S. Tojibaev 131/4-11       A new combination in Montiopsis (Montiaceae) – John and Anita Watson 131/12-15    Painted Flowers – Zdenek Zvolanek 131/16-21   Remembering a  Good  Friend  131/22    My  Way with seeds - Glassford Sprunt  131/23-25



Cover photo: Montiopsis tricolor, Anita Watson

[Maggi Young]

Final issue of  2020 – marking eleven years  of  IRG e-magazine !

With this issue, eleven years  of the  International Rock Gardener are  complete. 

Direct  link to IRG 132  is  : https://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020Dec241608822973IRG_132.pdf

IRG 132  includes  both the  description of a  new  species, Cistanthe celedoniana  from  John Michael Watson, Arve Elvebakk, Christian von Bohlen and Ana Rosa Flores,  and a new combination  for  Cistanthe sitiens, from J.M.Watson and  Ana  Rosa  Flores.
There is  also an appreciation of the  Canadian Iris  hybridiser, Alan McMurtrie from Panayoti Kelaidis of  Denver.

Something to enliven your  reading  over  the  coming  days, we  hope!

Of course, all issues  are  available to download  from this  webpage: https://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/index.php?log=international