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This presentation is directed towards those starting out in Rock Gardening experience.  A brief history of the art of rock gardening will be given, along with identifying those individuals whom have made large contributions to the introduction of rock garden plants from around the world.  Types of Rock Gardens will be discussed as well as placement and construction of the same.  Finally, the identification of plants for sun and / or part shade are given based on the presenter’s own experience, successes and failures

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Rob has been gardening since 10 years old - now a master gardener.  Since 2003, he has focused on alpine gardening and is currently a Co-President of the Ottawa Valley Rock Garden & Horticultural Society. He is an avid grower most of his plants from seed and cuttings. 

LAURA HAS STUDIED HORTICULTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH AND HAS BEEN GARDENING IN THE CITY OF TORONTO FOR THE PAST 57 YEARS.

SHE WAS PART OF THE FIRST GENERATION OF MASTER GARDENERS IN TORONTO, GRADUATING IN 1988.

HER PARTICULAR LOVE IS GRAFTING, BUDDING AND MANY OTHER FORMS OF PLANT PROPAGATING AS WELL AS GARDEN DESIGNS.

ALWAYS TRYING TO GROW “UN - GROWABLES” AND PUSHING THE LIMITS OF HARDINESS.

SHE HAS APPEARED ON TV SHOWS “CALLING ALL GARDENERS” AND “MICHAEL COREN LIVE”.

SHE WAS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ‘AMERICAN RHODODENDRON SOCIETY UNTIL RETIREMENT IN 2016.

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LAURA IS A FOUNDER OF THE ‘ONTARIO WATER GARDEN SOCIETY’, PAST PRESIDENT OF THE ‘RHODODENDRON SOCIETY OF CANADA’, MEMBER OF ‘GARDEN WRITERS ASSOCIATION’

LAURA MAINTAINS TWO GARDENS; ONE IN TORONTO AND ANOTHER IN NIAGARA ON THE LAKE WHERE SHE GROWS RARE AND UNUSUAL PLANTS CONSIDERED TENDER

IN HER CLIMATE.

Ben is a landscape architect.  He will be giving a talk about grow plants in a planting medium mostly composted of grit think granular-A the material used to construct road beds.

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See his article on Ontario Landscape Architect Association

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A Scotsman's Perspective: places I have visited and worked. From nurseries in Italy, gardens in the Netherlands, shows in England to plant trips to Japan, Kazakhstan and Chile. It has a bit of everything

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Connor Smith began his horticulture career working at a garden centre in Scotland. After completing his first year of study, he was accepted to work as an intern for the world-renowned conifer and maple grower Iseli Nursery – becoming one of the first non-American interns to be extended since the inception of the programme in 1987.

Returning to Scotland, Connor received an offer to work for Zu Jeddeloh nursery in Germany. A short spell with Kevock Garden followed, where he participated in one of their Gold Medal-winning displays at the Chelsea Flower Show. Then, it was on to Vannucci Piante in Pistoia, Italy – the largest growing area in Europe.

Connor gained an interest in alpine plants when working under alpine expert Elspeth MacKintosh at RBGE. Elspeth’s passion and knowledge inspired Connor to pursue an expertise in alpine plants. In 2019, he worked for the Schachen Alpine Garden high in the German mountains on a Merlin Trust placement.

Connor is the Head of the rock garden at Utrecht Botanic Garden in the Netherlands. It is one of the largest in Europe and has more than 3,000 different species.

Full description to follow

Full description to follow

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An alvar is a unique type of grassland or open woodland found on shallow, nutrient-poor soils over bedrock, often with a flat, rocky surface. These ecosystems are characterized by sparse vegetation and high biodiversity.

These plants are well-adapted to the harsh, dry conditions of alvars.

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You may be thinking of scaling back an existing mature garden or embarking on new gardening adventures in a small townhouse garden or even on a condo balcony. Either way, there are ways to make the most of your small garden space.

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Paul Zammit brings his trademark energy, passion and deep knowledge to this OHS-OVRGHS joint presentation this month with tips, tricks and design concepts you can use to maximize the impact of your small space garden.

Carlo is a author a photographer.  Author of the book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Rock and Water Gardening"