Sat. Sept. 9 th 2023 12:30 PM
Paul Spriggs
My Favourite Crevice Garden plants
This talk will be about Paul's favourite crevice garden plants – Beautiful Pictures and information of the best plants for crevice gardens
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Paul Spriggs has been rock gardening for roughly 23 years and building crevice gardens for about 16 years. He is an avid plant explorer, photographer, mountaineer, owner of Spriggs Gardens Landscaping company, and past President of the Vancouver Island Rock and Alpine Garden Society. He has a passion for all wild plants especially those of dwarf stature and collects and cultivates them at various gardens in his hometown of Victoria, BC, Canada. Paul has learned the craft of crevice garden building directly from one of it’s innovators, Zdenek Zvolanek, of the Czech republic, and in the past decade and a half, has built many gardens in public parks and private homes that range in size from small feature troughs, to large installations involving many tonnes of stone. Paul is passionate about spreading the word of this style, through speaking to garden clubs all over the west, and by giving workshops for those keen on learning the finer points of this developing art form. He has just finished his work on the first North American book on Crevice gardening With co-author Kenton Seth of Colorado, released in summer 2022
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This will be a zoom and inperson meeting.
The meeting link will be sent to members in the newsletter and is on the members-only page
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For more information & to request zoom link, email
specialevents@ovrghs.ca . $5 for non-members
Sat. Oct 14th 2023 12:30 PM
Anne Spiegel - Rock Garden Plants at Their Homes and Yours
Anne's presentation will be showing plants growing in the wild and in many cases the same plants in the rock garden, or close substitutes for impossible plants. Growing info etc.
Anne is mostly self-taught but blessed with mentors who were rock garden stars and gave me advice, plant gifts and encouragement.
Owner, designer, builder, planter, maintainer of large rock garden built on a series of rock ledges ending.in small cliff. Enthusiastic explorer of places with alpine plants.
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This will be a zoom and inperson meeting.
The meeting link will be sent to members in the newsletter and is on the members-only page
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For more information & to request zoom link, email
$5 for non-members which can be applied to membership if you join.
Sat. Nov 11th 2023 12:30
Oron Peri - Alpine Bulbs'
Oron Peri is an expert in bulbs of the Mediterranean and Alpine bulbs. In this talk he will identify and describe some of the finest alpine bulb specimens and their locations in nature
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Oron Peri was born in Jerusalem where his family has been living for many generations.
Oron is a Plantsman, botanist, author as well as a leader of botanical tours in different parts of the world.
He is a world expert on Bulbous plants of the Mediterranean and his book 'Bulbs of the Eastern Mediterranean' was published by the AGS in 2015.
Oron is the owner of 'Seeds of Peace' a nursery specializing in bulbs mainly from the Mediterranean and South Africa.
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This will be a zoom and inperson meeting.
The meeting link will be sent to members in the newsletter and is on the members-only page
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For more information & to request zoom link, email
$5 for non-members which can be applied to membership if you join.
Sat. Jan. 13th 2024 12:30 PM
Dorothy Tol and other OVRGHS Members
Seed Sorting for Seed Exchange
The workshop will set-up at 12:30 pm, and should be finished by 4:30 pm. Please join us to sort the donated seeds and package them up. Seeds will be distributed that day or shortly after. Unclaimed seeds will be for sale at the workshop to Members only. Even if you don't grow from seed, don't be shy to come - it's relaxed, fun and educational!
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This will be an in-person meeting.
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See the SeedEx page for forms to participate in the seed exchange
Sat. April 13th 2024 1:30
Michael Runtz - Wild about Flowers (w Barrhaven Garden Club)
Wild for Wildflowers- We love wildflowers for their unrivalled beauty. But there is so much more to these stunning plants than just good looks. Behind the veil of beauty lies a fascinating world full of chemical weaponry, explosive devices, bribes, and even downright lies. Michael Runtz, award winning university lecturer, author and photographer will give a highly visual overview of this fascinating world. After the presentation, some of Michael’s and Britta’s books, calendars, and prints will be available for sale.
Sat. Feb 10th 2024 1:30 PM
Julie Boudreau - Alpines for Beginners
Full Description pending
Julie Boudreau is a horticulturist who trained at the Institut de technologie agroalimentaire in Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec. She’s been working with plants for more than 25 years. She has published many gardening books and hosted various radio and television shows. She now teaches horticulture at the Centre de formation horticole of Laval. A great gardening enthusiast, she’s devoted to promoting gardening, garden design, botany and ecology in every form. Born a fan of organic gardening, she’s curious and cultivates a passion for all that can be eaten. Julie Boudreau is “epicurious” and also fascinated by Latin names.
Sat. March 9th 2024 1:30
Rocks, Plants and Habitats: the NARGS 2023 AGM
Presented by Nora Lee, OVRGHS member and newsletter editor
The 2023 Annual General Meeting of the North American Rock Garden society was held in Truro, Nova Scotia at the Dalhousie University Agricultural Campus. Our member, Nora Lee, attended both the meeting and the post-conference tour. The program featured field trips to see the very rich diversity of plant habitats in Nova Scotia from coastal barrens and gypsum deposits to the Bay of Fundy coast and the Acadian forest. In the evenings, presentations included an Introduction to Mi’kma’ki, the legends of Nova Scotia, and Nova Scotia flora as well as national and international rock garden specialists, such as Todd Boland, Esther Wrightman, Julia Corden, JiÅ™í Papoušek, and more. Nora will share highlights of her experience and hopefully make you wish you had gone, too!
Nora has been a member of OVRGHS since around 1999, not long after she first had a garden of her own. She took several courses in horticulture at Algonquin College, years ago, but has mostly learned the informal way. Recently, she has become more interested in being a better land steward by converting her garden increasingly to native plants to support native pollinators and other beneficial insects and encouraging other gardeners to do the same.