Australian Rhododendron Society Inc.

NEWS & EVENTS

An abstract of news and upcoming events concerning rhododendrons, rhododendron people, and the Society.

2009 Convention - Adelaide Oct 16-18

All members are invited to the Australian Rhododendron Society's 2009 Spring Convention to be hosted by the South Australian Branch October 16 to 18.

• Programme commences 2.00pm Fri 16 Oct with the meeting of the National Council of the Australian Rhododendron Society (National Council officers and Branch delegates only).
• 7.30pm all registrants and SA Branch members are invited to attend the Branch meeting at Crafers Hall . The Branch meeting will be closed on completion of business and the meeting will be turned over to the ARS National President, Mr Neil Webster to conduct the 2009 Annual General Meeting of the Society. On completion of the AGM, the judging of a blooms contest will be finalized and supper will be served.
• Saturday 17 Oct morning - we had hoped to be able to incorporate a visit to the Adelaide Zoo to view the Chinese Pandas but unfortunately it seems most unlikely that the Zoo can facilitate this. Failing this, we will meet at the Royal Adelaide Botanic Gardens for registration and morning tea at the Amazon Water Lily Pavilion. After a chat and refreshments we will walk to the Madagascar Palm House and then on to the Bi-Centennial Conservatory and the International Rose Garden, followed by lunch at the Mediterranean Garden.
• 2.00pm We visit the home of Emily and Chris Giles at 89 Milan Terrace, Stirling. The Giles garden is a new garden in the process of being developed . The garden is being laid out in a series of terraces , leading down to a dam in the bottom of a small valley in front of the house. There are extensive plantings of roses in the upper terraces, conifers and autumn foliage plants follow with some 200 rhododendrons and vireyas as we meander down paths and roadways being carved into the slope leading down to the dam. Back at the house there is a grand central stairway, flanked with statues and columns, with the view from the house down into the valley and across to the borrowed landscape on the other side of Pine Street being quite superb. This is a garden being created in a grand style and it is exciting to see the developments that have occurred over the past few years. The garden makes a very interesting contrast with the old gardens at Forest Lodge and St Vigeans which we will see the following day. Afternoon tea will be served and registrants are free to return to their accommodation prior to attending the main dinner at Auchendarroch House, Adelaide Road Mt Barker.
• 6.30pm We travel to the pleasant township of Mt Barker for the Convention Dinner at Auchendarroch House, Adelaide Road, Mt Barker, where we have arranged a beautiful meal together with fine South Australian wines. During the course of the evening , the Immediate Past President of the SA Branch, Robert Hatcher will address the gathering on his recent trip to Scotland, Ireland, USA and China, passing on his experiences and the beauty of the many rhododendrons seen during his trip.
• Sunday 18 Oct 10.00am We meet at Forest Lodge, 19 Pine Street, Stirling, the home of Milton and Christine Bowman, for morning tea and a walk through their majestic garden.Forest Lodge which was built in 1890 to 1892 by John Bagot as his summer house in the Adelaide hills to escape the heat of the Adelaide summer in North Adelaide. An extensive garden was laid out at the same time, and John Bagot and his family travelled the world collecting seeds from North America, Europe and Japan. His main interest was conifers and he collected a large number of various exotic conifers which are still growing a nd maturing. The rest of the garden is laid out in a Victorian carpet garden style. Several hundred rhododendrons have been acquired, many from the Waterer Nursery at Bagshot in the UK. Over the years the garden has matured, some trees have died, some hav e thrived, so the garden is now the home for many large trees and many rhododendrons. Over the last few years drought has taken its toll, but many of the old rhododendrons are showing themselves to be both drought resistant and very tough. The current owne rs are in the process of conserving and propagating many of these old rhododendrons and spreading them around the district to ensure their survival.Many of these old cultivars do not have names and another project is attempting to discover the names which is a difficult process.The entire garden covers approximately 10 acres and the highlights include a Japanese inspired area with bridge and pergolas. There is a superb alley with the Bagot family monument located at the base of the main rhododendron area.
• 12.30pm we travel to St Vigeans the home of Drs Jeff and Gill Jenkinson at 17 Laurel Road, Stirling for lunch, a walk through their large and varied garden and afternoon tea at the conclusion of the Convention. St Vigeans is a State heritage listed property which was developed by Dr E.C. Stirling at Mt Lofty in the Adelaide Hills. This area became known as Stirling and was named after Dr Stirling's father. The house was completed in 1883 and the gardens were laid out from 1882 with stone walls and terraces. Additional land was bought and the grounds grew to 16 acres. The garden became renowned for its beauty and rare plants. A special passion was growing rhododendrons with the original plants brought from J Waterer and Sons in England, being the first planted in South Australia. He was such a good customer that a new hardy hybrid was named Mrs E.C. Stirling after his wife and the original plant still survives to this day. Today the gardens are reduced to 4 acres with the original rhododendron survivors retained. The property is in the process of being restored by the current owners. The 2009 South Australian Convention will conclude around 3.30pm when we will wish all participants a fond farewell and safe travelling. If registrants wish to make a visit to Rhododendron Gully at the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens nearby they could finish off the day in this way.

Early Bird Registration (per person) $130 Aust ................ After 15th September 2009 $150

For a Registration Form please contact Mr Peter Wiadrowski Chairman, Adelaide Convention Committee,14 Orley Avenue, Stirling South Australia 5152 Australia. Phone: 61 (0)8 8339 3345 Email: pvw@internode.on.net On receipt of a completed registration form and payment a Confirmation Advice together with full programme details, home hosts, maps etc., will be sent by mail.

At this Convention we would like to offer home hosting (where possible) for visiting registrants. Please indicate on your registration form whether or not you would like to be offered home hosting. If in your reply you indicate your preference for home hosting we will endeavour to arrange this. For those who do not wish to participate in home hosting, or where we cannot accommodate a request for home hosting we highly recommend:

The Manna: fine accommodation at 25 Main street, Hahndorf. (4*)Current rates for doubles are Sun - Thurs $145, Fri - Sat $155 Phone +61 (0)8 8388 1000 http://www.themanna.com.au

We also highly recommend the Hahndorf Inn Motor Lodge at 35a Main Street Hahndorf (3 1/2*) Current rates are Sun - Thur $125, Fri - Sat $135 Phone +61 (0)8 8388 1000 Email: Hahndorf_Inn_Motor_Lodge@bigpond.com.au We have negotiated a 10% discount to the above rates valid by quoting the Australian Rhododendron Society Annual Convention.

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Last revised: 19 September, 2009