THE RHODOVINE - Mount Arrowsmith Rhododendron Society

THE RHODOVINETHE MOUNT ARROWSMITHRHODODENDRON SOCIETYVolume 31, Issue 12 2019/2020 ExecutiveV PresidentLi Glen y Loyer738-0138kathyloyer@telus.netTreasurerRay Walker248-5138jrjiffy@shaw.caSecretaryMarilyn Dawson752-3694dawsom@shaw.caDirectorsTony Ansdell752-4475ansdella@shaw.caJane Walker248-5138jrjiffy@shaw.caLinda Derkach752-3545 lindaderkach@shaw.caDawn House738-2933dl.house@telus.netRose Prufer738-2393ramapo@telus.netDavid Landry947-5828 david.landry@shaw.caGuy Loyer738-0138guyloyer@gmail.comLars Stefanyk923-0939 lestefanyk@outlook.comDollar Table – Barbara KullaNewsletter Editor - Linda DerkachGarden Tour – Louise CotterillTruss Show – Kathy & Guy LoyerGreeter – Guy LoyerMeeting Coordinator-Tony AnsdellMembership – Tony AnsdellPlant Prizes – Sherry ThompsonProgram Chair – Glen JamiesonPropagation – Sherry ThompsonPR - Marilyn DawsonGoodies – Jane WalkerSpecies Garden – Tony AnsdellSunshine – Judy WoodWebmaster – Diane HendersWelcome – Joanne HamiltonMARSP. O. Box 342Qualicum Beach, BCV9K 1S8www.marsrhodos.camars.rhodos.caJANUARY 2020This Month:Members’Photography NightMARS MeetingsPresident Glen JamiesonNext Meeting:Wednesday,will guide us through anevening of unique and2nd Wednesday of themonth at 7:30 pmQualicum BeachCivic CentreJanuary 8, 2020memorable photos takenby our fellow Marsians!And if you haven’talready done so, pleaseemail your own photosto Glen as perinstructions on Page 2MARS WebsiteCheck out our updated andexciting renewed websiteat marsrhodos.caEuonymus europaeus is a shrub orsmall tree hardy to Zone 4, bearingthese spectacular orange and pinkseeds/arils. This specimen is ashowstopper in the garden of Guy andKathy.Inside Activities .Page 2Photography Evening . . . Page 2Christmas Party .Page 3A Winter Garden . .Page 4Grieg Species Garden . . Page 5Spring Events Calendar Page 6Hobbie Rhododendron Park .Page 7ARS Convention Page 19

Volume 31, Issue 1The RhodovineUpcoming Programs Wednesday, January 8, 2020 MARS Members’ Photo Night Gus Thompson will give abonus presentation on Howto Take Great Photos .bringyour camera! Wednesday, February 12 Pruning – or as we say inMARS – Pruferizing withRose Prufer Wednesday, March 11 MARS Circle of Knowledge Wednesday, April 15PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS THETHIRD WEDNESDAY INAPRIL – NOT OUR USUALNIGHT Lionel de Rothschild ofExbury Gardens, EnglandMembership RenewalIf you have not already renewed yourmembership in MARS, you can go online at marsrhodos.ca torenew bring a cheque to the next meeting or mail your cheque toMembership, MARSPO BOX 342Qualicum Beach, BC, V9K 1S8Page 2MARS Photography EveningJanuary 8, 2020Digital Entries only pleaseDeadline: January 1, 2020Once again, we are featuring photos fromour fellow Marsians for this evening of greatphotography.We encourage everyone to send up to 8 oftheir favourite photos as per the instructionsbelow:1. Email your digital photosPlease email to Glen Jamieson atglenj02@yahoo.ca with “MARS Photonight” in the subject line. Glen will preparea PowerPoint presentation with all entries.2. Email instructionsOn the subject line, please put the name ofthe rhododendron, garden, plant or scene if known.3. SubjectsThis is not a contest, and pictures you havetaken that showcase your garden or plants,special photos that you took on gardentours or in someone else’s garden, etc. areall welcome.4. PresentationParticipants are welcome to talk about theirphotos when they are presented if theywish.Deadline for Submission: January 1, 2020

Christmas Party Fun!!Linda DerkachFor many a ‘Marsian’, Christmas would not becomplete without a potluck party rich withdelicious food, a fun game, lots of laughs andgreat camaraderie. And this year’s festivitieswere no exception with 47 members partakingof the frivolity and 155 being raised for localcharities. Thanks again to our gracious andgenerous hosts, Jane and Ray Walker, forwelcoming us, putting up a million Christmaslights and decorations that would melt theheart of the most confirmed Grinch!Here are some photos of the fun!Our Stalwart Kitchen CrewA decorated Rhododendron ‘Thor’ –Grand Prize at our Christmas PartyPhotos: Glen Jamieson, Bob & Marnie Baird,Linda DerkachPage 3

Winter in theFour-Season GardenLinda DerkachKalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel) bloomsfrom December to spring. The species iseasier to grow than the flashy hybrids.On a cold and bleak February morning, aglowing Hamamelis ‘Arnold Promise’ willsurprise and delight.Long-blooming Mahonia ‘Charity’ – bringsbeauty and fragrance to our gardens andfeeds the hummingbirds – reason alone toinclude this tough plant in your garden.Arbutus unedo ‘Compacta’ is a wonderfulsmall evergreen tree. Flowers and fruitfestoon in November as if anticipatingChristmas. Slow-growing, compact andattractive all year round, it is happy inthe ground or a large pot – sun or shade –and not messy like its larger cousinArbutus menziesii that graces our rockyshores and parkways.Qualicum Beach Seedy SaturdayFebruary 2, 2020Qualicum Beach Civic CentreMARS needs a few more volunteers to‘person’ our table, talk up the club, sell afew rhododendrons and SMILE Please sign up with Marilyn Dawson at ourJanuary meeting.Page 4

Greig Species Garden:Winter UpdateMarilyn DawsonWhile many were planning for the holidayslate last fall, a small group met at MilnerGardens and Woodland to assess the pastand make plans for the next step in theGreig Rhododendron Species Garden. TheSpecies Advisory Group is comprised ofmembers from all the ARS chapters onVancouver Island who have worked withour partners, Milner and Vancouver IslandUniversity, to create the species garden.(For newcomers, the species garden openedin April 2018 with about 150 plants in theground.)both members of the Species AdvisoryGroup, went down to Washington to selectthem. John said that most of the wish list iscomplete, although there are a fewoutstanding that are difficult to locate.To complement the Greig heritagecollection that dates back to the 1960s,there is also a need for a mature ‘LoderiKing George’ or ‘Loderi Venus’. Pleasenotify John or Marilyn Dawson if anyoneknows of one available.A bank of primula being added at the speciesgarden by one of our volunteers.Official Opening day – April 2018More rhododendrons and companionplants were added this year in several workbees, the most recent in late Novemberwhen 40 more hard-to-find rhododendronswere planted along with a dozencompanion plants and some bulbs. Anotherdozen, considered too immature forplanting, were sent to Victoria to grow on.(The work bees, by the way are open toanyone who wants to grovel in the dirt.Please see Marilyn Dawson if you areinterested.) These plants were acquiredfrom the Rhododendron SpeciesFoundation. John Deniseger and Paul Wurz,The group is now looking to the next phaseof the garden, an interpretative program,improved irrigation and long-termmaintenance, which might involve replacingplants as well as general all-round care.To that end Milner is setting up legacyprograms that target specific areas. TheShoots with Roots Program for children andthe Rhododendron Collection are twoexamples where donors can direct theirfunds on a regular basis or in their wills.With a legacy fund, the interest only will beused and the principle will keep on growing.Full details are available from MilnerGardens and Woodland.Page 5

2020 Winter & Spring Events and ActivitiesDate & TimeTuesday, January 77:30 pmWednesday, January 87:30 pmSaturday, February 2Wednesday, February 127:30 pmWednesday, March 117:30 pmWednesday, April 157:30 pmSaturday, April 1810 am to 2 pmApril 29 to May 3Saturday, May 9Sunday, May 10Wednesday, May 137:30 pmSaturday, June 13EventQB Garden Club: Laurene Ebbett onGardens of Wales, Ireland and theLake District.MARS – Members’ Photo Night andGus Thompson on PhotographyQualicum Beach Seedy SaturdayMARS – Pruning with Rose PruferLocationQB Civic CentreMARS – Circle of KnowledgeQB Civic CentreMARS – Lionel de Rothschild ofExbury Gardens, EnglandMARS Rhododendron Show andSaleAmerican Rhododendron SocietySpring ConventionMARS Mother’s Day WeekendGarden TourMARS AGMQB Civic CentreQB Civic CentreQB Civic CentreQB Civic CentreParksvilleCurling ClubPortland,OregonQualicum BeachParksvilleQB Civic CentreMARS Summer Potluck Wind-up PartyComing Attractions .This inviting border will delight visitors during the MARS 2020 Mother’s DayWeekend Garden Tour .one of many exciting gardening events this spring!

Spectacular Beauty in a Pine WoodThe Hobbie Rhododendron ParkLinswege, GermanyWords and Photos: Linda DerkachIf you have the spectacular Rhododendron ‘Scarlet Wonder’ or R.‘Baden Baden’ flourishing in your garden, you have a connection tohybridizer Dietrich Hobbie whose garden and nursery we visited duringthe 2018 ARS Convention in Bremen, Germany. During his 86 years,Hobbie created roughly 100 rhododendron hybrids. He lived his wholelife on his farm in his beloved pine woods in northern Germany nearWesterstede. Born in 1899, Hobbie was 29 before his passion forrhododendrons, hybridizing and breeding emerged, eventually becominghis lifelong work. Some years later he was influenced by some ofEngland’s famous gardens, including Exbury Gardens and theRothschilds.At 160 acres, the Hobbie Rhododendron Park is the largest in Germanywhere Rhododendron is King – or so it seems. In fact, as we set out toview some of the most beautiful and very old cultivars, we were warnedto stay with the group and not to wander off down unmarked yetinviting grassy trails into the woods. Two or three hours was not nearlyenough time to do justice to such an extensive collection ofmagnificent shrubs. Lack of adequate time and plant labels made itnearly impossible to identify most of the luscious blooms. To this day,species from China, Burma, India, Europe and North America are foundin Hobbie’s huge collection.The lack of nomenclature was not a drawback to our enjoyment of theamazing blooms, the sheer number of cultivars and many breathtakingcombinations. Wild yet classy, this garden would be on my list to visitonce more if I were to travel Europe again.Page 7

This combination of rhododendrons almost as high as the housegreeted us as we arrived at the Hobbie Rhododendron Park.

The park is a place of enjoyment and relaxation.

We encountered Rhododendron luteum in many public gardens throughout Germany,Sweden and Denmark. The heady fragrance of this fluoriferous deciduous azaleaheightened our enjoyment of the gardens.Page 10

Rhododendron ‘Love Song’was growing in several placesalong the pine wood trails.Note the luscious, dark green, healthy and weevil-free leaves!!The rhododendrons here were blooming amazingly welldespite there being many trees providing shade.Page 11

Huge old rhododendrons underplanted with smaller varieties.

This part of the rhododendron park featured very old specimens, not unlike theold shrubs bordering sweeping lawns uncovered in theLost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall, England.

Page 15

Page 16

Hosted by ARS District 4 at the Heathman Lodge, Vancouver, WA.20/20 Vision international speakers to include: Kenneth Cox from Glendoick in ScotlandLionel de Rothschild from Exbury in EnglandJens Nielsen, plant explorer from DenmarkSteve Krebs and Juliana Medeiros from the Holden ArboretumSteve Hootman from the Rhododendron Species Botanical GardenValerie Soza from the University of Washingtonand more.Garden tours to include: Crystal Springs Botanical Garden Cecil & Molly Smith Garden Portland Japanese Garden Lan Su Chinese Garden Iseli Nursery Woodburn Nursery The Stewart Garden (formerly Dover Nursery) Sebright GardensAdditional features: plant sale, photo exhibit & contest, poster session, special clinics,Around the Sound pre-tour, Willamette Valley and Oregon Coast Excursion post-tour.Information at: www.ars75.orgRegistration opens December 2, 2019Page 19

the rhododendron, garden, plant or scene - if known. 3. Subjects This is not a contest, and pictures you have taken that showcase your garden or plants, . Cecil & Molly Smith Garden Portland Japanese Garden