Hardy Plant Study Weekend
Presented by the Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Group
"Into the Woods/Out of the Woods"
June 7-10
Valley River Inn
Eugene, Oregon
(Eugene, OR) The Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Group will present a conference for gardeners and plant lovers entitled “Into the Woods / Out of the Woods” on June 7-10, 2012, at the Valley River Inn in Eugene, Oregon. This conference takes place in the Willamette Valley/Eugene, once every four years. It is an opportunity to be among plant lovers from our local community as well as to meet gardeners from north and south of Oregon and as far away as the east coast. All activities occur between Thursday evening (speakers dinner) and Sunday.
Speakers on Friday evening, and Saturday morning, afternoon and evening will focus on various aspects of gardening in and near shade. Drawn from the east and west coasts, they are
Rick Darke, landscape design consultant and author from Pennsylvania, speaking on “Layers and Transitions Within the Woodland Garden” and “Transitions from Wood’s Edge to Sunny Meadow;”
John Elsley, Director of Horticulture for Wayside Gardens, South Carolina, speaking on Seasonal Delights in a South Carolina Garden,” and “Mentors and Maestros;”
Richie Steffen, Curator of the Elizabeth Miller Botanical Garden, Seattle, Washington, speaking on “Victorian Shade Gardening and the Modern Landscape;”
Sadafumi Uchiyama, Garden Curator of the Portland, Oregon, Japanese Garden, speaking on “Japanese Garden Influence Over the Pacific Northwest;“
Gretchen Carnaby, Garden Designer, Salem, Oregon, speaking on “Influences find Expression: Lord & Schryver in the Pacific Northwest.”
The program promises to be varied and informative, with lots of practical ideas to use in the garden.
On Friday and Sunday, 24 private gardens not usually available to the public in the Eugene-Springfield metro area open to conference participants from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Friday and Saturday a vendors’ room at the conference site offers gardening books and plants for sale from the region’s premier specialty nurseries. There is a banquet dinner Saturday preceding the evening speakers.
For more information about the group or this event, please visit our website
www.thehardyplantgroup.org, or contact the chair, Pam Perryman, (541) 344-0896.
Registration materials will be available on the website starting February 1, 2012.
The Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Group is a non-profit, 501(c)3 volunteer organization for gardeners of all experience levels. The Group is dedicated to educating the community about perennials, shrubs, and other plants for use in the garden, sharing each other’s gardens, and fostering a love of gardening. For more information, visit www.thehardyplantgroup.org.
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Below is a fuller description of the speakers’ talks and their bios.
Rick Darke
Layers and Transitions Within the Woodland Garden
The joy and drama of shadier spaces within the woodland is derived from richly layered plantings and imaginatively choreographed transitions. This presentation will look at planting design and management strategies for beautifully functional woodland interiors.
Transitions from Wood’s Edge to Sunny Meadow
Journeys between shade and sun can be among the most rewarding elements in a garden’s design. Rick Darke will follow his first presentation on interior woodland spaces with a discussion of design, planting and management strategies for luminous transitions from shade to sunny spaces, with a special look at the roles of greases and their relatives.
Rick Darke, President of RICK DARKE LLC, is a widely published author, photographer, lecturer and consultant focused on regional landscape design, planning, conservation, and enhancement. Blending art, ecology, and cultural geography, Darke is dedicated to the design and stewardship of the livable landscape. He has studied and photographed North American plants in their habitats for over 30 years, and this work is reflected in his articles and books including The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest. A broadly knowledgeable horticulturist, Darke has traveled in both hemispheres, exploring diverse ecologies and cultural landscapes in search of ideas to enrich the global garden. He is an internationally recognized authority on the use of grasses in designed and managed landscapes and his book, The Encyclopedia of Grasses for Livable Landscapes is the world's most complete individual reference on this topic. The Wild Garden: Expanded Edition places William Robinson's classic concept of wild gardening in modern ecological context and illustrates its relevance for today's gardeners and landscape stewards. Darke's own garden, made with Melinda Zoehrer, his wife and co-horticulturist, comprises 1.5 acres in the rolling piedmont of Landenberg, Pennsylvania, and features locally native and adapted plants and regional relics.
John Elsley
Seasonal Delights in a South Carolina Garden
Few localities in North Americva offer greater opportunities for creating an ornamental woodland garden of year round interest than the Upper Piedmont region of South Carolina. Seasonal plant highlights are presented – many of which have ornamental possibilities in Pacific Northwest gardens.
Mentors & Maestros
During a lifelong horticultural career one meets an incredibly divers range of fascinating individuals, many of whom play an inspiration in one’s own life. John Elsley give some personal recollections of these individuals and their major contributions to American gardens.
From the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England, to the halls of Geo. Park Seed Company and Wayside Gardens South Carolina, to Beaver Creek and Song Sparrow Nurseries in the Midwest, John Elsley has had an exceptional career covering every aspect of horticulture. He is once again at Wayside where he had developed and introduced new plants and served as general editor of “The Wayside Gardens Collection,” an eight-volume series on home gardening. He also worked with English rose breeder David Austin which led to the first line of “English Roses” in North America. He has lectured far and wide and appeared on segments of NBC’s “Today Show” and WOR Radio’s “Garden Hotline” in New York.
Richie Steffen
Victorian Shade Gardening and the Modern Landscape
The lush and abundant plant material available today rivals the riches of the Victorian era. Choice plants encourage gardeners to lust after and collect treasures from around the world. See some of these delights and learn about old Victorian shade gardens and practices that are making a come back in our modern gardens.
Richie Steffen is the curator for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden where he manages the rare plant collections and heads acquisition of new plants for the garden. By using both natives and exotics and blending elements of American, Japanese and British gardening influences the botanical garden follows in the tradition of Elisabeth Carey Miller in establishing a premier garden representing a classic Northwest style of garden design. Many plants are trialed for their regional suitability and garden use. Being an avid gardener, Richie constantly experiments with plants and growing conditions to learning ways to become a better gardener and how to use our natural resources in an efficient manner.
Gretchen Camaby
Influences find Expression: Lord & Schryver in the Pacific Northwest
In 1929 Elizabeth Lord & Edith Schryver formed the first women's landscape architecture firm in the Pacific northwest. In so doing, they brought the 'Country Place Era' of garden design west, greatly influencing the evolution of our residential and civic landscapes.
Raised in a gardening family. Advanced degree in biology. Owned and operated Perennial Designs since 1983. One time board member of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon. Co-founder and project coordinator for The Friends of Bush Gardens (formed to preserve and enhance the gardens in Bush's Pasture Park in partnership with the City of Salem Parks). Cofounder and member of the Salem Hardy Plant Society. Her concern for the environment has led her in the direction of habitat restoration and an ecological perspective in her own design work.
In addition, Gretchen is a founding member of the Lord & Schryver Conservancy whose mission is to preserve and interpret the legacy of Lord & Schryver to promote a greater understanding of their contribution to northwest landscape architecture. She is currently Rehabilitation Director for the preservation of the Lord and Schryver gardens at the Historic Deepwood Estate in Salem.
Sadafumi Uchiyama
Japanese Garden Influence Over the Pacific Northwest
Japanese garden influence in the US is nowhere more apparent than in Californaia nd the Pacific Northwest. History of the Portland Japanese Garden reveals that the garden has played an influential role in the formation of what we call Pacific Northwest gardens today.
Sadafumi (Sada) Uchiyama, the Garden Curator of the Portland Japanese Garden, is a third-generation Japanese gardener. His family has been involved in gardening since 1909 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. His training started at a very early age, first under his grandfather, father, and uncles, and later with his older brother. Since his arrival in the US in 1988, Sada received his Bachelor and Master in landscape architecture from the University of Illinois, graduating with high honors.
A traditional apprenticeship in Japanese gardening combined with the formal training in Western landscape architecture has allowed Sada to design and build a unique and wide range of private and public landscape projects. Two of his representative projects include the renovation of Osaka Garden (the Japanese Government exhibition site at the 1893 Columbia Exposition) at Jackson Park in Chicago and the renovation of Shofu-en Garden at Denver Botanic Gardens.
Prior to becoming the Garden's Curator, Sada taught landscape design courses at Clackamas Community College and lectured on Japanese gardening at both Mt. Hood and Portland Community Colleges. Since the beginning of its publication, he has contributed to the Journal of Japanese Gardening. His writings have also appeared in Inspired House and locally in Oregon Home. He served as a secretary of the International Association of Japanese Gardens (1996–2000). Most recently, Sada was invited to speak at the 5th International Symposium on Japanese Gardens in Tokyo, September 2007
Kate Gessert
"Together in the Garden: Food, Flowers, and Native Plants"
9:30 - 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 8 and Sunday, June 10, 2012
Each morning Kate will walk a group of no more than 15 people through her garden, talking about how to integrate food and ornamental plants with the native flora.
Kate Gessert is a Master Gardener and an instructor at Lane Community College in Eugene, OR. In 1987 Storey Communicatins published her book The Beautiful Food Garden.
