We are a group of Rock Garden enthusiasts with nearly 200 members, mostly in Michigan. We focus on plants of the Alpine regions of the world but never turn down a chance to grow any unique or interesting plant. Why not join us? More...
From garden tours to plant sales, our members enjoy sharing their knowledge and passion in this type of horticulture. We have speakers and programs that span the globe, with experts from as far as Europe, South Africa and New Zealand to our very own members, all united in the pursuit of rock gardening. Hide
Future Local Events
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Grace Johnson from the Denver Botanical Gardens, as part of
the NARGS speakers tour, will give us two talks bracketed by lunch.
PROGRAM: Details will be coming with the Spring Newsletter.
Saturday, May 23, 2026
PLANT SALE: Spring Plant Sale in Dexter area.
PROGRAM: Details will be coming with the Spring Newsletter.
New events are posted once the time and place is fixed, usually just after a Newsletter has been distributed to the membership. We have posted videos, for instance, of a lecture by Tony Reznicek; see the pull-down item in the navigation list at the page top.
National Events
NARGS 2026 Annual General Meeting
Calgary Alberta: High & Dry in the Chinook. June 25—28.
Check this AGM's site, or the Quarterly or, for more generally, the material on the NARGS website.
Previous Great Lakes Chapter Events
Click upon a [year number] to toggle visibility of the annual events list:
For instance clicking on the big [2025] just below will close the list of
archived events in 2025 and display year buttons for archives back to [2017].
[2026]
Saturday, January 31, 2026
MEETING: Winter Potluck with Lisa Roper
PLACE: Matthaei Botanical Gardens Auditorium
TIME: 10:30 AM — 2:30 PM
SETUP: 10:30 AM
PROGRAM: 11:000 AM The Chanticleer Gravel Garden –
Xeriscaping in the Delaware Valley
LUNCH: Noonish: Potluck Lunch --
Please bring a favorite dish to pass, and your cutlery,
cups, and plates. We’ll take care of drinks.
MEETING: 1:00 PM Brief membership business meeting
PROGRAM: 1:30 PM Recent Endeavors at Chanticleer: Grit, Gravel, Soil, plus Split Rocks.
Lisa Roper is from the
Chanticleer Garden
in the Philadelphia area. Chanticleer is an exquisite Botanical Garden,
so we are lucky to be able to bring Lisa in.
Lisa oversees both the Gravel and the Ruin Gardens at Chanticleer, and her experiences developing these dry, sunny gardens will be very enlightening for us gardening in Michigan. She will give a one-hour presentation before the potluck lunch and a second talk after the potluck.
Lisa is an artist and photographer, as well as a gardener, so we will all be able to learn a lot from her presentations.
[2025]
Saturday, September 27, 2025: FALL PLANT SALE AND GARDEN TOUR at Tony Reznicek’s.
PLACE: 890 Wickfield Court, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
See the 2025 Fall Plant Sale insert for more details.
PLANT SALE: 11:30 AM – ca. 3:00 PM
TOUR: Tour the garden at your convenience
Saturday, September 13, 2025: FALL MEETING with Mark Akimoff
PLACE: Demonstration Room, Research Museums Center 3600 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108See the map in an earlier Summer Notice for location details.
PROGRAM: 10:45 AM – Growing Rare Flower Bulbs
BREAK: Noon to 1 pm - Light Lunch and drinks
PROGRAM: 1 pm - 3 pm – From Habitat to the Home Garden: Cultivating Alpine Plants from Mountains around the World
SPEAKER: Mark Akimoff is the proprietor of Illahe Rare Plants, a specialty rock Garden and bulb nursery many of us know. He will be bringing some plants and bulbs to sell, so bring your wallet!
Note 1: Patrick and Bonnie will be having people over for pizza that evening (Saturday) for our dinner with the speaker and, as a special treat, Mark will be doing an informal talk: Building a Geothermal Greenhouse at the Ions, 6 - 8 pm. – so if you can attend, please let Bonnie know at the meeting.
Note 2: The front doors at the Herbarium will be locked as it is “after hours” so we’ll have someone standing by to let people in. Or you can text or call 734-996-0692.
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Spring Meeting,
Two Lectures by Paul Spriggs, and a Plant Sale
PLACE: University of Michigan Herbarium,
3600 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor 48108, Rm. 106
– see the map in an earlier
Summer Notice for location details,
and a 2024 Fall Plant Sale insert for how plants should ideally be prepared.
PROGRAM: 10:30AM — 11:30AM: Lecture by Paul Spriggs: A Great Scot:
The adventures of David Douglas in the Pacific Northwest
COFFEE and pastries: 11:30AM — 12:00PM
PROGRAM: 12:00PM — 1:00PM: Lecture by Paul Spriggs:
My Favourite Crevice Garden plants – Beautiful Pictures and information of the best plants for crevice gardens
SPEAKER:
Paul Spriggs has been rock gardening for roughly 27 years
and building crevice gardens for about 20 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 world, and by giving workshops for those keen
on learning the finer points of this developing art form.
He is co-Author (with Kenton Seth of Colorado), of the
first North American book on Crevice gardening, entitled
The Crevice Garden. How to make the perfect home for plants
from rocky places, released Summer 2022.
Paul Spriggs delivered a memorable online presentation in 2020,
"A Grand Tour: The Rock Gardens of the Czech Republic".
We were able, for a while, to publish it as a video on our web site.
TRAVEL: to Bonnie and Patrick Ion's Garden,
1456 Kensington Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-6214
[Plants for the sale may be dropped off
at their garden in the morning before the program.]
BAG LUNCH: While at, or on the way to, the Ion garden.
PLANT SALE: 2:00PM — 3:00PM
SEEDS: As part of the sale, Jacques Thompson will make available the NARGS SeedEx
surplus seeds allocated to our chapter. These seeds are free to good gardens!
Saturday, February 8, 2025
MEETING: Winter Potluck with Tony Reznicek
PLACE: Matthaei Botanical Gardens Auditorium
TIME: 11:30 AM — 2:30 PM
LUNCH:Pot Luck 11:30 AM — Noon; Please bring a favorite dish to pass, and your cutlery and plates. We’ll take care of drinks.
BUSINESS: Short meeting: 1 PM — 1:30 PM
PROGRAM: 1:30 PM:
Tony Reznicek — Turkish Spring
Plants and (maybe) Aliens.
Travels in Turkey February - March 2023.
[2024]
Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024 Fall Meeting with Connor Smith
MEETING: 7:00 PM – ca. 9:00 PM
PLACE: Demonstration Room.
Research Museums Center 3600 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108
PROGRAM: "The Tromsø Botanical Garden”
Connor is the Head of the rock garden at the
Utrecht Botanic Garden
in the Netherlands. It is one of the largest in Europe and has more
than 3,000 different species, and has many innovative features.
Connor has worked for a number of nurseries and gardens in North
America and Europe. In 2019, he worked for the
Schachen Alpine
Garden high in the German mountains, about which we recently
had a program.
The Tromsø Arctic-Alpine Botanical
Garden in Norway is unique
in how far north it is and the rare plants from the Arctic and
from mountains around the world they can grow. It has a character
that cannot be found in any other botanical garden. Here is a
unique chance to hear about a garden few people have a chance
to visit.
Note: the front doors will be locked so we’ll have someone
standing by to let people in. Or text or call 734-996-0692.
Saturday, October 19, 2024 Fall Meeting Plant Sale, & Garden Tour
PLACE: Tim Karl’s garden (13268 Longsdorf St., Riverview, MI 48193)
See the 2024 Fall Plant Sale insert for more details.
Here is a
Google Map Link (opens in a new tab)
This is a jewel of a garden we have never been to, and we’ll be there a bit
later than usual to admire the fall display of Japanese maples.
11:30 – ca. 1:30 tour the garden
BAG LUNCH: At your convenience while touring the garden
PLANT SALE: 1:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024 Fall Meeting with Julia Corden
MEETING: 9:30 AM – ca. 12:00 PM; We had coffee and breakfast snacks.
PLACE: Demonstration Room, Research Museums Center, 3600 Varsity Drive,
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
PROGRAM: 10:00 AM – “Adventures in Bhutan and the Blue Poppy”
Julia Corden is immediate Past President of the
Scottish Rock Garden Club.
Julia has been a Garden and Botanical tour guide travelling to many
places across the world and has led a number of NARGS tours.
She is a Horticultural Consultant and been a Professional
Horticulturalist for over 40 years!!
Blue poppies – and the Himalayan flora in general is an exciting one for Rock Gardeners – and Bhutan is less visited than many areas, but Julia Corden has been on 5 expeditions to the area since 2005. The kingdom, where the king recently gave the country to its people, is essentially a closed system. The motivations for the trips were in part to follow the trail of the plant hunter Sherriff, an important Scottish figure in the Explorers Garden in Pitlochry, which Julia directed for 18 years. She was able to show stunning pictures of Meconopsis sherriffii, and other Meconopsis, as well as the of many Primula species including new ones, Saussarias, Rheum nobile and other striking botanical material and landscapes at ca. 4,000m and above.
For a map see the 2024 Fall Newsletter.
Saturday, June 29, 2024 Bus Trip
This year’s bus trip was again amazing and enjoyed by everyone on it. It went to Blue Horizon Nursery and Chris Hansen’s garden in western Michigan. In addition, several gardens in the Grand Rapids area were open to us.
Saturday, May 18, 2024 Spring Meeting, Plant Sale, & Garden tour
MEETING: 11:00 AM — ca. 2:30 PM
PLACE: Bev and Bob Walters, 3437 Charing Cross, Ann
Arbor, MI 48108
PROGRAM: 11:00 – ca. 1:00 tour the gardens
BAG LUNCH: At your convenience, while touring the gardens
PLANT SALE: 1:30 PM
This is a phenomenal garden that we have not been to in
quite a while, with a great diversity of plantings
— water features, a crevice garden, dryland beds with
succulents, and an amazing pergola that you just must see.
Saturday, January 27, 2024 Annual Winter Potluck
MEETING: 12:00 noon – ca. 3:00 PM
PLACE: Matthaei Botanical Gardens Auditorium (1800 N Dixboro Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105)
PROGRAM:
12:00 Noon: Potluck Lunch
1:00 PM: Brief membership business meeting
1:30 PM: Lecture: Don Lafond "Vapor Locked”
Don is one of our steadfast long-time members and
an adventurous gardener.
He will be presenting specifically on his
adventures in Europe this past spring, ranging
from sleet at the Edinburgh Botanical Garden,
to visiting gardens, both public and private,
in Scotland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark,
and finally ending at the International Rock
Garden Meeting in the Czech Republic! It was
a monumental “garden crawl” so be sure to see
Don’s Program so you can plan your own trip!
And you have to come to find out the meaning
of Don’s title.
[2023]
Saturday, October 7, 2023 Fall Meeting with Barbara Cooper and Bella Seiden
MEETING: 9:30 AM – ca. 12:00 PM
PLACE: Matthaei Botanical Gardens Auditorium (1800 N Dixboro Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105)
PROGRAM: 10:00 AM – "Flora of the Turkish Silk Road”
We’ll have coffee and breakfast snacks.
Turkey is a country of rich physical and ancient cultural diversity straddling Europe and Asia. Bella and Barbara’s trip to Turkey in the spring of 2019 was an adventure with many surprises and much beauty. As they travelled along parts of the ancient Silk Road they saw mountains, volcanoes, steppe, beautiful rich valleys, rivers and lakes. Each of these areas is home to incredible flora, much of it endemic and fascinating cultural sites. Their presentation will offer some of the highlights of this trip.
Barbara Cooper and Bella Seiden have been gardening together in Toronto for more than 25 years. They have a plant collector’s garden in an urban setting, where they have constructed a tufa garden, crevice and rock garden as well as perennial beds. Over the years they have developed an interest in seeing plants in their natural habitat and have traveled several times to South America, South Africa, and Turkey. They are members of the Ontario Rock Garden and Hardy Plant Society where they are responsible for the Speaker’s Programme.
Saturday, September 16, 2023 Fall Meeting, Plant Sale, & Garden Tour
MEETING: 11:30 AM – ca. 3:00 PM
PLACE: Ed and Colleen Weiss’s garden (1005 Fairmount Drive, Ann Arbor MI 48105)
For traffic notes see the
2022 Fall Plant Sale insert!
11:30 – ca. 1:30 tour the garden.
BAG LUNCH: At your convenience while touring the garden
PLANT SALE: 1:30 PM
Saturday, May 13, 2023 Spring Meeting, Plant Sale, & Garden Tour
This meeting will be special. We’ll be visiting
Benedict’s Nursery, in northern Indiana. If you have been there, you will know it is a major destination for display gardens and great plants. So be prepared to be amazed – and get some super plants above and beyond our spring sale! To make things more convenient, as it is a long drive, we’re looking to charter a bus. So simply don’t miss it.
All the details for both spring meetings are in our
Spring Newsletter;
so click this link.
Saturday, April 8, 2023 Spring Meeting at Matthaei Botanical Garden
We have the good fortune to have had, through the NARGS Speakers Tour, Ian and Carole Bainbridge from Great Britain. Due to a morning event in the Matthaei Auditorium,
we were there for their Lectures only after lunch:
2:00 PM: World of Bulbs
4:00 PM: A garden from scratch: development of our Galloway garden
since 2010
Drs. Carole and Ian Bainbridge, from southwest Scotland, are keen Rock Gardeners, active for many years in the Scottish Rock Garden Club in various capacities. For over forty years they have travelled extensively around the world in search of alpine plants. Since their retirements, they have been working on their Galloway garden, started from scratch in 2010, after they moved from Edinburgh after 31 years [see]. Ian’s career was in nature conservation and ecology and ended as Chief Ecological Adviser to the Sottish Government, and Head of Science at the Scottish nature conservation agency. Carole followed her degree in biology working in various positions including the European Commission. She eventually retrained in garden design and had her own company. We are very fortunate to have had two talks from such knowledgeable and world-travelled gardeners!
Saturday, January 21, 2023 Annual Winter Potluck, in person
Auditorium at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N Dixboro Rd, Ann Arbor
10:30 AM: GLC-NARGS Board Meeting Earlier time than usual by 30 minutes
12:00 Noon: Potluck Lunch (see notes by Julie Caroff in
Newsletter)
1:00 PM: Brief membership business Meeting
1:30 PM: Sean Zera
Irises (and More) of Primorye (Russia)
Sean is our Vice-president and in 2019, on behalf of the
American Iris Society, had the opportunity to accompany a group of Russian and Mongolian botanists on a trip to collect wild iris species in Primorye, the southeasternmost region of Russia. He shared photos of the locations visited and of numerous plants, many of which are familiar as garden plants or as East Asian counterparts of our native species.
See also the 2023 Winter Newsletter.
March, 2023 Seed Exchange
GLC did the second round of the NARGS seed exchange for one more turn, again in Tony's giant garage.
[2022]
Saturday, October 29, 2022 Harry Jans
We had Harry Jans from the Netherlands, intrepid traveller and rock gardener, come to our Chapter through the NARGS speakers tour. See his website with numerous wonderful images of plants (more than 26,000). Further meeting details were shown as they became available; the talks were in Matthaei's Auditorium.
Saturday, September 17, 2022 Fall Meeting and Plant Sale
This was at Jacques and Andrea Thompson's beginning at noon;
with a Board Meeting preceding at 11:00 AM.
There was a succesful plant sale.
For location details see the
2022 Fall Newsletter and its
2022 Fall Plant Sale insert.
SUNDAY, October 2, 2022 Fall meeting
Karen Perkins of
Garden Vision Epimediums
gave us two talks in the Matthaei Botanical
Gardens auditorium; lunch was served between talks.
Many of you will have gotten her lovely catalogues
and seen
her inspiring site.
She had plants for sale since
she is retiring the business this year.
All the details were be in the Fall newsletter.
This was a joint meeting with the Hardy Plant Society.
(NOTE the date is a SUNDAY).
Saturday, June 11, 2022 Spring meeting and Plant Sale
This meeting was later than usual to accommodate peak flowering
of hardy cacti. Members visited two gardens, Vince Russo’s and
Bob Swartz’s. Some continued on to view Harold Berg's Rhododendron
gardens. As usual, the auction and sale contained a good number
of interesting plants, as well as a strikingly beautiful book1 2022 on
Hepaticas.
The details were in our Spring newsletter or emails.
Saturday, March 12, 2022 Winter Meeting, in person
BOARD: 12:00 PM GLC-NARGS Board Meeting
(note, no food or drink allowed in the auditorium>
BUSINESS: 1:45 PM: Brief membership business Meeting
PLACE: Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N Dixboro Rd, Ann Arbor .
PROGRAM: Vince Russo and David Hinch
Cold-Hardy Cactus for the Garden:
Growing in Unexpected Places
NOTE: Matthaei required masks of all persons in the building.
See the
Winter Newsletter.
A PDF of Cactus Lecture by Dave Hinch and Vince Russo is viewable
through their generosity.
[2021]
Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021 Fall Meeting, in person
MEETING: 2:00 PM – ca. 4:00 PM
PLACE: Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N Dixboro Rd, Ann Arbor .
PROGRAM: Tony Reznicek
Confessions of a Serial Plant Killer:
Mass Murder in the Rock Garden
Tony has made available a video of his talk (47:19 long) in our
videos.
NOTE: Matthaei required masks of all persons in the building.
See the
Almost Fall Newsletter.
There was a Business Meeting of the GLC Board previous to this, noon to 1:45pm.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 Fall Meeting, Plant Sale, & Garden Tour
Our fall meeting was hosted by Andy Arbuckle and Carla Bayha.
MEETING: 11:00 AM – ca. 3:00 PM
PLACE: Andy Arbuckle’s garden, 2353 North Parker, Dexter.
PLANT SALE: See the
Fall Newsletter
and the
Plant Sale insert.
BAG LUNCH: While touring the garden 1:30 PM
PLANT SALE: See the Plant Sale insert for details
Sunday, May 16, 2021: Open Gardens 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM — Ann Arbor area
PLACES:
Don & Mary LaFond, 11836 McGregor Road, Pinckney, MI 48169
Holly Pilon, 1920 Dexter Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 (Noon - 4:00)
Tony Reznicek, 890 Wickfield, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Jacques & Andrea Thompson, 7760 Crane Road, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
See the maps in the
2021 Spring Newsletter
Saturday, May 15, 2021: Spring Meeting and Plant Sale, & Open Gardens [SEE Sunday]
MEETING: Starting at 1:00 PM with a short business meeting.
PLACE: At the Byler’s: Pat & Rick Byler, 2202 Forest Park Drive, Jackson, MI 49201
Campbell's: Matt and Anne Marie Campbell, 1736 Probert Road Jackson, MI 49203
Greanya's: Libby and Michael Greanya, 2204 Vandemere Drive, Jackson, MI 49201
– These are adjacent amd nearby Properties. See the map in the
2021 Spring Newsletter
PLANT SALE: 1:00 PM — after the business meeting. Again, see the Spring Newsletter .
We will have Esther and Robert Benedict, of Benedict’s Nursery (Nappanee,
Indiana) selling plants the whole day as well.
OPEN GARDENS: SUNDAY
Saturday, March 20, 2021: Jenny Wainwright-Klein from Germany presented
The Schachen – a Botanic Garden high up in the Bavarian Alps
MEETING: 10:00 AM on Zoom
There was a chance to view a recording for a limited time afterwards starting some days after the presentation. See our Videos page. There is also a list there of plants shown in the slides.
In 1901 the Munich Botanic Garden went up a mountain to create The Schachen Alpine Garden. [There are several dozen photos at this link.] The garden, located south of Garmisch-Partenkirchen at 1,850 metres above sea level, is open for a mere three months of the year, and is accessible by foot only after a three to four hour hike. Jenny Wainwright-Klein began work in the Rock Garden of the Munich Botanic Garden (hundreds of photos on TripAdvisor) in 1992 and developed a fascination for alpine plants. Now, 27 years later, she is the supervisor of the alpine propagation unit and of the Schachen Alpine Garden. Last summer Jenny celebrated her 26th season in this garden.
Saturday, February 20, (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM EST)
Webinar: Winter Blues and Gardens of Green
A Penn State Extension program that includes Todd Boland, horticulturist at the Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden and Chair of the Newfoundland Rock Garden Society, who will share his extensive knowledge during a Foliage, the Forgotten Friend session. Joseph Tychonievich, author of several books including Rock Gardening: Reimagining a Classic Style will end the webinar with his gardening experience along with inspiring images of easy to grow, yet beautiful plants you can add to your rock garden.
Saturday, January 23, 2021: 1pm EST
GLC NARGS Business Meeting
MEETING: 1:00 PM on Zoom
DETAILS: Access details were sent to the member mailing list.
AGENDA: Our seed exchange participation; Treasurer's report.
MINUTES
[2020]
Saturday, December 12, 2020: 2pm EST
Anne Spiegel of Massachussets on "Gardening On Rock"
MEETING: 2:00 PM on Zoom
DETAILS: Access details were sent to the member mailing list.
Anne says she is a "self-taught dirt gardener", but one who had the good fortune to have fabulous mentors who were the leading rock gardeners at that time. She is the owner/designer/builder/planter/maintainer/constant expander of large rock garden built on a very challeging site. The site is steep, windy, cold (or used to be), with stepped ledges ending in a small cliff. The garden faces WNW and is subject to winter winds. It is watered only by Nature due to a too-finite well. Deer are co-gardeners, unfortunately. The garden won the "Millstream Award" in 2011. Anne remarks "This was very special to me because Linc Foster was my first mentor and was the one who persuaded me to join NARGS."
The title of her talk was "Gardening On Rock", and it was about building her garden and, of course, the plants in it. She had been successfully gardening her hillside property including cliffs for two decades when a tornado struck destroying over 30 trees on her property including a a 300-year-old oak that dug her rock gardens up. The subsequent rebuilding and expansions of her gardens in the next couple of decades only make her garden more impressive. She gave accounts of how her garden grew as she evolved as a gardener, and could offer tips and evaluations of the many of her plants she featured.
Anne graciously provided a Plant List, giving the names of some of the beautiful and often rare plants she has been growing. It is available as a web page or as a PDF for printing.
Saturday, November 7, 2020: Paul Spriggs of Vancouver BC, Lecture
MEETING: 2:00 PM on Zoom
DETAILS: Access details will be sent later to the member mailing list.
A video of the lecture was available for a limited time starting some days after the presentation. See our Videos page.
Saturday, October 17, 2020: Fall Meeting, Plant Sale, & Garden Tour
MEETING: Noon – ca. 3:00 PM
PLACE: Andy Duvall’s Nursery at 9950 Dixboro Rd., South Lyon, MI
– See the map in the
Plant Sale insert
BAG LUNCH: If desired, and while touring the Nursery while wearing masks and socially distancing.
PLANT SALE: 1:30 PM – See the Plant Sale insert for important details, and the Fall Newsletter .
Saturday, April 18, 2020: Jenny Wainwright-Klein from Germany presenting
1. The Schachen – a Botanic Garden high up in the Bavarian Alps
2. Alpine Plants of the Drakensberg Mountains of Lesotho and adjacent South Africa
Saturday, March 7, 2020: Winter Meeting: Focus on Steppe Plants For Rock Gardens!
MEETING: 10:00 AM – ca. 1:30 PM
PLACE: Matthaei Botanical Gardens Auditorium – see the map in
Newsletter
PROGRAMS: Mike Bone
10:00 AM – Steppe Plants for Rock Gardens
Steppes are semi-arid biomes dominated by forbs, grasses, and grass-like species, and characterized by extremes of cold and heat. Sounds just like Michigan!
11:30 AM – Middle Asian Steppe and its Mountainous Regions
Plant from steppe regions have the advantage for us of being more heat tolerant that standard alpines, so offer some untapped beauty for rock gardeners.
This is a great opportunity to see the diversity of the central Asian steppe, a region of great beauty, with massive mountain ranges, but rarely visited by people from North America.
CATERED LUNCH:
12:15 PM
Mike Bone is the Curator of Steppe Collections at the Denver Botanical Gardens, one of the finest gardens for Botanical Diversity in North America. Mike has worked at the Gardens since 2002 and for the majority of his tenure has been in propagation and production. Mike has a passion for cultivating plants from and appropriate for the steppes of North America, and has traveled widely studying the flora of North America and Central Asia. He is involved in many aspects of their Plant Select program.
Mike is also the author, with Dan Johnson, Panayoti Kelaidis, Mike Kintgen, and Larry G. Vickerman of a new (2015) book: Steppes: The Plants and Ecology of the World’s Semi-arid Regions, published by the Denver Botanical Gardens.
Saturday, February 22, 2020: Our Annual Winter Potluck!
MEETING: 11:30 AM – ca. 3:00 PM
PLACE: Matthaei Botanical Gardens Auditorium – see the map in
Newsletter
Potluck Lunch: 12:00 NOON Beverages provided. Please bring a
dish to pass!
Brief business Meeting: 1:00 PM
[MOVED from 18 January DUE TO WEATHER]
Program 1:30 PM:
Mike Palmer – History of the Marie Azary Rock garden with updates on the current renovation
Mike has been a long time GLC member, and is the Greenhouse Research Coordinator and Collections Horticulturist at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. He has been overseeing the renovation of the Azary Rock garden, and filled us in on all the happenings and how we may help further.
Saturday, January 18, 2020: Our Annual Winter Potluck!
[CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER - MOVED to 22 February]
MEETING: 11:30 AM – ca. 3:00 PM
PLACE: Matthaei Botanical Gardens Auditorium – see the map in
Newsletter
Potluck Lunch: ....
[2019]
2019
Saturday, September 7, 2019: Fall Sale and Garden Tour
MEETING: 11:00 AM – ca. 3:00 PM
PLACE: Andy Arbuckle's place at 2353 North Parker Rd. in Dexter
— see the details inside the
fall newsletter
BAG LUNCH: While touring the gardens
PLANT SALE: 1:30 PM — see the
Plant Sale insert for details.
NOTE: The Draft New Bylaws were considered and adopted during the business part of this meeting.
Saturday, June 8, 2019: Spring Meeting with Marcela Ferreyra
MEETING: 11:00 AM – ca. 3:00 PM
PLACE: University of Michigan Herbarium,
3600 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor 48108, Rm. 106
– see the map in the June Summer Notice
PROGRAMS: Marcela Ferreyra
11:00 AM – Best Patagonian Flowers
CATERED LUNCH: 12:30 PM
1:30 PM – Rosulate Violas
We were very lucky to have Marcela visit and present two programs to us. She is a world expert on the Patagonian Flora, a great speaker, and delightful person. And we learned a bit of how to grow these fantastic Patagonian plants! She will lead the November 2020 NARGS Tour in Patagonia.
Friday – Sunday, May 17-19, 2019:
Spring Gala, Plant Sale & Garden Tours.
Friday May 17: starting at 6 PM
Meet and greet at Tony & Susan Reznicek's garden,
890 Wickfield Court, Ann Arbor,
Park on the street (parking is a bit limited, so carpooling would
be great)
GLC spring plant sale was there; many participated. Along with plants donated by GLC members we have procured plants from Wrightman Alpines and Sunscapes Nursery. Also Esther Benedict (Benedict’s Nursery: directions and description ) sold her rock garden plants. GLC Chapter members donated many plants to be distributed to other rock gardeners.
Saturday May 18: 9 AM - 4 PM Garden Visits.
for garden details see the flyer.
6 PM Dinner at Weber's in the Atrium Ballroom,
8 PM Vojtech Holubec: Happy in the Wild, Happy in the Garden
Sunday May 19: 9 AM - 1 PM garden visits.
General Ann Arbor area map for planning – see also inside the
flyer. Also significant and worth seeing are
Matthaei Botanical Gardens and the
Nichols Arboretum with its striking
Peony Garden.
Saturday and Sunday May 11th & 12th, from 10 am
until 3 p.m., 2019:
Andrea & Jacques Thompson opened their garden again on
Mother’s Day weekend, The weather of late has been cooler, and
a lot wetter than is usual for our area in May, The Spring garden
was just about at peak over the weekend.
Friday – Sunday, May 3–5, 2019:
NARGS ANNUAL MEETING:"Rooted in Diversity”
At the Sheraton Great Valley in Frazer (a suburb of Philadelphia). Hosted by Delaware Valley Chapter.
Contact: Jerry Rifkin (jerryr95 AT comcast.net). See also the fall issue of the
Rock Garden Quarterly (if you are a NARGS member).
Saturday, April 6, 2019: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Spring Meeting with Ger van den Beuken
Matthaei Botanical Gardens 1800 N. Dixboro Rd
Ann Arbor, MI 48105 United States
[Google Map]
Two programs were presented by Ger van den Beuken, one of Europe’s most eminent experts on the cultivation of choice alpine plants.
- Program I (11-12:30): The Cultivation and Propagation of the Genus Saxifraga (includes Porphyrion, Saxifraga and Ligulatae Saxifrages).
- Break (12:30-1:30)
- Program II (1:30-3): Cushion and Mat-forming species.
A communal lunch was enjoyed by all participants between the two excellent talks which showed an enormous variety of beautiful plants in cultivation and in the wild. Ger has seen and grown dozens of different species of the more than 440 known in Saxifraga; the list of those he discussed was a large extension of those listed on Wikipedia. Unfortunately, the wilds are places most of us will never reach (such as high Patagonia or the far Caucasus), and those plants that are in cultivation somewhere often cannot take Michigan conditions (such as our summer heat or highly variable winter cold). However, Ger did provide practical tips on doing the best one can, drawn from observation in the wild and 35 years as a grower, and gave much encouragement to those willing to try.
Member Joan Bolt, whose jewel of a garden GLC visited in May last year, brought a trove of valuable gardening books. She had decided these were surplus to her present requirements, and to give them away free to 'good homes', as she put it. Many members left very happy with their new treasures.
In addition, a Business Meeting of GLC adopted the motion that the Chapter incorporate. The Chapter Chair, Holly Pilon, will submit Articles of Incorporation to the State of Michigan. Incorporation differs from the legal status following from the previous Articles of Association, dating from 25 October 2010, to be seen from the GLC Governance page. Incorporation protects individual members from personal liability and will simplify obtaining liability insurance for for events that GLC runs, like the upcoming Gala, on May 17-19, and garden visits. It does not affect GLC's charitable or tax situations.
Saturday, January 19, 2019: [NOTE: changed from Jan. 26]
The Annual Winter Potluck took place at Matthaei Gardens in Ann Arbor. The new
Bylaws were discussed at the business part of this meeting, and the GLC Board
continues their refinement and deliberations over legal correctness.
[2018]
2018
Sunday, December 9, 2018:
The Great Lakes Chapter packaged seeds for the NARGS seed
exchange at the downtown Ann Arbor
library.
On a rare sunny Michigan December day, we were lucky to have 22 meticulous workers and were able to get all the seed packaging done in only three hours instead of the allotted six hours!
The primary tools were a sheet of paper and a single edged razor blade-yes it looks like everyone is doing lines of cocaine and it did attract attention from curious library patrons although when they saw what we were doing decided they really didn't want to join us after all.
Each participant is entitled to 10 free packets of seeds through the upcoming seed exchange. The random seed they took home stuck by static electricity to their fuzzy sweaters was just a bonus.
Kudos to Holly Pilon, our president, and Jacques Thompson, for orchestrating this big endeavor.
Saturday, November 3, 2018:
Fall Meeting
at the Hamburg Senior Community Center – see the map in the
Fall Newsletter
MEETING: 11:00 AM – ca. 3:00 PM
PROGRAM: Marcia Tatroe
11:00 AM – Four Seasons in a Rock Garden
CATERED LUNCH: 12:30 PM
1:30 PM – Going Beyond Alpines
Bio at NARGS: Marcia Tatroe writes the monthly "Mountain Garden Checklist" for Sunset Magazine and is a frequent contributor to Colorado Gardener and other gardening publications. She has been gardening in Centennial, Colorado, for over 31 years. Her photography and gardens have been featured in numerous books, magazines, and nationally televised gardening shows. She lectures throughout the West focusing on garden design, rock gardening, xeriscape, and native plants, advocating using drought-tolerant and native plants and indigenous materials to create a gardening aesthetic unique to this region. Her garden was awarded Gold Habitat Hero status by the Audubon Rockies in 2017 as an outstanding urban wildscape.
Tuesday, October 9, 2018:
Special Meeting in Room 125
at Matthaei Botanical Gardens.
MEETING: 7 PM
PROGRAM: Sue Milliken and Kelly Dodson
from Far Reaches Farm
in Port Townsend, Washington
For a list of articles about them click the link just given.
Saturday, September 22, 2018:
Fall Meeting & Plant Sale, & Garden Tour
MEETING: 11:00 AM – ca. 3:00 PM
at Eric and Julia Hofley's garden, 4010 Fairlane Drive
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301
See the
Plant Sale Insert
BAG LUNCH: While touring the gardens
PLANT SALE: 1:30 PM – See the
Plant Sale Insert for details.
A very successful plant exchange in a lovely garden setting full of
interesting and well-grown plants! Even the weather was fine if a little cool.
Saturday, September 1, 2018:
Bus trip to Bob Iiames Garden fair in Englewood Ohio, with a visit to another garden
thereafter, and a short stop at Springfield Garden Center in Tipp
City on the return journey. For a report with pictures see the
2018 Fall Newsletter.
Friday to Sunday,July 6–8, 2018;
NARGS Annual Meeting 2018 "Where Alpines Meet the Sea"
in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
A great meeting followed by an optional Post-conference Tour.
Newfoundland Limestone Barrens
Monday, July 9 Monday, 16, 2018
Todd Boland, Trip Leader
Saturday May 5, 2018;
Spring Meeting & Plant Sale
at Mike & Libby Greanya’s and Pat Byler’s in Jackson.
Details were in the
Spring Newsletter
and the accompanying insert.
Saturday March 31, 2018;
Spring Meeting, Conifer Extravaganza! at
Matthaei Botanical Gardens Auditorium
(see the map in
Newsletter
11:00–ca. 1:00 tour the garden;
CATERED LUNCH: 12:30 — 1:30;
PROGRAMS: Robert Fincham
11:00 AM – Dwarf Conifers Suitable for Small Gardens
Some conifers are among the hardiest plants, and many are evergreen, offering year round color and texture. Though many are big trees, dwarf sports are not uncommon and selecting and propagating these allows a huge diversity to be utilized in even in small gardens.
1:30 PM – Colorful Conifers
Among the mutations to which conifers are prone are color mutation that provide splashes of color even in winter months. Find out what ones are best for our gardens.
Robert Fincham
Robert Fincham was a founding member and first President of the American Conifer
Society, and a well-known author, nurseryman, speaker, and introducer of
dwarf conifers. Popular illustrated books he has written on conifers include
Small Conifers for Small Gardens, and Special Conifers For Special Gardens
(3 volumes). For many years he was the owner of Coenosium Gardens, a
specialty conifer nursery. See
https://coenosium.com/ for more information.
Saturday January 20, 2018;
Winter Pot Luck and Janet Macunovich Lecture
at Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor
MEETING: 11:00am – ca. 3:00pm
POT LUCK LUNCH: 12:00 noon
BUSINESS MEETING: 1:00pm included a ceremony handing over the prestigious NARGS
Edgar T. Wherry Award to Tony Reznicek
PROGRAM LECTURE: 1:30pm
Janet Macunovich and Stev Nikkila talked on
Planting Well Even When Roots Aren't Right.
This was of special interest to those planting woody plants from containers. Jacques Thompson relates that Janet's presentations Giving Your Conifers a Haircut and Columbo on Conifer:Why’d it Die? ,at the National Conifer Society concerning new insights into planting techniques, caused him to change his ways. Janet is a South-East Michigan gardener, designer, author and educator [see her biographical page]. For a map and other information see the GLC Winter Newsletter or the lecture's posting at Matthaei Botanical Gardens.
[2017]
2017
Saturday September 23, 2017;
Fall Plant Sale and Garden visit
at the garden of Ed and Colleen Weiss in Ann Arbor,
1005 Fairmount, Ann Arbor, MI 48105 — see
[Newslettesr]:
11:00–ca. 1:00 tour the garden;
BAG LUNCH: While touring the garden;
PLANT SALE: 1:30 PM — See the
Plant Sale insert
for details.
(Note this meeting is the 23rd not our usual date of the third Saturday in September.)
Ed and Colleen Weiss are pleased to host. Relatively new to the world of Alpines, they have been planting these fascinating plants over the past five to six years. Their introduction to the plant world began with their collecting unique and diverse conifers. All this planting activity takes place in and around large boulder walls creating a unique back-yard environment. The Alpine garden is a work-in-progress that begs complementing the conifer slogan “I haven't met a Chamaecyparis I didn't like” with “There isn't a Saxifraga we wouldn't plant”.
Sunday September 24, 2017, at 1:00 pm;
Hypertufa Trough Workshop given by Don LaFond
at Matthaei Botanical Gardens.
Don LaFond will show people how he makes his wonderful troughs, and also include some tips on planting them.
Saturday and Sunday, September 16-17, 2017;
Exotic Plant Show and Sales weekend
at Matthaei Botanical Gardens.
Saturday May 6, 2017;
Spring Plant Sale and Garden visit
at Joan Bolt's, 509 Fendale St SE, Grand Rapids –
see map insert.
MEETING: 11:00am -- ca. 3:00pm
GARDEN: 11:00-ca. 1:00 tour the garden
BAG LUNCH: While touring the garden
PLANT SALE: NOON
Changed from 1:30 pm on 3 May to allow more time for Blue Horizon excursions
-- for other details see Newsletter and
map insert for details.
Due to the distance many of will be travelling we wanted to have a second venue of interest for this outing and Blue Horizon Nursery will more than fill the bill. Located about a 45-minute drive from Joan’s, this a bit-off-the-beaten-path plant destination will leave you absolutely plant drunk!
Blue Horizon Nursery
09721 59th Street Grand Junction, MI 49056. Hours: Wed – Sun 10 am till 6 pm
Saturday February 18, 2017;
Business Meeting, Talks 12:00-12:45 pm and 2:30-3:30 pm, and Membership pot-luck
at Matthaei Botanical Gardens auditorium in Ann Arbor, MI
Kenton J. Seth gave two fascinating (45-minute -- the first went rather longer to the audience's pleasure) talks. One on “Crevice Garden Construction” beginning followed by our membership’s pot-luck lunch, and the second presentation “Wildflowers of the Caucasuses”. Both lectures were well attended. In addition there was a demonstration of grafting (a peach on a cherry) by Andy Duval and an auction of some donated books and choice plants (particularly 2 Hamamelis in bloom from Duval).
Kenton Seth is a young native of Colorado. He is a plant nut and native plant hunter who has worked in public horticulture and nurseries. Kenton currently owns Paintbrush Gardens, a dual specialty landscape company which builds un-irrigated native landscapes and crevice gardens for public spaces. Kenton also documents his adventures on his blog “I Need A Cup of Tea”. In addition, you can look at a YouTube video from a crevice gardening workshop by Kenton at the J. C. Raulston Gardens in Raleigh NC
News
18 January 2026: 2026 Winter Newsletter from Tony Reznicek.
4 September 2025: 2025 Fall Newsletter from Tony Reznicek.
8 May 2025: 2025 Spring Newsletter from Tony Reznicek with invitation to the NARGS national meeting in Cheyenne from Panayoti Kelaidis.
24 January 2025: 2025 Winter Newsletter from Tony Reznicek with early history of the GLC by Betty Blake.
23 October 2024: Connor Smith from Utrecht gave a fascinating lecture at the University of Michigan Herbarium on his exchange visit in June 2023 to the Tromsø Alpine and Arctic Garden in Norway, at about 70 degrees North. They grow all sorts of interesting material, including rarities normally found at more than 14,000 feet in China.
19 October 2024: Fall Meeting and Plant Sale at Tim Karl's beautifully designed and kept garden in Riverview: for pictures see GLC's Facebook page link at the top of this page.
4 September 2024: 2024 Fall Newsletter from Tony Reznicek with comments from the new Chair Sean Zera and other details
6 May 2024: 2024 Spring Newsletter from Tony Reznicek with Chair comments and other details
14 Jan 2024: 2024 Winter Newsletter from Tony Reznicek
8 Sept 2023: 2023 Fall Newsletter from Tony Reznicek
15 July 2023: From Jacques Thompson: blog posting "The Red Menace"
10 June 2023: From Jacques Thompson: blog posting "Approaching Mid June"
26 Mar 2023: 2023 Spring Newsletter from Tony Reznicek
16 Mar 2022: PDF of Cactus Lecture by Dave Hinch and Vince Russo posted
12 Mar 2022: Cactus Meeting held at Matthaei BG
Announcements included:
SeedEx—Holly Pilon still needs volunteers with half job already done
A stipend for first-time AGM attendance was announced; to apply contact the GLC Chair or Treasurer
The Azary Garden project will be restarting in the Spring; to volunteer contact Tony Reznicek
For the Azary Project more tufa will be obtained from the Sandusky OH area; members who wish to join a convoy down there to get their own tufa should contact Linda Gates.
6 Mar 2022: New GLC Blog posting from Jacques Thompson
1 Mar 2022: SeedEx—Holly Pilon needs volunteers
The surplus seed round ordering starts
on Tuesday, March 1 and we will have our
first work day on Saturday, March 5, 1-4pm. Our workday schedule after
the 5th goes as follows:
Tue and Thu, March 8 & 10, 1-4pm
Wed March 9, 6-8pm
Sun March 13, 1-4pm
Tue and Thu, March 15 & 17, 1-4pm
Wed, March 16, 6-8pm
Sat, March 19, 1-4pm
Tue, March 22, 1-4pm
For details and to volunteer see the
Winter Newsletter.
28 Feb 2022: new GLC Winter Newsletter posted.
Plant Image List: Hamamelis xintermedia ‘Orange Peel’; Galanthus woronowii; Eranthis hyemalis; Adonis 'Fukujukai'; Mahonia bealii; Illicium floridanum; Arum dioscoridis; Cylindropuntia davisii.
Jan and Feb 2022: new GLC Blog postings from Jacques Thompson
Tony Reznicek received 2017 NARGS Edgar T. Wherry Award
Read EncomiumEncomium: There is no doubt that Tony fulfills the requirements for the Edgar T. Wherry Award. I have known Tony for at least 25 years and read many newsletters and NARGS Quarterly articles he has written, as well as several talks. Tony has served as the GLC newsletter editor for over 30 years. He has been a past director of NARGS and a past president for GLC. Tony is the Curator of the University of Michigan Herbarium. His knowledge of plants is second to none. Tony leads countless plant tours for the GLC and many other organizations, and, as some have experienced a tour of the UP of Michigan for the post-conference trip of the past National Meeting in 2015. As the Wherry Award concerns the dissemination of botanical and/or horticultural information, I did some research on what else he has spoken or written about. I counted over 300 scientfic papers, magazine articles, and books that Tony has co-authored or authored outright. I believe all, or at least most, of his writing subjects consisted of native plants around the Great Lakes and Canada and high-elevation plants of Mexico, with some very interesting work on plant hunters, with a big interest in Reginald Farrer, and Joseph Rock. His big plant focus is, but certainly not limited to, Carex, on which he literally wrote the book. I also roughly counted 300 speaking engagements on numerous scientific and horticultural subjects, all this dissemination of botanical and horticultural information spread over 50 years. Tony is a tireless proponent of rock gardening, horticulture, environmental concerns and a mentor of countless people (me included). We here at the Great Lakes Chapter of NARGS would love to see Dr. Anton (Tony) Reznicek receive the Edgar T. Wherry Award for a simply amazing career, so far! Hide Encomium
Spring Photos: Jacques Thompson (03 Mar 2020)
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Eranthis hyemalis: wood lot full
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Eranthis hyemalis:
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Eranthis hyemalis: seen by Jacques Thompson and Don Lafond
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Eranthis hyemalis: seen by Jacques Thompson and Don Lafond
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Eranthis hyemalis: seen by Jacques Thompson and Don Lafond
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Eranthis hyemalis: seen by Jacques Thompson and Don Lafond
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Eranthis hyemalis: an almost white form
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Eranthis hyemalis: in the Ions' garden Mar 08
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The same space in the Ions' garden 16 Mar 2015
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Eranthis hyemalis: a green one, from a GLC sale, in the Ions' garden, 12 Mar 2020
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Eranthis hyemalis: the green one, in the Ions' garden, 15 Mar 2023
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Two Daphnes showing different icing 24 Feb 2023
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A green Trillium in Northern Michigan 10 May 2015.
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The green one two back, from a GLC sale, in the Ions' garden, 20 Mar 2021; now Eranthis hyemalis 'Peony Envy'.