 Lilies in bloom during July outing
Enjoying the view on HPS Vermont trip
Bob Dash answers questions at Madoo
A peaceful moment
Conifer grafting workshop
Gardeners' Market Sale
Hauling it home from the plant sale
Sharing plant info
Dinner meeting buffet
|
|
Lectures and Seminars
Throughout the year, we bring in well-known local, national, and international speakers. HPS/MAG co-sponsors the prestigious annual Perennials Conference, where you will find our very popular book sales table with the latest and greatest garden books, including book signings by featured speakers, on sale at a hefty discount.
Click here for the Perennials Conference Brochure.
March into Spring
The whole Delaware Valley gardening community looks forward to HPS/MAG’s annual March Into Spring seminar, which marks the beginning of the planting season. On a Saturday in late March, we gather for a day of lectures, demonstrations, a silent auction, and a delicious lunch. Some of our favorite member nurseries have plants and troughs for sale, and we offer the best and newest gardening books at a substantial discount.
Check the calendar for this year’s schedule.
Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
Special Interest Group leaders plan garden and nursery visits and workshops of particular interest to enthusiasts of shade gardens, cottage gardens, tender perennials, and winter bloomers. In 2007, we inaugurated our first geographically based SIG
- Focus Lehigh Valley. These informal outings are among the most enjoyable HPS/MAG activities. Check the calendar often for listings and remember to confirm if you plan to attend.
Members only.
Calendar
Excursions
Daytrips
Throughout the gardening year, we visit exceptional private gardens and specialty nurseries. Nursery owners, some wholesale only, frequently offer us discounts and tours. Local members usually recommend a favorite restaurant where we can visit and compare notes over lunch.
Check the calendar for our annual spring visits to nurseries in Lancaster and Chester counties. We enjoy getting to know new members, so don’t be shy, ask for a ride!
Longer Trips
Once or twice a year, HPS/MAG sponsors a two- or three-day garden lovers’ bus tour beyond the Delaware Valley. We have traveled to Long Island, Southern New England, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, twice to Virginia, and on longer odysseys to Ireland and Scotland, visiting noted gardens, arboreta, and nurseries and – always – eating well. Our latest trip to Vermont gardens was a great success.
IMost members would say that the best thing about HPS/MAG excursions is the opportunity to leave non-gardener mates at home, forget the problems of real life, and indulge our plant lust with equally passionate plant lovers. We have all made lasting friends on these trips and have enriched our gardens with rare plants and unique accessories.
Check the calendar for upcoming trips.
Individual Garden Visits
Members who are pleased to open their gardens by appointment to fellow HPS members are indicated by an asterisk in the Membership Directory. We want you to visit. All it takes is a phone call.
Visiting etiquette: Make an appointment. Leave pets and young children at home. Do not take cuttings, seeds, or photographs without the owner’s permission.
Annual Garden Tour and Reception
Once a year, we visit an outstanding group of members’ gardens, then gather for a celebration of another successful gardening season.
Check the calendar for this year's tour and party.
Workshops
We schedule several hands-on workshops during the year on such subjects as grafting, bog gardening, creating hypertufa troughs, and winter container design.
Plant Sales and Exchanges
Spring Members' Sale
In May, members bring rare and unusual plants from their gardens, as well as established seedlings, to sell at very low prices to other members. We also hold a silent auction of important items.This is an opportunity to share your treasures and diversify your garden. Proceeds support HPS/MAG programs. Members only. You can join at the door.
Gardeners’ Market Sale
This late summer sale includes unusual plants from members’ gardens and discounted books, as well as unique plants, pots, and garden ornaments sold by artists, garden boutiques, and nurseries. In 2007, more than 20 wholesale and retail vendors offered vines, aquatics, perennials, shrubs, trees, troughs, art and hand-made garden accessories. Open to the public. If you are interested in being a vendor, contact: info@hardyplant.org.
Seed Exchange
Volunteers gather in January at the Henry Foundation in Gladwyne to clean, sort, and catalog donations. A bound list with descriptions and growing instructions for each entry is sent to members, who may order up to 25 packets for a $15 fee. Volunteers and those who donate more than five varieties are entitled to ten bonus packets.
In late January and February, volunteers mass again at the Henry Foundation – when weather permits – to package and label the seeds, fill orders, and mail them.
Participating in this complex ballet rewards volunteers with informal access to comrades who know nearly all there is to know about gathering, storing, germinating, and growing an amazing selection of seeds. Helping at the Seed Exchange is a relaxed way to make new gardener friends.
In 2005-2007, 70 gardeners, nurseries, and arboreta donated more than 880 varieties of seed to the Exchange. Check the calendar for workshop dates. To volunteer, contact: info@hardyplant.org.
Cuttings Exchange
In spring and fall, we gather at members’ gardens to share cuttings and seedlings of our favorite plants. You can always find a plant you don't know and try growing it for free.
Book Sales
HPS/MAG sells the best and newest gardening books at a substantial discount at several events throughout the year.
Newsletter
Our bimonthly newsletter contains all the information you need to participate in HPS/MAG activities as well as news and commentary, a letter from the president, and informative articles on subjects of interest to members. We publish in January, March, May, July, September, and November and welcome contributions. Deadlines are the first day of the previous month.
Annual Dinner Meeting
In late fall, we get together for a brief meeting to vote on the new officers and board members, eat a delicious potluck supper, and enjoy a program with slides from member trips.
|
