This weekend I am attending the Annual Meeting of the North American Rock Garden Society being held in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Having never been to either Santa Fe or even New Mexico for that matter, I discovering why so many artists and creative people love this city. It’s unique Pueblo style architecture with adobe brick and stucco is amazing, not to mention the food, the people, the weather and the chili’s.
As some of you already know, I am so proud to have been elected as the new president of NARGS this weekend, and I am so excited to have been both nominated and elected into this two year term with such a respected plant group as the North American Rock Garden Society. In many ways, I feel so un qualified as there are many expert gardeners more qualified than I, as the membership includes some of of the finest botanists and plant enthusiasts of any plant group, but I understand the mission at hand – revitalizing, re-energizing and perhaps reinventing a group of smart, passionate and dedicated plant people and leading the way for a brighter future. Something many plant societies will need to address in the coming years. I cannot make many big promises, but I can and will tell the membership that I will do my very best to inspire and bring a positive energy to the group.
The adobe architecture in and around Santa Fe keeps authentic, much like parts of New England.
I am very busy here, as meetings and hikes continue every day, but I thought that I might share some images – with very little text. Enjoy!
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| Centranthus ruber growing in a border in front of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. |
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| Street markets around Santa Fe feature exactly what one would expect in such an alley. |
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| NARGS members gather at a trail head for one of the many hikes, botanizing the mountains of Sangre de Christo in New Mexico. |
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| The view from – of all things, the hot tub at one of the private homes we visited. |
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| Many Salvia thrive in the arid, desert-like climate which still gets snow in the winter, but hot, dry drought in the summer. These plants were in the gardens at the home of a NARGS member. |
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| This Erodium, related to the geranium, blooms in the bright shade. Not many alpine plants bloom in August, but the Erodiums do. |
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| This Saliva azurea was stunning! I wonder if I could grow this blue beauty in my greenhouse? |
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| A Cyclamen hederifolium in New Mexico? If sited right, many zone 5 plants can grow here if a bit of water is offered. Besides, this climate in not unlike that of Turkey or the Steppes of Asia. |
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Matt, if you have time, stop in at Ten Thousand Waves in Santa Fe for a hot tub and massage. Great setting, wonderful spa services. A splurge, but well worth it!
+1. Rent a private tub for an hour and then use the spa services (which are the best I've experienced). Heavenly!
congratulations! can't wait to see your next post on all this.
Salvia azurea overwintered for several years in my zone 6b Arlington MA garden. You might not need a greenhouse. It might have died out from winter rot or from an unusually cold winter. I'd experiment with sharp drainage around the crown or the technique I use for my Datura: I plant it almost 2 feet deep, well below the frost line. My Datura has been coming up for at least 8 years now, and routinely gets to 8 or 12 feet in diameter.
Panayoti thinks that it goes by a few other names, but I am still going to try it. Do you remember where you found it?
I see it every now and then at Russells. But I grew mine from seed. I think that Plant Delights used to sell a short variety.
You'll be an awesome prez! And Centranthus ruber cockiness?? I'm still laughing over that one! Oh, and you can def. grow that Salvia azurea…we do at RDG!
Thanks Amy. Oh, I know…..spell check keeps changing coccineus to cockiness which you probably found out once you started to leave a comment! Gotta love the computer sometime!
Congrats on the new position. I've been a member of the north NJ NARGS club for a few years now. Hands down, they are the smartest gardeners I've ever met.
Nice