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Larry Sagers Horticultural Specialist Utah State University Extension Service Thanksgiving Point Office © All Rights Reserved
Any gardeners who are serious about growing true rock gardens in Northern Utah are in for a rare treat. The WASATCH ROCK GARDEN SOCIETY has invited an outstanding speaker and author to address their society in Salt Lake City.
Jim from the British Isles will give a talk to the Wasatch Rock Garden Society, entitled "Northern Italy and the Dolomites - A Gardener's Paradise." While at first, the significance of this title might not mean much, longtime listeners of the KSL greenhouse show will know that dolomite is one of the two most common types of limestone in the state.
Because we have an abundance of limestone in our soil, many alpine and other rock garden plants struggle here in our state. This expert will share his expertise and love of these plants that will include many that will flourish in our very alkaline soils.
The lecture is Thursday, October 30, at 6:30 PM at the Sugarhouse Garden Center, 1602 E. 2100 South, Salt Lake.
Jermyn is sponsored in part by the North American Rock Garden Society's Speakers Tour Project. The talk is free for WRGS members and spouses, $5 for everyone else. Dessert and drinks will be served. Do not miss this opportunity to hear one of the world's great nurserymen. He qualified at the Hertfordshire College of Agriculture & Horticulture; he spent several years in a training program with a focus on growing Alpine plants. He has worked in many different nurseries and projects throughout Germany, Scotland, England, and Italy.
Invaluable experience was again gained some year’s later working for a well-known plant enthusiast and businessman, Rudolf Wurdig, setting up a nursery on the shores of Lake Garda, Italy. During this period, he was able to make many botanical trips into the surrounding mountains, notably the close by ranges of Monte Baldo, Monte Tremalzo and the Dolomites, studying the endemic flora.
For 20 years, he was proprietor of the well-known Edrom Nurseries in Berwickshire created by the Misses Logan Home in 1931. The nursery specialized in a wide range of woodland plants as well as offering a comprehensive collection of Primulas, Gentians and Meconopsis. During this time he has led many botanical tours to the Dolomites and taken part in one of the Alpine Garden Society’s field trips to Japan.
Since 2000, he has been Show Manager of Scotland’s Premier Flower Show, Gardening Scotland. He lectures widely in Europe, Canada and the U.S.A.
As well as writing many horticultural articles, his recent book, ‘The Himalayan Garden – Growing Plants from the Roof of the World’ published by Timber Press has been well received in both the U.K. and the U.S.A.
The book, like all of the publications from Timber Press is beautiful and useful. The author is an expert in his field and provides an excellent growing guide for gardeners who want to grow these less common plants in our challenging soil conditions.
The usefulness of a growing guide as opposed to a botanical treatise on plants located halfway around the world cannot be over emphasized. This allows gardeners who live at far lower elevations than the Himalayans to grow these plants that are native to the high Himalaya Mountains. Highlights include species of Euphorbia, (which includes many drought tolerant plants, Gentiana, Meconopsis, Primula, Rhododendron, and more.
With Jermyn’s visit to Salt Lake this week, you will want to add this volume to your horticulture library. He has collected, propogated, grown and marketed many of the plants in the volume. He supplies tried-and-true instructions on garden site preferences and care based on his own extensive experience.
Excellent photographs round out an introduction to the plants, and the book includes a comprehensive list of recommended sources from which to purchase specimens both in Europe and the United States.
The details of the book are as follows: Approx. 320 pp, 128 color photos, 3 line drawings, 2 maps, hardcover, 6 x 9" ISBN 0-88192-500-4 List price: $34.95 plus shipping and handling Publication date: May 2001
Available from Timber Press, Inc., 133 S.W. Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland, OR 97204-3527. Telephone Nos. (800) 327-5680, (503) 227-2878, Fax (503) 227-3070. www.timberpress.com
