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HOME AND AWAY

© Michael Campbell

Let me start with the away part first. Friday the 14th of November saw the start of the 13th alpine weekend at An Grianan, Termonfeckin, County Louth. This is a weekend organised by the Dublin group of the Alpine Garden Society, and is attended by members from all parts of the country. Always a joyous occasion, and an opportunity to meet old friends with similar interests, and this year was no exception.

When I arrived on Friday evening, the dining room was already well filled and tea was being served. After tea some of the members who are knowledgeable with the camera as well as the plants, had the opportunity to show slides of plants and places they had seen, during visits to some of the mountainous regions of the world.

Saturday morning saw the arrival of the rest of the guests, and after the formalities had been dispensed with, the clock had reached 11:30 a.m. Alf Evans, (now retired) from Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, then brought us through the gardens as they were in his time, with some beautiful slides and humorous chat. After lunch it was the turn of Sean O Gaoithin, who took us planting hunting in Northwest Yunnan -- rhododendrons of every size and hue accompanied by beautiful scenery. The tea break saw lots of notebooks and pens made ready for the next lecture. A Couch Potato's View of Alpines and Bulbs at Kew, by Tony Hall. They were not disappointed, for Tony showed us what he called a bit of an Alpine salad, which was, in fact, an array of rare and unusual plants that we can only dream of adding to our own collections.

The dinner, which is always a delightful experience, was no exception this year. A plant auction and some light entertainment brought Saturday to a close.

Sunday morning and Alf Evans was at the podium again, this time with a show of: Plants of the Orient, which included a beautiful collection of lilies, rhododendron and meconopsis. Tony rounded of the day with: Bulbous Plants For Science & Pleasure.

With trays full of plants from the plant sale or purchased from the nursery stands of, Susan Tindall of Timpany Nurseries, Carol Dacus, of Dacus Plants, and Jim Jermyn of Edrom Nurseries, luggage was shoved and cajoled into tight corners to make room for the newly acquired treasures. Once again a highly informative and very enjoyable weekend had come to a close, and after the usual good-byes and promises of plants to be swapped at the spring show, I set off on the 200-mile journey back to the West Coast.