Join the North American Rock Garden Society March 19 – March 21 in Devens, Massachusetts, to hear about terrific new plants for your garden.  Learn design principles you can use to make your garden more interesting and pleasing.  Buy great plants, and enter a plant show.  Mingle with other obsessed gardeners.  Devens, Massachusetts is the new town on the site of the former Fort Devens, 30 miles west of Boston (who knew?).

Featured speakers include Gordon Hayward, author and garden designer, on the uses of stone in the garden, Jan Sacks and Marty Schafer, proprietors of Joe Pye Weed’s garden, on small irises, Lauren Springer Ogden and Scott Ogden, authors and garden designers, on plant-driven garden  design, Bill Cullina, author and plant and garden curator, from Coastal maine Botanical Garden, on trilliums, Darrell Probst, horticuturist and plant breeder, giving two talks, one on new introductions of astilbes, coreopsis and more, and the other on epimediums from the wilds to the garden, Sally and John Perkins, rhododendron experts, on ericaceous plants for the rock garden, and Jeff Good, landscape director of The Fells in Newbury, New Hampshire, on design and restoration of the rock gardens at The Fells.

You’ll also choose two of these three design workshops:  Discussing the Design Process with the Ogdens, Propagation of Trilliums with Bill Cullina, or Sturdy, Reliable Plants for the Rock Garden with Mike Slater, NARGS Recording Secretary.

In addition to many vendors selling great plants, there will be a plant who, and newcomers as well as experienced plant show participants are encouraged to enter.  For further information, contact Registrar Vivien Bouffard (vbouffard55@msn.com) or Chair Rosemary Monahan (rosemonahan@comcast.net), or call 978-568-1780.

The meeting will be held at the Marriott Spring Hill Suites/Devens Common Center in Devens.  For rooms, register directly with the hotel: 1-888-287-9400, or on line at www.marriott.com.  Be sure to mention that you’re registering as part of the block reserved for the New England Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society.  Conference rates are $119 plus tax, and hotel reservations must be made by February 18.

You may register for the conference on line at www.nargs.org, or contact Vivien or Rosemary as noted above to receive a written form.  Fee for attending is $250 if received by February 1, and $275 thereafter.  There is also an optional Friday dinner for $45.