Northwestern Chapter
of the North American Rock Garden Society

2025 Programs & Events (all meetings in person at the Bellevue Botanical Garden unless otherwise noted)

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Saturday, January 18, 2025, ZOOM ONLY, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm - Jay Akerley, "Crevice Gardens for Small Spaces" - Let’s talk about crevice gardens for small spaces. Yes, postage-stamp sized spaces! Jay will share inspiration and ideas from familiar friends and his natural surroundings in British Columbia and beyond. He will also discuss his experience building budget-conscious crevice gardens accommodating tight geographic constraints and maximizing microclimate opportunities at sea level in Vancouver BC, his dry valley bottom garden in BC's interior region, and at 4350 ft elevation in Canada's second largest ski resort.

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Jay Akerley is a rock gardening enthusiast with unique experience gardening at sea level in Vancouver, at alpine elevations in Canada’s second largest ski resort, on British Columbia’s high and dry Thompson Plateau and in its arid, desert-like interior. His degree in Geography from Simon Fraser University and training at the Pacific Horticulture College in Victoria nurtured an interest in the world's montane, high steppe, and desert plants and landscapes. His gardens have featured the widest possible variety of rock garden plants in British Columbia’s wettest and driest environments, from USDA Zone 3 to Zone 8. Jay is a regular featured speaker and study day presenter for the North American Rock Garden Society and its chapters, as well as a former President and current Executive of the Alpine Garden Club of British Columbia.

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Note that this meeting is ZOOM ONLY - invites will be sent as the meeting date approaches.

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​Sunday, February 16, 2025 - Paul Spriggs, "How to Build a Crevice Garden - Design and Construction"

 

Paul Spriggs has been rock gardening for roughly 27 years and building crevice gardens for about 20 years. He is an avid plant explorer, photographer, mountaineer, owner of Spriggs Gardens Landscaping company, and past President of the Vancouver Island Rock and Alpine Garden Society. He has a passion for all wild plants especially those of dwarf stature and collects and cultivates them at various gardens in his hometown of Victoria, BC, Canada. Paul has learned the craft of crevice garden building directly from one of it’s innovators, Zdenek Zvolanek, of the Czech Republic, and in the past decade and a half, has built many gardens in public parks and private homes that range in size from small feature troughs, to large installations involving many tonnes of stone. Paul is passionate about spreading the word of this style, through speaking to garden clubs all over the world, and by giving workshops for those keen on learning the finer points of this developing art form. He is co-Author (with Kenton Seth of Colorado), of the first North American book on Crevice gardening, entitled The Crevice Garden. How to make the perfect home for plants from rocky places, released Summer 2022.
 

Social time begins at 10:30 am, program and meeting at 11:00 am.

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Thursday, March 13, 2025 - Richard Ramsden, "Alpine Plants of Idaho and SW Montana"​

 

Richard is a long-time member of the Northwestern Chapter of NARGS as well as the Washington Native Plant Society. He enjoys flower spotting in the mountains of Washington and has shared that interest by leading flower walks and giving flower talks for various groups. His rock garden of native plants is located in NE Seattle.

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Social time at 7:00 pm, program and meeting at 7:30 pm.

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Thursday, April 10, 2025 - Del Brummet, "Alpine Troughs"

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Del Brummet is the head gardener at the Miller Garden. In July 2015 Del was hired as one of two part-time, year-long student interns which led to a permanent position as assistant gardener two years later and then head gardener in October 2019. Del grew up in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle and he graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Biology. Del’s fascination with growing plants has greatly expanded since working at the Miller Garden; when he and his wife bought a house in 2020 he immediately began to create a garden and grow a variety of plants.

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Social time at 7:00 pm, program and meeting at 7:30 pm.

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Friday, April 11, 2025 - Spring Plant Sale setup! 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

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Saturday, April 12, 2025 - SPRING PLANT SALE! 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Open to the public. Volunteers and donors presale starts at 9:30 am; members presale begins at 9:45 am! (Four plant limit per person at presales!)

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​Thursday, May 8, 2025 - Mark Akimoff, "Wildflower Adventures Around Oregon and SW Washington"

​Social time at 7:00 pm, meeting and program at 7:30 pm.

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Thursday, June 12, 2025 - Chris Dixon, "40 lbs to 40 tons - A Crevice Garden for Any Setting"

7:30 pm - 8:30 pm. ZOOM ONLY.

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​Thursday, July 10, 2025 (Date tentative) - Dr. Ross Bayton, "NW Natives for Rock Gardens"

Social time at 7:00 pm, meeting and program at 7:30 pm.

 

​​August 2025 - Members-only summer potluck picnic and plant sale! See the newsletter and upcoming chapter mails for details! ​​