This weekend (May 17 & 18) will be the high point of our Rhododendron calendar with our annual Rhododendron Flower Show and Plant Sale. As it has been for the past few years, we will be at Elm Bank in Wellesley, MA (see the Mass Hort website for directions to Elm Bank). Entrance and parking are free. Please see this month's Newsletter for full details. Here are a few highlights.
This year, the Rhododendron society will have the privilege of holding our Flower Show in the "Manor House". This is the large mansion you may have noticed during prior visits to Elm Bank. Note that we will have much space under cover for flowers, plants and people, so please come rain or shine.
Please bring your trusses on Saturday. Registration begins at 12:30 PM. (I'll be behind the Registration Desk frantically trying to keep up.) The weather has delayed the opening of many trusses, so this might be a good year to bring whatever you have - the competition may be less than normal. For those of you who have never entered, or wish to have a refresher on how, there will be a tutorial for entrants starting at 12:00 Noon.
If you have volunteered to help, or would like to help, you should report prior to 12:00. There will be a lot of setup work to do to get ready for the Show and the Plant Sale on the following day.
Our Plant Sale area will be right in front of the Manor house. Though we will be setting up for the sale on Saturday, it will actually begin on Sunday at 10:00 AM (9:00 AM if you are a Mass Hort member). However, if you volunteer to help, among other perks you will have first crack at the plants Saturday PM after setup is complete.
Many other plant societies will also be set up on the lawn area in front of us. Please make sure you save a few $$ to spend with your own society however! We will have plants of all sizes, types and costs, from $5 plants on up, including:
- Special order Van Veen rhododendrons
- Briggs plants
- Fine Weston Nurseries hybrids
- This year's crop of Plants for Members (P4M) plants
- Hardy species, primary hybrids, and choice clones not available commercially
- Choice Perennials and native wildflowers
We will have the sales area staffed with knowledgeable Chapter members who can help you with your purchasing decisions.
The staff at Elm Bank will be running a tram Sunday to transport you and your purchases to/from the parking area to/from the show and sales area.
Attached below is the publicity broadcast sent out by Mass Hort to advertise the "Society Row Plant Sale" of which we are a part.
Hope to see you all this weekend!
Joe Bruso
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| Get a head start on your spring plant collection!
Join us for the 24th Annual
SOCIETY ROW PLANT SALE
SUNDAY, MAY 18
9 AM - 10 AM (members' preview hour)
10 AM - 3 PM (general public)
MHS HORTICULTURE CENTER
ELM BANK · WELLESLEY MA
GREAT PLANTS · SILENT AUCTION
TRAIN RIDES · LIVE MUSIC
FREE ADMISSION
Rain or shine!
Don't pay retail prices, buy your plants from the growers themselves.
"Ask the Experts" as you add to your collection of rare and unusual plants. | | SPECIAL FEATURE
IN THE MANOR HOUSE:
THE AMERICAN RHODODENDRON SOCIETY SHOW & SALE
Don't miss the chance to take a tour of the Cheney-Baltzell Manor House after the recent filming of the movie "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past", starring Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas and Anne Archer.
Tours start at 10 AM and 12 PM.
$5 suggested parking donation
More Information · Directions
www.masshort.org | 
| | Massachusetts Horticultural Society Wellesley, Massachusetts 02482 | | |
