Sally Geist, first president of the Friends of the Rogerson Clematis Collection and long-time board member, has reluctantly resigned from the board to deal with family health matters.

She gave unstintingly of her time and knowledge to further the mission of FRCC; that is, to assemble and maintain as comprehensive a collection of the genus Clematis as possible. We owe her a great deal of thanks for her commitment and leadership.

Sally will continue to help as she is able and we look forward to her continued presence and contributions. We wish her and her family well.

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Friends of the Rogerson Clematis Collection Events Schedule for 2012

February 17, 18, 19: Yard Garden and Patio Show
Held at the Convention Center on NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. right on the MAX line. Volunteers needed for the show and for set up on the 16th.

Once again FRCC will host an informational booth at the Yard, Garden & Patio Show in Portland. All volunteers will get a free pass to the show for the day of your volunteer shift. We will have our usual excellent clematis cultural hand-outs to share with the public, and we may also have a small number of evergreen clematis to sell. FRCC always enjoys tremendous response to this event. You’ll have fun! This event is an end-of-winter celebration, and we look forward to seeing you.

Contact: FRCC Events Coordinator Susan Toler sst0916@hotmail.com (preferred) or 503-314-0218 and leave a message.

March 9: Plant Nerd Night with Mike Darcy
Come see six plant vendors give short programs about their new plants. Plant sales at 6:00; program at 7:00. Don’t miss The Chorus of the Goddess Flora’s new hits! This is a crazy, wonderful, exuberant, fun time event! Chances to buy plants before and after the presentations and chances to win door prizes!

March: Portland Rose Society Vendor Fair TBA

March 24: Luscher Farm Winter Clean-up and Spring Pruning Event
Registration for non-members is through Lake Oswego Park and Recreation. Members, please contact Linda Beutler: clematis@ipns.com

April 7 & 8: HPSO Spring Plant Sale
Held at the Expo Center. Volunteers needed.

FRCC will be selling clematis and answering questions. This is a great opportunity for volunteers to learn a lot about clematis (and other plants). The conversations are enlightening! The experience unforgettable! It is a great opportunity to enrich your knowledge as a gardener. Volunteer and participate in HPSO’s early shopping opportunity.

Contact: Susan Toler sst0916@hotmail.com (preferred) or 503-314-0218 and leave a message.

May 5 & 6: Spring Garden Fair (Clackamas County Master Gardeners) in Canby
Volunteers needed. This is another great opportunity to volunteer. We will be selling clematis, of course, but there are lots of other vendors there with items not found at the HPSO Spring Plant sale! Like vegetable starts, workshops, great food, birdhouses, chickens (to look at), etc. Entrance is complimentary to those who volunteer!

Contact: Susan Toler sst0916@hotmail.com (preferred) or 503-314-0218 and leave a message.

May 23 (evening): Gardening for the Birds Workshop
Registration for non-members is through Lake Oswego Park and Recreation. Members, please contact Linda Beutler: clematis@ipns.com

May 26: Inviting Vines Open Gardens 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Many volunteers will be needed. This is a major fund raising event. We greatly appreciate your assistance as volunteers (we will need about 24 volunteers for the gardens) at the private gardens and the Rogerson Clematis Collection. This is a very special event. The gardens are unique. The experience will enrich your experience as a gardener and the memories will last a lifetime. Come join us for this annual event.

Contact: Susan Toler sst0916@hotmail.com (preferred) or 503-314-0218 and leave a message.

June 23: Into the Flowers macro-photography workshop with Allan Mandell
8:30 to noon, then 4 to 7pm. Details to follow. This will be advertised to FRCC members first. Registration for non-members through Lake Oswego Park and Recreation. Members, please contact Linda Beutler: clematis@ipns.com

June & September: Open Gardens for HPSO at Luscher Farm TBA

July: Plant Propagation Workshop at Luscher Farm TBA
Open to the general public.

Contact Linda Beutler: clematis@ipns.com

July: FRCC Members Plant Propagation Workshop at Luscher Farm TBA

Contact Linda Beutler: clematis@ipns.com

August: Members’ Appreciation Picnic at Luscher Farm TBA
5:00 – 8:00 PM Come, join us under the Beech Tree at Luscher Farm. If you are a volunteer in any capacity, even just one time, you are cordially invited to this annual event to thank you for your wonderful help that makes FRCC possible. Significant others are welcome, too.

Contact: Marcia Apperson marciaapp@aol.com or 503-297-3535

September: HPSO Fall Plant Sale TBA
Usually 2nd weekend of the month
Volunteers will be needed.

November: Seed Starting Workshop TBA
Held at the Luscher Farm Greenhouse. Learn how to gather clematis seeds and propagate them at our annual Seed Starting Workshop. All materials are provided. The cost is $10.00 for regular members (free to patrons). You can pay the registration fee at the door. The emphasis is on collecting seeds from species. (If you are interested in starting hybrid seed - any seed from large, flowered hybrids - you will need to bring your own seed.)

Contact: Linda Beutler: clematis@ipns.com

ONGOING EVENTS AT THE FRCC COLLECTION AT LUSCHER FARM
Every Friday from 9:30 - 1:30. Work on the collection at Luscher Farm, both in the garden and in the greenhouse. It’s a great way to learn about it from the experts.

Contact: Nancy Gronowski: 503-697-3248 or nancyharveyg@hotmail.com

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Season’s Greetings from the FRCC Board

It’s the time of year to be grateful for all that we have and to look forward to the future. For the Friends of the Rogerson Clematis Collection, this means saying thanks to all of you for your support (we couldn’t do it without you), and asking for your help as we continue to grow the collection and build the garden.

The collection is known throughout the country and the world, thanks to our founder and the efforts of our volunteers and our curator. The positive reports by visitors to our garden about their experiences confirm that.

Want to support your favorite clematis collection and win some very cool stuff at the same time? Participate in the Garden Fever! nursery holiday raffle. Check their website to see what the three packages include (basket #1 is pictured below). You could be the next proud owner of a ‘Duchess of Waverly’. Although you can’t order tickets online, you can call the nursery at 503-287-3200 to purchase tickets by phone with a credit card. Thanks to Lori and Richard and all their feverish crew!

Also, please consider making a tax-deductible donation before the end of the year to keep us moving forward. And come see us in a couple of months when the garden is waking up – there is always something in bloom.

Happy holidays,

Nancy G, Lucy, Rick, Susan, Larry, Sally, Marcia, Nancy S-C, and Linda

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The Board of Directors of the Friends of the Rogerson Clematis Collection is thrilled to announce that it is the recipient of a $10,000 grant from the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust. The Trust, which supports education and research in ornamental horticulture, makes annual grants to botanical gardens, arboreta, and universities for the creation, development, preservation, and maintenance of gardens accessible to the public for educational purposes.

The grant will be used to make the Rogerson Clematis Collection Botanical Garden at Luscher Farm more accessible by adding several hundred linear feet of ADA-accessible paths in the Orchard Garden located west of the historic farmhouse. It will also be used to purchase and install companion plants, and add trellises and benches. This area features plants that are suitable for beginning clematis gardeners as well as plants from the Baltic region that were developed during the cold war and are new to the USA.

The Rogerson Clematis Collection, one of the most complete collections of the genus Clematis in North America, includes over 1500 plants representing 678 taxa, and 90 species. More than 1,000 clematis are growing in the garden, along with hundreds of trees, shrubs and other perennials. In addition to the botanic garden, there is a 30’x 50’ greenhouse, an outdoor plant storage area and a test garden for trialing promising clematis.

This garden is unique in the Portland area due to its accessibility to the general public and its ability to demonstrate to the home gardener the myriad possibilities for enjoying a wide variety of clematis and their companion plants. The garden is open free of charge to the public during daylight hours throughout the year, and guided tours are available on request and during special events. The greenhouse is open most Friday mornings from 10:00 to noon.

The Board is especially pleased at the award since this was the first time a grant request had been submitted to the Smith Trust. The work, which is part of a city-approved garden development plan, will be done in 2012.

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Once again we take the opportunity offered by the American holiday of Thanksgiving to thank all of the donors who have so kindly given us companion plants, clematis and clematis seed this past year. Our gardens and collection would be a much poorer place without our legion of nursery and private garden “guardian angels.” We appreciate all of you, and hope that our Friends near and far will will take their earliest opportunity to thank these people and businesses as well.

Charlene and Bill Tuttle, Lake Oswego, OR
Cistus Nursery, Sauvie Island, OR (Sean Hogan)
Clackamas Community College, department of Horticulture, Oregon City, OR
Dancing Oaks Nursery, Monmouth, OR (Leonard Foltz and Fred Weisensee)
Denise MacDonald, Shortlands, Bromley, Kent, UK (all germinated, Denise, every single seed!!!)
Doris Starrett, Salem, OR
Dorothy and David Rodal, Sauvie Island, OR
Fancy Fronds Nursery, Bold Bar, WA (Judith Jones)
Far Reaches Farm, Port Townsend, WA (Kelly & Sue Dodson)
Garden Fever!, Portland, OR (Lori and Richard Vollmer)
Gossler Farms, Springfield, OR (Eric, Marj, and Roger Gossler)
Gutmann Nurseries, North Plains, OR (Bob and Carol Gutmann)
Hardy Plant Society of Oregon (grant and plants)
Heavy Petal Nursery, Moses Lake, WA (Bruce Bailey)
James Earl, Spokane, WA
Joy Creek Nursery, Scappoose, OR (Maurice Horn)
Linda Beutler, Portland, OR
Magnolia Manor, Lake Oswego, OR (Janes Coombes and staff)
Perennial Partners Garden Design, Portland, OR (Lucy Hardiman)
Rick Meigs, Portland, OR
Silver Star Vinery, Yacolt WA (Debbie Fischer)
Susan Toler, Aloha, OR
Woods Rooting Compound, Wilsonville, OR

And thanks also to the garden hosts for 2011’s Inviting Vines IV (best tour ever!)
Dulcy and Ted Mahar
JJ and Jose De Sousa
Linda and Larry Beutler
Lonesomeville Pottery (Danny Hills and Wayne Hughes)
Lucy and Fred Hardiman

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