The Hardy Plant Society of Oregon

Programs

The Hardy Plant Society of Oregon puts on 3 to 6 programs a year; most are open to the public. These are generally lectures by well-known authorities or authors in the field of horticulture, and are usually accompanied by slide displays. There is, every year, a Winter Program, and a Fall Program. There is often a Summer Program, but sometimes that just doesn't occur, especially when HPSO is hosting the Study Weekend (every fourth year).

There is no Spring Program, per se, but every March, the Society holds its Annual Meeting, a short business meeting accompanied by a program, the Marvin Black Memorial Lecture, for members only, free of charge. All other programs do have an admission fee and are usually open to the public, but members get discounts and have the opportunity to sign up before the public is notified of the program. In addition, there may also be one or two special programs, when the opportunity arises to have a great speaker who just happens to be coming to Portland.

New since 2004: HPSO Garden School Workshops. In order to offer more hands-on experiences than the usual program allows, the Hardy Plant Society has started a series of small workshops, in a variety of locations, that cover topics such as photographing gardens, pruning, and soil building, plus a few opportunities for guided tours of some special gardens. Please look for information for these small workshops in the Calendar. The workshops are open to members only.

Program planning is under the domain of the Education Committee, but each program has its own ad hoc committee to take care of all the details. These committee members are usually, but not necessarily, Board members. If you are interested in helping out with the planning of programs, be sure to attend the July Board meeting (last Wednesday of the month, 7:00 p.m., at the HPSO office), when the ideas about programs fly fast and furiously around the room. All HPSO members are welcome to attend this Board meeting (and any other), but please let the office know in advance so that seating can be arranged. If you would like to hear more about the committee or are interested in joining the fun, contact the office. We'd be glad to help you get connected.

The program planners make every attempt to achieve balance in both the topics and the locations of the programs. The venues vary from downtown to the outskirts of Portland, in order to give all a chance to come without having to travel too far. The days of the week, and times of day, are also varied, since not everyone works the same hours. Topics include talks by famous people, and the not-so-famous. We try to have some design topics and some plant-oriented talks, and to cover the range of skills. You can't please everyone all the time, but we hope to please everyone at least part of the time.

Programs are a great opportunity to volunteer also, on a one-time basis. You can help with registration, be a door monitor, help with the book sales or seed sales, and more. We sometimes get more people than we need at any given program, so please don't be discouraged if you signed up to volunteer (there's a place for that on every program registration), but you don't get called. Of course, you need to be a member to volunteer.

Information about upcoming programs is posted on the Calendar of this website, as well as detailed in the Newsletters that members get.