History of MARS and British Columbia Rhododendron Societies

By Glen Jamieson  (Modified from Rhododendrons International 2018 Vol 2. Part 1)

Early History

There are presently seven ARS chapters in British Columbia: Five on south-eastern Vancouver Island in the cities of Courtenay/Comox (North Island Chapter); Parksville/Qualicum Beach (Mount Arrowsmith Chapter); Nanaimo; Duncan (Cowichan Valley Chapter); Victoria; and two around the mouth of the Fraser River on the mainland, in Vancouver and in the Surrey/Maple Ridge/Langley/Abbotsford (Fraser South Chapter) area of the lower mainland. Within the last decade, two lower mainland chapters (the Peace Arch and Fraser Valley chapters) closed because of declining membership, but because they were only a few tens of kilometers from the two remaining mainland chapters, their remaining members and assets were folded into them. However, an interest in rhododendrons in British Columbia goes back almost a 100 years, and to a large extent began with the establishment of three nurseries on Vancouver Island, one in Ucluelet on the west coast of the island, another by Lake Cowichan and the last in Royston near Courtenay on the Strait of Georgia, now the Salish Sea.

The Scotsman George Fraser (1854-1944) was the first influential rhododendron enthusiast in the province, and was an experienced horticulturist when he arrived in Victoria, BC, in 1885, his last position in Scotland being as head gardener at the large country estate of Auchmore in Killin, Perthshire. In Victoria, he oversaw the development of Beacon Hill Park before realizing his dream of running his own nursery, which he ultimately established in 1894 in Ucluelet, a tiny, remote fishing village on the west coast of Vancouver Island that could only then be reached by sea. From there, he maintained an extensive correspondence with experts around the world, with whom he exchanged seeds and sold plants, especially of his own hybrids. His work was recognised internationally and recorded in the Gardener’s Chronicle of London. Plant explorers and botanists corresponded with him, as did staff of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew and the Arnold Arboretum, Boston. In 1919 he sent a rhododendron to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, England, which is now called the Fraseri Group. Ucluelet has a marble memorial in his honour and now periodically celebrates a George Fraser Day in May.

The second influential rhododendron collection was created by Susan and Richard Stoker, both keen naturalists that had spent many years in India where they became familiar with rhododendrons when in Sikkim. They established a nursery specializing in alpine plants in 1903 on the north side of Cowichan Lake, about 40 km (25 miles) west of Duncan, BC, and about 100 km (60 miles) by road northwest of Victoria, BC. Nine years later, George Buchanan and Jeanne Simpson moved there as well, became friends of the Stokers and began a garden, and in 1924, they established their own nursery. Both couples depended on seed obtained by mail from England, Scotland, the USA and India, and this being the time of great explorations for new plants in the Himalayas, seed was obtained either by subscription to expeditions or by sharing purchased seed between enthusiasts. There were also exchanges between this Cowichan Lake group and George Fraser in Ucluelet. While both nurseries sold alpine plants, rhododendrons became of particular interest to the Simpsons, and in 1967, Jeanne arranged for many of their rhododendrons to be moved to Finnerty Gardens at the University of Victoria. However in recent years, some of these rhododendrons were transferred back to the Town of Lake Cowichan where they now form the nucleus of the Lake Cowichan Memorial Rhododendron Garden, established to commemorate the pioneering work of both the Stokers and the Simpsons in the Lake Cowichan area.

The third major rhododendron collection, Ted and Mary Greig’s, was located at a nursery in Royston, BC, about 213 km (130 miles) up island from Victoria. In 1934, the Greigs purchased the Alpine Nursery of the Buchanan- Simpsons at Cowichan Lake. Alpines interested them, rhododendrons didn’t, and only George Buchanan’s insistence “that they’ll grow on you” made them include the rhododendrons, which was also encouraged by their son Jim Greig. They moved the plants from Cowichan Lake to Royston, again about 180 km (112 miles) further up island, but despite a great effort on the part to keep the alpines alive, their Royston beachside location and lack of cold winters resulted in a loss of this stock over the years. However, the rhododendrons in the nursery flourished, and Mary Greig became both a continental expert on rhododendrons and one of the early North American rhododendron hybridizers. She was particularly interested in adding species to her collection, which she obtained both from seed exchanges and plants sent to her from many locations. To this end, the Greigs subsequently received the Gold Medal from the ARS in 1966 for their pioneering work on cultivation, selecting and identifying species and hybridizing rhododendrons. In 1952-1953, the Greigs gave many rhododendrons to both the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, which now form the basis of the UBC Botanical Garden collection, and to Finnerty Gardens in Victoria.

When the Greig’s decided to close their nursery in 1965, most of the remaining rhododendrons were sold as a single collection to the Vancouver Parks Board. Over the next two decades, plantings of these rhododendrons created the large rhododendron displays in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, Queen Elizabeth Park and VanDusen Botanic Garden. Some species were also given to the newly formed Rhododendron Species Botanic Garden (RSBG) in Federal Way, Washington State; again to the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden; and on Vancouver Island, to Filberg Park in Comox, Milner Gardens [now owned by Vancouver Island University] in Qualicum Beach, and to both Finnerty Gardens and Playfair Park in Victoria (Efford 2018).

British Columbian Rhododendron Societies

(Listed chronologically in the order they were established)

1) Vancouver

The Vancouver Rhododendron Society (VRS) was originally founded as the Vancouver Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society (ARS) in 1955. Mary Greig, from Royston on Vancouver Island, was the first Vancouver Chapter meeting speaker and gave a talk about species rhododendrons. In those days, the only people who were interested in growing and buying species rhodos were Pacific Northwest Americans. Species rhododendrons were still considered unsuitable and difficult plants for most Canadian gardens, although Mary had been long recognized by Americans as a leading authority on species.

It has been suggested that that talk played a part in helping to pave the way for the establishment in Ceperley Park (part of Vancouver’s Stanley Park) of the living plant legacy of rhododendron species that the Greigs raised from seed, along with a few of the hybrids they created. In 1970, the chapter hosted the first ARS Annual Meeting and Convention held outside the USA, and in both 1979 and 1997 this chapter again hosted an ARS Spring Convention. In 1981, the chapter began bus tours of gardens to relatively far away places such as Olympia, Washington, and the Rhododendron Species Foundation Garden in the Seattle/Tacoma area. Membership was then 181, and subsequent tours were to Portland, Oregon, gardens (1982); Victoria on Vancouver Island (1983); and back down south to Tacoma and Seattle (1984). These distant tours have not been held in recent years, but an annual May VanDusen Garden tour was later augmented by tours through the UBC Asian Garden and the Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden in Stanley Park, with the tours alternating, returning to each garden every third year. In addition, an annual Spring Show and Sale is held, typically at either VanDusen Gardens, UBC or at the Park and Tilford Gardens in North Vancouver. The current ARS membership is only 33, and like that of many large city chapters, has decreased significantly over the past few decades. However, this chapter, like that in Victoria (see below), has some non-ARS members “Friends” in it (currently more than ARS membership), so actual monthly attendance is larger.

In 1985 Vancouver chapter members voted to re-register as a British Columbia Society with a change of name to the Vancouver Rhododendron Society (VRS), a chapter of the ARS. A British Columbian constitution and bylaws was more in keeping with provincial and Canadian law and practices, which allowed the giving of Canadian Income Tax receipts for societies that had charitable tax status, which this chapter could then acquire. In June 1989, the chapter placed a commemorative plaque in the Ted and Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden in Stanley Park, acknowledging them as the source of most of the plants there. This Stanley Park garden was shortly after nearly eliminated entirely, as the Parks Board, along with a good number of VRS members, preferred to move all the rhododendrons from the Greig collection to the nearby VanDusen Garden. However, a compromise was reached in that while all the species rhododendrons were moved, the hybrids were allowed to remain in Stanley Park.

2) Victoria

The next District 1 chapter to be established was that of Victoria at the southern tip of Vancouver Island in 1980. The decision to create it was because Vancouver Island residents that belonged to the Vancouver Chapter became tired of always having to take the 1.5 hr ferry ride each way to the mainland for meetings, and so decided to form their own chapter, the first on Vancouver Island, in Victoria. Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, is the most southerly part of Canada west of Ontario, and like all of coastal British Columbia, has a mild maritime climate and is thus a great gardening city, with many public and private gardens. Some of the most well-known are Finnerty Garden at the University of Victoria; Beacon Hill Park; the garden at Government House, the residence of the Province’s Lieutenant Governor, who represents Her Majesty the Queen at the provincial level; Royal Roads; Playfair Park; Abkhazi Garden; and in the nearby community of Brentwood Bay, Butchart Gardens (Efford 2018). As mentioned above, the history of rhododendron culture on the island extends back to the early 1900s with the influence of George Fraser, and this tradition has been continued and expanded upon ever since. In late February each year, for example, the city undertakes a “flower count,” which numbers in the many millions, data that is sent out to people in central and eastern Canada to boast about the early onset of spring on the West Coast!

Victoria has an active ARS rhododendron society, and has hosted spring ARS conventions in 1989, 2005 and 2015. The 2015 convention profit was shared equally to the chapters within District 1 to thank the Vancouver Island chapters that provided assistance in conference organization and implementation. It does not have an organized garden tour within the Victoria area, nor does it organize tours to the areas of other chapters. However, it does open gardens for members and their friends and families to visit, or as requested by other chapters. These openings are done on a volunteer basis, and visitors are always welcomed.

It has a very active Rhododendron Propagation group, and is now producing so many species and hybrid rhodos that their own propagated plants are the only rhodos they now sell at their plant sale, which is now held annually at a member’s property. Members visit other gardens to take cuttings and over the past three years, have in particular propagated cuttings from many of Jim Barlup’s American hybrids, including 79 mature Barlup plants that have been gifted by him to the chapter’s propagating group for use in support of the chapter. This cross-border cooperation is a first within the ARS greater community.

The chapter holds a non-formal judged truss show every spring, where each member receives a specified number of beads for the categories, and then votes for the truss in each category they think is the best truss. This less judgmental, top-down judging system has created a more vital participation in both entries and membership attendance. At each regular meeting, members donate plants for a raffle, where tickets are sold for $1 per ticket. If a member remembers to wear their chapter name badge, they receive a free ticket. Donations range from 15 to 40 plants/items per meeting.

Like the Vancouver and Fraser South chapters (33 and 19 ARS members, respectively), not all its members are required to be ARS members, as from its conception, its by-laws permitted both ARS members and non-ARS members, with the latter termed “Friends.” At present, about 25% of the Victoria chapter’s members roughly 100 members are Friends. This has created some challenges at the District level, as chapter Friends pay a reduced chapter membership and do not contribute to the District fund to support the District Director’s travel expenses to ARS meetings. Each ARS member in the district is assessed $2.50 per annum for this purpose, making it possible for the less affluent to seek the District Director’s post. Although only ARS members receive the Journal of the ARS (JARS) and can be elected to the chapter’s executive [the ARS requires that all chapter executives be ARS members, since they are involved in electing their District Director], the Friends nevertheless benefit from being associated with the ARS since many chapter activities involve collaboration with other ARS chapters. The inclusion of Friends of a chapter are not included in the constitutions of the other four Vancouver Island ARS chapters.

3) North Island

The North Island Rhododendron Society (NIRS), located in the Courtenay/ Comox area, was founded in 1984, led by Harry Wright, a local hybridizer involved with rhododendrons for many years, who felt that there were enough rhododendron enthusiasts in the area to support a chapter. The most northerly of the Vancouver Island chapters, being about 225 km (140 mi) north of Victoria, this chapter has maintained an active membership over the past 37 years, currently with 72 members, and has an annual plant sale, garden tour and more recently, a propagation group that meets quite frequently. There is considerable collaboration with the other island chapters re monthly chapter speakers and as with the other island chapters, has associate memberships from members in these other chapters. This chapter has not yet hosted an ARS convention, as there is no appropriate venue yet in their community, but members have supported and even participated in organizing conventions hosted by the more southerly island chapters. Its members are also strong and active supporters of the rhododendron species garden being currently established at Milner Gardens & Woodlands (MGW) in Qualicum Beach, which is further described below. It should also be noted that Royston, a small community just outside Courtenay, is where Ted and May Greig had their nursery, so there is a long history of rhododendron cultivation in the area.

A main activity of this chapter has been the creation of the Comox Valley Rhododendron Garden, which in 2017 celebrated its 20th anniversary. It is maintained by members, with work parties once a month to rake, prune, transplant, deadhead, etc., followed by a social get-together with drinks and food. The NIRS has fostered a positive relationship with North Island College in Courtenay, and offers free student ARS memberships to first year students in its horticultural program.

4) Fraser South, Fraser Valley and Peace Arch

To understand the history of District 1 ARS rhododendron societies in British Columbia’s lower mainland, i.e., the Fraser River valley region around Vancouver, it is necessary to have some appreciation of the area’s geography and road network, and how the latter has changed over the past 40 years or so. Vancouver is at the mouth of the Fraser River, and members in the mainland area’s rhododendron societies mostly live between the communities of Lions Bay, about 35 km (22 miles) west of Vancouver, and Harrison Hot Springs, about 134 km (83 miles) east of Vancouver. This part of the valley is bordered on the north by an inaccessible (by road) mountain range and by the USA border to the south, with the river going roughly down the middle of the valley. Until 2009, when the Golden Ears Bridge was completed, easy access across the river between Harrison Hot Springs and Vancouver was only by bridges in the Vancouver/Burnaby area, which meant that ARS members prior to 2009 that lived on either side of the river could not easily access areas nearby on the other side of the river. The result was that members on both sides of the river therefore initially belonged to the Vancouver ARS Chapter.

Over the last four decades, the region has experienced huge population growth, outpacing the national average and having increased by 6.5% between 2011 and 2016 alone, and although the population density in Vancouver has increased, much of this growth has been in community expansions in the valley east of Vancouver on both sides of the river. This has significantly increased travel times between the region’s areas, with the result that by the late 1980s, people in the middle regions of the valley could not easily attend evening meetings in Vancouver. Rhododendron gardening was in an upsurge at that time, and the result was the formation of new ARS chapters in the middle area of the valley, firstly north of the river, the Fraser Valley Chapter in Maple Ridge in 1988, and then south of the river, the Fraser South Chapter in Langley in 1989. The area south of the river is larger, and again long commuting times resulted in the formation of another chapter, the Peace Arch chapter in White Rock, close to the American border, in 1993. However, memberships in both the Fraser Valley and Peace Arch chapters were never large (< 35 members each) and like many ARS chapters, gradually decreased over time, and with the completion of the Golden Ears Bridge across the Fraser River towards the middle of the valley in 2009 and some improvements in the regional road network, both these latter societies folded in 2011, with many of their members then joining the Fraser South chapter (48 members in 2016/17, but now only 19). ARS membership, although now stable, has recently declined for a number of reasons, some common to most ARS chapters (e.g., age, more condo dwellers, etc.). Some reasons are unique to this area though, such as the sale of now highly valued homes in the Lower Mainland and the moving of ARS members to Vancouver Island, where properties are much less costly and other ARS chapters exist to join!

Fraser South has regular monthly (September to May) meetings with speakers, a potluck Christmas party and a potluck picnic in June, periodic tours to member’s gardens and in the past, have taken more elaborate tours, such as to the Seattle Flower Show a few years ago. There is a plant sale every April, emphasizing plants grown by our members, as essentially all of the remaining rhododendron specialty growers (both hobbyists and commercial) in the Fraser valley are members of our chapter. There is also a flower truss show in May, the “Fraser South Justly Famous Beer Bottle Truss Show” [trusses are held up in beer bottles], which involves such light-hearted categories as “the most elegantly weevil-notched” and “the best last year’s truss” classes, as well as the conventional species, colour, etc., classes. Judging is done by chapter members by each of them placing a token in a cup at the base of the truss they think best in each category; the category cup with most tokens wins. One of the prizes is the “Lionheart Cup” for the best yellow, established in honour of the late Mike Trembath and her hybrid ‘Lionheart’.

It should also be noted that an American chapter, Komo Kulshan located just south of the border in the American portion of the Fraser River valley just south of Langley, BC, was also part of District 1 from its creation in 1977 until 1987, when it then became part of District 2, located in northern Washington State. District 2 has now been combined with District 3, so all of Washington State is now District 2/3.

5) Cowichan Valley

The Cowichan Valley Rhododendron Society (CVRS) was founded in 1989 when a collection of enthusiasts decided to bud-off from the Victoria Rhododendron Society and establish a new branch of the ARS in Duncan, 60 km (37 miles) northwest of Victoria. Anyone who has driven the 50 kilometres (31 miles) over the Malahat Summit highway (356 m (1156 ft) elevation) between Duncan and Victoria, especially on a dark rainy or snowy night in winter, will understand the reasoning behind such a step. Since 1989, membership has fluctuated from the initial 20 members to 82 in 1992; the most recent number is 49. In 2000, the society hosted the ARS Fall Western Regional Conference.

The Society has a long history of touring member’s gardens each spring and in many years, this activity has been shared with the Cowichan Valley Garden Club and sometimes the Mill Bay Garden Club. The result is that members visit a large number of the gardens in the Valley. Members are also invited to take part in garden tours organised by the other four ARS chapters on Vancouver Island, some of whose members also have spectacular gardens.

Recently, the main source of income for the society has been an annual bus tour that attracts most of its participants from outside its chapter membership. The latest tour was an extensive tour of Whidbey and Bainbridge Islands and the area south of Seattle, including a visit to the Rhododendron Species Botanic Garden in Federal Way, and these tours have generated thousands of dollars for the chapter. Exchange visits with other ARS branches have added a social dimension to garden visits, and have allowed members to get to know their counterparts throughout the island, from the BC mainland and even from Washington State. During these garden visits, members have learnt about different rhododendrons, companion plants, garden design and propagation techniques. Unlike the Victoria Chapter, the CVRS propagation group is rather loosely knit and does not meet regularly, although a number of members are active propagators and produce a steady stream of plants that are brought in for a raffle each month. The CVRS’s most recent international tours were one that started in San Francisco and toured the Pacific coast north to Victoria, BC, and another that toured Cornwall and central England, ending at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The chapter’s annual plant sale, now expanded and called a Garden Fair (Fig. 3) since it now involves other nurseries and retailers of garden equipment, etc., with the intent that it will become an annual regional garden event and attract as many people as possible. The main vendors remain the specialized rhododendron nurseries from Vancouver Island, with a few from the mainland, and the total number of vendors now exceeds 30. To help both with the expansion of regional gardening activities and to enhance the chapter’s own awareness, sales booths are provided to any local non-profit garden or nature clubs for a nominal cost of $10. To date, the Garden Fair has not proved to be more profitable than the old simpler plant sale was, but it is believed to have the potential to improve, as larger companies are now beginning to pay for large booth spaces down the centre of the hall.

One of the outstanding rhododendron activities that this chapter has supported during the last 25 years has been the development of the Lake Cowichan Memorial Rhododendron Garden. This project is the result of the initiative of Ingeborg Woodsworth, a past chapter president, and members of the Lake Cowichan Communities in Bloom. This group has led a very active programme to establish the garden right beside the visitors’ centre in the middle of town. The idea was to commemorate the work of two families mentioned above, the Stokers and the Buchanan-Simpsons, who were early residents of the area and who grew and hybridized rhododendrons using seed collected in Southeast Asia by the early plant hunters. Recently, ARS funding allowed the installation of an irrigation system.

6) Mount Arrowsmith and Nanaimo

The Mount Arrowsmith Rhododendron Society (MARS) was founded in 1989 when a collection of enthusiasts decided to bud-off from the North Island Rhododendron Society and establish a new branch of the ARS in Parksville/Qualicum Beach, 80 km (40 miles) southeast of Courtenay/Comox. Four years later, the Nanaimo Chapter (NRS) was formed, located about 40 km (25 miles) further south from Parksville, currently with 53 members. Again, travel times that were felt to be too long over narrow, winding unlit roads were the main incentives. The result was that on Vancouver Island from Comox to Victoria, a distance of about 225 km (140 mi), there are now five active, viable ARS chapters (Fig. 2), with a total ARS membership of about 330, and all the island ARS chapters have stable, if not growing, memberships at present. With the mildest climate in Canada and relatively low property values, and least compared to the larger Canadian cities, the area is a popular destination for retirees, many of whom are gardeners, and gardening is definitely one of the areas main activities. Parksville/Qualicum Beach, for example, has over six different garden organisations from a total local population of about 40,000. Island communities in general are not particularly large, mostly have single family homes, and all have adjacent rural areas.

Like the other island chapters, both chapters have monthly meetings with speakers, a spring plant sale, social potluck dinner events and MARS has had a community garden tour for decades. Both chapters are strong, active supporters of the Greig Rhododendron Species Garden, the first in Canada, at Milner Gardens & Woodland in Qualicum Beach, along with the other island chapters. The MGW is a 28 ha (70 acre) seaside garden (four ha (ten acres) of garden (Fig. 4), 24 ha (60 acres) of woodland) that has been identified as one of the ten best public gardens in Canada by Canadian Geographic Travel.

Originally the private heritage home of Ray Milner and his wife Veronica (Fig. 5), a relative of British royalty, the site has been visited by Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, Prince Charles and Princess Diana. In 1996, Malaspina University-College, now Vancouver Island University, was gifted 17 ha (42 acres), followed by a further gift of 11 ha (28 acres) in 1999. The MGW is supported by both the Milner Gardens and Woodland Society and Vancouver Island University, and with respect to the rhododendron species garden, by all the island ARS chapters. In addition to supporting the rhododendron species garden with their own funds, the island chapters were also successful in acquiring additional support for plant acquisition from the ARS Research Foundation. All rhododendron species being planted have their provenances confirmed by the Rhododendron Species Foundation in Federal Way, WA, and the garden is being structured to showcase a total of about 158 species from a selection of different geographical areas: North America, the Himalayas, Northeast Asia, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Europe.

Mary Greig and Veronica Milner worked together on the early garden and consequently there are many Greig hybrids, as well as some species throughout the existing garden. The new species garden has one section set aside to highlight parent species related to the Milner hybrids, and another to establish a collection of 28 identified vulnerable to endangered species, with at least three of each species. The opening ceremony for this garden was held on April 22, 2018, and among the roughly 175 attendees, about 55 were ARS members from island chapters.

A unique aspect permitted by the relatively close proximity of the North Island, Mount Arrowsmith and Nanaimo chapters is that they each hold their monthly meetings during the second Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of each month, respectively, from September to May each year. For many months, this means their meetings are on consecutive nights, which has allowed the sharing of travel costs for more expensive and sometimes exotic speakers, if they are prepared to stay longer on the island and give a total of three talks. This has allowed these chapters to host speakers they otherwise would have been unable to acquire. Finally, in mid-winter, MARS traditionally invites a well-known general garden/botanical speaker to attract members of the greater community, especially members from other local specialist garden clubs like the alpine and native groups. These meetings can have up to 200 in attendance, and help unite the gardening community both in the Parksville/Qualicum Beach area and on the island in general.

MARS and Nanaimo jointly host an annual one day mini-conference in October to provide a fall event that brings together island chapter members. Both chapters bring in a steady stream of plants in for a raffle each month, and Bob and Jean Rhodes, Nanaimo chapter members, hybridized many of the rhodos that we grow regionally today, such as ‘Bob’s Blue’ and ‘Haida Gold’ (‘Haida Gold’ was grown and selected by Bob from a seed lot received from Bovees Nursery in Portland, OR). Like the NIRS, MARS has also fostered a positive relationship with its local university, Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo, as it runs much of its horticultural program at the Milner Gardens and Woodland. MARS offers free ARS memberships to students in that program.

British Columbia Summary

District 1 (British Columbia, Canada) is unique in that nowhere else within the ARS are there seven chapters, all located within a 230 km (143 mi) radius. The result is that there is considerable cooperation, collaboration and exchange of ideas on almost every topic related to rhododendrons, including their propagation and culture. All chapters have monthly meetings (September to June) with speakers, plant sales, and/or social events, and all island chapters have growing or at least stable memberships. Many chapter members are associate members in other chapters, and thereby frequently attend the monthly meetings of more than one chapter, especially to hear speakers not invited in that month to their own chapter or to attend a social event. All chapter meetings are always open to the general community without charge, with the hope that some visitors may ultimately become chapter members.  There is collaboration among chapters in hosting ARS conventions, with individuals from different chapters often taking responsibility for specific activities, such as the plant sale or silent auction. The result is a dynamic District with many active members spread across the chapters, especially on Vancouver Island!

It’s interesting, however, to note that there are approximately 6 times more District 1 members on Vancouver Island than in the lower mainland, even though that area around Vancouver had a population in 2016 of 2,832,000 (60% of British Columbia’s total population), 3.8 times that of Vancouver Island’s. This discrepancy reflects the situation being encountered in many areas of North America, where urban memberships are declining while the more rural ones are more stable. With increasing urbanisation expected in the future and an aging ARS membership in general, a major challenge in many areas of Canada is to keep rhododendron societies relevant and engaging.

Non-Chapter District 1 Activities

Twice a year (typically March and August), the presidents of all District 1 chapters (or their alternates) meet with the District 1 director to identify and discuss common interests, both within the district and relative to the ARS itself, and determine how best to work together. For example, the plant sales of all the chapters are collaboratively timed so that they are on different spring weekends, so as not to compete with each other in vendor solicitation. There are not that many local commercial rhododendron propagators, and most of these sellers will try and attend as many of the district chapter plant sales as possible. Each all-day meeting is hosted by a different chapter, with one meeting each year held on the mainland and the other on the island. The spring meetings are now scheduled if possible so that they coincide with the host chapter’s monthly evening meeting, so that chapter presidents, if they can stay, can also attend the host chapter’s monthly evening meeting, get to know that chapter’s members and see how that chapter operates.

Finally, District 1 chapters each contribute $2.50 per ARS member to provide the funds that support the District 1 president or alternate to attend ARS executive meetings, most of which are a considerable distance from BC. This allows members with less financial means to consider to become executive members of District 1, and to represent the District at distant ARS Board meetings. This is an example of the conviviality and willingness to work together that signifies the membership of District 1.

Geography

Canada is a large country, with a distance between St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Victoria, British Columbia, of 5060 km (3145 miles, Fig. 1). Its northern areas are suitable habitat for only the hardiest endemic rhododendrons, such as Rhododendron tomentosum (northern Labrador tea, previously Ledum palustre), R. groenlandicum, (bog Labrador tea, previously L. groenlandicum or L. latifolium) and R. lapponicum (Lapland azalea), but its southern coastal areas (the eastern Maritime provinces (roughly 44-46° N); southern British Columbia (BC), 48.4-49.4° N) and in the St. Lawrence River watershed from Windsor, Ontario, to Montreal, Quebec (roughly 42.3-45.5° N) have a suitable climate for many temperate growing rhododendrons and azaleas. The Maritimes and St. Lawrence River area can periodically experience cold continental winter weather conditions (as low as −37° C (−36° F)), whereas south-western British Columbia (Vancouver area and Vancouver Island) seldom now have temperatures below -10° C (14° F). Summers in central Canada are on the whole warm and humid with a daily maximum average of 26 to 27° C (79 to 81° F) in July, but temperatures in excess of 30° C (86° F) are common. The coastal areas on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts have a more moderate milder summer climate. There are six endemic rhododendrons in Canada, two circumpolar (R. lapponicum and R. tomentosum), three in western Canada (R. macrophyllum (western rose bay), R. albiflorum and R. columbianum (western Labrador tea, previously Ledum columbianum), and two in eastern Canada (R. canadense (rhodora) and R. groenlandicum).

There are thus four Canadian areas particularly suited for growing most rhododendrons: southwestern BC, southern Ontario, south-western Quebec and the four Maritime provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland (Fig. 1). The separate French Société des rhododendrons du Québec has been summarised by Bélisle (2016), and so this article will just summarise the history of rhododendron societies in A. British Columbia (Jamieson) and B. in both Ontario and the Maritimes (Yarmoshuk). All the rhododendron societies in these Canadian areas are now chapters of the American Rhododendron Society (ARS), but this was not always the case. The general characteristics of the ARS have been summarised previously by Jamieson (2016), but here we will go into greater detail about the history and characteristics of each Canadian region’s rhododendron societies.

British Columbia is a large province, exceeding in size the combined areas of California, Oregon and Washington State. However, most of the province is either too mountainous or too cold or dry for the survival of most of the garden rhododendron cultivars and species, so BC ARS chapters are all confined to the extreme south-west of the province adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, i.e., the Fraser River valley around Vancouver (called the Lower Mainland), and to Vancouver Island (Fig. 1). Vancouver Island, with BC’s capital city Victoria at its southern end, is the 15th largest island in the Pacific Ocean, and among temperate island rhododendron growing areas, is almost as big as Taiwan (Republic of China), Kyushu (Japan), and Hainan (People’s Republic of China), and is three times larger than the Big Island of Hawaii (USA) (Table 1.). Vancouver Island’s population of about 750,000 is largely confined to its southeast because of its fjordal west coast and its central mountainous areas.