Comments from the President
Margaret deWeese

Glen Jamieson gave a great talk, in spite of a 30 hour flight on Sunday, coming home jet lagged to work on his presentation for November 6th (Thursday), only to be phoned by Bill to see if he wanted to meet for dinner on Monday and being surprised not to meet before the talk night. Glen replied: "Why don't we meet on Thursday before my talk?" only to be told the meeting was indeed that evening!

I had referenced the original email date and noted November 6th but did not check the actual day. When I had booked Glen we were still Thursday nights and I forgot to inform him of the change to Mondays night meetings. So, I sincerely apologize to our speaker.

Still Glen smiled and was so gracious. It was an inspired lecture, complete with a totally organized talk on The Mount Kilmanjaro of Borneo,Mount Kinabalu: in the eastern flatland where the eco parklands of Sabah with Mt. Kinabalu, looking rather like a bread maker 's loaf upright in a field near the ocean ,waves swelling and rolling in toward this rich diversity of rare plants.

Glen is an inveterate and passionate traveler. He is organizing interesting tours to fascinating regions of the globe: next, in January to the Galapagos Archipelago, 600 miles off the coast of South America and reached via a short flight from Quito, Ecuador. And in a couple of years to the Park of Sabah wherein sits Mount Kinabalu. The park is a government sanctuary, very safe and eco protected from the many greedy people who take advantage of unprotected rare orchids, pitcher plants, and vireyas.

Those of us who have struggled with these small gorgeous and tender rhododendrons were amazed to see how well they grow in the just right climatic conditions each vireya species has evolved in, so if you grow lowland vireyas they have to be really warm ( didn't Glen say it was 35C ?) and if you grow upper montane vireyas they have to be cool.

I have a great R. rushforthii from Viet Nam, which grows high up at elevations where Dr. Brian White, our September speaker, assists with eco tourism through the Royal Roads program. R. ruthforthii with its celadon leaves which grows in a hanging basket at my house, occasionally sits in the pond for a good soak and then is pulled to drain. I do believe it could be grown in a light weight medium, perhaps a tree stump, like R. edgeworthii, with success in a protected area on Southern Vancouver Island, but I can't quite bring myself to believe it! So, I bring it in to the greenhouse for the winter.

Glen is passionate about vireyas, establishing his Sans Pareil Nursery and going in search of lovely hybrid vireyas and bringing in Species Vireyas from Bovees Nursery in Portland (the largest vireya nursery in North America) and the newly built and still in need of funds, RSF Vireya House at Federal Way, Washington. There is a very good nursery on Hilo, Oahu, Pacific Sands which many of you have visited. To import you must have a Canadian Agricultural permit to send with your order. You can no longer do it from the US , including Hawaii where Sherla Bartleman and Richard Marques of Pacific Sands Nursery will package your vireya order, bare rooted but well packed in damp moss for good air passage. I intended to replace some of my many losses when I didn't know how to care for them properly. Now they sit amongst my orchids growing easily in an orchid bark mix , easily purchased from any grocery outlet!

Back to Glen. This one man really stirred the interest in Vancouver Island by being so proactive.

For years I had visited online the best vireya site in the world and wished for success , feasting my eyes on the thousands of images on Chris' excellent website: Chris Callard's http://www.vireya.net

I don't know about you, but I am planning to accompany Glen's tour to Mt. Kinabalu in a year or so. He said the air fare is about $3000 (enough to save for in that time period) and park accommodation is so inexpensive, clean and basic and best of all, safe, which will provide me with a not so dangerous trip into the wonders of the park's flora and fauna. I hope to have a few or many of you along, especially Keiko. who introduced me to my purple black lady slipper orchid (paphiopedilum) and a newly transferred member and great friend of Glen's from the Qualicum Chapter, Dorothy Griffin, so we three ' slightly getting on ladies' can enjoy the real adventure and not just the armchair version of magic!

I am going to write a version of this article for the Friends of Finnerty Garden newsletter for later publication but I can't help inserting this for Glen.

As he climbed to the summit, he began suffering from hypothermia.. When he reached the shelter in the driving rain, he could not feel his numb hands to sign in and so made a straight line to register. Around him, regions of Myanmar to the southwest were being devastated in a roaring part of the world.

Lo! to the vault

Of paved heaven,

With sorrow fraught

My songs are driven:

They strike the ear of night,

Make weep the eyes of day;

They make mad the roaring winds.

And with tempests play.

Like a fiend in a cloud,

With howling woe,

After night I do croud

And with night will go:

I turn my back to the east,

From whence comforts have increas'd;

For light doth seize my brain

With frantic pain.

William Blake

Oh, by the way Anne Allen and Ian Duncan suggested a new Trophy for the Vireya Class for the 2009 Show and Sale, which has a very appropriate name, as suggested by Gareth, Membership Chair, Member at Large of the Board and long time VRS member. The special unveiling will be done at a Spring meeting before the Show and Sale on April 25th. So, be preparing your entries which it is hoped will bloom at the same time, although many will tantalize and not be ready for that dazzling display. Donated by John Hawkins for the raffle table was the gloriously scented deep white lobed beauty, Rhododendron crutwellii,. It was won by Burns and Karen Morrison. As I said at the meeting, Rev. Crutwell spent thirty five years in Papua New Guinea following his avocation in the Church but passion lit up his eyes for the botanical wonders of his God in thevireyas to which he gave the rhododendron world his painstaking research. Isn't the world fascinating?

And on a Scottish note, see you at the December Ceilidh! Tartans if appropriate, plaid ribbon if not! If you have 'print treats to spare for the book sale to help the Mustard Seed funds, and if you are now so knowledgeable about rhododendron culture, you can donate your old rhodo books for new members to buy for augmented learning, everybody wins!

Review of Glen Jamieson's Talk, Nov. 3, 2008
by Theresa McMillan

Glen began his talk with Google Earth images of "Vireya Land", an equatorial area in Southeast Asia centering on Borneo, which has 28 species of vireyas, only 6 of which are endemic. Glen chose to visit the area of Sabah, near the spectacular Mount Kinabalu, often called South Asia's Mount Kilimanjaro. On the way to Borneo, Glen stopped at Hong Kong, and showed us pictures of the skyscrapers overlooking the large and lush central park. One tall building under construction featured scaffolding made of bamboo, which is strong enough to be used instead of steel.

Mount Kinebalu

In Sabah, Borneo, Glen stayed at the deluxe Mesilau Sutera Resort, and visited the local village. Many people there spoke English, for Malaysia had been a British colony in the past. One curious plant Glen saw that grows in Malaysian rain forests is nepenthes rajah, a very large carnivorous pitcher plant. Mount Kinabalu is very popular with climbers, but it is so high (over 4,000 meters) and so big (about the size of Mount Baker) and takes so long to hike up its steep slopes that there is a dormitory-like resort near the top where climbers can rest before the final assent. As Glen and his native guide climbed the slopes, Glen took many photographs of vireyas, including ones that climbed around trees. He also got several pictures of orchids and other exotic plants. An oddity that he photographed was a long blue earthworm that was the prime menu item for a smaller red leech.

He had to give up photography and put his digital camera away because of potential damage by the wind and rain. He was being drenched by horizontal gusts. Glen rested at the resort, then continued his climb. A network of ropes aided the final climb up bare shiny granite slopes because many climbers start in the dark so they can witness dawn from the peak.

The terrible weather, the product of three typhoons, had continued overnight, but Glen was able to reach the top of the mountain.Down from the mountain, Glen was able to see some rafflesia, a parasitic plant that produces the largest single flower on earth, a rich red in colour. We also saw pictures of rare pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys and orangutans.

We appreciated Glen’s good cheer, even though he was jet-lagged from arriving back from China Sunday evening, his talk on his experiences on Mount Kinabalu, and his beautiful pictures.

Glendale Rhododendron and Hosta Garden: Summary Report for 2007-2008
by Bill McMillan, Curator

· Routine Maintenance of mature areas of the garden ܵweed, fertilize, mulch, deadhead, prune. Our small dedicated volunteer base is great but a few VRS members would be welcome.

· Lifted smaller rhodos and replaced soil with sand-bark mulch-compost mix to improve drainage; replant them higher (root balls above ground level)

· Split hostas for Glendale sale last fall and this fall

· Removed rhodos with phytopthora and brought in a number of new replacement rhodos and companion plants (for example, brunneras, fuchsias, dianthus, hebes, hydrangeas, and a trillium, an astilbe, a boykinea, and several kinds of primulas). Added several species and several hybrids produced by Mike Bale and others. Some 24 new rhododendrons and ten new hosta species have been added in the last 3 years.

R. hodgsonii	R. Coral Glow

· Added three donated magnolias, M. zenii, M. 'Pegasus', M. 'Eric Savill', to the garden and two more that we bought from UBC (M. zenii and M. 'Pegasus'). The three magnolias were donated in memory of Charley Johnson

· Kept Excel database current but got behind on updating the MS Access database

· Dead fir trees were taken out and stumps in two beds were ground up. The bed near the entry steps was redesigned and new plantings added. The 'Fern Grotto' (Bed S)has had drainage improved and many new plants added.

· Drainage channels were added as 'dry creek beds' in several areas and a student project added drainage pipes in Bed S

· began plans for changing watering system in a number of areas to a micro system Funding provided by VRS has been instrumental in maintaining the garden and acquiring many of the new plants. Plant donations are also important and gratefully acknowledged. Please come out to the garden and see what we have accomplished in your name.

Overview of Rhododendron and Hosta Garden from Native Plant Garden

We Need Material

The Victoria Rhododendron Society Newsletter, YOUR NEWSLETTER, is asking for new material, notes, pictures, articles.

Please submit to Theresa McMillan, editor,

either by mail,

562 Hallsor Drive, Victoria, B.C. V9C 1L1

OR by email

wtmcmillan@telus.net