Due to the travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 American Rhododendron Society Convention will be offering all the presentations, garden tours and networking opportunities available online, to anyone who can access the internet! For those who can travel to Nova Scotia, We will also be holding in-person sessions and garden tours as well as a plant sale featuring rare and unusual rhodos propagated especially for this event.

Speakers include Ken Cox, famed Scottish rhodo breeder from Glendoick Nursery in Scotland; Joe Bruso, rhodo breeder from Massachusetts; and Todd Boland from Newfoundland’s Memorial University Botanical Garden. The Convention will commence with a lecture on “Introduction to Mi’kma’ki” by Gerald Gloade, a Mi’kmaw naturalist and education who will tell the stories of the first people that explain the natural history since the area was covered by ice.

Garden tours, both virtual and in-person, will include the Kentville Research Centre, Annapolis Valley Historic Gardens and Peggy’s Cove barrens, as well as local private gardens.

Networking opportunities will include the Breeder’s Roundtable where you can hear about the latest trends in rhodo breeding, the ARS Next Generation Project which will show how to involve the next generation in your local ARS club and social events that feature the seafood, cider and wine from our local producers.

Full program details can be found at https://ars2021.org/