Chapter Meetings are open to the public
and are held on the first
Thursday of the month
at the SMILE Station
8210 SE 13th Ave.
Portland, OR 97202.
and the meeting begins at 7:30 pm.
Social time starts at 7:00 pm
*Meetings are also available simultaneously on Zoom.
Each meeting features an illustrated lecture or other plant-related event such as a non-competitive show, along with socializing, refreshments, and plenty of door prizes. Choice and unusual plants are sometimes available for purchase.
June 4, 2026 "Hard Plants for Hard Places,"
Dylan O'Leary, a botanist working for the Oregon Desert Land Trust, will present "Hard Plants for Hard Places," featuring the flora of eastern Oregon. Born in Florida, Dylan explored conservation opportunities around the country, earning his master's degree in plant biology from the University of Vermont while studying the sagebrush sea around Trout Creek Ranch in the southeastern corner of Oregon. He spent nearly two years with the Institute for Natural Resources at Oregon State University before joining ODLT. He takes every opportunity to use his passion as a naturalist for solving environmental problems.
The Oregon Desert Land Trust (ODLT) works to conserve private lands in the state’s high desert region. These wild and working lands are critical to ecological, economic and community health. Conserving
Oregon’s high desert is vital for fish and wildlife habitat, climate
resilience, cultural preservation, rangeland health, and public access. The organization was founded in 2017 and has conserved more than 20,000 acres of wild and working desert land. For more information, see their website:
https://www.oregondesertlandtrust.org/
July 12, 2026 Chapter Picnic
The annual picnic will take place on Sunday, July 12, at the home and garden of Craig Quirk and Larry Neill. The address is 27355 NW Dairy Creek Rd, North Plains, OR 97133. From Hwy 26 West, take Exit 55 (Dersham Rd/Mountaindale). Take a right at the exit and go 2.1 miles, and take a right on Dairy Creek Rd. Go 7 miles to the address on the left; you will see the garden and greenhouse. You can enter the driveway before or after the garden. To read about the new crevice garden, see the article by Kenton Seth and Chris Dixon in the latest NARGS Quarterly.
The event begins at 11:00 am and ends at 2:00 pm, with plenty of time to enjoy the large garden and a potluck lunch. Please bring a dish to share, and your own plates and flatware. If you have a plant to share too, bring it for the popular Plant Exchange.
September 3, 2026 "Dwarf Rhodendrons with Mike Stewart"
October 1, 2026 "Plant Propagation"