Value of Membership
Joining an organization or club proves satisfying in unexpected ways
If you love gardens and a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and plants, finding a group of people similarly passionate, and becoming actively involved, opens your life to unique experiences
Alan Campbell shares his experience about the life-enriching values of membership in the Cowichan Valley Rhododendron Society and its broader realm
Have you ever taken a holiday to a new location only to stay in your hotel room and view the sights from the window? Do you visit Butchart Gardens only to sit in the coffee shop and admire the gardens from a distance? Perhaps it seems silly to suggest such a manner, but please, let me explain.
My wife, Sandy, and I joined the American Rhododendron Society (A.R.S.) thirty-two years ago via membership in the Cowichan Valley Rhododendron Society (C.V.R.S.), the local Chapter of the international association.
The initial Chapter meeting we attended, introduced us to enthusiasts with as much as forty years experience and interest in the genus Rhododendron, and upon receiving our first ARS journal, we soared out into ‘The Realm of the Rhododendron’.
The Journal of the American Rhododendron Society (J.A.R.S.), which all CVRS members receive as part of the chapter’s membership, can be used as a ‘how to’ manual for the cultivation of rhododendrons, a travelogue to visit the natural habitat of species rhododendrons, a text featuring propagation and hybridization techniques, and even a historical manuscript featuring the early years of plant hunters and hybridizers. To those with more scientific training, the journal will offer treatises on genetic research and cellular discoveries.
Sandy and I attended our first ARS Convention in 1997, hosted by the Vancouver Chapter, just to see what it could offer us and where it might take us. That convention, along with subsequent conventions and regional conferences, enriched us with the offerings of new and rare plants, invitations into private gardens and introductions to international friendships with people having a common interest. With an expanding interest, we joined the New Zealand Rhododendron Association and attended their conference in Christchurch, an experience that amazed Sandy and me. We got to meet Marc Columbel of the Societe Bretonne du Rhododendron from France, who up until then we only knew via the internet and email. We became reacquainted with Senator (ret.) Bob Knight of Oregon whose garden we had visited during a previous Fall Conference in Newport. We met ‘Kiwis’ who spoke of Bill Dale, of having dinner with Bob and Jean Rhodes at an earlier convention, others recalling visiting the gardens of Dave and Lurana Dougan, or Nick and Evelyn Weesjes, [our friends from Vancouver Island]. Still others spoke with sadness upon learning of the passing of Peter and Pat Stone. The world truly becomes smaller to those with a shared interest.
Dougan garden on Malahat mountain.
Photo by Bill Dale
Presently, due to the dollar exchange rates, it costs us $55.00 to become a member of the Cowichan Valley Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society. In my view this is virtually a token payment allowing me 365 days a year access to the accumulated knowledge of the members within one of the premier international horticultural societies that exists today. Sandy’s and my own depth of knowledge and interest is perhaps little more than ankle deep in comparison to many within the ARS, but as our knowledge increases so does our interest. Not only do Sandy and I have membership in four chapters of the ARS but we also have memberships in the New Zealand Rhododendron Association, the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden and the Royal Horticultural Society’s ‘Rhododendron, Camellia and Magnolia Group’. Our total yearly membership dues amount to upwards of $250.00. Some may consider this as extravagant but we don’t consider it so. We have friends that spend that amount, and more, monthly on cigarettes and/or alcohol without receiving equal benefit.
Membership offers first-hand information about new discoveries from plant hunters as noted below:
Rhododendron sinofalconeri
From the mountains on either side of the Yunnan-Vietnam border comes the newly introduced, yellow-flowered, big-leaf Rhododendron sinofalconeri. This species has two very different forms from two separate areas, although each form more or less matches the type description. . .
Joining the local chapter of a rhododendron society can be the first step in an ever increasing and ever expanding experience.
Please, however, do not view membership as an evening once a month, ten-months-a-year opportunity to discuss rhododendrons.
You will not be getting the utmost value for your membership dollar if you stay standing at the ‘window’ looking out.
[Participate in the opportunities offered!]
Joyce Rodgers received the Silver Bowl Award at the Summer Picnic 2026 for her many years of quiet support in CVRS activities.