B.N.A.R.G.S.

Berkshire chapter North American Rock Garden Society

About Russell Stafford...

Speaker - March 3 2007  meeting.

Proprietor of Odyssey
Bulbs, Lancaster, MA

Russell started Odyssey Bulbs in 2000, primarily to meet the demand for uncommon and choice bulbs, rhizomes, tubers and corms previously unavailable from a domestic supplier. Today Odyssey Bulbs offers an even wider variety of geophytes from their own nursery and a far-flung network of growers.
The morning program is titled “Bulbs And Companion Plants For Late Winter Display.” Russell will also have a selection of bulbs and other choice items for sale. In particular, he will be bringing a selection of Roscoeas, a genus of hardy gingers that, according to Russell, “are all the rage among the plant cognoscenti.” Most are native to the Himalayas and the uplands of southwest China, and favor a modicum of shade, and humus-rich, cool, well-drained soil that's moist, spring through summer, and not too damp in winter. They are hardy in Zone 6, and therefore at least some of us can grow them successfully. Russell will be available after lunch and our plant and seedling sale to engage in a free form discussion of bulbs and their cultivation here in New England. The 2007 Odyssey catalogue is available on the web at  Odysseybulbs.com
Russell Stafford — aka your gentle bulb peddler, propagator, and packer — is also a widely recognized and published plant evangelist, consultant, designer, lecturer, tour guide, and all around plant junkie. In addition to designing numerous naturalistic gardens including the Margaret Davis Wildlife Garden at Andrews University and the South Vista Gardens at Fernwood Botanic Garden, he has written and lectured widely on habitat gardening, uncommon plants, native plants, and other matters horticultural. He is a member of numerous plant organizations including the American Horticultural Society, Royal Horticultural Society, North American Rock Garden Society, New England Wildflower Society, and Hardy Plant Society Mid-Atlantic Group, and holds a masters degree in forest ecology from Harvard University, a bachelors in biology from University of Massachusetts at Boston, and bachelors and masters degrees in English, which explains some of the content and style of the Odyssey Bulbs catalog, for which he takes full blame.