Ed Shinn’s Spring Maple showing 2009 to benefit the Maple Society

 Dear Maple Enthusiast,

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the seventh annual spring maple viewing being held at my home at the New Jersey shore on Saturday May 16, 2009. I have been growing Japanese Maples and conifers in my gardens for the last 19 years and have approximately 300 maple cultivars with over 500 trees planted in my gardens along with about 350 conifers and other companion plants on just over two acres.  For the past six years a small group of maple enthusiast gets together each spring to talk about our experiences with maples, new trees we have acquired, companion plants and our successes and failures.  This event is an informal gathering on the local level to provide an opportunity to talk maples in addition and to help promote the Maple Society and build membership in our areas.

This past year I joined the American Conifer Society (ACS) and attended their North East Region meeting in NJ. I discovered a wonderful group of dedicated gardeners that not only collected conifers but also maples and other plants. I found it interesting that many of the ACS members collected maples and did not know about the Maple Society.  I thought that the spring gathering would be a great opportunity to introduce the ACS members to the Maple Society and the Maple Society members to the ACS.

I was fortunate enough to have known Dick Wolff and have some well established examples of his lesser known cultivars in my gardens as well as his more popular trees. New additions to the garden this year are an outdoor kitchen and bar area on the patio and over 50 new cultivars of maples and other companion plants in new island beds.

Below is a preliminary agenda for this event.

9:30 to 10:00:  Continental Breakfast and Check In. (you are welcome to come earlier and lend a hand)

10:15:  Welcome and Overview of the garden. Ed Shinn

10:30:  Presentation, Little known cultivars from Dick Wolff. Joe Shinn 

11:00:  Garden Tour

12:15:  Lunch Menu in Planning

1:45: Questions and Answers

2:00:  Afternoon Garden Tour (anything you missed), Refreshments, Networking and Silent Plant Auction*.

3:00:  Silent Plant Auction ends.

* This year we will hold two silent plant auctions. One will be to benefit the Maple Society NAB and the other will benefit the American Conifer Society. Attendees are welcome to bid on any plants they are interested in. Remember to bring your check book.

We ask that you bring a maple or other plant to donate to the silent auction and that you provide the species, cultivar name, a brief description and size of these items for the silent auction in advance so that we may prepare the auction bid sheets. You are welcome to send a plant for the auction even if you can not make the event.

Attendance is limited to 60 people on a first come basis and we are expecting approximately 25 to 30 from the ACS. Please respond via email to edward@eshinn.com. My garden and home is located in central coastal New Jersey, about one hour from NYC, Philadelphia and Atlantic City and easily accessible from major highways. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or for directions.

Edward T. Shinn

3214 Allaire Road

Wall, NJ 07719