LSEWHERE IN THE NEWS 



Another Country Heard From 



One thinks of Russia as a land of 

 rough winters and economic tur- 

 moil. There may be some substance 

 to this, but these are certainly not 

 the whole picture. Small businesses 

 are starting up. In October, a new 

 seed-exporting firm in Moscow 

 wrote asking for a NHPGA mem- 

 bership list. 



Intrigued, an e-mail correspon- 

 dence was initiated. To be honest, 

 communication is spotty — periods of 

 busy e-mail activity surrounded by 

 long silences. (Right now, we're into 

 silence.) 



Still, there is a long list of avail- 

 able seed. It's varied; not all of it is 

 uniquely Russian — Acer rubrum is 

 there, but A. mandshuricum and A. 

 palmatum as well. Some of the 

 birches seem unusual — and cold- 

 hardy: the source for both 

 B. ermanii and B. manshurica is 

 Vladivostok; several cold-hardy 

 clematis (also from Vladivostok) also 

 seem worth looking into. The cam- 

 panulas (native to Russia) could be 

 unfamiliar varieties. 



English is spoken; prices are listed 

 in US dollars per kilo; you can buy 

 small amounts ("minimum quantity, 

 transport, terms of payment are to 

 be discussed separately with every 

 customer"); import licenses are ap- 

 parently in order. 



E-mail works best. (Air mail, 

 promised, has yet to arrive.) The 

 contact person's name is Alexey 

 Chernetsky. His company is Agbina, 

 PO Box 7, 105023 Moscow, Russia. 

 His e-mail address is 



<Alex@agbina.msk.ru>. If you have 

 an interest — and are adventurous — 

 try it. 



In Other States 



The annual meeting of the New En- 

 gland Nursery Certification Council 

 (NENCC) was held on Wednesday, 

 December 19, 1998. Updates of 

 state programs were given. 



ALCM (Association of Landscape 

 Contractors of Massachusetts) re- 

 ported that 40 people passed exams 

 in 1998, making a total of 220 

 MCLPs in the state. The first recer- 

 tification cycle yielded a 90% reten- 

 tion rate. A fall review course was 

 well received. 



CNA (Connecticut Nursery-men's 

 Association) reports 350 certified 

 professionals in the state, 54 of 

 these being people passing the exam 

 in 1998. A "Living Laboratory" has 

 been set up at Prides Corner in 

 Lebanon, where candidates can try 

 out their identification skills. The is- 

 sue of adding a recertification ele- 

 ment to the program will be dis- 

 cussed in 1999. 



MAA (Massachusetts Arborists 

 Association) reported that the Mas- 

 sachusetts Certified Arborist (MCA) 

 program was begun in 1957 and 

 that there are presently 850 certified 

 arborists in the state. They've re- 

 cently decided to add a recertifica- 

 tion element to their program, with 

 the possible requirement of a passing 

 grade for each section. 



MeLNA (Maine Landscape and 

 Nursery Association) now has a total 

 of 113 professionals in the state. A 

 four-color brochure has helped to 

 keep interest high. Recertification 

 has also been successful with a re- 

 quirement of five credits per year 

 and the offering of a one-day recer- 

 tification day in which these credits 



can be earned. 



MNLA (Massachusetts Nursery 

 and Landscape Association) reported 

 that they held two exams in 1998 

 and that there are now 248 certified 

 professionals in the state. Recertifica- 

 tion is at 90%, with the help of a 

 phone call effort by the certification 

 committee. A manual revision 

 should be completed by February, 

 2000. 



RINLA (Rhode Island Nursery 

 and Landscape Association) reported 

 120 certified professionals. Their 

 emphasis in 1999 will now be on 

 building the professionalism and in- 

 creasing the marketability of the cer- 

 tified professional. 



VAPH (Vermont Association of 

 Horticultural Professionals) reported 

 150 certified professionals. VAPH 

 recently moved to an annual recerti- 

 fication system at a cost of $25.00 a 

 year that is proving successful. 



These are highlights. There does 

 seem to be a trend toward national 

 certification programs and the prob- 

 ability of a New England unified ef- 

 fort. For more, contact Virginia 

 Wood at 508-653-4112. 



Events — Lots of Them 



WITH THE CURRENT EMPHA- 

 SIS on sustainability and environ- 

 mental horticulture, attending the 

 1999 Ecological Landscaping Asso- 

 ciation Winter Conference at the 

 Boxborough Holiday Inn on Febru- 

 ary 26 could be time well spent. 



The theme is "Ecology and the 

 Managed Landscape: Working to- 

 ward Better Solutions." Talks in- 

 clude "Nuts and Bolts of Installing 

 an Ecological Garden (Michael 

 Nadeau, Plantscapes, Inc. Fairfield, 

 CT), "Site Analysis: Designing with 

 the Microclimate" (Dennis Carboni, 

 Bonnie Ulin, Inc., Needham, MA); 

 and "Natural Areas Within Managed 

 Spaces" (Francis Clark, Carex Asso- 

 ciates, Lincoln, MA). Twelve topics 

 are offered in three concurrent ses- 

 sions. Choosing could be difficult. 



FEBRUARY / MARCH 1999 



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