Calling all garden lovers!  Tom Freeth, curator of plants at the Royal Botanical Gardens - Kew, will be in Durango on Sunday, July 24 for a lecture and presentation about Kew’s famed rock garden.  Tom will showcase the rock garden’s evolution from its conception in the 1870s through four major overhauls to today’s garden and the fascinating plants that live there. Kew, located in London, houses the world’s largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections. Bank of the San Juans is generously underwriting this event.

The event is free to Mountain Studies Institute donors, staff, and board and starts at 3 PM on Sunday, July 24 at the Durango Recreation Center’s community meeting rooms.  Additionally, Durango Botanic Gardens and the Colorado Native Plant Society get in free, and non-member tickets are $10.  Please reserve your space at www.DurangoBotanicGardens.org.

After the lecture, Mike Smedley and Amy Wendland will host a wine and apps meet-and-greet reception for Tom at their nearby garden. Tickets for this post-talk gala are $15 per person and are limited to 40 people.