Don’t miss this lecture by one of the most knowledgeable
and experienced gardeners that Michigan has to offer!
Date: Monday, October 12, 2026
Meeting Location:
First United Methodist Church
1589 W. Maple Rd.
Birmingham, MI 48009
Doors open: 6:30 p.m.
Program begins: 7:00 p.m.
Please park in back and enter through the back door.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
HPS membership: $20/yr (includes 4 in-person lectures, 2 Zoom lectures, and members-only garden walks)
Guest fee: $5 for one meeting.
Photo Courtesy: Katy Bentley
Dennis Groh
“The Gardener as a Movie Director”
Dennis will present an excellent overview of many hardy plants that are valuable in all four seasons. His thorough handout will list the perennials, shrubs and trees shown in his slide presentation.
Dennis will use the “movie” analogy to reinforce some of the key factors that can help ensure success in both areas (gardening and directing!). He will explain a few important differences and opportunities gardeners have that movie directors do not.
Biography:
Dennis Groh has been a garden enthusiast since childhood, and an avid plant collector for over 50 years. A voracious reader, he has an extensive library of books on all aspects of plants, garden design and their maintenance. He has networked over the years with some generous and knowledgeable plant mentors. Importantly, he has learned from his many gardening failures.
Working with his wife, Carole, they have developed an amazing and stunning plant collection in their 1-acre garden. Dennis enjoys travel and photography. He has visited many gardens and international garden events in the US, Canada, Europe and Japan to study those plants and talk with those most knowledgeable about growing them. Thus, his contacts in the horticultural world have grown right along with his plants. Their garden has become a destination for horticultural experts including Professor Emeritus (University of Wisconsin) Ed Hasselkus, the late great conifer authority Chub Harper, and one of England's premier gardeners, Adrian Bloom.
Photographs of their garden have been featured in the Detroit Free Press, the American Conifer Society magazine, and in Adrian Bloom's 2017 book "Gardening with Conifers". In 2005, Dennis was filmed twice for Rebecca’s Garden (HGTV). The first segment was on dwarf conifers at Hidden Lake Gardens, Tipton, MI and the second on Japanese Maples he grows at his home.
Dennis does all he can to advance knowledge in the horticultural field. A scientist by profession, he brings an incisive perspective to his gardening, asking "why" and demanding explanations for "how", supported by fact. He does this in an attempt to pass on his mentors’ legacy of plant knowledge, an appreciation of nature and to help others avoid his mistakes.
Dennis has been a member of the American Conifer Society (ACS) since 1987, served on the ACS board of directors 1999-2002, ACS president from 2002-2004 and ACS National Meeting co-chair in 2012. He has had several articles published in the Conifer Quarterly. In 2013, Dennis won The Marvin and Emelie Snyder Award of Merit for dedicated support of the ACS.
He completed the Master Gardener (MG) and Advanced MG training in 1995 and the Longwood Gardens Certificate of Merit for Conifers in 1998. From 2003 to 2008, Dennis was an instructor with the Michigan School of Gardening. He has lectured on Conifers, Rhododendrons, fall color, woody plants, Asian Maples and Japanese gardens in several states.