What Is CRAGS (Calgary Rock & Alpine Garden Society)?

Updated

CRAGS stands for the Calgary Rock and Alpine Garden Society, a club for rock gardeners based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Its website, crags.ca, is the society's public face: it announces upcoming meetings and talks, promotes a major conference, and connects people who grow or want to grow rock and alpine plants. If you garden in or near Calgary—or plan to visit—the site is the practical entry point for events and for the 2026 North American Rock Garden Society gathering.

What the Society Is and Where It Sits

CRAGS is a local horticultural society focused on rock-loving plants and rock gardens. Calgary's setting shapes what members grow: the city sits at the western edge of the Northern Great Plains, at 1,045 m (3,400 ft), within sight of the Rocky Mountains. Cool nights at that elevation suit alpine and rock plants, even though warm, drying chinook winds interrupt otherwise cold winters. The club treats that chinook-zone climate as a shared challenge and topic—garden visits during its 2026 events are framed around "opportunities and challenges of gardening in the Chinook zone."

The region also gives members access to native alpine and dryland flora: six UNESCO World Heritage Sites with alpine or dryland rock-loving vegetation lie within a 2 to 7 hour drive.

What You'll Find on crags.ca

The homepage is event-driven rather than a static brochure. Two items stand out:

  • The 2026 NARGS Conference & AGM, "High & Dry in the Chinook Zone," June 25–28, 2026, in Calgary. CRAGS is hosting and invites rock gardeners to attend. Confirmed speakers listed are Vojtěch Holubec (Czech Republic), Jay Akerley (Kamloops, BC), Todd Boland (St. John's, Newfoundland), Stephanie Ferguson (Calgary), Mike Bone (Denver, Colorado) and John Noad (Calgary). The program includes visits to CRAGS members' gardens and municipal rock gardens the club helped develop, plus field trips to the nearby Front Range of the Rocky Mountains for guided introductions to native alpine flora. A conference schedule link is provided on the page.
  • Upcoming monthly events. The listed example is "Plants of the Chilean Andes" with Elizabeth & Danny Elliott, Thursday, October 8, 2026: hall doors open 6:00 p.m., talk at 7:00 p.m., at Lakeview Community Association Hall, 6110–34th Street SW. The talk is also available on Zoom, and parking is free.

Who It's For

The site is aimed at anyone interested in rock gardens and alpine plants—beginners included, since meetings are open presentations rather than specialist-only sessions. It is most useful if you:

  • want a local Calgary group to learn from or meet;
  • are considering attending the June 2026 NARGS conference and need dates, speakers and program details;
  • garden in a cold, windy, chinook-affected climate and want to see how others handle it.

How to Use the Site

  1. Open crags.ca and scan the "CRAGS Upcoming Events" section for the next talk, date, time and venue.
  2. Note the format: in-person at the Lakeview hall with free parking, or on Zoom—choose based on whether you can attend in person.
  3. If the 2026 conference interests you, follow the "Click For Conference Schedule" link on the homepage for the full program before planning travel.
  4. Check back for new event postings, since the homepage rotates the current talk and conference promotion.

One caveat: the page shows an event dated October 8, 2026, so confirm the current listing before making plans—details may be updated as the date approaches. Membership terms, fees and registration steps are not described in the material available here, so contact the society through the site if you need those specifics.