协会概况与创立背景
荷兰杜鹃花协会（Nederlandse Rhododendron Vereniging，简称 NRV）成立于 1991 年春，由 15 位杜鹃花爱好者在荷兰 Boskoop 苗圃 Le Febre 的仓库中发起，并自创立起即作为美国杜鹃花协会（American Rhododendron Society）的荷兰分会（Dutch Chapter）运作，至今已 30 余年。会员以荷兰和佛兰德地区为主，另有少数来自德国，目前维持在 125 人左右。协会地址登记在荷兰 Gieterveen（Kopweg 17, 9511 PL）。
组织架构与现任理事会
协会事务由理事会主持。现任主席为 Henk Borsje，秘书 Henri Speelman，财务 Maarten Reuderink，另有 Lysette Smulders、Theo Damen、Petra Zwaan 三位理事参与决策。会员背景相当多元，既有业余种植爱好者，也有从业苗圃商，还有长期从事杜鹃花杂交选育的专家，新人与资深玩家都在同一屋檐下交流。
核心业务与 Belmonte 杜鹃花收藏
协会的实体基地设在 Wageningen 的 Belmonte 植物园，与植物园合作多年，把园中既有的杜鹃花收藏扩建成全欧最具代表性的专类园之一。园区内集中栽植 250 个野生种与 300 余个栽培形式，按系统位置依次排开，方便辨认与比较。Belmonte 园区全年免费向公众开放，从日出到日落均可入园参观。
会员服务、出版与公开聚会
协会每年出版会刊《Rhodomania》一期，会员可同时订阅美国 ARS 的《Journal of the American Rhododendron Society》季刊（含纸质或电子版）。协会每年举办两次会员聚会，邀请专家作专题讲座；许多会员自己也在扦插、播种繁殖，偶尔会把成活的小苗免费分给其他会员。会员还能进入不对外开放的其他会员私家杜鹃花园参观。
国际协作与公开活动
协会与荷兰、比利时、德国等地的 7 家知名植物园保持会员关系，并组织赴邻近国家的杜鹃花主题园游活动。年度活动日程除本国外，也覆盖比利时与德国部分地区，2026 年 4 月英国 RCMG 组团赴爱尔兰的旅行即由 NRV 与 ICS 会员共同参与。
Society Profile and Founding Context
The Nederlandse Rhododendron Vereniging (NRV) was founded in the spring of 1991 when fifteen rhododendron enthusiasts met in a shed at the Le Febre nursery in Boskoop. From the start the society has operated as the Dutch Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society (ARS). Membership has held steady at roughly 125 for years, drawn mainly from the Netherlands and Flanders, with a small number of members in Germany. The registered address is Kopweg 17, 9511 PL Gieterveen, and routine enquiries go to the society via its official website.
Governance and Current Board
Day-to-day affairs are run by a volunteer board. Henk Borsje chairs the society, Henri Speelman serves as secretary, Maarten Reuderink handles finances, and Lysette Smulders, Theo Damen and Petra Zwaan sit as ordinary board members. The membership is mixed: hobby gardeners, nursery professionals and breeders who work on rhododendron crosses all share the same calendar of meetings.
Core Activity and the Belmonte Rhododendron Collection
The society’s physical home is the Belmonte Arboretum in Wageningen. Working together with the arboretum staff, NRV has helped build the on-site rhododendron collection into one of the most complete in Europe, with 250 species from the wild and more than 300 cultivated forms laid out in a way that makes them easy to compare. The arboretum itself is free to enter, every day from sunrise to sunset.
Member Services, Publications and Gatherings
Members receive the society’s own yearbook, Rhodomania, and can also subscribe to the ARS Journal of the American Rhododendron Society, which arrives three times a year in print or digital form. The society meets twice a year for lectures by invited experts; many members also raise their own seedlings and cuttings and sometimes pass young plants on to fellow members at no cost. Membership also opens the gates to other members’ private rhododendron gardens, which are not open to the public.
International Cooperation and Public Events
Seven well-known arboreta in the Netherlands and Belgium count NRV members among their visitors. The society organises group trips to rhododendron gardens across the region, and the events calendar covers the Netherlands, Belgium and occasionally Germany. In April 2026, for instance, members of NRV and ICS joined the English Rhododendron, Camellia and Magnolia Group on a thirty-three-person trip to Ireland.
