1June Meeting

2Upcoming Events

3President's CornerOrchids in the Park

Bus Trip

5Orchid Obession,

Lunacy. . .

The BackBulbC A R M E L O R C H I D S O C I E T Y

June 2 015

June Speaker:DanNewmanHanging Gardens: Worts and All

Every growing environmenthas its microcl imates. Bydeveloping an

understanding of the conditionsin different parts of the growing

area, we can position individual plants where they have thebest chance to flourish. Sounds simple, but in practice, the

process is more compl icated. I t involves a lot of tria l and error,ongoing observation of results, and the wi l l ingness to makechanges when needed - the last part being maybe the hardest!

After 12 years in my current greenhouse, I 've made progress insome areas, but fal len behind in others. Whoever said orchidsthrive on neglect must have been growing the plastic kind! Thepresentation wi l l offer a look at different environments in thegreenhouse and some of the things that grow there, with acandid discussion of what works and what doesn't. We' l l a lsolook at some of the di lemmas encountered in the continuingeffort to become a better grower (or at least not a worse one).

Dan Newman startedgrowing orchids in 1982 .His first successful subjectwas a Dendrobium hybridbought as a tiny seedl ingat a lei stand in theHonolulu Airport. Whenthat plant final ly grew upand bloomed a few yearslater, he was hooked! By1996 he had 350 orchidsin a one-bedroomapartment. That year he

This month's meeting is onMonday June 1 st, 7PM atthe Community Church ofMonterey Peninsula. 4590Carmel Valley Rd.

In order to provide a selection of treats at our meetings, we are asking memberswith last names that start with the letter G thru L to bring refreshments to the nextmeeting.

Dan's greenhouse

COS Officers

PresidentKathie Ritter

VP Program,BackBulb Editor,

WebmasterJohn OConnell

RecordingSecretary

Janette Ford

TreasurerDaniel Bellem

DirectorsCarol EastonLesley Olsen

Jeanette BrownLory Schluenz

Susan HolmFrances Richardson

P.O. Box 223462Carmel

CA 93922-3462

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Upcoming Events

June6/1 Monday 7PM COS Meeting. Speaker Dan Newman

6/5–7, 2 015 San Jose Orchid Exhibition and Wine Tasting.Special Preview Night Friday 5: 30 – 9: 30 pm. WinchesterMystery House, San Jose, CA 9512 8.

Ju lyNote: No regular COS meeting in July

7/25 Bus trip to Orchids in the Park

7/2 5-2 6 Orchids in the Park, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

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moved his plants into arented commercialgreenhouse in SanFrancisco. He took overthe large speciescol lection of his friend andorchid mentor, WalterTeague, and his hobbyevolved into his nursery,Hanging Gardens. Dan

started growing orchids ful l -time in 2 000, and moved to a largergreenhouse in Pacifica a few years later. He currently has12 ,000 to 15,000 plants, mostly cool to intermediate growers(it's expensive to maintain real ly warm conditions inPacifica). This number includes a few hybrids, but species makeup his core col lection and most of his sale stock. He also grows avariety of "companion plants" , which share the natural habitatsof orchids.

Dan joined the San Francisco Orchid Society in 1987, and servedas its president in 1996/97. In recent years, he has spoken on avariety of topics to orchid societies in Cal ifornia and elsewhere.

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President’s CornerAs we approach the midpoint of theyear, it is time to actively start thinkingabout preparations for our Fal l OrchidFestival – November 13th and 14th atthe Community Church. By the end ofthe summer expect to hear from one ormore of the Committee Chairs about“volunteer opportunities”. As usual wewi l l need help with lunch for thevendors and volunteers, set up andbreakdown, potting demonstrations,member plant table and sol iciting newmembers.

Most of the work that needs to be donetakes place in the last month before theshow. Some of the work can begin now!

If you are planning on sel l ing some ofyour plants at the member sale table,now is the time to divide, nurture, get apicture with the plant in bloom etc. sothat when the time comes to sel l i t, i t is

ready to go.

If you have any kikis, do not have thetime to pot them up for sale, and arewi l l ing to donate to the cause, let meknow. If you were at the May meetingyou saw the l ittle bauble that Janettehad planted up. We are going to try andput together some of those baubleswith kikis to put on the member saletable or si lent auction table.

Which brings me to the most importantthing any of us can do to make theshow a success: Put together acol lection of items for the si lent auctiontable. This year we wi l l close out theauction at the end of each day as wel las al low people to “buy now” for aspecified price.

Experience tel ls us that many items arenot “hot items” at our show. To date wehave learned that an interesting bottleof wine, restaurant dinners and stays atdesirable hotels/bed and breakfasts get

Orchids In The Park, Bus TripThis year our summer bus trip wi l l be to the "Orchids in the Park Orchid Show" inGolden Gate Park, San Francisco Saturday July 2 5. I f you have an interest in going,please let Kathie know by June 2 nd (emai l : mine72 33@comcast. net or phone:62 6-112 0) so that we can decide whether to reserve a smal l or large bus and candetermine the cost, which should be at most $40 for COS members. As soon as weget a tentative head count, we wi l l get back to you with the cost per person andtake reservations. There wi l l be an additional fee of $5. 00 to enter the Orchids inthe Park show.

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C A R M E L O R C H I D S O C I E T Y2015 Membership ApplicationPlease make checks payable to the Carmel Orchid Society and mail to: Carmel Orchid Society -Membership c/o Carol Easton, P.O. Box 223462 Carmel CA 93922-3462

Please print

Date

Name

Address

City State zip

Telephone

Email address

If you were referred by a current member, please provide

his/her name

Renewal _ New Member _

Member of the American Orchid Society _

Membership Receive NewsletterType Via E-Mail Via US MailSingle $20 _ $25 _Couple $30 _ $35 _Vendor $30 _ $35 _

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bid on. We suspect that garden itemscould be popular. We also bel ieve thatstunning floral centerpieces either withor without orchids could be a draw;particularly hol iday orientedcenterpieces. Remember howimpressed al l of us were with the greatjob Scott did with dramatic mounts. I fyou have ideas of how we might puttogether some wow pieces at l i ttle orno cost, please let me know.

Most importantly, please start puttingaside garden related items for the

auction, that bottle of wine you arewi l l ing to donate or ask your favoriterestaurant owner for a donation ofdinner for two.

Hope to see you at the June meeting.And don’t forget, we need to know ifyou are planning to go on the bus tripto Orchids in the Park.

Kathie

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OrchidObsession, Lunacy, Adiction andMoreThere are a lot of books about orchids and orchid culture out there. You probablyown a few. Coffee table books or books that focus on culture and how to growyour plants, they offer amazing photos and bountiful information about manyorchids, fami l iar, and completely unknown. They feed the need to know moreabout our beautiful ,and frequently mysterious orchids. But beyond the plants oneof the most interesting things about the orchid world are the people. See orchidpeople tend to be a l ittle bit nuts. I t is amazing how often the words obsessionand addiction are used to describe the relationship we have with our plants.These books are about the obsessed, the people crazy about orchids.

The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession – Susan Orlean –Susan explores the orchid world and the weird people who inhabit it, but the starof the show is the Ghost Orchid.

Adaptation (Movie) staring: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Ti ldaSwinton – The “Orchid Thief” was so difficult to adapt into a movie theyeventual ly made the move about the adaptation. Great acting and a great movieeven if they take a bunch of l iberties with the book.

Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust, and Lunacy - Eric Hansen– Like the “Orchid Thief”, Orchid Fever” explores the eccentric personal ities of theorchid world but it is tied together by the impact of the CITES treaty on the orchidworld.

The Scent of Scandal: Greed, Betrayal, and theworld's most Beautiful Orchid – Craig Pittman –Speaking of CITES, the story of Phragmipedium kovachi ihinges on CITES. This book tel ls the story of how theflower got it's name and aftermath when the s--- hit thefan.

Orchid Territory – Mary Motes – A story about thepol itics of a big South Florida orchid show. Many of thecharacters are based on real people.

Orchid Tales – Harold Koopowitz – Mix together a bit oforchid history and a bit of humor for an interestingcol lection of stories.

Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout – Classic mysteriessolved by the famous orchid growing detective.

Experimenting with Bamboo mounts

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COS Board ofDirectorsMeetingMay 18, 2015

Meeting cal led to order at 7: 12 atCarol ’s house.

Members Present: John O’Connel l ,Kathie Ritter, Janette Ford, JeannetteBrown, Lory Schluenz, Susan Holm,Daniel Bel lem and Carol Easton.

Previous Minutes: Minutes from Apri lmeeting read. Daniel moved, Carolseconded to accept minutes aspresented. Accepted.

Treasurer’s Report: Balance at thebeginning of Apri l was $10,2 89. 82 . Atthe end of the month it was$10,089. 84. Expenses for the monthwere for the meeting, P. O. box rentaland postage, and l iabi l i ty insurance.Daniel asked for board permission toreimburse Carol for the cost ofNovember show posters and postcards.The board approved the report andreimbursement by acclamation.

V.P. Report: Dan Newman is scheduledfor our June meeting, Ron Parson inAugust and maybe a speaker that wi l lbe visiting several nearby societies inOctober. John has made tentative plansfor our society to go to Orchids in thePark show (July 2 5th) for our bus tour.Daniel moved, Lory seconded, to goforward with this plan including makinga deposit for the bus if necessary.Approved. John wi l l make the busreservation. Kathie wi l l contact the

Carmel Foundation and Pebble BeachGarden Club members to see if theywould l ike to join us.

Old Business: Kathie reported that wenetted $2 01. 00 at the Carmel Val leyGarden Show. There was somediscussion as to whether or not thethree events in which we haveparticipated these last three monthsare worth the effort. No action wastaken.

New Business: Fal l Show

Carol presented a project plan for theFal l Faire. She has COS members l inedup to chair the jobs before and duringthe show. She got notice that DennisOl ivas wi l l not be able to attend as avendor, but three other vendors we hadlast year plan to be with us again. Caroland John wi l l see if Dan Newman maybe able to come as a vendor. Kathienoted at the Carmel Val ley GardenShow si lent auction that wine items anditems grouped in baskets had morebidders. They also had separateauctions for each day of the show. Westi l l are planning to have moregarden/orchid items for the auction andmaybe include some items forChristmas; and would l ike to haveenough items to have a separateauction each day.

Next meeting is scheduled for June 15that Kathie’s house.

Meeting adjourned at 8: 40.

Respectfully submitted, Janette Ford

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