president's message
September 2017
Greetings from Switzerland! My husband and I are here for a family reunion and are having a wonderful time! We’ve been enjoying rolling, lush green landscapes, fabulous company and plenty of local beer and cheese. It’s going to be difficult to return.
With the magic of Internet connection, I’ve been able to continue posting all of your gorgeous orchid photos for what I’ve called “Bloom Week”. If you haven’t yet, please visit our society Facebook page and have a look! I’ve received so many great shots of your orchids in bloom that the posts are continuing beyond the original week. What fun to see and share the abundant photos of member orchids in bloom! Keep ‘em coming!
Looking forward, Wayne Farrell from the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate will be visiting us September to speak on Australian Dendrobiums. The meeting is sure to be a ripper, as they say down under! Thanks to Carol Beule for always bringing in such fantastic speakers.
In other society news, we’re coming upon the Huntington Gardens show time! If you’d like to be involved in creating our society display, please speak with Carol Beule at the next meeting. Lastly, we’re planning a field trip and the next weekend workshop and will announce these events very soon!
I’m looking forward to seeing you all in September to share the love of orchids together!
All the very best,
Erin Maxick
fun orchid fact of the month
Fun Australian orchid fact: Rhizanthella gardneri, also known as Western Underground Orchid, is a plant in the orchid family, discovered in the spring of 1928 in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. Jack Trott had bent to investigate an odd crack that had appeared in his garden's soil, and had noticed a sweet smell that arose from the ground. Scraping away the soil, he soon uncovered a tiny white flower, about half an inch across, growing underground. What he had found was an entirely new type of orchid. The discovery generated such excitement that a wax model was toured around the British Isles.