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The Arizona Orchidist Newsletter May 1998
THE GROWER ON CALL FOR MAY IS: MARGA LEMAIRE
NEXT OSA BOARD MEETING: May 3, 1998, at the home
of Suz Cramer, 329 W. Monterosa, Phoenix, at 1 p.m.
(Nearest major cross streets to Suz's house are
Indian School Rd. and 3rd Ave. Monterosa is north
of Indian School.)
ALSO IN MAY: May 31, 1998, board meeting at the
home of Peggy Stejskal, 3401 E. Palo Verde Dr.,
Paradise Valley, at 1 p.m. (Nearest major cross
streets are Camelback and 32nd St. Palo Verde is
east of 32nd and north of Stanford. Take the second
right turn beyond Stanford, which is Camino sin
Nombre. CsN turns into 33rd Place. Turn left where
33rd Pl. dead ends and proceed north for two blocks
to Palo Verde. Turn right onto Palo Verde. 3401 is
the second house on the right.).
The members of OSA extend our deepest sympathy
to Jarka Kazda and her family. Jarka's husband,
Richard, died on April 4, 1998. OSA sent Jarka a
white cattleya with seven blooms. She sent us a
thank you note in which she said that she enjoyed
looking at the "graceful, beautiful" blooms. Jarka
knows that her orchid "family" truly cares about
her and wants to help her in any way we can.
FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
Wilella Stimmell
The focus of our program for the April meeting
was potting media. Lou Ann, our enthusiastic 1st
VP, discussed a variety of commonly used media for
orchids, and she arranged examples of media in a
very artistic manner. A basic culture program for
the entire audience, including "veteran" and newer
growers, creates an environment wherein veteran
growers can share their experiences. Because both
experienced and newer growers benefit from a
combined approach to orchid culture, we hope to
present more such basic programs.
Plants and orchid-related items on our raffle
table were donated by members: Pat Isbell, Phillip
Liu, Leith Plunkett, Lou Ann Remeikis, and me.
Thanks to all donors and ticket purchasers for
continuing to support our monthly raffle.
COMMUNITY SERVICE REPORT: On March 20, Bernice
Ehrlich, Phillip Liu, and I appeared at the Deer
Valley Senior Center , 2001 W. Wahalla, Phoenix. An
appreciative audience of active seniors admired our
blooming display orchids. They were pleasantly
surprised that some of the blooms were scented, and
we encouraged them to inhale the intoxicating
fragrances. The winner of the doorprize plant was
delighted at her good fortune! Although the phal
was too large to fit into the mini-greenhouse we
always provide for smaller plants, the new plant
owner admitted that she had a smaller "sick" plant
at home for which the greenhouse would be ideal.
When last we saw her she was armed with her new
plant, a copy of Bob Gordon's BEGINNERS GUIDE TO
GROWING PHALAENOPSIS ORCHIDS, a container of
fertilizer, and water-jug "greenhouse". Thanks to
Ken Gettys for donating the doorprize plant.
On April 14, Bernice, Phillip, Lou Ann Remeikis,
Leith Plunkett, and I presented a "surprise"
program at The Centers for Habilitation, 215 W.
Lodge, Tempe. The surprise was on us! We thought we
would be presenting a program for the 20 school-age
children who participate in the Grandpa Charlie's
program at TCH, but instead we presented our
hands-on repotting program for 30 day-treatment
adults at TCH. Scheduling accident aside, we were
prepared with ample potting supplies but not enough
plants for every person who wanted a plant.
Fortunately, we had received an early shipment of
bare root phals for use in our community service
program scheduled for April 23 at the Montessori
school, and Harry Tolen (Chula Orchids) had
included "bonus" plants for OSA members who
assisted in that program. Two days following the
program at TCH, those plants were delivered to
Jackie Wilcox, TCH Garden Manager, and she helped
the adults who had not received plants on the 14th,
to pot the phals. (We left excess fir bark and pots
with Jackie so that she could repot plants as
needed.)
For our program on the 14th, we had spread
newspapers on 4 tables before we started to repot
the plants. And when the repotting was done, the
only evidence that we had been there was an
occasional piece of fir bark on the floor.
Each person who participated in the grand
repotting "mess", smiled broadly at the very
thought that they were receiving special treatment.
Jackie told us that the day-treatment adults "never
get anything"! The repotters thanked us at the end
of the program, and when I spoke with Jackie the
next day, she reported that they could talk of
nothing except the repotting program. They told her
to thank us again on their behalf because "nobody
has ever done anything" for them and our program
was "so cool"! OSA briefly brightened the lives of
30 severely handicapped individuals.
TCH also received a bonus from an OSA member!
Leith Plunkett donated his idle hydroponic
equipment, which delighted Jackie. Leith is also
pleased that he found a "worthy home" for the
items.
We will reschedule a program for the school-age
children at TCH, and as soon as we know the date
for that, we will add it to our 1998 Community
Service Schedule, announce it at a monthly meeting,
and mention it in our newsletter.
(A report on our program at the Montessori Day
School at Mountainside will appear in our June
newsletter.)
OSA'S DONATION OF A GENEROUS ASSORTMENT OF
ORCHID BLOOMS ACKNOWLEDGED: Due to a conflict of
activities scheduled for March 28, we could not
actively participate in the Arizona Federation of
Garden Club's Annual Major Fund-raisingevent - Food
and Fun. However, we elected to furnish orchid
blooms to be used for table decorations. Following
the successful fund-raiser, we received a thank you
note from Juanita Harelson, organizer of Food and
Fun, and she expressed gratitude on behalf of AFGC
for our generous donation.
SPECIAL EVENTS IN MARCH AND APRIL:
We scheduled so many events for 1998 that we
couldn't list all of them on one sheet of paper
without resorting to micro-print! After the
"Language of Flowers" event at Boyce Thompson
Arboretum on Feb. 14 and 15, and after the
conclusion of the Annual Garden Club Fair on March
14, (for reports on those events, see the February
and March issues of "The Arizona Orchidist"), we
were then able to list all of the remaining special
events on our schedule. From New York to
California, the consensus of opinion of all those
who were aware of our schedule of Special Events
AND our community service programs, was that "just
reading about them" made some orchidists "dizzy"!
One grower who is a member of an east coast orchid
society asked that we keep her informed of our
activities because she needs "more nourishment than
is available" from the orchid society of which she
is a member. It's gratifying to know that orchid
growers in other areas of the country think that
OSA has its "priorities straight arrow".
Desert Bloom '98 - March 26 - 29: This year the
event, sponsored by PHOENIX HOME & GARDEN
MAGAZINE could have accurately been retitled,
"Desert Storm 2"! On the afternoon of the 25th,
storm clouds swirled above while Bob MacLeod,
Phillip Liu, and I set up the framework for our
display/sales. Our booth was located in a tent
which PHG had provided for us. There were to be six
displays in the tent, but by the time we arrived,
only the booth of the Desert Botanical Garden had
been set up. Strong gusts of wind blew nearly all
the plants off the DBG table, and DBG's display
was...no more! We picked up their cacti and stowed
them safely under their table. A few brave Master
Gardeners arrived after the event opened to the
public, and set up the third display in "our" tent.
(The other three groups were "no shows".) We who
participated in this event have a new respect for
Mother Nature! She may have decided that we had
become too accustomed to "friendly" weather
conditions in the low desert. First, gusting winds
turned into nearly gale-force winds. Then the
temperature dropped, and we shivered and huddled
together. This was a MAJOR bonding experience!)
Next came the pelting rain AND HAIL, which was
followed by mud everywhere on the Greyhawk site in
north Scottsdale. But through it all, we who braved
the elements in order to fulfill OSA's commitment
to participate in Desert Bloom, sold lots of plants
to shorts-clad visitors, and discovered that we are
made of hardier stuff than we had imagined! We had
selected the most protected area of the tent for
setting up our booth, and our display and sale
orchids did NOT suffer from their brief exposure to
the elements. Also, we made the acquaintance of a
fellow orchid grower who invited OSA to participate
in an event she is organizing for next year.
Thanks to the following OSA members who
performed a "labor of love" by participating in
Desert Bloom '98: Ann Cherny (left the next day on
a trip to Kuwait and other foreign points East, but
took time out from packing to work at our booth),
Bernice Ehrlich, Ken Gettys, Jane and Peter Heckel,
Pat Isbell (the only worker appropriately dressed
for the weather - wearing a coat she said she
thought she'd never have use for after she left
London!), Alan Ladd, Marga Lemaire, Phillip Liu,
Bob MacLeod (never appears without his well-stocked
tool box - could easily replace Tim "the Tool Man"
Taylor on television - and can perfectly construct
and later dismantle any display in MINUTES!), Keith
Mead, Cathy Nelson, Maura Roberts, and Bonnie and
Roger Scott. Natalie Warford also deserves our
thanks for transporting our sale plants from the
airport to Bernice's greenhouse and for assisting
with unwrapping the plants.
Special thanks to Bernice for once again
allowing OSA to stow our sale plants in her
greenhouse. She also waters and otherwise tends the
plants while they are in her custody. A few years
ago, Bernice stated that she reserved one-third of
her greenhouse for OSA plants. But...little by
little and plant by plant, we have commandeered at
least half of her greenhouse for OSA plants. We
want you to know, Bernice, that we ARE aware of our
"squatter" actions, and we greatly appreciate your
tolerance. Members might like to know how our
encroachment of Bernice's greenhouse, evolved.
After our November, 1996 show, when all our sale
plants had been removed from their temporary home,
Bernice repositioned her own plants in her
greenhouse. But a few weeks later, we received a
telephone call from a grower who had many plants he
wanted to donate to OSA. The only greenhouse with
the necessary space to store the plants
was...Bernice's. With nary a word of complaint, she
once again shoved all her orchids to one end of the
greenhouse and accepted the donated plants. After
those plants were placed in our December, 1996
auction, Bernice once again repositioned her plants
on the benches in her greenhouse. Our events in the
Spring of 1997 were spaced far enough apart, that
Bernice continued to reposition her plants after
each "load" of OSA plants was removed from her
greenhouse. However, last summer, another donation
of plants was received so soon after the sale
plants for Desert Bloom were removed from her
greenhouse, that Bernice decided that her plants
were suffering from whiplash and that she would no
longer reposition her plants - she would leave her
plants at one end of the greenhouse. For each
event, we order more plants than we ordered for the
previous event because...there is all that unfilled
space in her greenhouse! As long as Bernice has
been a member of our OSA family, she has been
extremely generous with her time and talents. She
would be the first to admit that she allows OSA to
use her greenhouse because we are welcome to do so,
but it never hurts for members to say thank you for
the privilege. THANK YOU, BERNICE! We truly
appreciate everything you do for us!
Arizona Mills - April 5: OSA served as the host
of Grandpa Charlie's Garden. We shared a booth with
The Centers for Habilitation, "parent" of the
Grandpa Charlie's program for school-age children.
Arizona Mills recreated the garden inside the mall
and hired Don Doyle, Professor Emeritus at ASU, to
tell stories to children visiting the mall. We used
our sale plants as our display plants due to space
limitations. Susan Vega, staff member of TCH, sent
OSA a letter in which she expressed, on behalf of
TCH, her appreciation for OSA's efforts. "Thanks to
Orchid Society [of Arizona] members, TCH had warm
and friendly representation, and an elegant orchid
display." The mall event afforded TCH "an
opportunity for enormous and positive exposure".
Susan was overwhelmed at the number of OSA members
who appeared to serve as hosts: Jane and Peter
Heckel, Keith Mead, Lou Ann Remeikis, Peggy
Stejskal, and myself. Thanks is also due Leith
Plunkett, who transported plants from the airport
to...Bernice's greenhouse, and to Phillip Liu for
helping us unwrap all the sale plants.
A.J.'s Fine Foods/HomeBase Mini-Displays
&Orchid Information Centers - April 10 and 11:
Assisting Suz Cramer at A.J.'s were: Norma
Kafer, Keith Mead, Lou Ann Remeikis and Sarah
Heberling. OSA members who furnished HomeBase
customers with orchid culture information were:
Bernice Ehrlich, Jane Heckel, Phillip Liu, and me.
We provided a valuable service to orchid shoppers
at both locations. Becky Paulson, Floral Manager at
A.J.'s, and Don Yanito, Garden Shop Manager at
HomeBase, are both looking forward to our return.
These were relaxing, FUN events, and we thoroughly
enjoyed being helpful and...talking about our
favorite subject: orchids!
Upcoming Event: Mother's Day Display/Sale at the
Valley Garden Center - May 10 - from noon to 5 p.m.
Other groups that hold monthly meetings at the
Valley Garden Center will also have displays on May
10. This event is a part of the Encanto/Palmcroft
Home Tour. We need workers to set up our display
and to man our sales booth. We will also need
display plants, and we will ask for volunteers at
our May 7 meeting.
OSA EXCLUSIVES!! For those who attended our
April meeting, you know that we now have an
official t-shirt available! They will also be
available at the May meeting but thereafter will be
sold only at our November show and special events.
The price of the shirts is $15.00 for OSA members
and $20.00 for non-members.
Another exclusive: orchid greeting card! OSA
member, Natalie Warford has generously donated one
of her magnificent botanical illustrations for use
on a greeting card. She has also transferred the
copyright on her illustration to OSA. We are in the
process of obtaining prices for printing the cards,
and we will keep you posted when the cards will
become available for sale. We have not yet decided
whether we will offer some cards imprinted with
"Holiday Greetings", all cards blank inside, or a
combination of both. (For newer growers who might
not be familiar with Natalie's world-class
botanical illustrations, consult copies of ORCHID
DIGEST, found in OSA's library. Natalie's
illustrations and technical plant data are found in
various issues of the "Digest", as well as in other
scientific journals.) Natalie's gift to OSA is a
MAJOR honor!
MEMBER NEWS: From Santa Fe, Deacon Bell reports
that the plants in his indoor greenhouse are
continuing to thrive, and his phal species in water
culture has produced yet another bloom spike! Vic
Polk donated a flask of dendrobium seedlings to
OSA. The seedlings will be used for a program at
one of our meetings this summer. Vic is also having
success growing two unlikely candidates for
windowsill culture in this area - masdevallias. The
healthy plants live in an aquarium, and three of us
who saw the plants can testify that they look
exceedingly robust. They haven't bloomed, but...one
step at a time. They were rescued from the trash
bin at a flower shop. Vic reports that he scours
every issue of our newsletter in search of a new
member who might live close enough to him to give
him a ride to our meetings. Pat Isbell is
recuperating from surgery. Rumor is that her
surgeon is also an orchid grower! A suggestion was
made to Pat that she lay an OSA application form on
her chest before she underwent "the knife". (The
surgeon has more than one patient who is an OSA
member!) Norma Kafer, OSA's Director on the Valley
Garden Center's Board of Directors, has consented
to run for 2nd Vice President on the VGC Board.
This bodes well for the future of the Valley Garden
Center and...also tells us that Norma has a high
threshold for pain!
SLIPPER SYMPOSIUM: Location - A World of
Orchids, Kissimmee, Florida; Date - June 27 and 28,
1998. If anyone is interested in attending this
symposium, several registration forms will be
available at our May meeting. The cost of
registration for the symposium is $100.00 Among the
symposium lecturers are: Dr. Guido Braem and Dr.
Eric Christenson. Some lectures are open to the
public.
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