Due to SSN story deadlines I cannot write about our January club meeting that was held on Monday January 20. I can only give a brief report, In any case our speaker for that meeting was Jan Chronert from our local Armstrong Nursery who has instructed us on everything we needed to know about the care and enjoyment of orchids. I found the following taken from the Calif. Garden Club website.
The Judge, The Hunter, The Thief & The Black Orchid
Reprinted with permission from the Ranger, February 2011, Newsletter of the Orange County Orchid Society, Inc. Gaze into the seductive stare of an orchid at your own risk. Many who do quickly fall under its captive spell. In the orchid world, it’s known simply as orchid fever. The orchid world is full of eccentric characters, petty rivalries, competitive fudging, hunters, smugglers and thieves, It’s also a world undergoing tremendous change.
Orchids were once only accessible to the very rich. Now they are as common as a dozen roses. Large nurseries are producing cheaper, cloned orchids for the mass market. Orchid hybridizers are a dying breed in the face of this competition. Conservation laws make it illegal to remove orchids from their natural habitat. They can, however, be legally bulldozed during construction. This disparity has inadvertently fueled an active “black market” in wild collected orchids. So rare or newly discovered species have been known to sell for five to ten thousand dollars a plant.
An age-old rivalry and a judging controversy came to the forefront during World Orchid Conference. Display orchids get casually tossed into trashcans after shows. An orchid thief smuggles one of the greatest orchid discoveries in fifty years, nearly taking down a respected botanical institution. Tales of greed, passion and desire: THE BLACK ORCHID MOVIE.
We had a business meeting after the orchid presentation for the election of a Nominating Committee for next club year’s officers. Also there were sign-up sheets for our future meetings and events: the February Trip to the Mission San Juan Capistrano (see below); the March Plant Salem; the May bus trip to the Huntington Library and Gardens; and the June Beach bluff Party.
Our next monthly meeting is on Monday, February 17, when you will carpool to the Mission San Juan Capistrano for a docent guided tour and then individual exploration as the beautiful gardens. Members should arrange with other members to carpool to the Mission so you arrive at the Mission entrance by 9:35 since the guided tour will begin at 9:45 am. For those staying for lunch, we have reserved tables at Cedar Creek Restaurant across the street at 12 noon. There will also be another surprise so don’t miss this meeting.
—Karl Kuhn
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