South Florida Palm Society 30th Anniversary Fall Sale

[Palmarum]

Just thinking of the '30th Anniversary' of the South Florida Palm Society Fall Sale is a resounding fact, when you think of how many years it has been held. The fall sale was in the Palmetum again this year, with about 16 vendors scattered around the palms and oak trees. Setup for the sale started on Wednesday, with most vendors coming on Thursday and Friday.

- Friday: The front of Vendor #57 Jeff Searle's booth filled with about 230 species of palms and cycads. Setup didn't take long so when Jeff and I were finished, I took some photos and we did some 'window' shopping.

- The middle of the booth, looking towards the back.

- The back of the booth, looking towards the front.

- Browsing through the booths on Friday afternoon can yield some really nice results in what one might find. This is a 1 gallon, Iguanura wallichiana var. major in Vendor #80 Tim McKernan's booth. There is just something about an undivided, red-emergent leaf that catches your attention.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Friday: The front of Tim's booth, all ready for customers tomorrow morning.

- There were a large amount of variegated palms for show and sale this fall. Vendor #35, Steve Stern had a good-sized batch of Wodyetia x Veitchia hybrids, that were showing some very heavy variegation.

- The coconut-laden booth belonging to Vendor #33 Dave & Shirley Romney.

- Leslie Veber, vendor #65, brought a trailer load of some nicely grown large material including two big Chambeyronia macrocarpa twins each sporting a new red leaf.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Friday: Those two showy Chambeyronia macrocarpa's were to become very popular the following day.

- Some of the show plants were for sale, including this Variegated Pritchardia pacifica priced at $1,599.00.

- It had some nice color and had grown quite a bit from a year ago.

- Identify this one if you can. This palm had not been labeled yet, but raised some questions on how small a plant should be in order to put it out for sale. I think it is one of the Thrinax species, maybe T. ekmaniana.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Friday: Variegation galore, a few different booths had variegated surprises to find. Vendor #68, Ellis Brown had this variegated Washingtonia robusta tucked in the back of his booth.

- I am not going to say who it was, but some vendor that shall remain nameless, brought in a ZZ Plant, Zamioculcas zamiifolia to sell.

- Some vendors had still not arrived yet, so you know you will still have to look around again on Saturday morning. Vendor #26 Susan Casey had a well-grown selection of cycads in her booth, not limited to this Ceratozamia mexicana.

- Nannorrhops ritchiana (1gal) on display in Vendor Armando Reyes, #27 booth.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Friday: SFPS President and Vendor #4 Bill Olson's booth is near the front of the sales area positioned under one of Fairchild's giant oak trees.

- A pair of blue tents marks the front of Vendor #67 Claude Roatta's booth. He had all kinds of species mixed together in his booth.

- In the last photo from Friday's setup, I captured some of the inter workings of the sale in progress. SFPS Show Chairman, Vendor #80 and Forum member Tim McKernan (Tim McKernan) points back at the sales area while talking with Fairchild Coordinator of Events Martha Kent; while vendors Jeff Searle (#57) and Steve Stern (#35) listen in.

- Saturday, 9:13AM: The morning rush was limited to a few of the more die-hard collectors, including Jeff Chait [green].

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 9:15AM: The Saturday morning of the sale had begun, so I positioned myself in the booth as always waiting for any rush that might come. While I was waiting, I had to photograph Jeff's entry into the show, a Mealybug Palm, Dypsis mananjarensis, that was showing off with a newly opening leaf.

- 9:20AM: Customers began to trickle in, mixed with regular garden patrons.

- One great benefit of attending any SFPS event, is the always constant distribution of free seed and free seedlings. There were tons of seed available, representing many different species.

- On the right, Tim was one busy person, as he was not only running his own booth, but he also had to coordinate and run the sale. He was preparing show judge Andre Joris [black hat] for the show in addition to answer questions customers were asking behind him.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 9:23AM: One of the first customers to enter the booth was Fairchild TB Garden, Board of Trustee's Director Bruce Greer who had a few palms on his mental checklist he wanted to get.

- 9:34AM: A few empty carts began to find their way to the booth with their owners firmly attached. We just hoped they would leave with something riding them. The carts, not their owners. The palm with the pink flagging tape was Jeff Searle's other show palm, a very old Cyrtostachys microcarpa.

- 9:42AM: Braving the long, torturous route through the lower half of the state, FM. Christian Faulkner (cfkingfish) arrives in the booth to look through what vendor and FM. Jeff Searle had brought.

- 10:01AM: The area in front of the booth got a little busy as customers stopped to talk with Vendor #50 and FM. Faith Bishock (budrot) [far left]. She always has something interesting to talk about and to sell.

Ryan

[palmislandRandy]

Thanks for posting Ryan. I gotta stay away from plant sales for a couple of months . Running outa room!!!!

[BS Man about Palms]

Congrats to Jeff on his Blue ribbon win!

[Gbarce]

Hmmmmm

brings back memories.

Wish I was there again this year.

THose are pretty interesting variegated fan palms

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 10:09AM: Shortly after Ten in the morning, the arrival of customers slowed down to a rate of a few at a time. When I looked back towards the front, I spotted FM. SunnyFL heading in my direction. It took a few more hours until the pace picked up a bit.

- "You can be in the photo too Drew." I turned around from the view above to see the booth getting crowded so I shot away, with Naples palm collector and grower Drew Rathburn almost getting out of my shot. He was doing the 'booth overview' as some collectors call it. He had just arrived, so he quickly goes from one booth to the next looking for deals and the super rare, either grabbing a plant or remembering where they were in case he doesn't find something better.

- 10:13AM: One customer departs the booth with a 3 gallon Licuala grandis in her cart, while Faith flags people down as they walk by her selection.

- 10:34AM: Veteran collector and grower Shirley Mayotte stops by to say hello, with her husband Ziggy Mayotte not far behind. Jeff and I have known them for a very long time.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

BS Man about Palms Posted Today, 10:26 AM

Congrats to Jeff on his Blue ribbon win!

There was a minor snafu with the ribbons, so they will be presented at the Holiday Party on Dec. 1st. I couldn't get my favorite shots with the growers and their award winning plants. Oh well. I know Jeff might bring the Mealybug Palm however...

Gbarce Posted Today, 10:43 AM

Hmmmmm

brings back memories. ...

Wish I was there again this year...

Hey Gene, it is shocking to know it has been a year already, but what a year. I was looking over my photos from a year ago and I remember meeting you very well as it was a pleasure to do so.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 10:40AM: In the middle of the morning, I had the pleasure to meet a new Forum member, Tod Fairbanks (fairbt), who joined back in September. He had mentioned seeing my photos from the last spring sale at Montgomery, so I had to ask "So, you must be on the Palmtalk Forum?". He knows his favorite palms well and went first to the grouping of Chambeyronia macrocarpa.

- 10:46AM: A bit of a traffic jam in the booth. The cart on the left was about to leave with that large Chuniophoenix nana, while the one on the right was heading to the back for large material.

- "Faith!" I was trying to surprise Faith so she would smile, which she often does, but just not this time. The front of the sales area was getting busy.

- 10:52AM: "It dis all mine, mine I tells you..."

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 11:06AM: It is good to see the spirit of 'building-your-own' cart is still alive and well.

- I shot through the leaves of an Arenga brevipes to capture FM. Mike Feely (Mike4284m) giving his trademark 'I'm too cool to be photographed' look. He had brought a possibly future palm addict to the sale to show them around.

- 11:16AM: "I got to come back for that one too." A customer makes a run to his cart while eyeballing the next item on his want list.

- 11:20AM: Veteran collector, grower and vendor Carol Graff (#25) comes by the booth to give greetings and to introduce a friend of hers. Like with most sales and palm related events around South Florida, they are as much social activities as they are plant events.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 11:31AM: Key West landscaper, collector and impromptu Show Judge Andre Joris points to Jeff Searle behind me as he returns from his judging duties with his girlfriend Jaime.

- 11:35AM: One large load of the rare and valuable slides into the checkout line. There were a few customers walking around the sale this weekend with deep pockets.

- The second aisle between the booths saw its fair share of foot traffic.

- 11:36AM: Whether it was the influence from his surroundings or just an impulse, FM. SunnyFL's husband re-proposes to her on one knee while using a palm instead of a ring.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 11:37AM: Volunteer Shane Tanner watches a customer cart out their own plants. His cart has been retained for service as a movable holding area.

- SFPS Corresponding Secretary Lou Squros organizes the different free seed by species and provides a label with each selection.

- 11:48AM: With no room left on his cart, Shane asks the customer if he has any more plants to get.

- 11:53AM: Back in the booth, Jaime grabs her camera and takes a few closeup photos of the Mealybug Palm, Dypsis mananjarensis.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 11:54AM: Jaime flips through the different photos on her camera while showing them to Jeff as he asks Andre standing behind me if he knows what a 'ranch hand' is.

- 3:34PM: "Vee shall vait for the silly humans on the surface vorld to relax, then vee shall attack!"

- 3:56PM: With no ribbons at his disposal to signify the show winners, SFPS Show Chairman, vendor #80 and FM. Tim McKernan (Tim McKernan) ran to a nearby store real fast to get a less than stellar replacement. Its the thought that counts.

- 4:15PM: The action of the first day of the sale was winding down, only to be revved up again later in the evening at the Members Party, that was scheduled to start at 6:00PM. Customers take one last look around as final call was given before the registers were closed.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 4:15PM: Tim shows a few customers through his booth in the closing moments of Saturday. There were a few customers who said they would come back Sunday to shop.

- 4:43PM: With the first day of the sale behind us, many of the vendors and society members had an hour and a half to kill before the party began. With the desire to shop and browse ever present, I continued to look through booths a second and third time looking for a deal I might have missed the first time through. Figuring that the Mealybug Palm, Dypsis mananjarensis, Jeff had brought had a chance at an award; I posed it in one way and took this photo. It eventually did win an award, Best Unusual Palm.

- 5:02PM: At the end of the second aisle resided the cycad laden booth belonging to cycad biologist, and Forum member Jody Haynes (virtualpalm). He had a nice selection of the popular plants including this individual with a very familiar leaf. This is a hybrid between Ceratozamia euryphyllidia and C. miqueliana resulting in a plant that looks remarkably like the former. Specimens of C. euryphyllidia are impossible to find and are coveted by almost every cycad nut out there, including me.

- 5:07PM: Ellis Brown (#68) had a nice selection of cycads as well, including this Cycas debaoensis. It had a good price on it, but not many cycad people come to the sales as they should.

Ryan

[Moose]

I have attending this event without fail for the past 15 years. Each year the number of available species continues to increase and quality of the is material outstanding. The growers continue to out do themselves year after year. It is a shame with the current condition of the economy that sales were down from previous years.

I convinced Claude to bring the variegated Pritchardia pacifica. He wanted to plant it in his own garden. The price was what it was worth it to him to lose it. Talked to alot of people and no one can recall seeing one. Last year I grabbed an 7 gallon Alloschmida glabrata from his shade house and sold it believing he had 14 left. Big mistake only 2 left and I am still hearing about that one! Now he won't give me one for my garden.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

Ryan, Excellent photojournalism. I always look forward to your photos!

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 5:12PM: Vendor Armando Reyes (#27) has brought this large Encephalartos horridus to each sale for a few years now, with the hopes of someone wanting to get some serious instant gratification. The price was good, but again not many people are into cycads these days, let alone know what they are.

- 5:42PM: "I'm king of the world!"

- For a change, the Members Party was going to be held at the second floor of Fairchild TB Garden's elaborate gift shop/gatehouse building. This newer structure was built a few years back at a cost of around 13 million, even though it was originally budgeted at 4 million.

- 5:43PM: Fairchild went all out and got the society this wonderful cake for the Members Party.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 5:44PM: The second floor was decorated with antique lighting fixtures, hardwood paneling, and other classical features reminiscent of the Twenties and Thirties. This was the first time being here for most of us, as Fairchild rarely opens this floor except for special events. This was still early for the party, as some members had not arrived yet.

- The food selection for the evening included a great spread of appetizers and finger foods popular with eating minus utensils. The kitchen area was producing food throughout the evening.

- 5:45PM: On the left, Forum member and collector Ray Gompf (Ray G) takes a break from eating his appetizer to talk palms with Ziggy Mayotte. That soft bread with the salmon spread was very good.

- 5:46PM: Back outside, the sun began to set on the gardens as more people arrived for the party.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 5:46PM: The second floor balcony gave a different view of the gardens seldom seen.

- 5:47PM: In one corner, off to one side, was home to a large Microcycas calocoma.

- 5:49PM: At the bottom of the stairs, was a tile mosaic of a compass rose made up of thousands of tiny tiles.

- The party shifted up to another gear as I could hear the clinging of liquor bottles behind me as I continued to shoot the landscape.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 5:58PM: Shane loves cake in the worst way and he had to restrain himself from diving into it.

- 6:54PM: An hour of heightened party fun went by quickly as people talked and talked about the sale, the economy, and other interesting topics. I believe the party would have been better if more people attended. There was more than enough food and the atmosphere was great. As I was taking this photo, an evil thing against photographers was done, the lights were dimmed... a lot.

- 6:57PM: SFPS President, vendor #4 and FM. Bill Olson (Bill Olson) took the mic a few minutes before Seven to thank everyone for coming to the party and to personally thank all of the volunteers who helped put it all together. He continued on, by disclosing the award winners, each followed by a round of applause.

- 6:58PM: The evening continued with the increase of both the amount of alcohol consumed and the volume level of conversations.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Saturday, 7:00PM: The last activity of the party was the ceremonial cutting of the cake, of which the honor fell to FM. Faith Bishock (budrot). The cake slices disappeared as fast as she could cut them.

- 7:06PM: For those of us who had a long way to drive home, it was time to go. I took this photo seconds before departing the party and walking back to the sales area in the pitch blackness.

- Sunday, 8:58AM: We arrived back at the garden on Sunday morning under constant rainfall. When it died down a bit, I went for a walk around the sales area. I had to take this photo of one of the garden's Double Coconut Palms, Lodoicea maldivica, as it is often ignored by garden patrons.

- 9:00AM: Some vendors, such as Ken St. Germain (#81) decided to restock certain things on Sunday morning. It might have been a bit of overkill, as the rain was not stopping anytime soon.

Ryan

[gsn]

Ryan,

Excellent coverage as always.

You always seem to capture the MOOD of the event you are photographing.

Some great looking palms pictured,from the booths and the grounds!

[BS Man about Palms]

- Saturday, 11:54AM: Jaime flips through the different photos on her camera while showing them to Jeff as he asks Andre standing behind me if he knows what a 'ranch hand' is.

Ryan

I gotta say, I was thinking that from the earlier post....but I burst out laughing reading this.. .... "Well" ? Andrea?

[gsn]

Bill,

I think Jeff was asking ANDRE her boyfriend ,if he knew what a ranchand was???

Not Jeffs' wife Andrea,I thought he was talking to Andrea when I first read it,too Bill!

Ryan set us straight who was jeff talking to???

[Palmarum]

gsn Posted Today, 10:55 PM

Ryan,

Excellent coverage as always.

You always seem to capture the MOOD of the event you are photographing...

Thanks Scott, the mood can either be the easiest or the hardest thing to portray sometimes.

- Sunday, 9:00AM: The rain collapsed a few tents and inundated a few of the lower booths. Even though it continued to fall, vendors and volunteers kept an upbeat attitude. Vendor #68 Ellis Brown clears water off of one of his tables.

- 9:09AM: SFPS Show Chairman, vendor #80 and FM. Tim McKernan (Tim McKernan) organizes his booth before the sale opens.

- This Coccothrinax sp. was one of Tim's award winning plants, I just can't remember which award it was.

- 9:29AM: Sunday morning started off very slowly, slower than usual thanks to the rain. We did have plenty to talk about as we were joined by Forum member Pvt. Travis Searle (Paintball Guy) who is now on leave from the Army. Everyone was glad to see him, as he has been a familiar sight around the palm sales for years.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

gsn Posted Today, 11:22 PM

...Ryan set us straight who was jeff talking to???

I thought I phrased it right the first time. Scott is correct, Andre is whom Jeff was talking to, not Andrea.

Ryan

[BS Man about Palms]

gsn Posted Today, 11:22 PM

...Ryan set us straight who was jeff talking to???

I thought I phrased it right the first time. Scott is correct, Andre is whom Jeff was talking to, not Andrea.

Ryan

Ooops, my Bad. Andrea OR Andre, its pretty funny.

[Palmarum]

- Sunday, 9:33AM: "Mmm... Donuts." Vendor #26 Susan Casey has become synonymous with early morning hospitality. For many years she has brought in donuts and fresh coffee for vendors and volunteers. We have all come to expect it in one way or another. Each morning, we will see her walking down the aisle with bags and we will often ask each other how long we should give her to set up before we attack her booth. In case you were wondering, Jeff was not first to the donuts, I was.

- Others take turns at the table, while Susan says hello to Travis.

- 9:34AM: Even though Susan brings two boxes of donuts, they don't last long with this crowd.

- 9:46AM: FM. Pvt. Travis Searle (Paintball Guy), vendor #26 Susan Casey, vendor #57 and FM. Jeff Searle, interim vendor #92 Crafton Cliff, and volunteer Shane Tanner take a long look at that small piece of paper containing the sales totals from Saturday. There was not much to do this morning.

Ryan

[Jeff Searle]

gsn Posted Today, 11:22 PM

...Ryan set us straight who was jeff talking to???

I thought I phrased it right the first time. Scott is correct, Andre is whom Jeff was talking to, not Andrea.

Ryan

Ooops, my Bad. Andrea OR Andre, its pretty funny.

Bill......

Isn't it late out there? GO to bed......

[Palmarum]

- Sunday, 9:53AM: The first customer of the day left Jeff Searle's (#57) booth with a 3 gallon Red Sealing Wax Palm, Cyrtostachys renda. As I was taking the photo, I could hear the rainfall getting heavier on the tent above. I got a feeling it was going to be a rained-out morning.

- 10:36AM: "It's a parade!" While staying dry under the booth tent, I took this shot of the tram going by carrying Shane and Travis around on a tour of the garden. The rain continued on for a few more hours, with downpours heavy enough to drive everyone to shelter. There were still the die hard shopping around with rain jackets and umbrellas.

- 1:22PM: The rain didn't slow down until after One in the afternoon, in which vendors couldn't wait to spring into action to sell their wares.

- 2:12PM: The sun finally came out and it seemed to stimulate customers into buying. With only about two hours left in the sale, this was also the time when vendors start to work on possible trades with other vendors. On the left near the tables, that large Pseudophoenix sargentii was put on display as a prize for the raffle drawing to be held in a little while.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Sunday, 2:59PM: Each line at the registers saw constant action during the last few hours of the sale. Customers were shopping during the rain, but didn't add anything to their cart until the sun came out.

- 3:03PM: The pace picked up a bit near the front of the sales area, as some customers sprinted from booth to booth. They would leave our booth on the right and continue on into Tim's booth, going from plant to plant.

- 3:09PM: In the center of the photo, Vendor #66 Ron Croci describes the growth habit of one palm back in his booth. The vendors all gathered at the front to discuss the loading order, better known as the 'organized chaos' that happens at the end of the sales.

- 4:24PM: "Hey, you talkin' to me?"

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Sunday, 4:31PM: Thus ends another Fall Sale of the South Florida Palm Society at Fairchild TB Garden. The last call had been given and the early stages of loading had begun. Tents were taken down, signs collected, plants organized by size, etc. The only thing left to do before the heavy loading begins is to get all the trucks and trailers in the garden in some semblance of order.

- 4:32PM: Time to give away a large Pseudophoenix to a lucky ticket holder. SFPS Show Chairman Tim McKernan holds the box of raffle tickets while Faith digs one out. ...and the palm goes to...

- ... Ron Kiefert! The Forum's own (moose knuckle) won the Pseudophoenix sargentii. He tried the late entry theory as I did to win and it paid off.

- 4:50PM: <vroommm> Here they come. With trucks idling and overheating, vendors get in line to bring their vehicles into the show area to load up.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- Sunday, 4:50PM: With all the vendors in line at one place, FM. Pvt. Travis Searle (Paintball Guy) takes advantage of the situation and thanks everyone whom he greeted during the morning hours.

- Behind me in the sales area, Larry Searle [far right] directs traffic as he often does at the end of sales. He has had a lot of practice over the years. One by one each truck and trailer slowly find their way to their respective booth, with a minimum of injury and broken limbs. Tree limbs that is.

- 4:52PM: The last photo shows the remainder of the vendors starting to roll forward in order, being led by vendor #66 Ron Croci. A few moments later it was time to back up the trailer to our booth and start loading plants and with nine people helping, it did not take long.

The Fall Sale was very well organized and executed with the professionalism everyone has come to expect from the society's Board of Directors. Even though it rained on Sunday morning, that time is usually the slowest anyway, and many customers brought gear with them to deal with it anyhow. Like how Ron had mentioned, there was no shortage of great looking material, just with the way things are, some collectors are cutting back in how much they get. The sale was definitely a success, and I am sure most of the vendors would agree. When there is a turn-around in the economy, there will be plenty of palms available at future sales. The next SFPS sale will be in the Spring at Montgomery Botanical Center I believe, as I am not sure of the date yet. The next SFPS event will be the famous Holiday Party at The Kampong, David Fairchild's original estate, in Coconut Grove. If you have never been to one before, you have been missing out. The rare palm auction and the spread of food is reason alone to attend. You do not need to be a member to come, just show up with a smile and be ready to outbid fellow palm nuts.

Ryan

--<