A Visit to the Best Palm Collections of Key West &

[Palmarum]

A Visit to the Best Palm Collections of Key West &

A Tour of Key West's 14th Annual Palm Sale

Friday, February 8th - Monday, February 11th, 2008

- Key West's 14th Annual Palm Sale

- Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden

- The Peter Whalen Collection

- 'Dre Gardens

The weekend starting on the 9th of February became a sudden, yet awe-inspiring experience for me. I had been invited with short notice to journey on south to Key West, Florida to join Jeff Searle and his brother Larry for the 14th Annual Palm Sale at Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden. After many years of listening to Jeff's plethora of stories regarding this event, I found myself fortunate enough to be able to go. For anyone who has traveled to Key West knows, finding affordable means of housing there is not an easy task. For years, arrangements for accommodations have been made through friends to avoid the high price of a hotel room. This option isn’t limitless though and space fills up quickly. This is the first year in which I have been able to attend the sale and since a spot had opened up in my favor, (thanks Andrea) I quickly gained high expectations for the weekend. In addition to the palm sale, this excursion also held the welcomed opportunity to visit three of the island’s best palm collections. Like in all previous years, the palm sale is held at Nancy Forrester’s Secret Garden in amongst her wondrous spread of tropical trees and exotic avian allies. Not far away resides her cousin Peter Whalen and his very old collection of rare palm species. The third garden to be included in the weekend frenzy was ‘Dre Gardens, belonging to Andre Joris. He and his family are old friends of Nancy, Peter, Jeff, Larry and everyone in between. For this was not going to be my first time in Key West, however. I was there in the summer of 2005 visiting the same three gardens, but I was armed only with my film AI-E Nikon at the time. With this fact ever pressing against my mind, I knew I had to make sure I shot everything.

- The sale flyer.

In the two weeks leading up the sale, Jeff and Larry had handpicked a diverse selection of palm and plant species to bring on down to the awaiting public. On Thursday, the day before we left, all these plants were sleeved, packed and stacked into the nursery trailer and onto the landscape truck. The way in which the photos will be introduced will not be in any traditional format. In addition to covering the sale activities, all three gardens were continuously visited throughout the weekend. The sale was at Nancy’s, while late afternoon cocktails were served at Peter’s and ‘Dre Gardens was our destination for dinner one evening. The next day it could be all in reverse. I will be showing the trip in chronological order, in which it was shot. You might see one hour of a garden, only to see it again two days later in greater detail. Certain plants might be repeated, but they will most likely have been shot at different times of the day. I was not sure as to what each day’s exact schedule was going to be, so I thought it was better to shoot wherever I was and to shoot often.

- Friday Morning, 7:49AM: Since Jeff and I left for Key West at 6:00 in the morning, I had to wait for some daylight before I could take some photos. I thought this could be Bill DeBoe (PiousPalms) or Ken Johnson going on by so I squeezed off a few photos. This is one of the most popular methods of transportation in the Florida Keys.

- Traveling down US1, you often get stuck behind slower moving traffic. Jeff had an answer for that.

- 7:54AM: The old railroad bridges are well used by fisherman up and down the Keys.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 7:58AM: At mile marker 69, this unusual Date Palm lives on and greets visitors as they make their way south. It looks like some P. dactylifera hybrid.

- 8:04AM: A panoramic view as the Overseas Highway approaches one of the smaller Keys.

- 8:25AM: The famous Seven-Mile Bridge, being traveled on by Jeff and I in the wrong lane. The trip goes by faster when you use your own lane.

- Everyone has problems with weeds.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:34AM: A panoramic view of a large section of a remaining railroad trestle. There was quite a bit of it still left, minus two sections at either end to keep people from getting on it. That cone was the only one, by itself, in the middle of the bridge, waiting to be run over.

- 8:40AM: Big Pine Key had a few things to look at when your avoiding Key Deer. I prefer that all liquor stores have drive-thru's. Saves on that pesky time getting out of the car and using your legs.

- 8:49AM: Not everyone's trip goes according to plan.

- "Yes, we are getting closer to Key West." I will let you insert your own comment here.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 9:23AM: After a record breaking trip traveling on down US1, we arrived in Key West almost a half-hour ahead of schedule. Jeff and I were making our way to Nancy Forrester's place while Larry was a short while behind us driving the landscape truck with trailer. If you didn't notice the signs, the pink taxis and loads of rented scooters tend to let people know when they have reached the island.

- 9:25AM: One of the first palms I saw after reaching Key West, was this very stately Pseudophoenix sargentii marking the front yard of an older home along US1.

- Thatch Palms, Thrinax radiata, are one of the more populous native palms found throughout Key West and the rest of the Florida Keys. In this instance, they are being used as street trees.

- Key West brings a different meaning to the phrase 'strip mall'.

Ryan

[DoomsDave]

Whoo-=eee!

You went ALL THE WAY down to Key West . . . . .

[Palmarum]

- 9:51AM: Finding a parking spot in Old Town, Key West is a surreal experience all to itself. If you do find a spot, you have to check if you can fit your vehicle into it and have to make sure your big truck is not hanging into a lane or alley. We plunked a ton of quarters into a machine after finding a small spot and then Jeff and I walked on down Free School Ln to Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden. You would not know it by looking, but there is a large garden at the end of the street.

- In a parking lot belonging to a house on the lane, a grouping of large Pritchardia pacifica grow to a good height.

- 10:13AM: The plants have arrived. Shortly after ten in the morning, Larry made it to Simonton St. and began the careful process of backing the trailer down the narrow lane. Trimming a few branches on the way back, the trailer barely fit in-between the fences.

- 10:14AM: The side gate to Nancy's property was opened and I had my first chance to look inside the garden. The open area I was standing in would serve to be the main area for the sale.

Ryan

[DoomsDave]

More pictures!

[palmislandRandy]

Teaser photos!

[Palmarum]

- 10:15AM: The mass unload of plants had begun. The majority of the plants do not have to travel farther than this corner of the garden while the rest get transported by cart to the tables. Those groups there in the distance are the crotons. To get an idea as to the layout of the garden, the batches of crotons are sitting in the far western corner.

- 11:27AM: With help from workers Jose and Carlos, we spent the last hour unloading the majority of the plants. It came time for the sorting and signage parts of the sale set-up. Those are the ever popular Jade Vines, Strongylodon macrobotrys that collectors in the Keys are always looking for.

- Many of the more delicate ornamentals are still sleeved as to their final destination has not yet been determined. Many of these plants are Bromeliads and they will go next to the crotons.

- Standing next to the crotons, I looked down one path to see where the palms are going to be set up. Down a twist in the path, is where the tables are placed, covered with gallon palms and aroids of different kinds. A stone bench on the left side of the path serves as a nice display area for the Red Sealing Wax Palms, Cyrtostachys renda. Space for the display of plant material was at a premium, so many things became more closely packed than at a typical plant sale. Those large overhanging fronds belong to an unknown Sabal sp. that volunteered many years ago. They came from a packet of seeds that Peter Whalen had ordered back in the late 1960's. The seed packet was left on a table near the mailbox, where it had rolled off, divided, and several seed had germinated in this one bed.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:28AM: I stepped a bit closer to capture the development of the palm section. On this side of the path, the short rows of each palm species began in a staggered fashion, beginning with the Cyrtostachys renda and followed by a Caryota zebrina. It quickly became a mental puzzle of figuring out where Nancy's Secret Garden ended and where the palm sale began.

- Carlos pushes the cart on back to get another load of palms.

- 11:30AM: The holding area already sees a few pre-sale choices. A couple of the regular customers phoned ahead and selected some new additions to their collections.

- 12:32PM: An hour of unloading and sorting went by and afterwards I took a short walk down the lane to capture some of the life that is Key West. This photo shows where Free School Lane meets Simonton Street. When you walk around Old Town, you get that late 19th Century, early 20th Century feel very quickly.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 12:33PM: With Free School Lane on the left, I took my chances and ran out into Simonton Street to get a view down the road. The landscapes around Key West hold such a diverse collection of old and new species and varieties.

- 12:34PM: Many of the houses and buildings in Old Town, Key West are original and date back to the late 1800's. The island is rich with history spanning hundreds of years. That group of palms on the right are Carpentaria Palms, Carpentaria acuminata.

- I am still amazed how the nursery trailer fit down the lane. If you can see the front of the landscape truck, the beginning of Nancy's garden is many more feet further down. That palm behind the fence on the right is a thick Areca Palm, Dypsis lutescens.

- Back inside the Secret Garden, one of the most dominate features are a grouping of massive Spanish Lime trees, Melicoccus bijugatus dating back over 100 years. They form the basis for the shade protecting this section of the garden.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 1:31PM: Spending lunchtime in among the trees of Nancy's Secret Garden is a great experience. You can feel the breeze move through the branches and palm fronds while listening to the birds calling. Sitting in a quiet place, looking up into the Spanish Limes gets one to start thinking about how life was like on the island when this tree was planted.

- The larger trees had many epiphytes of all kinds scattered through each of the branches. When ever you turned around, you saw an orchid, bromeliad or aroid stuck on a low branch.

- 4:12PM: Time had come to start getting ready to greet customers. The actual sale didn't begin until Saturday morning, but a pre-sale takes place on Friday evening from 4 PM to 6 PM. All the signs were placed on their corresponding plant, all the paths and aisles were ready, and the booze was being chilled. The Cordyline varieties on the left were separated from the Croton selection on the right with the row of Jade Vines.

- Bromeliads fill up one corner of the sales area.

Ryan

[Jeff in St Pete]

Ryan, looking at your pictures is bringing back lots of memories of my trips down to Key West and Nancy's Secret Garden.  I can't wait to see more!

[Palmarum]

Echoing down the streets and lanes of Key West is the unmistakable sound of luggage being pushed, pulled, dragged down the street. It is Friday afternoon and the Weekenders are all on their way into town. I was listening to this noise for the better part of an hour, when one of our Key West native friends nailed the I.D. on the noise instantly when asked.

- 4:13PM: The Cordylines are all buffed and ready for inspection by the eager crowd.

- 4:14PM: The first table to greet visitors is chocked full of Bromeliads of all sorts.

- A wider angle, presenting the path that will become well-used for the coming weekend. Those palms at the left end of the table are Red Triangle Hybrids, Dypsis leptocheilos X decaryi. They did not last long, once the collectors knew they were there.

- 4:15PM: This one particular bromeliad cultivar often got surrounded by curious onlookers the entire time. Aechmea 'Blue Tango' has such a vibrant blue color it stands out like a light in amongst Nancy's Secret Garden.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 4:22PM: This cheerful bird is but the first of many of Nancy's feathered friends I met during the long weekend. I was not able to get his name or species, but we have a few avian enthusiasts on the Forum that should be able to get him to genus.

- In one back corner of the garden resides this Pritchardia pacifica that has been living with a remarkable story for many years. Nancy once had a large colony of P. pacifica growing on her property and in the 1980s it was brutally decimated by the forces of Lethal Yellowing. One by one, each of her beloved palms died. Except this one. Out of fear that this palm would eventually die from LY, Nancy had this palm moved from one area of the garden to another. It did not die, yet she kept on moving it from one secluded area to another. In the end the palm was moved four times, surviving each move and never fell victim to LY. She mentioned how unusual the genetics on this one specimen might be, and how it should be studied.

- The palm has spent its entire life grown in shade, so the leaf sizes and petiole lengths reflect this environmental fact. It was nice to see such a large Pritchardia, since we do not have many of them up in Broward Country.

- 4:24PM: The first customers of the evening began to trickle in at this time. Many are garden members and know Nancy and Jeff quite well. It has been a while since I was at a palm sale for the first time, but I quickly began learning faces and names.

Ryan

[Shon]

Ryan those broms are beauties. The garden is as well. How old is the garden? Hope the sale went but judging from the pics I don't know how it would'nt.

[Jeff Searle]

Shon,

     The sale went rather well, considering the way the economy has been heading and the new water restrictions that are now in place. Nancy's garden is between 25 and 30 years old now. It's the last remaining one acre lot in Old Town Key West.

Jeff

[Palmarum]

Shon, the sale from my point of view was a resounding success, as it was a great chance for me to meet some new palm collectors and experience the sale for the first time. It was nice to see friends who had not seen each other in a year, meet and share heart-felt greetings. To echo on Jeff's comment, the fact that Nancy's plot of land is still together after all these years is unbelievable. Her house was built in 1890 by a successful cigar salesman, and has survived numerous storms.

Ryan

[Shon]

Thanks for the reply guys. Her garden is truly inspirational. If mine ever looks half that good I going to ask my sons to bury me in it. Glad to know the sale went well.

[Palmarum]

- 4:25PM: I heard the approaching footsteps of a group of customers and garden members and made my way back up to try and catch them in a photo. I walked past this Variegated Swiss-Cheese Plant, Monstera deliciosa cv. 'variegated', and felt it needed a portrait. Nancy felt it was a wonderful looking plant as well and snatched it for the garden. I look forward to seeing it in the future growing up the trunk of a tree or two.

- 4:29PM: The customers quickly began to fill up the sales area and soon we were shoulder to shoulder with collectors and members. Jeff Searle gets into the mood by describing the two Chamaedorea deckeriana in front of him to the two customers on the left. Our esteemed host for the weekend, Peter Whalen listens in on the right. He was interested in the entire leaved palms as well. For an extra point, identify the cocktail in Jeff's hand. A hint is coming in a few photos from now.

- Peter Whalen is a true palm collector at heart, in addition to his many other attributes. He enjoyed Jeff's description of the Chamaedorea deckeriana so much, he got one for himself.

- The area up front by the Bromeliads and Crotons, never saw an uncrowded moment well until sundown. Some plants were grabbed up instantly, while others changed hands between friends many times.

Ryan

[JeffreyApolloBeach]

The bird in post #15 is a Patagonian conure.

Greta photos...can't wait for more!

Jeffrey

[Palmarum]

- 4:39PM: A pair of customers step to the table to pay for their purchases while Larry Searle makes sure they found everything they were looking for.

- 4:40PM: A garden volunteer came by to drop off some balloons to help customers find the garden down the alleyway.

- 4:43PM: Carlos helps a customer by carrying a Calyptrocalyx sp. up to the garden entrance.

- 4:52PM: As the sun falls behind the houses in Key West, the Friday night pre-sale picks up steam. More garden volunteers arrive to help with taking admissions. Some of the artists that are staying with Nancy come out to share their work and to use the time to paint, draw, etc.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

JeffreyApolloBeach • Posted on Feb. 21 2008,23:22

The bird in post #15 is a Patagonian conure...

Thank you for the identification Jeffrey. It was bugging me not knowing the name on him.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 4:53PM: Nancy Forrester makes an appearance to greet her garden members, friends and volunteers. Jose holds a Licuala grandis while collecting plants belonging to a customer. Many of the collectors were quite happy to come to the sale, since it only comes once a year to Key West.

- 5:03PM: The palm enthusiasts know where to go to first. Many of them cut through the holding area to reach the back sales area.

- 5:06PM: A sound often heard at a palm sale, is the urgent phone call made from one plant enthusiast to another. I heard that same type of phone call a few times. Some customers walked right in off the street with no prior knowledge of the sale. In the midst of their excitement, they got on the phone to tell others about the sale.

- 5:14PM: Here is that hint I mentioned earlier. It is not a palm sale in Key West without some added 'lubricant'.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 5:22PM: There was a break in the action as Nancy began to bring out some of her birds to show. I used this time to get in the back sales area to showcase the palms and aroids. I was standing next to one of the palm tables as I photographed one of the narrow paths. That one table in the distance covered in aroids is the back end of the sales area. There is a Hydriastele pinangoides var. "Large Leaf" in the grouping on the right.

- I turned to the left to show how narrow the space was. The second palm table had already been thinned out by Friday evening's flurry of customers. I sat on the first palm table to get this photo. That one group of palms in the middle are Satakentia liukiuensis.

- Nancy Forrester beguiles the crowd with her Peach Cockatoo. I swear that bird knows what a camera is for.

- The cockatoo hangs on while Nancy hugs and says hello to a friend. Many of the sale goers enjoy how comfortable Nancy is with handling these large birds.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 5:27PM: Nancy is a natural when it comes to greeting guests to her garden and managing members of her flock.

- She is very friendly to everyone who has a question about her garden, her birds, or even one about Key West.

- Her Peach Cockatoo had a broad range of vocalizations and head movements. He would mimic many of the noises the crowd would make, including the clicking of cameras. The guest in the dark shirt was moving his head up and down and the cockatoo puffed himself up.

- One at a time, customers backed their vehicles down the narrow lane to load up. Other customers borrowed one of us and the cart to carry their new plants down to Simonton Street.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 9:25PM: Jeff and I were invited to dinner by a Key West plant enthusiast and afterwards we drove around town taking in the sights. One stop I had to make was to photograph the famous Pseudophoenix vinifera located not far from the cemetery. This palm is so huge! I did not bring my large flash on the trip, so I had to make due with my on-camera i-TTL flash. Sorry the photo did not come out better.

- The last photo from Friday shows the massive inflorescence being produced by the Pseudophoenix vinifera. The flowers were at full anthesis. There is no scale object in the photo, but the bulge in the trunk is at least 4 feet (1.2m) in diameter.

Ryan

[BS Man about Palms]

What a GREAT place to visit!!  Ryan that Vinifera is HUGE, what do you think? 100 years old? or only 75 or so.

[Palmarum]

Hey Bill, seeing the collections in Key West is a palm fanatic's dream. I would recommend that any palm nut make at least one trip there. Then another and another... I have only been there twice, but I saw new things the second trip. I am not sure on the history behind that P. vinifera. I do know that since members of the genus excel there, im sure the tree is not that old. It might be closer to 20 to 30 years, but who knows. Maybe the owner might know if anyone gets in contact with them one day.

I have quite a few more photos to post, but I am running behind on everything. I will have to wait until after the extravaganza to continue the topic.

Ryan

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Wow, I really must pay more attention to the Travel Threads...  Great photography Ryan...  I have on several occaisions thought it would be fun to make a trip down to K West and have a look around Nancy's Secret Garden.  I was given a book recently that had a couple photos of her palms and now you are refueling the fire to have a look around.  

Keep the pics coming!

Unfortunately that was not me on that center console (It should have been!) Last time I went down there, Pops caught all the fish... Stinkin' beginners luck!

[freakypalmguy]

Hey Ryan, great pics. I took the liberty of doing a quickie adjustment on the P. vinifera pic for better viewing. The colors are a little tweaked.

Matt

[Palmarum]

Thanks, Bill it was truly worth the trip on down to see Nancy's garden. If you ever begin to plan a trip to there, be sure to include some extra time than what you think you will need. My photos will only show a glimpse of her garden. The other palm rich places around Key West are not open to the public, but they were just as good.

When I saw that Contender flying along side US 1, I thought about all the people I know who fish in the Keys. I fish in the 10,000 Islands so I never get close to this area. Nice photos you have there, I really liked the tarpon. They are fun to catch.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

Thank you for the editing, Matt on the P. vinifera photo. I had done a similar job on the photo, but chose the original as I often do, since I wanted to give the sense of how dark it was. I still kick myself for not bringing my flash with me. I was half-way out of Jeff's, truck's passenger window when I contorted myself to take the photo. Jeff had taken a better photo of the same palm and posted it in one of his previous Key West topics. Whenever I make it to Key West again, it will be on the list to be photographed, preferably during the day.

Ryan