South Florida Palm Society Fall Sale Nov. 3rd, 4th

[Palmarum]

- 6:26PM: The party continues with the awarding of another ribbon going to vendor #43 John Harshaw for his Best Cycad, Zamia loddigesii.

- There were many awards in different categories including Best Grown Palm which went to SFPS President, vendor #4 and Forum member Bill Olson (Bill Olson) for that large Corypha umbraculifera shown earlier.

- A very surprised Mike Harris, vendor #16 and Forum member (Caribbean Palms) accepted the award for Rarest Palm. It was for his entry of Copernicia ekmanii.

- The last award of the evening, for Best Overall Palm went to vendor #57, Jeff Searle for his Licuala beccariana. This was the first of more surprises to come for Jeff this weekend.

Ryan

[BS Man about Palms]

(PiousPalms @ Nov. 02 2007,22:03)

QUOTE

(Palmarum @ Nov. 02 2007,21:51)

QUOTE

I knew it, I knew it!  Look at that pot!    It's full of a medium like my Carribean mix!  Yeehaw!  I did something right! :cool:

Now if I just don't kill any more of them... :laugh:

The heck the swooning sofa.  I need some tender moments alone here.....  

[Mike4284m]

(Palmarum @ Nov. 05 2007,18:38)

QUOTE

- The next awarded palm was Nypa fruticans which belonged to vendor #50 Faith Bishock (budrot). The Mangrove Palm she entered won Most Unusual Palm.

Did you happen to get a pic of the Nypa?  I've never seen anything larger in a pot than a couple leaved seedling.

[Palmarum]

- 6:40PM: Some more after-party palm browsing took place after the awards were handed out. Certain party goers were leaving, since they had a long ride ahead of them. Ron Kiefert and Jeff Searle look through Mike Harris's (#16) booth by flashlight. The flash causes the grouping of Copernicia ekmanii to glow in the dark.

- The darkness extends into the distance as the flash bounces off anything reflective. The trucks are empty, but there is still some setting up to do in the following morning.

- Back in the booth, I took a few photos in the dark showing the palms awaiting the Saturday morning rush, or what we would hope to be a rush. The location of the booth had changed three times since Monday due to the bad weather and flooding, so this is the first time we had set up here. The booth was near the tram trail, not far from the Rare Plant House. There is always a bit of designing that goes with setting up a booth, even more when its a first time booth. The tables are always a focal point, so their placement is always important.

- The last photo from Friday evening showing the middle of the booth. The booth was ready for customers and so weren't we.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

Mike4284m · Posted on Nov. 05 2007,22:23

Did you happen to get a pic of the Nypa?  I've never seen anything larger in a pot than a couple leaved seedling.

I did get a few pics of the group, including the one that won the award. They will be coming up in Saturdays photos. I wish I could say they were larger, but they were three and four leaf seedlings in one gallon pots. They looked perfect and were ready to get larger.

Ryan

[Mike4284m]

Wow!  Even mine are larger  

[SubTropicRay]

That looks like Coruba Rum to Faith's left.  Good stuff.

[waykoolplantz]

We uppotted the Arenga brevepies & Gaussia princeps & put them inside the pool enclosure

Thay look great !!

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Great looking treasures!

[Palmarum]

- 7:55AM: The morning of Saturday lent to a whole range of activites involving the sale and a special event involving Jeff Searle later in the day, more on that later. After Jeff and I arrived at Fairchild we finished minor details in the booth and walked around using the daylight this time to look at palms. We made it to the far side of the sales area to visit Ellis Brown's booth (#68) and came upon quite a few oddities of his. One of many was this Variegated King Sago, Cycas revoluta cv. 'variegated'.

- Behind the colorful King Sago, was this Caryota zebrina awaiting customers. The palms in behind were an Areca sp.

- Possibly, the brightest cycad at the sale. This hefty, suckering Encephalartos lehmannii was for sale in the booth belonging to vendor #27, Armando Reyes. It is hard to see, but there is a large center stem with a fat caudex. There are quite a few suckers surrounding it.

- A downward view of the main crown of leaves. It was brighter when seen with direct sunlight.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:07AM: Working my way back up front, I remembered I wanted to collect photos on the award winners and their plants. The first of which was the Best Cycad winner, this Zamia loddigesii.

- The grower of the Zamia loddigesii and recipient of the award, vendor #43 John Harshaw. He had quite a few cycads of different species and sizes in his booth. One in particular is the red emergent hybrid in behind the Z. loddigesii and to the left of him. Since I bought two small plants back when he first began to sell them, I've always called them Harshaw Hybrids, A.K.A. Zamia furfuracea X integrifolia (floridana).

- Another great source of cycads during the sale came from vendor #91, Jody Haynes and his booth in the center of the sales area. Another species of Zamia to catch my attention was this very rare Zamia encephalartoides growing well in a three gallon pot.

- The winner of Best Overall Palm, Licuala beccariana grown by Jeff Searle (#57). He was talking with a few of the vendors so I will have to wait to get a photo of him with it.

Ryan

[BS Man about Palms]

(BS, Man about Palms @ Nov. 05 2007,19:09)

QUOTE

(PiousPalms @ Nov. 02 2007,22:03)

QUOTE

(Palmarum @ Nov. 02 2007,21:51)

QUOTE

I knew it, I knew it!  Look at that pot!    It's full of a medium like my Carribean mix!  Yeehaw!  I did something right! :cool:

Now if I just don't kill any more of them... :laugh:

The heck the swooning sofa.  I need some tender moments alone here.....  

I also recently heard this Palm is over 25 years old!

[Palmarum]

- 8:15AM: An hour and fifteen minutes remain until the sale officially opens at 9:30 AM. The booth is finalized and I go through the stack of cards and signs to see if there are anymore to be put out. I find a few more to put on smaller palms on the tables...

- ... I turn around for a second and Jeff Searle returns to the booth with friends in tow. Veteran collectors and Forum members Jim & Judy Glock (jglock1) are in the center [Judy is obscured towards the left] and are talking with old school vendor, long time friend and grower George Zammas and a friend of his. (Jim & Judy Glock are from Ft. Myers and had told Jeff they came across the state for the sale, in reality they had been in town since the night before, getting ready for Jeff's surprise birthday party, in which Jeff's wife Andrea is hurriedly working on since Jeff and I had left the house that morning.)

- The winner of Best Palmate Palm had went to vendor #40 Franco D'Ascanio and his team for the one gallon Licuala orbicularis they had brought.

- Immediately to the right of the Licuala orbicularis was a rare Oncosperma tigillarium.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:19AM: A spread of palms in the back of vendor #40 Franco D'Ascanio's booth. The large pinnate palm in the center is a very well grown Ravenea glauca.

- The booth belonging to vendor #33, Dave & Shirley Romney showing the wide range of coconut palm cultivars they are famous for bringing to sales. Dave had been ill and was not able to attend the sale, so his daughter Carol had come in his stead. The patio area on the right had survived the Members Party the night before and had since been cleaned for garden patrons.

- An old specimen of an Old Man Palm, Coccothrinax crinita stuck out in front of Steve Stern's (#35) booth. Like with most booths, there were tons of plants to look through. On the small table to the right is a Roscheria melanochaetes.

- Turning to the right, looking into the center of the booth, was this larger than average specimen of Phoenicophorium borsigianum with its group around it.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:26AM: Continuing to look for palms and anything interesting, I came across one of Steve Stern's (#35) tables. It had a few different variegated Rhapis cultivars on display along with a select group of other palm species. The large Old Man Palm, Coccothrinax crinita pictured earlier can be seen in the upper, left corner of the photo.

- The 'one' palm that no one can quite ignore. A grouping of Red Sealing Wax Palms, Cyrtostachys renda near the outer edge of Steve Stern's (#35) booth near the register tent.

- The crownshafts and petioles were quite bright, even brighter than the photo can depict.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 8:41AM: Outside the general sales area, was an additional section for art and book vendors. The lone book vendor was a surprise for me, since this had not been allowed at palm sales before. The gift store at Fairchild always sells a selection of books, so usually a book vendor is not allowed. This was a minor secession of Fairchild TB Gardens in the agreement of having the SFPS Sale back at the gardens. One stipulation was she was only allowed to sell palm and cycad books.

- A great spread of books, featuring both the rare and popular. There were many I did have and a few I wish I did.

- Some of the older, rarer books on display that I just had to look through. I did feel good knowing the value 'now' of some of these books I already had. There is one book in this photo I know didn't last long...

- 9:29AM: The sale was just about open at this point and the front display and information table was being packed with free seed and even more information. Society member Lenny Goldstein organizes everything as vendors #27 Armando Reyes and #91 Jody Haynes look over the tables.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 9:35AM: The sale was open and customers and collectors began to stream on in from the newer entrance area down in the lowlands. To give an idea of where Jeff's booth was, the old Corypha umbraculifera was right next door, with the restrooms on the opposite side of the booth. This shot was taken from the center of the booth, looking straight up. The Talipot Palm had flowered a short while ago, with a non-productive inflorescence.

- 9:53AM: The booth sees its first throng of customers and a few of the aisles get packed with carts. Some of the carts do get filled fairly quickly and then get taken to the holding area to then come on back. The glass house structure in the distance is the Rare Fruit Pavilion.

- Having Faith Bishock as a neighbor vendor (#50) has many advantages. She will often sell your plants for you, to her own customers. Here she is, doing just that, describing how big a particular palm gets to a customer. She is one of a few vendors that are also Forum members (budrot).

- This day would become full of surprises for Jeff Searle. He greets former Director of Horticulture for Fairchild TB Gardens, Don Evans. He couldn't resist visiting the sale and came by the booth to say hello.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

Saturday morning continued onward with a steady flow of both customers and die-hard collectors. There were a few visitors of note that either escaped the lens of my camera or were in a photograph that didn't turn out as planned. The President of Fairchild's Board of Trustees, Bruce Greer came on by to talk to Jeff Searle along with Fairchild Research Biologist Carl Lewis. I had lent my camera to the grand-daughter of Dave Romney, Dominique to take a few photos, while telling her who to shoot. Well, some of those photos did not come out well. M. Patrick Griffith, Executive Director of Montgomery Botanical Center, came on by the booth to say hello to everyone. A couple of the Forum members that had visited the booth that I had wanted to get a photo of, but could not, included Mike Harris (waykoolplantz) and Dick Douglas (PalmGuyWC). (They will appear later in the party photos however...)

- 10:18AM: The booth continued to see a bit of foot traffic well into the first hour. For some customers it seemed the booth was either their first stop or their last stop, depending on which path they took. Veteran collector, Fantasy Fest tour guide and Forum member Jim Glock (jglock1) talks with fellow west coast collector and grower Drew Rathburn. He has a Dypsis sp. in his hand.

- Standing in front of the booth, looking down the pathway, I took a photo of the sale activity. On the left, vendor #80, SFPS Sales Chairman and Forum member Tim McKernan (Tim McKernan) talks with fellow vendor Carol Graff (#25). Straight down the path, slightly to the right behind the loaded cart is a smidge of Mike Harris (waykoolplantz) with his friend Greg K. in front.

- 10:25AM: A brief walk down the path to get some of the photos on my 'to-do' list, I got this one of Shirley Mayotte's (#29) award winning Dypsis fasciculata. It won the award for Best Pinnate Palm.

- 10:43AM: The sales had picked up a bit in the booths on this side as more and more palms find their way to a cart.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:43AM: I walked on down the pathway, shooting as I went. Tim McKernan was describing a palm to a customer as I was walking by.

- A very thick and lush Rhapis multifida sat out in front the booth of vendor #81, Ken St. Germain. (I took this time to visit as many of the vendors and party invitees as I could get to. My job was to warn them not to spill the beans on the party to Jeff or anyone else who might say something.)

- In behind that large Foxtail Palm, Wodyetia bifurcata, was vendor #26, Susan Casey. She is talking to a few customers while I was on my way to grab yet another donut from her table. Susan has brought donuts, coffee and juice to the sales each Saturday morning for many years. It had turned into a common morning expectation. With even some vendors yelling "Where are the donuts?" in the wee hours of the morning.

- While stopping on by to give vendor #67 Claude Roatta his warning about keeping the party a secret, I noticed his large Pelagodoxa henryana underneath his shade enclosure. It was taller than I was. The 20' x 20' shade structure was a great idea, as it drew customers on in, creating a sense of curiosity. The booth would have been in full sun without it.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:54AM: My radio erupted into a loud blurp as Jeff was informing me of the arrival of a group of Forum members who had appeared in the booth. I made my way back in a few seconds to find not one, but two of them. The first one to make my acquaintance was Palm Beach Forum member Keith Austin (bubba). He is standing next to the Hydriastele (Gulubia) costata [3 gal. leaning a bit on the ground] he was planning on buying. This is proof it was there for this second, but it was gone the next. There will be more at the next sale Keith, sorry it disappeared on you so fast, even at a slow time at the sale.

- Joining Keith Austin (bubba) on the left of him in a group shot was Forum member Peter Broberg (sur4z)

and a friend of their's who's name has escaped my notes. If Keith or Peter can post his name I would appreciate it. I remember they were trying to get him onto the Forum as a member. Peter and I were reminiscing his purchase of that very large Kerriodoxa elegans back at the Palm Beach Fall Sale back in October.

- 11:19AM: Faith does it again. Her skills of persuasion are unmatched. A group of customers came looking for a large Satakentia liukiuensis and found Jeff's in the back of his booth with Faith's help.

- A bit of an ambush photo to capture Forum member Rick Leitner (TikiRick) in action looking through the center block of palms in the booth.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:42AM: The register tents see a small line now and then as the sale approaches lunch time.

- A quick turn to the right to capture vendor #13 and Forum member Chuck Grieneisen (chuck g) returning to his booth with coffee in hand.

- 12:11PM: With a lull in activity I took the opportunity to get Jeff's photo in front of his Licuala beccariana, winner of the Best Overall Palm award.

- 1:14PM: The last hour or so saw a lapse in sales as many of the customers had left to go get lunch. During this time I took some more photos of the booth, plus some of the plants in the area. This photo shows a large spanning group of Licuala grandis. The range includes small gallons on the ground, with larger 7 gallon plants in behind, finishing off with Fairchild's own ancient plants in behind them, in the garden collection.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 1:15PM: Back from their lunch at the Rainforest Cafe', Jeff Searle talks with long time friend and Forum member Nancy Forrester (nancyforrester1), of Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden in Key West. Nancy has known Jeff and his family for countless years and her garden plays host to his Key West Plant Sales. Nancy had not been to a Fairchild Palm Sale in over 9 years so she had decided to come up for a look-see and brought her cousin Peter Whalen along for the ride and visit. (In reality, Nancy and Peter had come up for Jeff's surprise birthday party and decided to stop at Fairchild along the way. Even though it came to Jeff as a surprise to see them, he still did not have a clue about the party. Jim & Judy Glock had said their goodbye's to Jeff and everyone and had told Jeff they were heading back to Ft. Myers, instead they headed up to Jeff's house awaiting the surprise party. )

- With another break in the action I walked on over to our neighbor booths to get some photos of the award winners in situ. First on the obvious list is vendor #50, booth neighbor and Forum member Faith Bishock (budrot). I took this photo during one of her breaks from selling our palms. Her entry of a one gallon Nypa fruticans won Most Unusual Palm.

- 1:53PM: On the other side of the magic line of spray paint, our other neighbor vendor #40 Franco D'Ascanio and his team of Keith Buttry

, on the Forum as (SCUBAKeith) and Ray Mowen showcase their winning plant for Best Palmate Palm, Licuala orbicularis.

- 1:58PM: A large load of palms makes its way to the register tents. Some customers brought their own carts, while others needed to employ the services of a kid with a cart. Something I did at sales when I was younger and I remember it very well... I have several stories from that era.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 2:11PM: A status shot of the booth, taken a bit after 2 pm. There were a few customers walking around the sales area.

- Same time, same spot, 90 degrees to the left. There were a few holes, some in the back and a few along the edges including some near the path to the restrooms. (I used this time to get a hold of Andrea Searle on the radio for a status report of the surprise party. She was rather busy and hectic at the moment, but she said it was getting there. Many of her relatives had arrived and were helping with the party setup.)

- 2:25PM: Vendor #35 Steve Stern on the left talks with a customer as vendor #91 Jody Haynes joins in on the conversation holding one of his purchases.

- By far, the record for the farthest traveling Forum member went to Gene Barcelona (Gbarce) for his gallant trip to the United States from the Philippines. He was in town visiting his aunt and the sights of the Miami area. Jeff and I were very fortunate to have met him and we were glad he was able to attend the sale. It became slightly comical, as whenever Gene came to the booth to meet Jeff, Jeff had just left and vice versa. Eventually they both met and talked for a while.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 2:40PM: My camera was again, out of my hands for this photo. Dominique had went on a short photo bender and took a shot of vendor #25 Carol Graff as she posed in front of her booth.

- 2:49PM: I took this photo of these two die-hard collectors who travelled all the way down from Merritt Island to attend the sale. Forum member Ray Gompf (Ray G) and his wife Theresa arrive at the booth to begin to shop while Faith welcomes them to the sale. (Ray & Theresa were also going to Jeff's surprise party and decided to attend both, they each have limitless energy of unknown origin.)

- 3:21PM: The weather for the sale could not have been more perfect. The sun was shining, the temperatures were in the low 80s, in the morning they were in the upper 60s. If you are in a cold location, hopefully this photo might warm you up a bit. This was another one of Dominique's photos.

- 3:32PM: Less than an hour of sale time remained in the day. The customer traffic was low at this point and many vendors began buying from each other. Another one of the winning show plants, the large Corypha umbraculifera entered by vendor #4, Bill Olson. It won Best Grown Palm, and it was rightly awarded. I got Dominique to take this photo when she wasn't photographing people. (I began to think of the following events of the time after the sale. I knew I had to delay Jeff for at least a half an hour and I had only a few ideas on how to do it.)

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 3:35PM: Vendor #4, Bill Olson, Sr. takes the con of his booth and helps any customers that come on by. He is a very experienced world traveler. He has either flown or driven to every state in the union, at least once and visited over 100 countries. He has incredible knowledge and experience as a result and could tell you a wide array of stories spanning decades. If you ever have a chance to meet him, ask him about something or somewhere and be ready for a fantastic voyage. Dominique was kind enough to take his photo, 8 times.

- 3:43PM: I had to include at least one photo of myself. Here I am standing next to one of my favorite palms, Kerriodoxa elegans. If you haven't guessed it yet, I didn't take the photo, Dominique did. I need to get a compact tripod so I can take some more of these photos.

- Back in the booth, Gene (Gbarce) finally got to meet Jeff and they talked about everything in the world of palms.

- 3:59PM: A customer looks over the grouping of Areca triandra near the side of the booth. I think he was reacting to something Jeff had said.

Ryan

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Awesome photos Ryan!  I'm still not sure of wht I look forward to more, the actual events or your photo coverage!  What is the plant in Post 63, first photo, center plant, it's sorta silver/blueish colored?  It almost looks like papayrus...

[Palmarum]

PiousPalms · Posted on Nov. 08 2007,06:00

...What is the plant in Post 63, first photo, center plant, it's sorta silver/blueish colored?  It almost looks like papayrus...

Hey Bill, that was a 7 gallon Mauritiella armata, a popular swamp palm from South America.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 4:01PM: An interesting element of plant and palm sales that is often over-looked, is the presence of compots, or community pots that are for sale. For growers of all kind, compots can be a great way to start a group of a particular species and are usually one of the first things I look for at a sale. I am not the only one that does, though. Some compots that are chocked full of seedlings, such as this Areca triandra compot, can be a little daunting when looked at by a backyard grower. They can always be planted as multiples. This compot, plus one other, were the only two left at the end of the day on Saturday.

At this time, I began to think of what to do for a delay. I was under orders that stated Jeff was not to leave the garden until 5:00 PM, no earlier. This was to give time for vendors and other people to get to the party, park their cars and make it inside to the awaiting surprise. The idea was so no one would be seen walking from their cars to the house while Jeff was pulling up to the driveway. For the majority of the day, I had Jeff thinking the sale was over at 5:00, instead of 4:30. Well, this plan was blown by a particular vendor who shall remain nameless, <cough> Carol <cough>. I had told Jeff I wanted to get some photos real quick before we left, along with Dominique's help I began to stroll into the lowlands, basically getting lost to the best of my ability. While making my way to the lowlands to stall, Gene (Gbarce) came along on his way back to the sales area. He wanted to get a photo of me with him, so we took a few shots and it became more than a welcomed delay, (thanks Gene!). We strolled on...

- 4:19PM: (Party Delay +41 Min) Like most days at Fairchild TB Gardens, there is a wedding going on. This is one of the major sources of income for the garden. I told Dominique what to photograph as we quietly walked past the wedding.

- 4:25PM: (Party Delay +35 Min) My phone chirped to life with Jeff saying,

"Where are you? We gotta go."

"I am on my way back up, I just have to show a few plants to some people..." Lied in the line of duty for the party...

Well the delay was now in high gear. I continued to get lost as best I could. Dominique continued to fire away with my camera.

- 4:26PM: (Party Delay +34 Min) This vista shot was taken by Dominique as we walked past the wedding. This is why the weddings are always in this one spot and why the vendors are never allowed to park their trailers in the lowlands, unless they bury them somewhere.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 4:37PM: (Party Delay +23 Min) My accomplice Dominique had to go, so she left and I went further into the lowlands, along the tram trail. She was to tell Jeff I was walking around with people showing them plants. A Licuala peltata var. sumawongii takes up residence along the tram trail.

- 4:38PM: (Party Delay +22 Min) I take a quick photo of this Phoenix pusilla as my phone chirps to life again with Jeff demanding I come back so we can leave. Jeff was still under the impression his neighbor was having a large party, having invited Jeff over 3 weeks prior. He did not want to be late to the 'party'. The idea of his neighbor's party was seeded to Jeff by Andrea even earlier than that. To cover the expense and collection of party material, Andrea had told Jeff that she was having his regular Family party the following weekend... another lie... This would also explain all the tremendous amount of yard work Andrea was doing in preparation for the party. There were many more levels of deception used to keep the party a secret, but I could not list them all here, ask me or Andrea the next time you see us. When Jeff and I had left his house that morning, we looked across the street and it looked like Jeff's neighbor Ronnie was setting up for a garage sale. He wasn't, It only looked like he was. In actuality, he was unpacking all the stuff for the suprise party. It was all buried in the back of his garage.

- 4:38PM: (Party Delay +22 Min) The second grouping of Carpoxylon macrospermum along the tram trail. Jeff had called again and was pretty animate about us leaving and not wanting to leave me behind...he was kidding...

- 4:39PM: (Party Delay +21 Min) Time seemed to slow to an infinitesimal pace. I thought the clock on my phone has stopped. I knew I had about a 10 minute or so walk back to the sales area, so I figured that into the delay. Including a stop at the bathroom (I was holding it in all day, as another potential delay). The bloom of Heliconia cv. 'Richmond Red'.

Ryan

[bubba]

Ryan, Thank you for your outstanding coverage of the Fairchild Sale!Obviously, it is a tremendous amount of work on your part but I am sure it is greatly appreciated by everyone.It was also a great pleasure to meet you and Jeff and we all eagerly await pictures of his surprise party.As to your question, the guy in the middle is Harry Gilbert.He is a well-known General Contractor in Palm Beach,who is highly addicted to Palms like the rest of us.His yard in Palm Beach is so full of Palms that we joke he is likely to receive a Code Enforcement Board Lien.Now wouldn't that be a hoot, the Town of Palm Beach liening a guy for too many Palms!Stranger things than that happen around here all the time.Harry left the day after this this picture with his family for his place in Mal Pais,Costa Rica to do his other favorite thing. Surf.

[Palmarum]

bubba · Posted on Nov. 08 2007,17:41

Ryan, Thank you for your outstanding coverage of the Fairchild Sale!Obviously, it is a tremendous amount of work on your part but I am sure it is greatly appreciated by everyone.It was also a great pleasure to meet you and Jeff and we all eagerly await pictures of his surprise party.As to your question, the guy in the middle is Harry Gilbert.He is a well-known General Contractor in Palm Beach,who is highly addicted to Palms like the rest of us...

Thanks for the info Keith, I am always glad when I can keep names with faces in my photos. Let us know when he does get on the Forum so I can attach his Forum name to his photo as well.

- 4:41PM: (Party Delay +19 Min) Do dee do... I continue to wander around taking photos trying to appear nonchalant to the garden patrons as they were walking by. This Calyptronoma rivalis is on the back part of the Amphitheater.

- 4:42PM: (Party Delay +18 Min) Immediately to the right of the Calyptronoma rivalis was this Drymophloeus subdistichus, stretching out into the sky.

- 4:42PM: (Party Delay +18 Min) A fat and robust Borassus flabellifer just off the tram trail.

- 4:43PM: (Party Delay +17 Min) I was taking this close up photo of the leaf bases as my phone came to life again, with a very determined Jeff on the other end. I figured I had about 7 minutes more to kill.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 4:43PM: (Party Delay +17 Min) The last two photos before I had to walk on up to the sales area, with blaring radio in hand. This is one of the Bailey Palm, Copernicia baileyana groupings at Fairchild TB Gardens.

- 4:45PM: (Party Delay +15 Min) After I took this one shot of a 'juvenile' Bailey Palm, I figured Jeff could not wait any longer so I turned and made my way back to the sales area...

...with a slow walk I made it back to the sales area with about 5 minutes left to kill on the delay. After being berated, Jeff and I grabbed our stuff and headed on out to the parking area to leave. As we were walking out I got a few head-nods and motions from vendors and other party invitees who had not left yet. Most of them figured out a faster way north and had beat us to Jeff's house.

Approx. 5:30 PM...

On the way back up north, we ran into an unexpected bonus delay, the usual Palmetto traffic. While we carefully negotiated the hazards of South Florida expressway driving, Andrea had called a few times. She was asking about an E.T.A., so she could get a popular dish ready for their neighbor's 'party'. The time between her calls seemed endless. There was a strange dichotomy going on within me at this time. One side was glad about the traffic delay, knowing this would give Andrea and everyone more time to get ready... while the other side was becoming increasingly nervous about how the next 30 minutes were going to unfold...

The Party comes soon, follow the link to kris's topic and scroll on down...

http://palmtalk.org/cgi-bin/forum/ikonboar...=ST;f=21;t=8441

Ryan

[Palmarum]

The surprise party of the decade had come and gone, so Sunday morning had an added lift of enthusiasm. Those who had attended Jeff's party and were at the sale had all recovered quite well and were in the palm sale mood. After a quick look through the booths, continuing to shop, I noticed there were some re-arranging going on. Since Sunday mornings are usually slow and don't pick up until lunch, there is often extra time to do some booth work.

- 9:05AM: About a half hour before the sale opened, SFPS Show Chairman Tim McKernan (Tim McKernan) gathered all the vendors and volunteers together for a brief word on how the sale was going and thanked everyone for their work.

- Next up in line to speak to the masses was SFPS President, vendor #4, and FM. Bill Olson (Bill Olson). He thanked everyone again and introduced his mother Carol Olson, who was celebrating her birthday on this very day.

- Even before everyone finished clapping, vendor #26 Susan Casey surprised everyone by walking up and presenting Carol with a birthday gift, a very colorful Red Sealing Wax Palm, Cyrtostachys renda.

- Vendor #26, Susan Casey appeared again to help present the cake. She begins to light the candles, which were blown out by Carol moments later.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:49PM: The sale has been open for over an hour now and there were a few customers walking around this early Sunday. Some of these customers had stopped to talk with vendor #50, FM. Faith Bishock (budrot). On the right, on its way out, is a triple Foxtail Palm, Wodyetia bifurcata, going to a good home no doubt.

- 10:50AM: Supporting South Florida Palm Society members with both knowledge and free seed are Newsletter Editor and SFPS Corresponding Secretary Lou Sguros

and Society Director Lenny Goldstein.

- 11:01AM: Back in the booth, a family checks out the rarer palms on the front table.

- 11:15AM: It was not quite lunch time yet, but a steady flow of customers began to trickle in. Vendor #35 Steve Stern mans the front of his booth.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:15AM: A quick look back at the information table found a small group of enthusiastic garden patrons who began to collect some free seed from both Lou Sguros and Lenny Goldstein.

- Each allotment of free seed came with a bit of information about each species. I also saw a great idea on how to re-use old strawberry containers.

- The selection of free seed was very diverse, with some species being donated from personal collections, donated by Montgomery B. Center and supplied by Fairchild itself.

- One seed that always attracts attention is the one belonging to Hyphaene coriacea, the Doum Palm. These were free as well and were still on their rachillae.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:16AM: SFPS Director Lenny Goldstein is always available to chat about anything involving palms and he shares his knowledge with another font of information, vendor #4 Bill Olson, Sr.

- 11:21AM: A pair of collectors take their new group of palms through the register, then onto home.

- Customers begin to show up in greater numbers as the earlier patrons return from lunch.

- FM. Travis Searle (Paintball Guy) carts out a customers collection to the holding area while Faith Bishock supervises.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 12:52PM: After midday, the flow of customers changed from society members to mostly garden patrons. A newly arriving group of customers check out Steve Stern's (#35) booth.

- On the ground, in front of Faith Bishock's table, were these interesting hybrid Borassus, Borassus flabellifer X aethiopum.

- The reddish-pink new emergent leaf of a Roscheria melanochaetes.

- 12:57PM: Taking a brief break from the booth, I wanted to capture photos of the remaining award winners with their plants. I made it to vendor #13 and FM. Chuck Grieneisen's (chuck g) booth but he was no where to be found, so I got a photo of his variegated Paurotis Palm, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii instead. It had won Best Native Palm.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 1:01PM: The awe-inspiring group of Copernicia ekmanii that vendor #16 and FM. Mike Harris (Caribbean Palms) often brings to the sales got quite a bit of attention, with one specimen getting him a ribbon. He entered the largest one he brought and it won Rarest Palm.

- 1:02PM: I continued my Sunday afternoon stroll around the sales area, looking for ribbons and other photo ideas. This is the front of Ellis Brown's (#68) booth. It was a frequent stop for myself as well as other sale goers.

- A closer shot inside the booth. There were a few things I got with those particular tags on them.

- Further down the path lies the booth belonging to vendor #71 and FM. Bob Johnson (Bob Johnson). He is one of the Orlando faithful who braved the trip on down to not only attend the sale, but to also set-up and sell. In front of him on the table is the Zamia purpurea he brought to enter in the show, but unfortunately it did not win.

Ryan

[Jeff Searle]

Ryan,

  Do you remember by chance what Bob was asking for that Zamia? I never did see it, probably a good thing......

Jeff

[Palmarum]

Jeff Searle · Posted on Nov. 17 2007,19:52

Ryan,

 Do you remember by chance what Bob was asking for that Zamia? I never did see it, probably a good thing......

Jeff

Bob didn't want to sell it, it had "Not for Sale" on the tag. I believe he mentioned it was part of his collection.

Ryan