pssc banquet 2008!!!

[paulgila]

the 2008 pssc banquet was chock full palmy good times,but this year we had 2 special guests as most of you know:ken johnson & jeff searle from florida,2 of the nicest & most knowledgeable floridians i have ever met

(ok,they are the ONLY ones i've ever met!).

since i got up so early(4 am!) i couldn't take any pix until

my brain actually woke up at about 8 am when we got to pogobob's.

here's ken standing near a beautiful h.canturburyana,then he bought one to take home at the auction at the banquet.coincidence?you decide...

burretiokentia koghiensis in flower.

i remember the first time i met bob at a palm meeting & there was a burretiokentia there in flower(not nearly as big as the one pictured) that everyone was oohing & aaahing over.bob casually mentioned that he had a nice one in his yard & i thought "yeah,right!"

boy do i feel stupid.

[paulgila]

starfish,i think...

bob's got a nice lawn but watch out for "landmines"!

jeff always pointing,bill always out of focus.

everyone looks pissed cuz it was so damn early.

[paulgila]

"i'm hulk hogan,biotch!"

finally reached the site of the "official 2008 pssc palm banquet" at the huntington botanical garden.

there was much rejoicing.

we slowly surrounded jack before he was aware of it...

brahea edulis & snowcapped mountains.who woulda thunk it?

[paulgila]

bob weas's beautiful daughter rosalie,seconds before she kicked me right in the groin.

(ok,i made up that last bit.)

caryota canopy.

jeff searle & unknown interloper.

[paulgila]

ken havin' a grand ol' time.

livistona sp.

variegated chaemerops.

[paulgila]

jack,jeff,& bill.the pep boys.

sabal sp.

[paulgila]

brahea decumbens,which means "decumbant."

finally i realized when taking a picture of everyone in the throes of palm-lust its better to be IN FRONT of them so you don't just see their backs.

[Phil]

For those of you who don't know the LA area, the Huntington is just a short distance from the mountains that surround the entire LA basin.  These mountains are quite tall and have a lot of ski resorts.  Because of the recent rains we had, snow fell in the upper elevations of these mountains.  Consequently, when you look at Paul's pictures, you get glimpses of the snow covered mountains in the background.  It's sort of different to look at a lot of amazing palms with snow in the background.  Oh, one more thing: Paul, maybe Bob's little girl didn't actually kick you.  But, I'd still be nice to her just in case.  

Phil

[BS Man about Palms]

(pohonkelapa @ Jan. 29 2008,00:07)

QUOTE

jack,jeff,& bill.the pep boys.

Dats us alright!

[bgl]

Paul,

Great pictures and everybody obviously had a good time! Huntington brings back special memories for me, because that's where I attended my very first Palm Society meeting back in the early 1990s and got mixed up with this rowdy crowd! Needless to say I was hooked...

Bo-Göran

[Palmarum]

This trip is already amazing. With all the multiple coverage you get a great sense of what it was like. Everything seems to grow so well in Bob's yard. Not only are all the palms so large, but they all seem mature.

I wonder why Bill is blurry so often in your photos Paul, he must be moving a lot. I am glad you mentioned they were 'snowcapped mountains', I couldn't figure out what that funny looking white stuff was. All the photos of the Huntington have been excellent. I enjoy seeing Brahea species since that is a rare treat here. Did you get a photo of Jack dancing?

Ryan

[paulgila]

dypsis decipiens with woodland sprite(kim).

i can't help but think this is a single-trunked d.lutescens

that OD'd on steroids.

dypsis sp.looking cool with white stems.

[paulgila]

allogaptera sp.

inflorescence detail.

seconds later he was shimmying around this jubeopsis caffra like it was the dominican republic,but sadly i missed the shot.

[paulgila]

variegated meryta sp.

more.

all thats missing is "amber waves of grain."

"the gang."

[deezpalms]

I too love the coverage of this whole weekend event. I am kinda bummed that no one called me or anything as I was really looking forward to meeting the dynamic duo from Floride AH. Albeit, that I had school on Saturday and I was out buying a new car on Sunday  

That D. decipiens looks mighty fine!!

By the way Pauilto, no worky today??

[paulgila]

next we headed into the conservatory.

this species is becoming common:"cocos indoorsicus."

i have one myself.

someone left trash all over as you can see in this pic,so i

picked it all up & threw it away,being the good citizen that i am.

[paulgila]

i do all my best posting at work,dave!

[paulgila]

wasn't there a palm in that spot last time?

[paulgila]

ptychosperma sp.that no one could ID.

[MattyB]

I think that spot with the missing palm had an Areca triandra in it last time.

[paulgila]

salacca magnifica on prime real estate at waters edge.

while jeff searle was posing for someone else to take his pic in front of this amazing "joey" i furtively snapped my own shot.i am so sneaky!

outside we came across some color.

[paulgila]

(MattyB @ Jan. 29 2008,12:43)

QUOTE

I think that spot with the missing palm had an Areca triandra in it last time.

so,i'm not imagining things!

now if the little green men would stop following me around wherever i go...

[paulgila]

bill points the way to the palm "mothership."

caryota gigas that got FRIED in last years freeze seem to be recovering well.

we had to walk back thru the conservatory so i snapped a few more pics.

[bruno]

Those mountains in the back, are they the San bernardino mountains? If so, I skiied quite a few times up there when I was a student!

And Huntington has been my first real shock with gardens: the japanese garden is magnificent there, is it still the same you think?

Thanks for those pics and the happy lot you seem to have been. bruno

[paulgila]

coccothrinax sp.was breathtaking.

jeff searle shows the west-coasters how to auction-off a palm.the plants he brought were a big hit!

finally after kim,her brother alan & i got lost in a super-swanky neighborhood near the huntington we made it to

the hoagies place for more "palm talk."

jack & peter.

view from the back porch.

[paulgila]

slow-moving reception line thru jacks shade area.

"heeeeeeeere's ken"!!!

thanks to everyone for making this such a fun event!

jeff & ken it was a real pleasure to meet you both & spend a little time with you,i really hope we can do it again sometime!

[Jeff Searle]

Paul,

    As usual, your photos are very good, but your humor was to be expected.  I enjoyed every minute of it! Thanks for coming along, and oh, to you and Matty, a big So-Cal thanks for teaching me the ropes on Sushi. What ever it was(?) that you guys kept getting me to try. It was fun.

Jeff

[Zac in NC]

Looks like fun.

Zac

[paulgila]

bruno those are the san gabriel mts if i am not mistaken.the ones you see from the garden are the same as the mts you see from jack's porch near the end of the thread.

i didn't see the japanese garden but palmgrover's wife went there that day...

nice to hear from you!

[Walter John]

That look on Dave's face, either he's had a Satan possession or somehow one of Jack's seedlings has fallen into his back pocket. Mmm, could mean both.  ???

just joshin' Dave,  

[BS Man about Palms]

(deezpalms @ Jan. 29 2008,09:23)

QUOTE

I too love the coverage of this whole weekend event. I am kinda bummed that no one called me or anything as I was really looking forward to meeting the dynamic duo from Floride AH. Albeit, that I had school on Saturday and I was out buying a new car on Sunday  

That D. decipiens looks mighty fine!!

By the way Pauilto, no worky today??

Dave, sadly our schedule was jam packed, we didn't make it to several invites!

But, due to camera "needs" we were in your area to the point that we made a "u-turn" in your driveway on Friday morning, we couldn't have really stayed, but they know where you live!!!   :D

[Kim]

My camera didn't switch on until the group was rounded up and it was time for breakfast.  Ken Johnson is ready to eat:

Bill accosts Paul's french toast.

This is Alan, or avb on the board, that is, if you can find any posts he may have written.  Behind the mustache and glasses is a wealth of palm growing knowledge, but you'll have to work to pry it out ofhim.  He considers his English muffin and tea:

Jeff et al eat all:

[Kim]

On the drive through the Los Angeles freeways, Jeff Searle obliged my curiosity with fabulous tales of palm hunting in Madagascar.  Then we arrived at the ivy-covered registration area at the Huntington Gardens:

Good thing we ate a light breakfast, because lunch was already cooking:

Masters of the Santa Maria barbecue  (think these guys could be related?  Twins?):

Got your name tags Jeff and Bill?

[Kim]

I like to check out the auction items and the raffle table ahead of time.  Here's a couple of Louie Hooper's beautiful hybrid Rhapis palms:

Lou always brings a couple of his beauties for the raffle and they are favorites among bidders.

Palmgrover (Bob Weas) checks over the selection:

A nice little Chamaedorea fragrans brought by Jeff Searle all the way from Florida:

[Kim]

And here is Lou Hooper himself, a faithful attendee of the So-Cal Palm Society meetings, greeting Jack Sayers and other palm enthusiasts:

Time to wander outside to the expansive gardens and see some palms.  This crowd gets to talking, comes to a standstill:

The palms are over there....................>>>>>>>

Okay, let's fan out for the search...

[Kim]

Max (I hope I got that right), the gentleman in the center, was very familiar with the Huntington, having visited for the first time in 1946.  He explained we were viewing the slender-trunked self-cleaning Livistona, not the kind with the retained leaf bases.  (Yes, I forgot the exact species, sorry.)

Stressing Ceroxylon

Ken Johnson knew exactly what this was:

This one too!

[Kim]

Oh!  Brahea decumbens!

Close.....

Closer...

Closest...

(I learned that excellent technique from MattyB who may have stolen it from Pohonkelapa.)

Sabal dominguensis (well maybe not, according to the Floridians:

[Kim]

It was noted that Acoelorraphe wrightii grows well in Southern California and is underused, we should see more of them than we do:

Bill explains the intricacies of watering techniques at the Huntington as the admiring crowd listens enthralled:

Cross-hatched pattern of leaf bases on Sabal uresana:

Pssst!  Wanna know a secret?  There are other kinds of plants at the Huntington besides palms!  Yes, really, look at those fuzzy cacti---

[Kim]

Colorful Phoenix rupicola fruit overhead:

The most silvery Brahea decumbens on the planet:

Don't you agree?

A couple of palms draw an admiring crowd:

[BS Man about Palms]

Kim!  I'm so glad you are posting your pics!  I love your coverage of these events!!  Thanks! Keep it up!

Just a little help.  "Max" is actually Bill Dickenson, see his garden and "Lytoagrus" on page 7 of the 007 and Ken thread.

I also believe post 37 is the Nannorrhops.  

Please continue.