The Sepulveda Garden Center is still closed due to the State and local health authorities directive to protect the public from Covid-19.  We hope we can meet in June.  Please stay tuned for further information.

Due to the Coronavirus, mandates from the CDC, State and County Health organization and the City of LA, we have been advised that the Sepulveda Garden Center has been closed.  We hope to meet in May but the health and safety of our members are paramount so we will follow the directives.  If you have further questions, you can send an email to arthur.pinkers@gmail.com for more up to date information.  The San Fernando Valley Orchid Society Board of Directors meet to determine when our auction will be held.  We thank you for your patience and hope you all will stay in good health and enjoy the beauty of your orchid plants.

Brassia’s are known as the spider orchid.  They present large stately presentations of large flowers from the Oncidium family.  They are relatively easy growers in our region and add size and nice presentations to their hybrids.  

Robert  was born and raised in Eagle Rock, CA.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Occidental College and then a Master of Science in Zoology from the University of Hawaii.  He is a retired Fisheries Biologist from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA) in Honolulu where he specialized in deep water benthic fish, crustaceans, and mollusks.

He received his first orchid from his then future father-in-law in the early 1970s.  He joined the Honolulu Orchid Society since the mid 1970s where he is a life member.  He is also a life member of the American Orchid Society.  He is an accredited judge of both American Orchid Society and Honolulu Orchid Society

Through recent travels in Southern China, Steve gives us a look at a group of unique and wonderful orchids only recently becoming known in the US.  The insight into their native environment will help us provide the conditions they need to grow successfully.

Steve grew up in New York and was educated at the University of Delaware and then received a Masters degree in Horticulture at Penn State. After a stint running an apple orchard and plant nursery in   Pennsylvania, he settled in Southern California. He is senior horticulturist at the famed Roger’s Gardens in Newport Beach where he is a well known and popular lecturer. He has a reputation for being very knowledgeable on sweet peas, water lilies, dahlias and daffodils as well as orchids. He is very fond of the pleurothallid alliance and grows a large collection of those species.

January 8, 2020

DOUGLAS OVERSTREET has grown orchids continually since he was 10 years old. He comes by his interest in plants and animals naturally.  His family have been American farmers since 1684.  The first orchid he purchased in 1972 was Cattleya Trimos, a primary hybrid between C. trianaei and C. mossiae.  The first orchid he flowered was a phalaenopsis hybrid.

Doug moved to California in 1975 and continued his love affair with orchids. In 1984, his collection began to grow by leaps and bounds with his first professional job.  He also became a very active participant in the local orchid community.  He began to work with orchids professionally in 2000 as a private consultant.  Gradually, this became his full-time occupation. He has managed private collections for leading hobbyists in Southern California for the last 15 years. He is an Accredited American Orchid Society Judge in the Pacific South Region.  An accomplished writer and educator, Doug has written articles for many different publications including Orchid Digest and has served on the Editorial Committee of that publication as Assistant Editor.  He has spoken for orchid societies and other groups nationwide.  Prior to joining the Huntington full time as a horticulturist, he was a frequent guest lecturer for the Huntington.  Currently, he is the orchid specialist in charge of the Thornton Conservatory and the Ernest Hetherington Memorial Cattleya Collection.