October 5th: Displaying Beautiful Blooms

Arthur Pinkers at the 2014 SDCOS Show

Arthur Pinkers at the 2014 SDCOS Show

We enjoy our orchids when they look their best.  We love beautiful arrangements when we go to shows and see the exhibits.  With a desire to increase our personal enjoyment and with show season upon us, we will be looking at techniques to have our plants present their beautiful blooms to their best.  Tips on staking, plant grooming and small table top displays will also be covered.   Join us on Wednesday, October 5th for this interesting presentation by our President, Arthur Pinkers.

Arthur has been an orchid enthusiast since the age of sixteen, when he acquired a plant of Slc. Glittering Jewel (Sl. Gratixiae x Slc. Hermes), which infected him with the orchid bug.  His forty plus years of experience growing orchids started in the Pacific Northwest with a greenhouse to fend off the cold, rainy days, but a decade ago a job change forced him to move to Santa Clarita, California, where the conditions are extreme for growing orchids.

Growing up in the Seattle area, Arthur attended Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology.  He worked for many years as a chemist, and had the fortune of having his dream job as the Lab Director for Beall Orchid Company until shortly before its close in 1990.  Despite not having a current career working with orchids, Arthur has taken an active role in the orchid community.  He has been an Accredited Orchid Judge for over twenty years and has served in most executive positions on the Board of the Northwest Orchid Society, including serving as President from 1988 to 1989, and as a center photographer for the Pacific Northwest Judging region.  Currently, Arthur serves as the Center Judging Chair at the Pacific South – San Marino Judging Center and one of the photographers for the Pacific South Judging Center.  Though he has an interest in a wide variety of orchids, botanicals are a special draw to him for their diversity and charm.

Arthur has been married to his wife, Margie, for over twenty-seven years, and has two adult children. While they have not inherited his knack for growing orchids, his family enjoys the beauty and wild aromas his backyard jungle brings to their home, a respite from the desert landscape around them.

Recent American Orchid Society Awards

The American Orchid Society  recently  granted awards at the Pacific South Monthly Judging in San Marino which was held at the Huntington Botanical Gardens.  This photo was taken by Arthur Pinkers.         

 den-amabile-huntingtons-cotton-candy-am-80-pts-20162040-img_8105_dxo-4-l 

Dendrobium amabile ‘Huntington’s Cotton Candy’

Award of Merit – 80 pts.

Parents:  Species

108 flowers and 75 buds on 5 inflorescences

Natural Spread:  5.0 cm

Vertical Spread:  4.0 cm

Exhibited by Huntington Botanical Gardens

“Christmas In July” coming to the SFVOS next month

 

The San Fernando Valley Orchid Society is pleased to announce our second annual “Christmas in July” Party which will be held on Wednesday, July 6, 2016 at 7:00 pm.   We will be meeting at the Sepulveda Garden Center, located at 16633 Magnolia Blvd, Encino, CA 91436.

Guests are always welcome!
sand.snowman.w.umbrellaJuly is the beginning of the new fiscal year for our Society and this year we have a lot to celebrate. We are thrilled to announce that at the July meeting we will be installing our new President, who is none other than the eminently qualified Orchid Expert and AOS Certified Judge, Arthur Pinkers. We will also be installing a new Treasurer and several additional members who have graciously volunteered to serve on our Board of Directors.

To kick the new year off properly we will be having a special event at the next meeting. It’s our second annual “Christmas in July” Potluck Dinner. Everyone had so much fun last year at this event, and we will hopefully make this an annual tradition. We will be sharing a Potluck dinner. We have some great cooks in our membership, so be prepared to have a great dinner and delicious desserts. Each member is asked to bring a dish to serve eight persons.

Christmas.in.july.cartoon.

We will be calling all members to take a poll of what delicious homemade creations they are planning to bring. You should receive a call soon but if, perchance, you do not receive a call, please call Millie at (805) 532-0080 to let her know what you are bringing. Please remember to bring serving utensils too. This is a low-waste event, so please bring a reusable place setting if you are able.

After dinner we plan to play a few Bingo games and then a few of our members will be bringing and showing off a few of their favorite plants. Be sure to mark your calendars, because you won’t want to miss this party. We really do have a lot to celebrate!  See you there!

 

 

 

THE GREAT ORCHID SALE – Saturday April 9, 2016 – 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

The San Fernando Valley Orchid Society is pleased to announce it’s first annual Orchid Sale.   This is our major fundraising event of the year and we hope to raise enough funds to pay for our expenses, educational programs and fabulous speakers for the remainder of the year.

This sale is open to the public.   We have managed to procure some really beautiful orchid plants,  most of which are in bud or in bloom.   We were able to get many of them from Hawaii, and the rest are from great California growers.    Our members will be on hand to answer any questions you may have at the show.   We will have a plant hotel to hold your selections until you are ready to check out and take your prized plants home.   We will also be serving light refreshments.     This is a great opportunity to find our more about our society and our friendly and knowledgeable members.

SFVOS Members only:  All members are urged to proudly wear their badge and help out at the sale for as many hours as possible.  You can be a host, greeting prospective buyers and assisting them in selecting plants.  If you find questions you cannot answer, there will be other members who can help. For those of you volunteering to work at the sale we will get our set up started at 9:00 AM.   We need volunteers to help register the buyers and help carry plants to the plant hotel.  We also need a few of you to stay after 2:00 PM to help us clean-up. This is a wonderful opportunity to tell guests about the benefits of membership in our Society:  the educational speakers, the plant opportunity table, and the interchange of ideas and experiences with fellow orchid lovers.  If you have some blooming plants you wish to contribute to the sale please bring them to Ned Daniger’s home:  17351 Nordhoff Street in Northridge on April 7th  between 12:00 noon and 5:00 PM,or you can bring them on the day of the sale, April 9th,  at 9:00 AM to the Sepulveda Garden Center.   This is YOUR opportunity to support our Society.  We look forward to seeing you at the sale!

San Fernando Valley Orchid Society Annual Auction April 2nd

The SFVOS will be holding their annual Orchid Auction on the first Wednesday in April.    The doors open at 7:00 pm so that bidders can preview the beautiful plants before the auction starts. The bidding will start at 7:30 pm, and we will go until we run out of plants.    Refreshments will also be served.

We are very pleased to announce that Doug Overstreet has graciously agreed to be our auctioneer again this year. Doug is very knowledgeable about all orchids as as each plant comes up for bid, Doug gives us a brief description of each plant and describes the type of environment needed for that orchid to thrive.   If you haven’t seen Doug in action,  you must come and learn from his vast wealth of knowledge.

This auction is our major fundraiser for the year, some come out to help support your society.   It is a win-win situation as this is your chance to add some great orchids to your collection at bargain prices, while helping the SFVOS fund it’s various activities throughout the year. Come early to get a good seat and have enough time to check out all the orchid plants that will be put up for bid. 

The auction will be held at the Sepulveda Garden Center,  just like our regular meetings.  For the address, directions and a map, see the home page of this website.    You don’t need to be a member of the SFVOS to attend.  Guests are always welcome.     Plan to attend this great auction and bring a guest!   See you there.

 

Santa Barbara International Orchid Show 2014

Mark your calendar.   The Santa Barbara International Orchid Show is almost here.  It is always a great show with beautiful displays of every type of blooming orchid put together by Orchid Societies and Orchid Vendors. There are classes taught by experts and there is a huge room filled with vendors selling orchid plants and supplies.   If you haven’t already visited this show, it is definitely worth the short drive to Santa Barbara.

Additionally,  many of the Orchid growers that are in or near Santa Barbara hold Open Houses that same weekend so you can drop by the various greenhouses and see where the orchids are propagated and grown.   Mark your calendars.  You won’t want to miss these great events.

58th Annual Paphiopedilum Guild

Mark Your Calendars for this Special Event.

Expert Speaker Presentations

Slipper Orchid Displays • Orchid Sales
*New Location* Montecito Country Club *New Location*
902 Summit Road • Santa Barbara, CA

Saturday & Sunday, January 18-19, 2014

Featured Speakers:
Bill Goldner (Woodstream Orchids – Huntingtown, MD)
David Sorokowsky (Paph Paradise – Modesto, CA)
Dr. Harold Koopowitz (Editor Emeritus, Orchid Digest)
Chris Purver (Curator, Eric Young Orchid Foundation – Jersey, Channel Islands)
Plus a Presentation of the Latest
Paphiopedilum and Phragmipedium Awards by the American Orchid Society

Continental Breakfasts • Lunch • Dinner • Auction
Show & Sales setup at 7:30am Saturday
Lectures starting at 9:00am

Gift Certificates for Best Species and Best Hybrid

Full Event Registration: $95
(Guests of full registrants may accompany registrants to the BBQ & Auction(only) for $35 each)
Registration Closes January 12, 2014

This event is sponsored by Orchid Digest