LA BALLONA VALLEY BROMELIAD SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

                            OCTOBER 2009

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                              Meeting

Meeting: Wednesday, 28 October at 7:30 pm in the Rotunda Room at the
Veterans Memorial Hall.

Speaker: LBVBS member Bryan Chan will talk about "Growers and Growing:
A Perspective"

Raffle: Jerry Sternberg will supply the Raffle Table

Drinks:  Mohamed El-Tawasny and Tom Rozelle

Food:  Nels Christianson, Jan Golden, and Jan Gove


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From Denise Pidd:


                             Garden Hop 

I want to thank Beverly Clark, Marsha Steinberg, Willie and Deionne
Tarver, and Jim Jaeger for letting us come to their homes for our
annual garden hop.  It was a tremendous success.  Many members
participated.  And for those of you who couldn't, you missed some very
lovely gardens and interesting plants.

Our first stop was Beverly Clark's, and I'm sorry for the incorrect
address on the directions.  But for those of us who found her home, we
were treated to a wonderful display of bromeliads, tropicals, cacti,
water plants, and fish with statuary of African animals mixed in
throughout her yard.  Beverly sells plants and then donates the
proceeds to buy supplies to set up schools in Kenya.

Next, we went to Marsha Steinberg's.  In her front yard, she had some
very interesting succulents and a crinum with a beautiful purple/pink
bloom that everyone would have liked to take home.  But alas, it was a
bulb which thankfully no one tried to dig up.  Most of her plants are
planted in the ground and of course she had everything from
succulents, bromeliads, cymbidium orchids, fuscias, and gingers to
name a few.

Next, we went to Deionne and Willie Tarver's.  All of their plants are
planted in pots.  The flower beds have sand and in some places river
rock and then the pots on top.  Willie said thery take care of the
beds with a shop vac.  I must get one of those.  They had a huge and
beautiful koi pond with lotus growing in it, a collection of plumerias
in every color, and a privacy screen on the driveway of bamboo.  And
of course too many other plants to name.  And across the street they
own a home they call their nursery, with the whole yard covered with
potted plants for sale.

And last, we went to Jim Jaeger's.  The whole back yard was very
shady, with several large trees and a greenhouse.  He had bromeliads,
orchids, and cacti to name a few, and Jim had his clippers out and was
giving plants and cuttings away right and left.  I think everyone went
home with a cutting of a tape worm plant, which we're going to call a
ribbon plant (sounds nicer).  You could see how he is able to bring
such interesting plants to show and tell.

Once again, thank you one and all.  We had a wonderful day.  We could
tell that each of you loved your gardens and were having fun with
them.  And thank you for the cuttings and plants, you were all so
generous in sharing plants.

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From Don Misumi:

                          Holiday Luncheon


The Holiday Luncheon will be at 12:00 pm on Saturday, December 12, at
El Torito, 3360 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica.  The cost is $10 per
person and includes everything except alcoholic beverages (chips and
salsa, choice of entree, choice of dessert, soft drink).

Please call Don at (XXX)XXX-XXXX if you have any questions and see
Emmit to sign up (we need some idea of how many people will attend).

Editor's note: The Luncheon is a really fun event!  As you are aware,
there are no meetings in November and December because of the
holidays.  Amidst the busy-ness of holiday preparations and
activities, the Luncheon is a welcome chance to relax for a bit and
enjoy the company of your LBVBS friends.  The Plant Exchange is always
great fun too -- bring a nice, wrapped bromeliad if you want to
participate (the wrapping need not be fancy, a paper bag or anything
else which hides the plant will do).  Unfortunately, it is impossible
to find a date and time when everyone can attend, but for those of you
who can make it, the more the merrier and, of course, friends and
family are welcome!

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                        Administrivia

The La Ballona Valley Bromeliad Society meets the fourth Wednesday of
each month, January through October, in the Rotunda Room at Veterans'
Memorial Hall, 4117 Overland Avenue, Culver City.

Emmit Willis, President
Jim Jaeger, Vice-President
Don Misumi, Treasurer
Gloria Grover, Membership
Jean Yoshii, Newsletter (Have an item for the newsletter?  Please
  email it to (email address redacted) or mail it through the post.)