A Saturday To Remember - By Dan Chiappone
As many of you know by now, Lil Severin passed away in August. She maintained three
Greenhouses, which comprised her hobby and business known as 'Severin Orchid Farm' in
Cupertino. To liquidate her estate, a sale was held on Saturday September 12. Having heard
good things about Lil and her orchids, we didn't want to arrive late for the sale, only to
receive leftovers. At 10 am sharp the Sale assistants lifted the rope and the stampede was
on. Empty boxes were snatched up from the ground as everyone ran to the greenhouses.
Nancy and I climbed the yard steps to reach the two greenhouses on higher ground. We
bypassed the one for Cymbidiums, never to discover if there were any other types of
orchids there. As we entered the other one we were confronted with thousands of orchids.
At first we calmly discussed the merits of each plant, but as we noticed others just
stuffing boxes, we soon decided to be less picky. In the lower greenhouse, we felt the
moist tropical atmosphere on our skin. There were two levels with a waterfall running down
from the top level. Here were all the exotic, species that we had heard stories about. We
found bulbophyllums, masdevallias, miltonias, xylobiums, Liparises, pleurothalids,
Chysises, and myriad hanging orchids we had never heard of. Although we were selecting
strange and oddly named orchids we decided we would learn about them later. The highest
priced orchid we had selected was $15. We were astounded and at the same time ecstatic. In
one afternoon we had managed to stock our greenhouse with over sixty orchids, of which ten
to fifteen were foreign to us.
We left for home anxious to review our new orchids more closely. They are still in
isolation and we check them day and night for signs of predators. After a week we'll move
them into the greenhouse. We were cautioned that some of the labels might not be accurate,
and a few that did not completely identify the orchid. Oh well. Now, we can't wait to be
surprised when they bloom.
INDOOR/OUTDOOR GROWERS GROUP NEWS
Next I/OGG meeting is being planned for November 14, at Ray Vickers-Trask's house in
Oakland. He is a prolific Indoor grower and has many orchids in bloom throughout out the
year. More info plus time and directions will be forth coming in the next newsletter and
at the society meeting. - Dan C.
FOR SALE: LEAN-TO GREENHOUSE
It appears we will be unable to get back into this hobby for another 5 or 6 years.
Therefore, we are placing our greenhouse up for sale. It is 12 ft x 7 ft x 8 ft. It is a
lean-to fiberglass greenhouse and is still in pretty good shape. We are hoping to sell it
for $750 or best offer. Anyone interested can contact us at home (after 8:30 P.M.) or
contact me during the day - CHRISTINA FONG
WORKING COMMITTEES- The DVOS is still looking for people to man committees for the upcoming calendar year. Specifically, Membership, Equipment, Editor, '99 SFOS Show Chair, '99 DVOS Show Chair, Greenhouse Tours, Indoor/Outdoor Growing Group and more. Please contact Kathy Barrett if you want to help! -KB
OCTOBER GROWING TIP
October is a good month to change out your fluorescent light tubes. Over time the bulbs
will begin to dim, and this gradual change may not be readily discernable to your eye. Bob
Gordon has written that October is as good a month as any for this change. Actually, in
the upcoming dull winter months your plants will appreciate the brighter light from new
bulbs. I have purchased the really expensive tubes and the really cheap ones, and find
that both perform equally well. Many people will mix cool white and daylight tubes with
success. To each their own, what ever works for you. -KB
UPCOMING EVENTS-
The San Francisco Orchid Show is coming up in February, and we were wondering if we should
put on a display again. Please come to the meeting and voice your opinion. Frank *thinks*
the theme this year is 'A Melody of Orchids'. We will need volunteers and someone to head
up the event. Interested parties should contact Frank Fordyce or Kathy Barrett.
Pauline Brault will be organizing a winter auction to make up for the fact that the Diablo View Orchid Society will not be able to organize a Fall Show and Sale as we had hoped. It just gets harder every year to find a (free) site for the show. This year The Willows shopping center was fully leased (Gasp!) and so couldn't lend us a space for the show as they had in years past. Next year we will be looking for a place with good foot traffic, good visibility for an October show, so keep your weather eye out for a likely spot for next Fall. We will need someone to head up the Show and volunteers to man it, but there's plenty of time to think about this later (isn't that what Scarlet O'Hara said???)
Apologies to Rick Sumner, editor, who went out of his way to give me the newsletter templates, which I obviously did not use. Although the templates were very usable, I just couldn't take the time to learn a new program right now. Rick, that lucky bum, is on vacation, so you had to put up with me! -KB