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California Chapter American Rhododendron Society Cal Chapter News

Our annual Flower Show & Sale is April 9 & 10, in Oakland.

 April 21 Member meeting and program. Speaker Tim Walsh

Location: Time: (open to public)

Lakeside Park Garden Center

666 Bellevue Ave.

Oakland

 April 9 April 10

Saturday Sunday

10:00 – 5:00 10:00 – 4:00

2004 Cal Chapter Annual Show & Sale – April 9-10

This year’s show and sale will be held at the Lakeside Park Garden Center (Cal Chapter’s meeting place in Oakland). The Show is always a lot of fun for all. Board member Primo Facchini is chairing the event. Volunteers are needed – you do not have to be an expert to help with the show or sale. There is a job for everyone. Please volunteer by leaving a message for Primo at (925) 837-6790 or just come. .

Saturday Lunch is served to all judges and workers. Inge Grethe, our Vice President, has very graciously volunteered to do the luncheon, and Inge will need help. Please phone Inge at (510) 865-5152, or Email her at iwarwel@comcast.net

Notice: Workers on the 12:00 to 2:00 shift can eat lunch at 11:30.

Setup is Friday afternoon (4/8) starting at 2:00pm. We should finish in a couple of hours. This involves setting up all the tables, with the tablecloths, and filling and placing the water bottles for the trusses.

Takedown begins Sunday (4/10) at 4:00pm. The bonus of helping with Takedown is that those trusses (that were going to be thrown away) can be taken home for cuttings. Many of us have beautiful plants that came from those cuttings from past shows.

Registration begins at 8:00am Saturday (4/9). This involves putting the information from the entrants on to the entry cards and placement of the flower trusses on the tables. We can use many members to help with this really enjoyable task.

The Plant Sale, open to the public, is on Saturday afternoon (10:00-5:00) and Sunday (10:00-4:00). Plant Sale volunteers assist visitors with questions or help at the sales tables (generally, 2-hour shifts).

Greeters are needed. We need greeters at the door for all the time periods the show is open to the public.

Bring your flowers – Trusses, Sprays, Plants, or Arrangements. Bring them Saturday morning (8:00-9:30am). You can bring them on Friday (4:00-5:00pm). Without the plant material, there is no show&ldots; Don’t be shy! Even an imperfect flower may be the only one of its type at the show. It is important that we show a good cross section of flowers and plants that are available in our part of the world.

Entries for the Show:

Please, please try to get your entries in as early as possible, hopefully between 8:00 and 9:00 on Saturday morning, and certainly by 10 A.M., as judging must begin as soon after 10 A.M. as possible so that the public can enter. If you are to have more than a few entries, please contact Paul Anderson at (707) 258-1747 for registration cards that you can fill out in advance.

And don’t forget some of the neglected but worthwhile and fun categories:

1. Sprays- 2 or more trusses on a branch. These are impressive and a great chance to prune your rhody too.

2. Plants- Have a nice plant in a pot? A bonsai? With or without flowers, bring it in!

3. Arrangements- either all rhododendrons, or mixed with some rhododendrons. Your arrangement can be big or subtle and tiny. We’d love to see it.

4. Foliage- Bring in a whorl or a spray of foliage in any of the four categories, which encompasses all rhododendrons: glabrous (smooth), bullate (puckered), indumented (furry or hairy, usually on the leaf underside), and big leaf (subsections grandia or falconera or their hybrids).

April meeting April 21 Tim Walsh of Eureka will give his talk on “Rhododendrons we’ve met: Right side up, Upside down, and Sideways.’ Tim grew up in Eureka but had no interest in rhododendrons except for the occasionally bloom he snitched from his aunt’s house to sell, He joined the Eureka Chapter in 1989, became president in 1992, put on the successful Western Regional in 1993. He has been ARS treasurer since 1997. He and his lovely wife June have traveled everywhere so he will have some lively tales to tell. We will be going to dinner before the meeting at Ta-Ke Sushi Japanese Restaurant 357 Grand Ave at 5:30. Please call Barbara Campbell 510 524 8143 if you would to join us for dinner meet this neat couple up close and personal.

Future Events – Mark your calendar!

April 21, 2005 Member Meeting & Program: Speaker – Tim Walsh, Eureka Chapter

April 16-17 Eureka Chapter Garden Tours and Plant Sale

April 21 Eureka Chapter mini flower show

April 23-24, 2005 Noyo Chapter Show and Plant Sale – Fort Bragg

May 14-15, 2005 Eureka Chapter Garden Tours and Plant Sale

May 19, 2005 Cal Chapter Meeting & Program: Speaker – Sherla Bertelmann, Hawaii Chapter

June 16, 2005 Cal Chapter Potluck Dinner, with slide-show from Member’s pictures

Cal Chapter News

Marvin Larsen, Editor