Palm Society of South Texas (PSST)

Welcome

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This month our society met up in Good Old San Antonio... Our members started showing up at noon to have lunch at the Carriage House Kitchen on the Botanical Gardens property. There we had a wonderful lunch, most of us enjoying the festive salads that this cafe is known for. These salads included flowers from the gardens as well as cactus and various herbs.

A great salads

Jim about to dig in...

If the salad wasn't enough to quench your appetite, then there was always the huge portions of desserts that they serve. Needless to say none of us left the table hungry. After the meal we adjourned to the Education building where we met up with Paul Cox. Paul was going to give us a talk on the history of the gardens as well as take us around to the palm gardens. Paul was an exceptional host and provided us with some interesting history and stories of how some of the palms came to be residents at the gardens.

Paul Cox from SABG briefs our members

Upon finishing up the briefing, Paul escorted us around the grounds to the palm garden. There he continued to discuss various palms and plants that were in the gardens.

Paul briefing members

Members in palm arboretum

Tall trachy palm with needle palms below

Members looking at the tropical palms within the arboretum

African oil palm

Outside the arboretum (picture by Ed Ladd)

Queen sago (picture by Ed Ladd)

Outstanding looking mule palm (picture by Ed Ladd)

After we toured the palm gardens, members had the opportunity to go and enjoy the rest of the botanical gardens. While some members went and did that, others opted to take this opportunity to visit Father Leo's garden at the Oblate School of Theology. Father Leo, a PSST member, has assembled a very impressive palm garden, especially by San Antonio standards. In his collection he has; Butiagrus (mule palm), Acrocomia Mexicana, Livistona Decepiens, Bismarkia Noblis, and bottle palm, foxtail palm, pigmy palm, triangle palm, and the the list goes on and on. One has to appreciate Father Leo's enthusiasm for beautiful palms.

Pictures from Father Leo's garden at Oblate School of Theology

Unusual palms for SA in the garden

Looking back across the garden

Members impressed with this SA garden

Texas hibiscus plant

Acrocomia Mexicana

A beautiful bismarkia (picutre by Ed Ladd)

Palm Society of South Texas (PSST)

Aug 2005, Meeting at the San Antonio Botanical Center, San Antonio

Meeting summary by John Volk. Photos by John Volk unless otherwise stated.

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