On December 19,
some thirty people attended the PSST second annual Christmas party at the home of John
Dillard and Ed Ladd in Corpus Christi. These two are into decorating for Christmas, and
the yard and house were beautifully and elaborately focused on the holiday, providing a
really great backdrop for the party. This year, a number of people came up from the Valley
for the party, so the crowd was representative of both of the major areas from which PSST
draws its membership. For the first two hours, several groups went their separate ways to
tour the beautifully landscaped campus of Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi, and
the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens.
The major change in the A&M campus since we last visited there is the tremendous growth of the palm plantings, as well as the many other plants that were used in the landscaping. Corpus Christi did not experience a serious freeze last winter, and everything has increased markedly in size, making it a more beautiful place than ever. There have also been major changes at the Botanical Gardens. The greenhouse which has been under construction for some time is finished, and now contains cacti, succulents and other tropicals. The large orchid collection is also looking good, and many species were in bloom. But perhaps the biggest change has been in the palm collection.
As a result of a recent buyout of houses in an old neighborhood which, in the course of refinery construction, has become an undesireable area for residences, Koch Industries purchased many homes, and along with them, some very large and old Phoenix canariensis. These were donated to the Botanical Gardens, and with the help of the Dusty Durrill Foundation, the palms were moved and replanted at the Gardens. There are currently nine P. canariensis and 3 Sabal texana in place. (The Spring Bulletin will carry a more detailed account of this operation.) We are still hopeful that we will be able to begin the palm demonstration plot in 1999, and it will be adjacent to the new and large plantings.
On the return from
the tours, lunch was served. Ed and John had prepared a smoked turkey, and Bill and Kelley
Burhans from Houston had brought a ham. With these two monster pieces of meat as a
foundation, other members added side dishes and, as usual, no one went hungry. The
desserts were equally incredible. Surrounded by the decorations and all of the food and
sweets, it would have been difficult to mistake this as anything but a Christmas party.
Following lunch, gifts were distributed. The plan was for each member to bring a palm
related gift, and then to distribute these by drawing. In the main, this worked out
satisfactorily, but a gift exchange without glitches wouldn't be proper gift exchange.
Included in the gifts were excellent prints of palms, an original computer-modified
photograph by Gary Meiser, many small palms, several baskets of fruit from the Valley
(grown adjacent to palms, we are told!), books, Christmas tree ornaments, palm decorated
mugs and other items, and posters. Despite the fact that several people drew numbers
corresponding to the gifts they had brought (at which point, Ed Ladd frantically switched
stickers on the gifts), all went well. We also had seeds of Sabal yapa and Jubaea
chilensis for which a drawing was held.
Many of the Bulletins and Newsletters from the groups with which we exchange were available, and members had an opportunity to see what people in other parts of the country are doing with their local chapters. There was a short "business meeting" at which no business was discussed. We now have 91 members and exchanges, and renewals are going well. The Bulletin editor announced that the spring Bulletin will contain articles on the Mexico trip, palms of Cameron County, the palms of Argentina, the old date palm experimental station in Dimmit County, the IPS Biennial meeting in Thailand, and several others as yet not fully committed. Most members started moving home around 5 p.m., but a few "hangers-on" remained to critique the affair. The main conclusion was that everyone had a great time and most of us learned something new about palms.
Meeting summary by Bill Bittle, photos by Ed Ladd and Gary Meiser
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where's the next meeting? Click here to find out Join PSST or get a PSST t-shirt This page created and hosted by Have questions about palms and gardening? Check out these message boards:
|
