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| The Palm Society of South Texas met for lunch at the Back 40 Restaurant in Rockport on September 16th. The completed t-shirt design by Ellen Fehrenkamp was on display and sales officially began. From the restaurant we caravaned to Bob Harris' house for the palm auction. The bidding was brisk for the coveted Jubaea chilensis, an attractive and hard to find palm which is hardy to at least 20°. John and Blake Volk of San Antonio and Chuck and Chuck McLendon of Dripping Springs were especially keen on this exceptional cold hardy palm. The Volks were the lucky winners. Next on the bidding list was a well-established clump of Rhapis excelsa. The McLendons were the happy winners of that bid. The McHaneys bid on several palms and came back the next week to dig up their Roystonea regia and Cocothrinax. |
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 Kay and Jim McHaney and Chuck McLendon |
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 Jim McHaney found these containers on the internet and brought his purchases to the meeting to show other members. He found them at Stuewe and Sons Inc in Oregon, which is a company dedicated to reforestation efforts. We doubt they'll mind if we use them for palms instead of Douglas firs. http://www.stuewe.com |
 After the auction, we caravanned to the Rockport Center for the Arts to see the progress of Bill Bittle's Memorial Garden. It is a portion of a larger project which has been in planning stages for 10 years. The centerpiece of the Sculpture Garden is Kent Ullberg's statue "Rites of Spring". The dedication and unveiling date is September 24, 2000. |
 John and Blake by the "Rites of Spring". The Rockport Center for the Arts is located at 902 Navigation Circle. |
To the right is the Bill Bittle Memorial Garden, a portion of the
Sculpture Garden at the Rockport Art Center. Newly planted Sabal mexicana parallel
the walkway. The Rhapis excelsa 'Daikokuten' is a rare palm donated by Lynn
McKamey of Rhapis Gardens. Behind the
fence is the Syagrus/Butia cross provided by Grant Stephenson of Horticultural Consultants
in Houston. The cycad donated by John Anderson was finally identified as a Dioon
mejaie. Unfortunately, the best spot for growing conditions was not the best
spot for viewing. It should, however, be happy in the ground and reward us with
generous growth so that visitors can see it better. Many thanks to Bob Harris for coordinating the plans with the landscape architect, Doug Wade. Many thanks also go to Bill Burhans of Houston for transporting the Syagrus/Butia to Ingleside, and to Gaby and Gunter Schmidt for taking care of the palm in the interim. |
 The newly planted palm grove (taken the day of the official opening Sepember 24) To see the progress of the Sculpture Garden over the last several months, visit the Bill Bittle Memorial Garden page. |
 Above is a Phoenix palm with lots of seeds too high for us to reach. The leaves have a bluish tint, leading us to believe it may be a cross between a P. canariensis and a P. dactylifera. |
After viewing the Sculpture Garden at the Rockport Art Center, the day was
still young. Eager to view some more palms, some members trekked into Corpus Christi
to visit the Texas A&M campus (aka TAMUCC). The University deserves many kudos
for a terrific landscape. TAMUCC is along Shoreline drive, near the Naval Air
Station. Some of the many plants of interest at the University are Hawaiian
hibiscus, Pride of Barbados, Washingtonia filifera, Coral bean trees, Esperanza,
Trachycarpus and bamboo. |
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