BACPS Bulletin
August 2004

Summer Plant Show

by Stephen Davis

Well, folks, once again it's just about here. The summer show is set to go on Sunday, September 19, from 12 noon to 4 pm at the Lakeside Park Garden Center at Lake Merritt in Oakland. Earlier for those of you who will be entering plants for show or sale.

A poster is available for members to download. Please download and print the posters and take them to your favorite nursery or garden club, or post them on your college campus. We do not have a team doing it this year, so if you don't do it, far fewer people will have a chance to see your incredible plants.

Last year was such a huge success that we grew out of our beloved site at the UC Botanical Garden in Berkeley, and have moved to the Garden Center at Lake Merritt for the show only. This is a location used by many orchid, bonsai, and other plant clubs for their shows and should allow more room to display and sell plants. The Garden Center is located at 666 Bellevue Avenue in Oakland. For more information about the Lakeside Park Garden Center, including driving directions, see their website.

Please note that our success last year also meant that judging took much longer than expected. Because of this, many people came and went without seeing the display plants. This year, the judging will start earlier so that it will be done as close to opening time as possible. This means plants to be entered into the show must come in earlier. We realize this will make it a little harder for some, but it will be well worth it as so many more people will have a chance to see your prize plants! Go to the photo albums to see the plant displays from last year.

The show is open to anyone wishing to Display or Sell plants. We encourage all members to display as many specimens as possible. If you would prefer not to enter into the competition, there will be a place for non-competitive display.

The format for the show is as follows:

9:00 am-10:30 am: Display plant registration and setup

All registrants must fill out a plant registration form at the table outside the display room. If you want to save time, forms are posted on the BACPS web site in two formats, Microsoft Word and PDF, and you can print and fill them out before you arrive. Once plants have been registered at the front desk, volunteers will be available in the display room to help with the placement of the plants and direct exhibitors to where their entries should be placed, for example where all the Nepenthes plants are staged and where all the CP planters go. Individuals who are not displaying plants will not be allowed to enter the display area prior to 12 noon. Registrants who are displaying plants are to set up their displays and then immediately leave the display area to avoid unnecessary congestion and disturbance to other participants.

9:00 am-Noon: Vendor registration and setup

Vendors must check in at the registration table where their name will be checked off from a master list. Anyone wishing to sell plants should register in advance by emailing me. Include your name and name of your business, if applicable, telephone number, and the amount of table space required in feet. This is necessary to assure that we have reserved space available for you. Vendors who have not registered in advance will have to wait until all pre-registered vendors have arrived and set up. The space will then be granted on a first-come, first-served basis, but there is by no means a guarantee that there will be space available. Please email me at stephenwd@sbcglobal.net to reserve your space.

10:30 am-Noon: Judging of plants will occur

Last year we expected it to only take 45 minutes to an hour, but the turnout was so fantastic it took over 2 hours! This meant that many people came and went without seeing anything but the sale plants! We hope to avoid that this year with an earlier judging. Unfortunately, this does mean that plants must get in earlier. Get to bed early!

There will be an auction and a raffle table. Plants and other related CP items are needed for both tables. If you have only a few plants to sell, try the auction table or co-op with another vendor.

We are creating BACPS flyers to hand out at the front door that give a little background history on the society and its meetings. These can be used throughout the year and can be given out to nurseries, garden centers, schools, friends, etc. It is a great way to introduce the BACPS to the general public.

We will need volunteers to help in the following areas:

The display entry categories are as follows:

  1. All genera will automatically create a category: i.e., Nepenthes, Sarracenia, Darlingtonia, Heliamphora, Cephalotus, Dionaea, Drosera, Utricularia/Genlisea, Pinguicula, and Other CPs. The categories will not be broken down further into sub-species or species, variants or forms, species or specific hybrids.
  2. Dish gardens, terrariums, and aquariums.
  3. CPs in art. This category can comprise drawings, paintings, sculptures, embroidery, etc., and must have been created by the displayer.
  4. Non-judged. This category allows judges or any individual not vying for an award to display plants.

All plants and dish garden/planter/terrarium/aquarium entries will be judged on excellence of culture and presentation (container, condition of top dressing/soil) and must be groomed and free of all dead growth, weeds, and algae. Containers must be clean and free of dirt, glue from old nursery stickers, cracks and/or breaks. If necessary, plants should be staked or supported to present the plant to its best ability.

The displayer must have grown all plant entries for a minimum of six months.

The winner from each category will receive a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place ribbon. The Best of Show winners will receive the following:

Please join us for a truly memorable event. This is an excellent opportunity to show off your best specimens, make some great new friends... and buy some great new plants. I hope to see you all there proudly displaying your beautiful plants. Please feel free to email me at stephenwd@sbcglobal.net if you have any questions, to reserve sales table space, or in case I have left anything out.

(Many thanks to Gary Ockey for the photographs of last year's judges -- Kari Perlman, Peter D'Amato, and Geoff Wong -- and Phil Faulisi's Nepenthes veitchii.)

The BACPS Bulletin serves as a monthly forum for members to make CP-related announcements: events, want ads, items for sale, information sought, growing tips, etc. Submissions must be received by Tony Gridley (tgridley@comcast.net) by the 23rd of the month prior to publication.

BACPS
825 Bennington St.
Manteca, CA 95336
www.bacps.org