GeraniumsOnline
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August Field Trip—Comments from Sheri Willebrand
Santa Barbara Orchid Estate This was a fabulous place. The fellow was so knowledgeable and what am amazing array of many kinds of orchids....he had a series of greenhouses connected- together and many in bloom....altho' the best time for orchids is the spring. He seems to be as much a collector as a developer of new hybrids (crosses and pollinating takes some 7 years before they know!!) We stayed for an hour. They are open to the public and said the best time is in March to see things in bloom...so we should plan to return! One thing I learned is that he has moved to gravel to replace bark as the medium in the pots...very interesting!! Website: www.sborchid.com Cal-Orchid, Inc. The fellow was busy pricing orchids for a garden club tour the next day (SLO I think with a large group and BBQ!) Very different type of grower...more into production...so rows and rows of the same type of orchid. He did say that Trader Joe's, Home Depot sells only certain types and he tries to sell to retailers the ones that are great but not as "popularized". This nursery is also open to the public. Website: www.calorchid.com We ate at a nice cafe and went to the Botanical Gardens...I really was hesitant to see what damage last summer's burn did...but amazingly there was little evidence of the fire...pretty amazing how quickly things grew back. I even went by the house I grew up in near the back entrance to the Botanical Gardens Later we visited Terra Sol and wandered a bit, had some dessert and returned home. Nice day!!
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