Visiting the Oregon Orchid Society’s Show and Sale

Last Saturday I went to the Oregon Orchid Society’s 80th Anniversary Orchid Show & Sale. Eighty years is quite the accomplishment for a plant society, by contrast the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon (HPSO) is "only" 41 years old. 

This was my first time attending the show. While I enjoy perusing the offerings at the Andy's Orchids booth at the Seattle Flower & Garden Show (and yes, buying one or two) I'm not a hardcore orchid enthusiast. When I do buy one of Andy's mounted orchids it's because the foliage speaks to me. On that note (foliage) I remember friends who attended this show in the past came away with interesting ferns, so that, plus my general curiosity is what got me through the door.

Interesting! I remember how excited I was when I found a small Calypso bulbosa (aka calypso orchid, or fairy slipper) up near Mt Hood a couple years ago (pic here).

I've been to several HPSO events in this space (the ballroom of the Smith Memorial Student Union at Portland State University), it was fun to be there for an entirely different (yet still plant-focused) event.

This booth belonged to Orquideas Amazonicas, a family-owned nursery from Moyobamba, Peru, that specializes in "the propagation and cultivation of South American orchid species and tropical plants, especially those native to Peru" (source). SERFOR (the name on the boxes) is the Peruvian National Forestry and Wildlife Service (Servicio Nacional Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre) and their primary function is to promote the sustainable management of the country's wildlife. SERFOR is also the CITES Management Authority for Peru, responsible for regulating trade in endangered species (source).

That brings me to one of the things I thought was most impressive about the show; vendors from all over the world! The OOS website has a list of their vendors which includes PNW locals, along with companies from Taiwan, Thailand, Ecuador and more. There are also links to inventory lists, and preorder deadlines. You could order from Ecuador and they'd bring your plants to the show! Of course I'd searched in advance to see if there were any pyrrosia on offer, but (sadly) there were not.

 Still at the Orquideas Amazonicas booth, Cyathea arborea...

And...Oh! Hmm. I was just here to look, not buy. The show opened at 10 and I wasn't there until nearly 1pm. I figured all the really good stuff would be gone by then. But this Niphidium crassifolium certainly qualifies as good stuff...

"Niphidium crassifolium, commonly known as the graceful fern, is a species of fern in the family Polypodiaceae found in Central and South America. It is predominantly epiphytic, growing on other plants—for example, in the canopies of trees—but occasionally grows on rocks or on the ground, particularly at higher altitude. It has a rhizome from which many fine rootlets covered in dark reddish-brown scales grow. Together they form a root basket that, when growing on trees, helps to trap leaf litter and dust, forming a nutrient-rich soil that holds water. It is reported to be able to survive consecutive days of freezing temperatures down to −7 °C (19 °F)." (source)

SOLD!

Here's the other side of the booth...

Where I found this...

Another fern, which I really (really) wanted. But I did not buy. Budget. Ugh.

Moving on...

Oh my...

Look at that cutie!

Blue oil fern with longer fronds.

Those of you reading in places that grow tillandsia outdoors will be amazed at the price of this clump.

$75! Good lord.

Now I think I've seen it all. A small orchid mounted on the bottom of a terracotta pot, with rocks. Oh my.

Of course there were lots and lots of beautiful blooming orchids.

Hey, I know that guy. 

Dick Van Ingen of the Dick's Greenhouse adventures. I have four pieces of his pottery, the most recent addition to the collection came from Gerhard when I visited CA last month. I didn't get a chance to ask Dick why he wasn't using a colorful glaze any longer.

In case you're wondering about the "show" part of the title, there was a show of member plants, like this Pleurothallis cypripedioides.

Naturally the show plants were all about the blooms, it was interesting (if slightly overwhelming) to see so many different orchids all blooming in close proximity to each other. I didn't get the name of this one.

Or this one.

But this crazy business! It's a Dracula minax (yes really), and the bloom is coming out the bottom of the pot. Check it out, it's a hanging container laying on its side...

The bloom is pretty fabulous.

This is another Pleurothallis cypripedioides. I didn't realize I'd zeroed in on two different versions of the same plant until I was editing my photos.

I love how the small flowers hang below the foliage.

So back to my fern, the Niphidium crassifolium. Looking at photos of it online that I had a sense that I'd seen it before, sure enough, when I visited Lotusland in 2023 I saw it in the fern garden there...

Once I opened up the cellophane it was wrapped in I loved it even more.

And although I haven't taken off the bottom wrappings yet (around the roots) it appears I may actually have two plants, the one with the super tall leaves/fronds...

And a smaller one in front. 

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All material © 2009-2025 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

My last '24 Fling post; the Sparler/Schouten Garden

Our July 2024 Puget Sound Fling visit to the Sparler/Schouten garden was my second opportunity to take in the fabulousness of this garden. I'd previously visited in June of 2022 as part of the NPA Study Weekend.

Here's part of the garden description from our Fling booklet: "We call it the Garden of Exuberant Refuge, but it’s bound to evoke other “e” words for visitors: exotic, eccentric, erratic or even egregious in the many ways it flouts convention. Design purists beware! If you see anything remotely tasteful, we assure you it’s purely coincidental. Now in its 33^rd outrageous year, this is a collector’s garden in which the wild and wacky plants have taken over the asylum."

The fist time I visited this garden I went through the spaces to the left of the driveway first (taking the pathway shown above), and came up through the plantings on sunny side of the house to finish the tour. This time I reversed my steps.

Sunny side first!

The plants up against the brick house are treated to an enclosure over the winter, during Seattle's rainy season. I wrote a short post back in 2023 that shows the lengths these guys go to protect their plants, if you're curious you can see that here.

Variegated Agave victoriae-reginae.

Stepping into the back garden now, and here's more of the garden description: "In addition to stuffing our 1/3-acre lot with cosmopolitan plants representing upwards of 4700 taxa, we installed a network of pathways to link patios, shady resting spots, an elevated circular pond with dripping columns, a viewing pavilion, and a tiled, tiny Italianate “piazza,” all of which we designed and built with our own hands. Every bit of this garden is do-it-yourself."

I was rather shocked at how perfectly spiraled this spiral cactus (Cereus forbesii 'spiralis') was. I've seen many of these in gardens and nurseries and it's kinda rare that one maintains such an even pattern.

If you didn't click on the post I linked to earlier about how the pair overwinters the containers I'm giving you another chance now (here).

I find their dedication rather remarkable, as one crazy container collector gardener to another.

There are many aeonium in the garden.

And of course several pseudopanax, both P. ferox and P. crassifolius. On the right below is a P. ferox planted in the ground.

At the base of the viewing pavilion mentioned in the garden description, Aloe plicatilis.

A wide-shot of the same area.

There are several tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) of various sizes around the garden.

I'm particularly fond of this tiled pond at the backside of the viewing pavilion. I believe there is a small leak that means it's not currently able to hold water.

Columns of the "Italianate piazza."

Agave parryi

And now I've back-tracked a bit to take photos of the other pseudopanax in the ground. Apologies to Daniel, as I can't remember exactly what was damaged by winter of 2023/24, but I think what you're seeing here is new growth from the base.

One of two tall plants showing some serious die-back.

And another looking better.

Moving on thru the back garden now, preparing to walk on up the opposite (shady) side.

I wish I remembered what this is. The foliage reminds me of a kid's kaleidoscope that you twist and the patterns drop into place subtly different than what came just before.

More tree ferns...

And one of those rare bromeliad/tree fern hybrids. AKA when your tree fern dies but you want to do something interesting with its trunk.

Colorful pop!

Moving back into the front garden now.

Can you make out those two trunks that were cut back about waist high?

They were once tetrapanax trunks.

I think I told people on the Fling I thought they'd been lost to winter cold, but that may not have been correct. Whatever the reason the make nice perches for the local frogs.

I was glad to see the monkeys were still hanging out.

Begonia bonfire, I believe.

I've almost come full circle now, from my first image.

But there are still a few more vignettes to share.

Here's the elevated circular pond...

With dripping columns...

Up near the house again, these totems are new since my last visit.

They caught my eye, but then I noticed the the large leaves with an outline...Farfugium japonicum 'Kinkan' I believe. What a great plant to wrap up this visit. Thank you Daniel and Jeff for letting us Flingers wander your garden!

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