Palm Society of South Texas (PSST)

Welcome to the Watson's

The beauty of spring time on the island....

(Please note: Placing the cursor over a picture gives you some info on it....)

house (14132 bytes)

Bismarckia and Syagrus palms out front....

As usual around 12 noon, PSST members arrived at our hosts home for the monthly meeting. As most guests arrived Suzie greeted guest while she waited for Jon to get home from Doctor duty. As members enjoy liquid refreshments prior to lunch they casually admired Jon and Suzie's yard to include their great deck which is water side on one of the inlet bays.

members chatting about the palms(14132 bytes)

members talking on the deck (14132 bytes)

Members in and around the yard...

As members were going around the yard Jon returned home to enjoy the opportunity to talk about his collection. Soon it was time to eat and once again Suzie out did herself with some fantastic dishes from south of the border.

chow time (14132 bytes)

Members getting their food and enjoying it on the deck

After the meal was complete, we had a quick society meeting and discussed the up coming side trip, to the Corpus Christi Botanical Garden. We discussed how we were going out to see the progress the gardens have seen over the past couple of years and to evaluate the best way PSST could get involved with the garden. Additionally, during the meeting we discussed trying to get a volunteer to fill Van's Valley Vice-Chairman position as well as the need for a host for the month of June. After the meeting we all piled in our respective vehicles and headed back to the 'mainland' of Texas and to the gardens.

botanical gardens - picture by Ed Ladd(14132 bytes)

The gardens curator, Nancy, gives a talk on the gardens - picture by Ed Ladd(14132 bytes)

Suzie and Wes sit while listening to the discussions - picture by Ed Ladd(14132 bytes)

members viewing the gardens(14132 bytes)

Being told about the gardens by Curator Nancy.

At the botanical gardens there are some very nice formal gardens to include a rose garden, cactus and succulent garden and a newly planted plumeria garden. There are also native plant trails to follow so that the visitor can see and identify the unique plant life that is endemic to the region. It was clear to our members of the need for a formal palm garden. Even though there are palms in and around the garden, we feel that a formal garden displaying the various types of palms that can be grown in the area is certainly in order. At present, there are a number of issues that need to be resolved before new gardens can be installed to include the building of the new entrance to the gardens by the city. Once some of these issues are cleared up, our society will look at the possibility of installing a palm garden. More to come on this... After we all finished touring the gardens it was time to head our separate ways... once again we came and had a fantastic time. We look forward to next months meeting in Harlingen. Till then here are a few more pics from this months meeting.

interesting pot - picture by Ed Ladd(15069 bytes)

Jon talking about the bismarckia (15069 bytes)

Back at the Watson's

A beauty of a bloom (15069 bytes)

The promise of a beautiful growing season to come...

Palm Society of South Texas (PSST)

March 2004, Meeting on North Padre Island, Corpus Christi

Meeting summary by John Volk. Photos by John Volk unless otherwise stated.

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