July 2022

Greetings WNCOS Members and Orchid Friends,

This month we will have Bill Thoms in person on Sunday, July 10th. Another incredible speaker and longtime friend of the WNCOS. If you were here with us and Bill Thoms several years back, I’m sure you remember his hilarious jokes and adult comedy that he naturally deployed while capturing our minds and ears with his wealth of orchid expertise. Bill is an internationally recognized speaker, an avid enthusiast who has been growing, collecting, and breeding for many years. He and his wife have moved to the upstate of South Carolina and plan to become involved with the WNCOS. Please join us in person this Sunday at 2:00 pm and help us welcome Bill to the area.

Bill will be selling his books and magic orchid potions.  We’ll have a raffle table full of plants and look forward to seeing what all our members are currently blooming with our Show and Tell segment of the meeting. If you already have one of Bill’s books, have you had it personally signed by him yet?

But, before Sunday we’d also like to remind our membership of the open monthly plant judging with the American Orchid Society at their Carolina’s Judging Center. This is located on the campus of Stowe Botanical Gardens near Belmont and Gastonia. If you’re taking plants to enter for judging, they ask that you have them on site by 12:00 on Saturday. From Asheville, it’s about a 2-hour drive and is always an incredible opportunity for further orchid education. As a special announcement/teaser here, the WNCOS will proudly host the judges from The Carolina Judging Center on Sunday, August 14th right here in Asheville. We have hosted the CJC many times over the years and it has always been an incredible event. Groom your summer bloomers and be ready to exhibit them for AOS judging on 8/14/22. Like Graham Ramsey has always told our members, anyone can grow an award-winning orchid. But you must show up and you’ve got to bring in your flowering orchid to pull it off. Over the years, our members have proven this to be true time and time again.

We hope all of you are staying busy and having a wonderful summer! Stay well friends.

Special note: Graham plans to enhance the raffle table with some of his phrag seedlings. Everyone should go home with a new plant.

Thank you!

Mike Mims

President, WNCOS