January 2025 Newsletter

Happy New Year Orchid Friends! 

This past year has been memorable, in many regards. For WNCOS,  Asheville Orchid Festival ‘House of Orchids’ was one of our best shows ever. The success of the event was due entirely to the hard work of our members and the abundance of blooming orchids contributed by all! Looking back, we also had many great speakers at our monthly meetings, like Bill Thoms, Russ Vernon, Mark Reinke and Stephen Benjamin. And let’s not forget our own Marion Allen, who created The New Growers Club. Topping it off, the Holiday Social attracted the best attendance ever, as we geared up to gather once more, post-Helene. 

Obviously, many of us in Western North Carolina have experienced some level of damage or devastation due to the storm. With hard work and a lot of help from our friends, we are looking forward to a bright path ahead. 

On that note, in January we will return to our new venue—the historic Ivy Building on the A-B Tech campus. To usher in the New Year, my lovely wife, Leslie Keller, will entertain us with a presentation on London’s Chelsea Flower Show. She will share much about our recent experience attending this phenomenal extravaganza—perhaps the greatest flower show on earth—including the role orchids now play at Chelsea.  

As usual, you can expect a hardy raffle table. Snacks to share with the group are always welcome, and of course, bring in those Show-&-Tell beauties!

See you on January 12th at the Ivy Building, 9 Genevieve Circle, Asheville 28801. The meeting starts at 2:00pm, but come early and socialize with your orchid friends.

P.S. Your annual membership dues are due this month.