I have written a few blog post over the last two years showing off some of the amazing gardens that members of the Southern California Palm Society (PSSC) have created. Recently I had the opportunity to tour what is most likely the nicest of all of them in Southern California: the beautiful “Cuesta Linda” garden estate…
Wanderings in the Great Forests of Borneo: Bako National Park
Every two years the International Palm Society (IPS) has a biennial member get-together in some palmy part of the world. Two years ago it was in South Florida. Before that, Thailand. This year, close to 150 palm tree lovers would get together in Borneo and Singapore for the IPS 2016 Biennial. Usually not a fan of…
Summiting Mount Kinabalu on the island of Borneo
For as long as I have been traveling to Southeast Asia, I have had a bucket list of things to do in that region. One item on the list was to summit Mount Kinabalu on the island of Borneo. While it is not the tallest peak in Southeast Asia, which is a commonly shared falsity amongst travelers, it is…
Southern California Spring Garden Show: At Home in The Garden
Earlier today I drove up to Costa Mesa to finally visit the Southern California Spring Garden Show “At Home in The Garden.” I have heard mixed reviews over the years about the show with some years being great and others a waste of time. The biggest complaint I hear from people now is that the larger…
Camp Catta and Andringitra Mountains, Madagascar
This is a continuation post from last week on my summit of Peak Boby. I stopped my first post at my breakfast break on day 2 in the Andringitra Mountains. I will now continue on with the second half of day two and include day three, which was spent around Camp Catta. This will be the post palm…
Mount Ibity, Antsirabe, Madagascar
After saying goodbye to all who attended the International Palm Society’s annual board meeting, it was time to get on a plane and fly back to Antananarivo and start my journey south. Ten days in the rainforest and it was time for a drastic change of scenery. My destination? Mount Ibity—just outside the second largest…
IPS Annual Board Meeting on Sainte Marie Island, Madagascar
The first part of my month-long trip through Madagascar was spent around Andasibe. I’ve blogged about those four days over the last few weeks here. The second stop of the ten key areas I would visit was to Sainte Marie Island (now known as Nosy Boraha) for the annual Board of Director’s meeting for a non-profit organization I serve on….
First-time flowers on my Cattleya and Miltonia orchids
There are some plants that you just can’t seem to grow no matter the effort. You love them too much to quit, though. So you keep fighting the good fight. I am not talking about the plants that are just outside your zone and die with each passing winter. I am referring to plants that…