The topic of the September meeting is “Mormodes: 182 years of chaos” and the speaker is Gilberto Arrieche. Gilberto is a long time orchid grower and “self-confessed fan of Cattleyas and Catasetinae (especially Mormodes)”. Motivated by his love of these plants and the “over 180 years of confusion in species identification, Gilberto has done a very extensive research project on the genus Mormodes. In so doing, he has developed a multi-part presentation of the many species (more than 80 at last count) – even noting that a considerable number of flowers and plants have been incorrectly identified.  Gilberto has posted numerous pictures of Mormodes species online, several of these on the site www.orchidspecies.com . Among his many achievements, Gilberto has garnered a number of AOS awards for flower quality in his favourite plants.

The meeting will take place in Room 5, Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Road W., Burlington, ON. As usual, the formal meeting will start at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive any time after 1 pm to socialize and interact with vendors. Members and guests welcome.

The speaker for our August meeting is John Alexander. John is a photographer and orchid enthusiast, originally from New Brunswick and now living in Toronto. He has exhibited his orchid photographs at our Annual Show and participates as a vendor of prints, cards and orchid-related collectibles. Johns’s topic for this meeting is described as follows:  “Weird, wild and wonderful –carnivores and other unusual plants (and of course there will be orchids)”. The meeting takes place in Room 5, Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Road West, Burlington Ontario. The formal meeting starts at 2 pm, but you are invited to arrive any time after 1 pm to socialize and interact with vendors. Members and guests welcome.

The Annual OSRBG Picnic/BBQ  will be held at Nancy’s home in Dundas. Arrival is any time after noon.  Members and significant others are invited.  Address information is being sent to all members via Orchidata.  If other details are needed, please contact any member of the Executive. “Basics” (hamburgers and sausages) are being provided by the Society, but members are invited to bring salads, desserts etc. to supplement the menu. Plants or other orchid-related items for the raffle are  appreciated. Lawn chairs are also  a good idea!

All OSRBG members are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting on Sunday June 24, 2018 in Room 5, Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Road W., Burlington Ontario. The meeting starts at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive any time after 1 pm to socialize and interact with vendors. Following the business meeting, there will be more time for socializing over strawberry-themed treats. Contributions to the pot-luck are appreciated (finger food only, please). Also, if you have orchid plants to sell or trade, this is a good opportunity to do so.

Our speaker for the May 27th meeting is Jean Ikeson, an Orchid Judge and well-known member of our Society, who has spoken frequently at our meetings. Jean’s topic for this month’s presentation is “Oncidium fuscaturm and its colourful hybrids”. The meeting  will be held in Room 5 (subject to confirmation), Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Road W., Burlington Ontario. The formal meeting starts at 2 pm, but you are invited to arrive any time after 1 pm to socialize and interact with vendors. Members and guests welcome. 

 This meeting has been cancelled due to weather. Stay home, stay safe.

Our speaker for the April meeting is Joyce Medcalf, an orchid judge who is well-known to OSRBG members as she participates in our annual Shows and has spoken previously to our group. On this occasion, Joyce will talk about “Miniature Oncidinae”. The formal meeting starts at 2 pm, but you are invited to arrive any time after 1 pm to socialize and interact with vendors. Subject to confirmation by RBG, the meeting will take place in Room 5, Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Road W., Burlington, ON.  Members and guests welcome.

To re-pot or not to re-pot, that is the question!  A special invitation to new members who may have joined the Society at the Annual Show –and to existing members– to attend a hands-on potting session, to be held in Room 5, Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Road W., Burlington. The formal meeting starts at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive any time after 1 pm to socialize and interact with vendors. If you have a plant that may need re-potting, bring it along and our experts, Pat Vuurman and Ben Boers, will give you some advice and assistance. Potting media will be provided, but you need to bring pots, secateurs (and gloves if you are so inclined). If all your potting is up to date, come anyway to help others and/or work on plants from the RBG collection.

This is our last meeting before the Annual Show. Show Director Ben Boers and his key advisers will discuss how the event is organized, what has been arranged, and what still needs to be done. This is an opportunity for all members to ask questions, make suggestions and in general help with tweaking the arrangements to make it the best show ever.  The formal meeting starts at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive any time after 1 pm to socialize and interact with vendors. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Room 5, Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Road W., Burlington, ON. Members and guests welcome.

A team of AOS judges from the Toronto judging centre will be joining us at our general meeting. They will select the best plants from our show table to be judged and will talk about the process involved. So clean your plants, stake them and bring them in. Who knows? You might be going home with an AOS awarded orchid.

As usual, the meeting will begin at 2 p.m., with time for socializing and talking to vendors from 1 p.m. onwards. Important: If you have a plant or plants to be considered for judging, please bring them earlier rather than later, to give the judges ample time to look at them. The meeting will take place in Room 5, RBG, 680 Plains Road W., Burlington. Guests are welcome.