The speaker for our January meeting is Alina Furtak. Alina is an accredited AOS Judge and a member of the Toronto Judging Centre. She currently serves as President of the Southern Ontario Orchid Society (SOOS). She is an avid traveller, interested in exploring native orchid habitats. Her passion for orchids goes back many years. At an early age, she was exposed to the world of flowers by her grandmother, who cultivated plants for the local flower market and subscribed to multiple botanical magazines.

Alina’s talk is entitled “The Enchanting Slipper Orchid”, a subject on which she is especially knowledgeable. She recently had two articles published in the 2025 supplement to Orchids Magazine that featured Slipper Orchids. Her presentation will focus on a particular slipper orchid, Paphiopedilum bellatulum, including an overview of this special Brachypetalum species, its natural habitat, flower characteristics and traits passed on to the progeny. She will show some awarded examples and describe how to care for these orchids.

The meeting takes place at the RBG Headquarters, 680 Plains Rd. W, Burlington, ON, in rooms 3 and 4. The formal meeting begins at 2 pm, but you are invited to arrive as early as 1:30 to socialize and interact with vendors. Bring your beautiful orchids in bloom for the show table, and if so inclined, any orchids or orchid-related items for the raffle, or treats for the refreshment table. Members and guests welcome.

Our annual orchid auction and holiday social will take the place of the usual meeting format on Sunday December 14, 2025. Members are asked to bring orchids and orchid-related items to be auctioned or raffled, finger foods to be enjoyed…and of course, cash to fund your auction wins! (Cheques and e-transfers also accepted.) This is always a good opportunity to pick up something new for your collection, or possibly a gift for someone on your list. Note that there will be no show table at this event but there will be a raffle for those who prefer to try another route for possibly adding an orchid to their collection. The auction takes place in Room 5 (subject to confirmation),  Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Rd. W., Burlington, Ontario. It 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. Masking (or not) depending on personal preferences.

At the November 16th meeting , this orchid, “Bulbophyllum Elizabeth Ann ‘Buckleberry’, ” was voted Orchid of the Month. Congratulations to the proud grower, Ed Shanks.

The speaker at our November meeting will be Ed Cott. Ed is a retired accountant and college professor and has been growing orchids for about 40 years. He is an AOS accredited judge and operates a small orchid business, Orchid Arbour. He has an affinity for Cattleyas and Catasetinae. His topic for the meeting is “An interactive review of the 2024 AOS Special Awards.” As Ed is also a talented photographer who is frequently seen doing the official photographs of awarded orchids, we can expect to see exceptional photographs of magnificent blooms. Ed will also be bringing a selection of his orchids for sale.

As is customary, the meeting will take place at RBG Headquarters, 680 Plains Road West in Burlington, in Room 5 (subject to confirmation). The formal meeting starts at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive as early as 1:30 to socialize and interact with vendors. Bring your beautiful orchids in bloom for the Show Table and any orchids or related paraphernalia for the raffle. Members and guests welcome.

Our October meeting will be of interest to the armchair travellers in our midst. Dan Doucette, aka Traveller Dan, will share photographs and stories from Southern Africa. Dan spent nearly two months exploring Namibia, looking for rare plants and animals. Along the way he encountered phenomenal landscapes and never-ending vistas, from the border with South Africa, all the way to Etosha National Park in the far north of the country.

Dan is a Horticulturist and World Traveller. He works as a Seasonal Gardener until November each year and then travels during the winter. He usually goes to the tropics but also ventures beyond, looking for rare flora and fauna. He’s been to every continent and over 60 countries. Dan has a passion for macro photography and some of his favourite subjects include insects, plants, fungi and of course, orchids! Dan has photographed over 650 orchids in the wild. 

The meeting takes place at the RBG Headquarters, 680 Plains Rd. W, Burlington, ON, (probably in Room 5 – subject to confirmation). The formal meeting begins at 2 pm, but you are invited to arrive as early as 1:30 to socialize and interact with vendors. Bring your beautiful orchids in bloom for the show table, and if so inclined, any orchids or orchid-related items for the raffle or treats for the break. Members and guests welcome.

Our speaker for the September meeting is Deb Boersma and she will be talking about Tolumnias, which she grows well but others among us struggle with.

Deb is a recently retired Chemistry teacher from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario. She has been growing orchids for 30 years. She started by  growing under lights and then in a sunroom, but in 2014 she built a greenhouse to house her growing collection. She has about 500 orchids including Cattleyas, Sobralias, Paphiopedilums, Tolumnias and several other miscellaneous genera. She is the President of the Windsor Orchid Society and an associate judge in the  AOS judging program at the Great Lakes Judging Center, Ann Arbor. She has received several AOS quality awards, Best in Class awards  and she was the recipient of the Orchid Digest Diamond Award in 2016.  

The meeting takes place at the RBG Headquarters, 680 Plains Rd. W, Burlington, ON, (probably in Room 5 – subject to confirmation). The formal meeting begins at 2 pm, but you are invited to arrive as early as 1:30 to socialize and interact with vendors. Bring your beautiful orchids in bloom for the show table, and if so inclined, any orchids or orchid-related items for the raffle or treats for the break. Members and guests welcome.

The topic for our August meeting is “An Introduction to Phragmipedium Species and How to Grow Them”. Our speaker is Pat Vuurman a long-time OSRBG supporter, Executive Board Member, and Orchid Judge. Pat and Lynda Vuurman have been growing orchids for over 30 years with more or less success, according to Pat. He notes that “as in the case of most growers, plenty of our plants have made the ultimate sacrifice in order for us to learn which orchids will survive and under what growing conditions these orchids will thrive. A number of excursions to orchid natural habitats have proven invaluable.” At the meeting on Sunday you will see a few examples of flowers of Phragmipedium species, and hear some cultural suggestions based on observations and research. A repotting demonstration will follow. Bring along your questions about Phrags (and any other orchids). A selection from a few genera will be available for sale.

As is customary, the meeting will take place at RBG Headquarters, 680 Plains Road West in Burlington, in Room 5 (subject to confirmation). The formal meeting starts at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive as early as 1:30 to socialize and interact with vendors. Bring your beautiful orchids in bloom for the Show Table and any orchids or related paraphernalia for the raffle. Members and guests welcome.

Just like last year, the annual BBQ, also known as the President’s picnic, will be held at Joe DiCiommo’s home. Rain or shine! The official starting time for the event is 1 pm, but if you want to come a little earlier and perhaps do some shopping, Joe will allow entrance to his greenhouse and will be selling plants. Someone will be flipping burgers. Penelope will run a raffle if there are orchids donated for that purpose. You should bring a chair, and if you wish to bring a salad or dessert to accompany the usual hamburgers and sausages, that will be appreciated. Further details will be in the email that Linda Will is going to send to members. This is a members’ event, but spouses and significant others are welcome.

It’s strawberry time again!! The Orchid Society’s AGM (at which the Executive for the coming year will be elected) is followed by the ever-popular Strawberry Social. Bring your strawberry-themed goodies (remembering we have no access to fridge or stove), your beautiful orchids in bloom for the Show Table and any orchids or orchid-related items you may have for the raffle. And be prepared to enjoy the event, in company with your fellow members.

The formal meeting begins at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive as early as 1:30 to get settled, socialize and interact with vendors. The meeting takes place in Room 5 at the RBG Headquarters, 680 Plains St. W., Burlington, ON. Members and their guests welcome.

Probably most of us recognize the Calypso Orchid— featured in the OSRBG logo— but what other native orchids can you identify? 

One of the objects of our Orchid Society is “to help preserve wild orchids in their native habitats to encourage scientific inquiry into their unique structures and environmental requirements, and to educate people about them and their need for protection”.  Not only orchids, but many species of flora and fauna are in need of protection as a result of habitat loss and climate change. 

To accomplish this goal we need to be able to identify them.

One of our members, Karen Logan, is working on a project called “Our Fragile Environment” to highlight the diversity of native species in our area and to focus on “at risk” and endangered plants, birds, and other wildlife.  An accomplished artist, Karen uses Chinese brush painting techniques and materials in the production of brochures to assist viewers to identify and appreciate the species that constitute the ecosystem that needs our protection and conservation. To this end, she has produced over 100 paintings and descriptions of flora and fauna. At our May meeting Karen will describe the project and highlight the beauty and diversity of nature around us which, in our busy lives, we sometimes fail to observe. 

Karen Logan currently holds the position of Treasurer on the OSRBG executive and for a number of years she has managed the Art Show component of our annual Orchid Show. In addition, she is President and Treasurer of the Women’s Art Association of Hamilton,  Vice-President/Treasurer of  the Southern Ontario Nature and Science Illustrators and Newsletter Editor for the Central Ontario Art Association. We look forward to hearing about how she combines her love of nature and her artistic talents in the interest of promoting conservation and fostering a deeper connection to nature among residents of this region of Ontario.

The meeting will take place at RBG Headquarters, 680 Plains Rd. W., Burlington Ontario, probably in Room 5 (subject to confirmation). The formal meeting begins at 2 pm, but you are invited to arrive as early as 1:30 pm to socialize and to interact with vendors. Please bring your beautiful orchids in bloom for the Show Table, and if so inclined, any orchids or orchid-related items for the raffle. Members and guests welcome.