Succulents and More™

The reason I went to the Huntington a couple of weeks ago was to attend the 2019 Show and Sale of the  Cactus and Succulent Society of America (CSSA) —the 54th, it turned out! The judged show is open to members of the CSSA or one of its affiliated clubs. As one of the most prestigious cactus and succulent exhibitions in the country, it draws top-tier growers and collectors, resulting in an amazing assemblage of plants. The show and the accompanying plant sale were held at the Huntington's Brady Botanical Center. Succulents were in one building, cacti in the other. The trophy table with the top winners in each category was in the same room as the cacti; it had better natural light so it was easier to get good photos. I photographed the plants that caught my attention for one reason or another—sometimes because of their beauty, sometimes because of their weirdness. Some plants are simply so strange that you don't know what to think. Above all, I want my photos to show the hu...

In part 1 of this post I showed you the outside vendor area at the 56th Sacramento Cactus & Succulent Society Show & Sale, held last weekend, May 7-8, at the Shepard Garden and Arts Center in Sacramento, CA. Now let’s go inside the building to take a look at the plant show. Judging was held early on Saturday, and by the time the building opened to the public, all the award winners were properly labeled. The first thing visitors might have noticed were these five shadow boxes. This year’s theme was “Olympic Moments.” These shadow boxes are created by SCSS members, and voting is open to the public. My brain isn’t wired for this kind of creativity, and I’m always in awe of what members come up with. This is the main room of the Shepard Garden and Arts Center: I don’t know off-hand how many people entered this year, but the caliber of plants on display was higher than ever before. The Inter-City Cactus Show & Sale held every August at the Los Angeles County Arboretum is...

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