The 12th Annual Spring Searle Brothers' Plant Extravaganza!

[Ryland]

It looks like you had some good times despite the unusual cold! That was a magnificent looking Satakentia that was wheeled down the aisle!

[Palmarum]

- 11:58AM: I was answering a customer's questions about her stash in the holding area, when a friend mentioned to me that the line for lunch was growing faster than normal...

- ...I walked forward and turned to the left, and then looked down to see the line of hungry customers stretching across the road.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

Rylandus

It looks like you had some good times despite the unusual cold! That was a magnificent looking Satakentia that was wheeled down the aisle!

The customer turnout during the weekend was much better than expected considering the cold and the economy. I applauded everyone who braved the cold to get first dibs on their favorite palm or plant. Those large Satakentias also helped to sell a good number of smaller ones. It is a great species in addition to the fact they did very well through the cold.

- 11:59AM: The barn started to run out of seating space and a few had to sit in the landscape area around the corner, or picked a shady spot across the road.

- 12:04PM: Time for my mid-afternoon run out to the parking lot and back to capture the sale activity. The area in front of the registers never slowed down all day.

- 12:06PM: "Woof..." The Searle dogs got a trip to the nursery today to get some new ground to explore, and new scents to sniff.

Ryan

[Rafael]

Just loved this tour!

Wanted so much to be there! My euros would fly away...

[BS Man about Palms]

Keep it up Ryan and thanks for the airport pickup!!

Did you find a pic of Megan the new/latest love of my life?

[Palmarum]

BS Man about Palms

Keep it up Ryan and thanks for the airport pickup!!

Did you find a pic of Megan the new/latest love of my life?

The trip to the airport was easy, no problem. I did get one photo of you and her, or who I think your meaning, as the name is new to me. If I knew you were going to help her so much I would have followed you two around more.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 12:06PM: Jeff's younger dog Kane, seemed to be much less enthused.

- 12:07PM: They will give a license to just about anyone these days. I reached the parking lot to find this dog guarding this truck, parked right next to the entrance. The owner was walking up and was about to hop in the truck and leave the spot...

- 12:08PM: ...When I backed up to get out of his way, I turned around and saw FM. Mike Harris (waykoolplantz) with his 1994 Land Rover Defender 90 with blinker on and in position to pull right into that prime parking spot.

- A split-second later, he did just that. As soon as the way was free of customer traffic, he swung around and got the spot. Good timing on Mike's part, as the nearest parking spot was much further away.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 12:09PM: Parking lot craziness. I was jostled about while maneuvering the area in the attempt to photograph the cars coming and going. In the lower right corner, the front of the white car was in a hurry to claim a spot and didn't notice I was in the way.

- 12:11PM: The mighty gatekeeper Donnie stands watch with adult beverage in hand.

- 12:12PM: "Thump..." Shane came in fast and almost hit my foot.

- 12:15PM: The distance from the nursery entrance to the sales area was a brief walk and many customers caught a returning golf cart to make the trip even shorter.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 12:16PM: Customers with a longer than average walk back to their cars, will often wait at the entrance with their plants while someone else in the group will go and retrieve the vehicle. This usually works out fine, but when many try to load at the same time it can create a roadblock. Mike's Land Rover can be seen on the right in that perfect spot.

- A truck full of plants on the way to a new home.

- 12:17PM: The northern half of the shoulder parking lot is often the first to fill up, with more cars parked down around the corner at the next street to the north. Those speed bumps (yellow poles) were a pain when they first went in, but they do slow down cars that otherwise would be flying by at 60 mph (97 kph) or more.

- The southern half of the shoulder is two-rows deep of cars and extended down to near the school by this time on Saturday. I did a quick count of 120 cars that I could see while standing on an abandoned K-rail. I stirred up a wasp nest nearby so it was time to go, after a few more photos...

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 12:17PM: I was getting some good shots while out at the road, but the wasps convinced me to venture back inside again...

- 12:20PM: Whether it be by tractor, golf cart or hand cart, the plants made their way outside. I saw one customer that was back for her second day and third trip of the weekend. I asked her how come so many trips, she said she kept finding room to plant more after planting what she had to begin with.

- 12:21PM: Receipt writers are usually camped out on the left under a tent, but when it is busy they are going back and forth all day. As a customer approaches, either carrying one plant or escorting a multi-trailer load, (along the edge of the mist house on the right) they are met by a writer who begins the process of creating their receipt. Missy (back to camera) works with the group on the left as Katie Tanner walks across to meet an approaching customer.

- Palms, ground orchids, and landscape ornamentals oh my... Katie starts counting the plants and double checks the amount with the customer. This entire process repeats like clockwork throughout the weekend.

Ryan

[Tassie_Troy1971]

What a great thread and the variety of plants at Jeff's is amazing.

Cold morning but judging by the t-shirts it warmed up quickly .

[BS Man about Palms]

BS Man about Palms

Keep it up Ryan and thanks for the airport pickup!!

Did you find a pic of Megan the new/latest love of my life?

The trip to the airport was easy, no problem. I did get one photo of you and her, or who I think your meaning, as the name is new to me. If I knew you were going to help her so much I would have followed you two around more.

Ryan

You KNOW I want to see her again! Plus she picked up a nice 7 gal Teddy cross, how can you go wrong!

[Palmarum]

Tassie_Troy1971

What a great thread and the variety of plants at Jeff's is amazing.

Cold morning but judging by the t-shirts it warmed up quickly .

- 12:22PM: It did warm up quickly, when we were out in the sun and when the breeze was not blowing through the sales area.

- The landscape ornamentals on the left were picked through heavily by the customers seeking replacement material for their ficus plants that are being destroyed by whitefly. It was hard to walk past the Bromeliads without noticing them...

- 12:23PM: The splashes of color between the different groups of Bromeliads was amazing. I am a spectator when it comes to them, as I always see them when they are being put on display and not before. The guy on the left in orange said "Wha..?" when someone told him it was cold out.

- 12:25PM: Not all the restocking can wait until the end of the day, such as when the demand gets high on a species like Silver Date Palms, Phoenix sylvestris. Jeff writes new tags as Amadeo puts them on the plants. Over the years, Jeff has gotten real good at talking to customers while writing tags at the same time. Those palms were more than ready to go into the ground.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 12:29PM: "Look! Up in the air...it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a.... princess palm!" Bill was doing a great job of showing customers around and pointing out the different species planted in the landscape. He was stuck on the identity of one very tall specimen in behind the shadehouses that Jeff quickly identified for them. It was one of his oldest Princess Palms, Dictyosperma album.

- Without trying to tip off the customers as to what he was asking, Bill discretely asks Jeff as to where the Porta-Potties were located...

- 1:09PM: The demand for lunch continued to grow, even after one in the afternoon. I knew a few that were on their second lunch, including myself at this point.

- A few holes started to develop on the side road, as select plant groups started to sell out one by one. Those with replacements were restocked and then spread out, like the Nun's Orchids on the left, which were popular even with only bloom spikes and no flowers.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 1:09PM: Trying to get anyone to smile while they are eating is not an easy thing to do, so I just fire away and hope to get lucky with a elevated shot, such as this. It is amazing when I see friends that have no previous knowledge of each others' plant addiction, have such grand reactions when they bump into each other at the Extravaganza. It usually happens in line for lunch or when grabbing for Orchids there in the back. There were still about two dozen intergeneric Orchids left at this point on Saturday.

- 1:10PM: Wild dog on the loose. Freed from his temporary pen, Kona gets walked around the sales area on a leash for a change. He gets led around by Jeff's grandkids, Gabby and Julian who were also following Andrea around.

- Not everyone is happy around plants...

- 1:12PM: "Hmm... We got to make more room on the cart."

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 1:14PM: Fisherman, collector and FM. Jeff Cramer (street124) and his son look over the rare palms on the first table near the shadehouse intersection. Jeff was getting real familiar with that Mealybug Palm...

- 1:23PM: This was one of the longer lunch lines I had seen all weekend, and it was almost half past one. As soon as the burgers and hotdogs were delivered through that opening, they vanished onto a plate. Bill had to cut the line in front of everyone. He was getting a cold stare from the customer on the left with the sunglasses.

- 1:24PM: The line stretched out and around the corner...

- 1:24PM: ...while seating area was becoming a premium. On the left, Jim Glock came over to see what was going on with the crowd.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 1:26PM: As the second day of the Extravaganza continued, customers kept coming in in greater numbers. Usually it is the other way around, with more in the morning. The nursery adds a few new carts each year but it is never enough.

- 1:29PM: To help in the demand for lunch tables, Jeff and volunteer Chris grab one of the now empty Aroid tables and takes it around to the barn.

- 1:36PM: The shadehouse intersection, always the hub of collectors and enthusiasts, never saw idle time throughout most of the day. Many customers had stories about how their species fared in the cold. Some good, some bad. This went on all weekend, with a few surprises regarding certain species, such as the Red Sealing Wax Palm, Cyrtostachys renda. It was a great seller in both scenarios, whether it was bought to replace, or bought to add to a specimen that survived.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 1:37PM: There are few palms that get as scrutinized as the Red Sealing Wax Palm, Cyrtostachys renda, when customers go to choose a plant. The chief detail looked at is the amount and hue of the red color found on the crownshafts. I've seen the decision keep customers busy for a long time and it gets interesting when they get competitive.

- 1:49PM: If you thought the Dypsis talk could not get any more intense, wait until Bill saw the arrival of vet, collector and Madagascar explorer, FM. Dr. Peter Balasky (madman). Jim and Jeff watch Bill as he overheats and has to shut down for a moment.

- 2:05PM: While in the process of placing a 3 gallon Licuala distans onto his cart, I got a shot of Forum member Mark (Mark@PalmBeach) in a happy collector pose.

- 2:15PM: The majority of the activity during the Extravaganza is simply talking to people. The event is often the only time certain customers get to talk about their favorite plants or what palm species they collect, etc. I find it fascinating to learn what species enthusiasts are really looking for, achievable or not.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 2:16PM: Pete does his best to relax while around Bill and his unending questions. Jeff Cramer listens in, waiting to see what the next palm of topic will be.

- 2:21PM: Another traffic jam works its way out as customers move through the shadehouse. Jeff and Andrea can be seen squeezing through on the right...

- ...after the jam clears through, Jeff looks back and wonders what Bill is up to, or not up to...

- 2:27PM: ...he comes to the intersection to find a grouping of newly pulled Licuala peltata var. sumawongii 1 gallons that Bill has yet to put tags on or clean...

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 2:27PM: "I find your lack of faith disturbing." Jeff looks down at the cowering Bill as he is displeased by the lack of effort on his part...

- Bill cannot tag the plants fast enough so Jeff dispenses a little motivation... [Punch!]

- 2:38PM: The next flow of customers comes through and Bill greets everyone of them individually. He does his best not to scare the kids.

- 2:40PM: Newly arriving veteran customers of the Extravaganza, Lew & Cathy Burger get the 'treatment' by Bill as he envelopes them into his Dypsis dimension.

Ryan

[edric]

Very cool! Ed

[Mark@PalmBeach]

Ryan, Great coverage as  usual. I tool advantage of the cool weather and planted my entire haul (about 10 palms). The recent rain we received help to settle them in to their new home. The licuala collection is starting to look awesome. 

[Moose]

Ryan - where is the "famous" picture of Megan? Bill is going to have a melt down if you don't post soon!

Ron

[Palmarum]

moose knuckle

Ryan - where is the "famous" picture of Megan?...

It is coming in Sunday's batch of photos which are being uploaded as I type. I should have taken more of them, but I didn't know what Bill was up to at that point.

Ryan

[mike in kurtistown]

Ryan,

Great picture reporting of the latest Extravaganza. The first pictures were most evocative - the occasional clear, bright, and cold winter mornings in south and central Florida that I remember.

Does your camera generate bmp's, or do you convert from jpeg's going into Photobucket? Are bitmaps a better format for some purposes?

[Moose]

moose knuckle

Ryan - where is the "famous" picture of Megan?...

It is coming in Sunday's batch of photos which are being uploaded as I type. I should have taken more of them, but I didn't know what Bill was up to at that point.

Ryan

Looks like you will have to wait Bill!

[Palmarum]

Mike in Kurtistown

Ryan,

...Does your camera generate bmp's, or do you convert from jpeg's going into Photobucket? Are bitmaps a better format for some purposes?

Mike,

As the image is created by my camera, it is a either a JPEG (.jpg) or uncompressed Nikon RAW format (.nef), or both, depending upon the setting. I store the images in those formats unless I move them to be archived, which at that point they are changed to TIFF or standardized RAW (.raw). The images continue to be JPEGs as they are uploaded to Photobucket, however downsized. JPEG and TIFF are types of compressed bitmap formats. The (.bmp) format is still used for a few applications, but it creates huge file sizes and the images stored as (.bmp) do not scale well when tweeked or changed by a graphics program.

- 2:40PM: "You must like Dypsis... You must collect them..." Bill works his magic on Cathy.

- 2:56PM: Volunteer Mark shmoozes the customers over at the Bromeliad area.

- 2:58PM: The activity over by the registers continues unabated as Rachel writes up another receipt for a pair of customers getting a large Jaboticaba, Myrciaria cauliflora, and a few empty pots.

- 3:00PM: With two hours left on Saturday, the Extravaganza began to slow down a bit, but there were still a few late arriving collectors and home landscapers looking around.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 3:01PM: The unusual cold weather made the ice last much longer than usual for a large outdoor cooler. Volunteer Chris and Larry Searle tip the cooler over to dispense the excess ice, in preparation for Sunday's load of sodas. It was expected to be warmer on Sunday, by a few degrees at least.

- 3:12PM: Armed with a long wish list of palm species, Cathy Burger asks Jeff what he happens to have for sale from the list. Lew & Cathy Burger have been long time collectors, IPS members and have traveled extensively throughout the world admiring palms in their native habitats. Volunteer and FM. Jim Glock (jglock1) has a nearly unlimited supply of stories from many of the biennials and some of them include the Burgers in palm-related endeavors.

- 4:43PM: Dogs on parade. With a few minutes remaining in the second day of the Extravaganza, Andrea Searle takes her two dogs, Kona and Kane, for a first time walk around the sales area.

- 4:44PM: The dogs were a little unaccustomed to being walked on a leash, but they were great around groups of people. Many of the volunteers and people walking around, such as Missy, Judy Glock, and the kids, Gabby and Julian, they already knew very well.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 4:44PM: The mastiff ambassador Kona greets friends of Jeff & Andrea's in the waning moments of Saturday afternoon. The restocking had been going on all day, but at this point the larger moves were being done, whether it be trailers of Bromeliads or carts of palms from all over being taken through the main shadehouse.

- 5:53PM: Two days down, one to go. The after-sale relaxation commences shortly before six in the evening, with the usual tour and/or consumption of adult beverages. In the background, volunteers Shane & Katie Tanner look on as Thomas finally catches a pass from FM. Rob van der Borg (Borgy230). If you had noticed the lack of Bill Sanford in the past few images, it was because he had traveled to FM. Jeff Cramer's (street124) residence a few hours prior to see his collection. The two of them were on their way back to Jeff's yard for continued palm indulgence.

- 6:07PM: Andrea's brother Donnie is never boring, as you are guaranteed to be told a great story or several from him at every occasion. He is seen here recreating one story with visual cues while Thomas attacks him from behind. The next time you see Donnie at the Extravaganza, ask him about the 'danger ranger'.

- 6:09PM: Be on your guard, Thomas is a third-degree black belt with the hula-hoop.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 6:34PM: As soon as Jeff Cramer and Bill Sanford arrived back at Jeff's house, the tour quickly started to make use of the remaining daylight. As we made our way around, we came across one of the Dypsis lanceolata planted in the yard and this one was sporting two red-emergent fronds at the same time; not something we commonly see on this species. That is cold damage on the leaflets and the species did very well in the freeze.

- 6:35PM: Jeff Searle was in position to smack Bill an enumerable amount of times during the weekend, but certain occasions stood out more than most. The main topic of the tour concentrated on, you guessed it, Dypsis species as Bill made sure of that. Jeff Cramer and his son, Ty look on as the group examines one of Bill's favorite specimens, Dypsis tsaratananensis. I forgot what they were laughing at and I am not sure how that chicken thigh ended up in the upper-right hand corner of the photo.

- 6:37PM: "zzz...zzz..." Jeff Cramer and his son were being put to sleep by Bill. Literally not figuratively. We had to tell Bill what those points of light were in the sky as he was transfixed on them. Apparently, there are not many nights of clear skies in So Cal...

- 6:39PM: "Touch me, I dare ya." A newly shed leaf base unveiled the fresh trunk spines on this Astrocaryum sp. wirima. It made for an interesting texture photo.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 6:41PM: A new possible avatar image? I am not sure which aroid that is, but Bill made great use out of one of the leaves as cover. If you think he should have a somewhat stranger expression...

- ...then gaze at Bill now... He has officially gone plant crazy.

- 6:48PM: "Well, what do you think it is?" The tour ended at one of Jeff's favorite 'stump the palm person' species. I wont tell what the palm is, but if you know what it is and have NOT been on a tour of the yard, post your guess. This excludes you Bill... The night continued with the mass of people at Jeff's house devouring dinner followed by an interesting time playing a game called Guesstures. Picture Bill doing hyperactive charades with a time limit...

...Sunday comes next with morning surprises and warmer weather...

Ryan

[cfkingfish]

Might that palm be Reinhartia paiewonskyana? I don't even know if I spelled that right.

[LJG]

Calyptronoma?

[Palmarum]

cfkingfish

Might that palm be Reinhartia paiewonskyana? I don't even know if I spelled that right.

Christian got it right. That palm has continued to surprise both me and Jeff on how well it grows, plus how it went through the cold flawlessly.

- Sunday, 8:51AM: Good morning, this is your wake-up call. While in the rush to restock the sales area during Sunday morning, Jeff called me over to the barn and told me to look in the trash can. Surprise! Actually this is a common sight throughout South Florida as the prolific and virulent Virginia Opossum, Didelphis virginiana, can be found just about anywhere.

- 8:52AM: Jeff let it go as we were getting ready for Sunday morning of the Extravaganza. The eyesight of the opossum is very poor so he/she wasn't sure where to go, mainly just went away from us as fast as possible. Their numbers are kept in check usually by large dogs, fast cars and the occasional bird-of-prey.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:00AM: The first hour of the morning was spent restocking as it was slow as usual. After the cleaning and trimming of the newly pulled plants I went to put out the sale booklets when I was greeted by these two customers entering the shadehouse. The first thing they said was "Wasn't there a guy from California here last spring?" So I directed them over to Mr. Bill Sanford and told him a pair of his fans were looking for him.

- 10:02AM: On my way to fetch a donut, I spotted a photo opportunity with volunteer Missy and her nephew Julian, who was enjoying his own donut. If Missy looks different it because she is a brunette at the moment, compared to previous Extravaganza topics where she is blonde. I got two messages already in regards to this.

- 10:51AM: Speaking of donut eating... [munch...squish!] Bill devours a powered jelly donut as he comes back into the shadehouse looking at a group of us watching him.

- Jeff goes to assist him in getting the donut to his mouth, after I might have suggested such an action.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 10:51AM: Bill did an excellent job keeping the donut from being smooshed against his face and he also kept his orange juice from spilling.

- 10:52AM: The Sunday morning crowd usually waits until lunchtime to arrive as many of the diehards and collectors came on Friday and Saturday. Topics of conversation slew back and forth between Jeff, Bill, Donnie and Rob. It was cold enough in the morning to yet again require jackets but it was warming up in a hurry. Bill leans forward to try to keep more powdered sugar from falling on his shirt.

- 11:07AM: One of the first customers to arrive was our own Forum member palmisland, Randy Wiesner. He headed straight to the Satakentia liukiuensis group and picked out a large specimen to add to his yard.

- With help from a tree dolly, the workers get the palm outside the shadehouse via the side entrance to an awaiting trailer.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:08AM: Randy escorts his new palm outside. I tried to get ahead of him and the palm to get a shot of them coming instead of going, but I wasn't fast enough.

- 11:09AM: Ready, 1... 2... 3...

- [thump] Mission accomplished. Thomas did all the heavy work.

- Amadeo steadies the palm as the trailer pulls out for the registers down the main road.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:18AM: Like a deer caught in the headlights. Being the ultimate car guy that he is, Bill parks the golf cart smack dab in the middle of the intersection.

- 11:26AM: Almost ran out of room for both the kids and the plants... Between the Wart Ferns, Microsorum scolopendria, and the various Bromeliads the kids almost lost their seats.

- 11:30AM: The foot traffic began to increase as noon approached. The grills were being cleaned and the food was being prepared for another hectic Extravaganza BBQ lunch. The cart on the left was filled with different unusual palms, including a 7 gallon Red Sealing Wax Palm, Cyrtostachys renda.

- 11:36AM: Due to the run on wart ferns, Jeff and Bill go out and retrieve more for the sales area along the side road. Shane assisted.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- 11:38AM: "Mmm... sodas..." The remaining amount of sodas get put into the cooler as lunch time kicks into high gear. Due to the cold weather we had extra bottled water left over for once.

- 12:01PM: The last thing my camera saw before I got a lens full of chips...

- 12:29PM: FM. Christian Faulkner (cfkingfish) made the long trip over from the west coast of Florida to see what was going on at the Extravaganza.

- 12:36PM: The action in the sales area starts to pick up gradually, along with the ambient temperature. In the center, volunteer Chris weaves his way through the carts and customers.

Ryan

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Great coverage Ryan, thanks for posting. April and I wimped out from the cold weather. Glad to see ya'll had a good turnout. Looking forward to the fall sale.