It’s 5 in the morning, and I’m heading out for an 800 mile trip to the IPPS meeting in Charlottesville Virginia from my home in Gainesville Florida with Bill Reese as my co-pilot. Bill is the owner of Greenbriar Nurseries in Ocala and a well-known figure in the southern nursery industry. We drive a few hours and then stop for breakfast at McDonald's’s as the sun comes up. Fill up the gas tank. More driving and then lunch at Subway. Change drivers and fill up the tank again. Starting to see fall colors – bright yellows, brilliant reds and neon oranges. Must be getting closer. Stop for gas again and notice the temperature is down to 56 degrees. The cold makes it difficult for me to hold the gas nozzle. Girl walks by with mittens on! Dorothy – I don’t think we’re in Florida anymore!
Moving along at 75 mph and really clicking off the miles. At least fuel is down below $3 per gallon again. I mention to Bill that Bush’s energy policy must finally be kicking in. Hours more driving and yakking, traveling superhighways and rural roads, through big cities and small towns. I try to convince Bill that he should become an Obama supporter, but I don’t think he’s buying it. He says he’ll vote democrat if I agree to be baptized.
We try to listen to college football games on the radio, but we keep losing channels as we get into the mountainous area of Virginia. Since we’re headed to Charlottesville, we tune in the University of Virginia game (UVA). Between the broadcast static and Bill’s sparkling conversation, I am kept awake and alert as we start the last leg of our journey up Highway 29. The sun sets prettily behind the hills.
We pass a sign pointing left for Saunders Brothers in Piney Hills and another announcing Wintergreen Ski Resort. We’ll be visiting both places on tours in the next few days. Should be fun!
Fourteen hours after leaving home, we arrive at the edge of Charlottesville just as the UVA home game is about to end. With Bill searching wildly for a map, I make a split second decision to exit the expressway before we pass the town. We see many police cars parked at intersections and realize that we are on the road that leads right past the stadium. Fortunately, someone kicks a field goal, tying up the score, and the game goes into overtime. Just as we leave the campus, the game-winning touchdown is made and we arrive at our hotel before the crowd lets out.
The Omni Charlottesville is a beautiful facility. Parking is free, and the hotel is within walking distance of countless shops, restaurants and bars. We find a friendly bellman to help us get our truckload of plant auction donations into the hotel, and then check-in. Our room is large and luxurious, with two bathrobes hanging in the closet and fancy soaps on the sink. We’re in hog heaven as we collapse into our double beds and flip on the TV to see who won the day’s college football games.
Sunday October 19, 2008 Pre-Tour Day
Alarm clock wakes us at 7 a.m. and we prepare for the first full day of tours. Getting slowly dressed and groomed until I realize I had forgotten about the 6:30 a.m. Executive Committee Breakfast meeting. I run downstairs and catch the tail end, tossing down a danish and coffee while the budget is discussed.
At 9 a.m. I meet Bill to grab seats on the bus. Along the route through the gently rolling mountains and across the Shenandoah Valley, we are entertained by our bus captain, David Fiske of VT, reciting facts and figures about the area and playing a little game of Virginia trivia with the IPPSers for small prizes. The time flies by. First stop is Springdale Water Gardens, a retail, wholesale and mail order aquatic plant nursery nestled in the picturesque hills.
Our guide, owner Keith Folsum, explains that customers have been able to find them despite their remote location since opening to the public in 1993. The gift shop is in a 19th century barn, and the property is dotted with ponds (natural-looking, but all man-made) and large holding tanks and greenhouses.
I am impressed by the large number of hole-less plastic nursery
pots filled with water lilies and other aquatics, some free-standing and others submerged in tanks that occupy most of each greenhouse. I am also blown away by the collection of fossils and found objects in the nursery’s primitive museum. Have you ever noticed that people who collect one sort of thing – like koi or water lilies - often have a passion for collecting other things as well?The bus horn blows, and we mount up and head to our next stop.
Another long drive goes quickly with more Virginia history lessons from David and more games. Bill wins a hat. I guess the plant named after Thomas Jefferson is Jeffersonia, but I don’t know the species (diphylla), but I still get a tee shirt. Bucket with Halloween Candy is passed around as well as apples from Mr. Saunders’ orchards.
At our second stop, Cros-B-Crest Farm, a fourth generation agri-business founded in 1894, we are greeted by our hosts, Harry and Beverly Crosby. Even though it had been 28 degrees the previous night, it is toasty in Bev’s state-of-the-art greenhouse facility.
She explains how she started her annual–growing operation very small with ladies from the neighborhood helping in their spare time. We see tray after tray of pansies in full bloom and benches of poinsettias waiting to color up. Quite a switch from sugar beets, Cros-B-Crest’s first crop.
Her son takes over and explains how the new Urbinati peat bale shaver and pot filler worked, and then he and Grandpa Jim give us a demonstration, quickly filling a trailer-load of hanging baskets.
After all that hard work standing and watching other people working, we are ready for lunch. The Crosbys serve up an amazing bar-b-q meal – pulled pork, brisket, cole slaw, green and baked beans, and top it all off with hot apple crisp and ice cream. Hmmmmm.
Next stop is Shreckhise Nurseries in Grottoes VA with roots going back to the late 1800’s. The third and fourth generations have moved the business away from landscaping and are concentrating on tree and shrub production in containers.
We mount tractor-pulled carts and sit upon hay bales to tour the facility. Our guide shows us a modern, clean operation on gravel
beds – first trees, then shrubs in many ranges of cold frames (they bend their own pipe), all very high quality uniform plant material. The most surprising part of our visit is driving into their Winkler Canvas Barn with its asphalt floor and 32’ ceiling. They use it as their potting shed, and brag about it being cooler in summer and warmer in winter, with plenty of light flooding in through the translucent roof. Everyone is very impressed by this unusual new concept.
Re-boarding the buses, we drive on to Edible Landscaping in Afton VA. Since the winding road up to the nursery is too small for our big bus, we have to transfer to a smaller school bus to get up the hill. I’m glad no one is heading down the one-lane road as we climb upward, grinding gears, and swaying through the dense woods.
When we alight, we are addressed by owner Michael McConkey. According to the literature, he got started in the retail and mail-order fruit tree business and made a small fortune from selling hardy kiwis.
Our tour guide is his right-hand man Pierre who marches us all over the property, pointing out planted specimens of every kind of fruit tree imaginable and making us sample their fruit. Basic rule of thumb: if you shake the tree and it falls off, the fruit is ripe and safe to eat. And so, I taste my first jujube (1” long, apple-flavored), hardy kiwi (small but delicious), and seedless che fruit (weird-looking but tasty). Unfortunately, Ronnie Stisher cuts me off a slice of a not-so-ripe persimmon, and that puckers me up but good. No more tasting for me.
You know how these trips are. They feed you three full meals, have snacks at every stop, offer you drinks, apples, or crackers as you board or get off the buses, and then pass candy around while you’re on route. So why do we all act like greedy, hungry vultures snarfing down all the fruit at Edible Landscapes?
One other thing that I realize while we are there: tallness is a characteristic that has naturally selected certain hunter/gatherers to survive while others have died out since the dawn of time. Tom Saunders, towering head and shoulders above the rest of us ordinary men, reaches the ripest che fruit at the top of the tree while we can only look on miserably. Ah, survival of the fittest!
We mount up for our last stop, the Wintergreen Resort. With the sun getting lower in the sky, and the bus climbing ever upward, we enter the densely wooded property, passing expensive rental homes and condos, and finally reaching the mountain peak. It’s darn chilly as we bundle up and make our way to the terrace where cocktails are being served and we can take in the full magnificence of the view. A four-man band from Kentucky is playing Blue Grass music, and I wonder how they can pick their guitar, banjo, mandolin and base fiddle with the temps dipping into the forties.
For the braver souls, the ski lift is running, and you can ride down and back up and enjoy the scenery. It seems cold enough to be snowing as Bill and I are swept up by the t-bar, and I have visions of what it must be like in winter with hundreds of skiers schussing below our dangling feet. We survive the experience, marvel at the intense fall color on the mountainsides, and then rush inside to the warmth of the banquet hall. After a huge buffet dinner, we re-board the buses for the return trip to Charlottesville and our awaiting warm beds. We sleep well this night.
Monday October 20, 2008 Seminars and Tours
Morning comes around way too fast, especially since Bill’s an early-riser. He has me out of bed and dressed by 6:15 a.m. so we can have a nice leisurely breakfast in the restaurant downstairs. By 7:45 we are in our places, pens and paper ready, waiting for Vice President Hugh Gramling to address the troops and lay out the morning’s program which will focus on water.
We hear talks by Bruce Adams on the future of water usage, John Feldt on the drought in the southeast, Dr. Tom Yeager on using reclaimed water, and finally Bob Black of Bennett Creek Nursery addresses chlorine treatment of water before the first coffee break. After the break, John Lea-Cox talks about technologies to save water. He recommends growers ask themselves this simple question regularly: “Do I need to water today”? If you don’t need to, simply don’t. Last up, Peter Hatch, curator at Monticello (and a former English major like myself), tells us about Thomas Jefferson, the gardener.
At 11:30 we pick up our box lunches and board the buses for our afternoon tour. We are warned by Tom Saunders that although Charlottesville is the home of the University of Virginia (UVA), and although they won their football game yesterday, he doesn’t want to hear any “wah-hoo-wahs” from anybody. Apparently that’s the UVA cheer, and since the Saunders family are all Virginia Tech (VT) graduates and UVA is their arch rival, we agree to Tom’s request (especially since VT lost their weekend game). As a University of Florida graduate, I know how annoying it is to hear the FSU chant over and over again, and I can commiserate with Tom.
First stop is Monticello, home of the country’s third president and author of the Declaration of Independence. After catching a shuttle to the top of the mountain, we take a self-guided tour of the grounds, including the extensive south-facing vegetable garden, vineyard and orchards that helped feed all the folks on the plantation two hundred years ago. Historical gardeners have re-created the way the gardens would have looked in 1812, including old varieties that would have been planted based on Jefferson’s journals and scribbled diagrams.
At our appointed time, we are treated to a guided tour of the house. On the steps outside, our docent identifies herself as a former school teacher and asks us to spit out our gum before entering and please keep our hands off the furniture. I feel like I am in high school again.
She’s a very good tour guide and explains all the
interesting “modern gizmos” in Jefferson’s house including his odd “polygraph” for copying hand-written letters, his rotating multi-book holder, and his amazing clock.
The rest of the afternoon is taken up touring the amazing facilities at Saunders Brothers Inc., a third generation retail and wholesale nursery, and orchard business.
After the buses drop us off in front of the store, we mount specially built carts that are towed through the fields by large tractors. They need larger tractors, because the nursery is carved out of the hills into flat terraces, and ordinary tractors wouldn’t work going up and down those slopes with heavy loads. Not that long ago, nurseries in that part of Virginia were sited in the valleys and lower areas until a hurricane deposited a ton of rain there in 24 hours and washed everything away.
The tour is very well organized with stops at various places of interest to explain how things are done at Saunders. Tom demonstrates how upright evergreens are individually shaped just like Christmas tree farms do it but with a modified trimmer. Paul Westervelt, in charge of color operations at Saunders, explains the annual growing system and shows off this year’s pansy crop. And finally, Tom’s dad Paul gives us a history of the operation, recalling when his father and uncles, the original Saunders Brothers, started the company in the early 1900’s. He also promotes his new book, Heartbeats of Nelson County, which took him many years to research and write.
Paul’s personal love is boxwood. He relates how he started growing boxwood in 1947 when he was 13. In the 1970’s and 80’s Saunders Brothers mostly sold their product through K-Mart. We learn that
in the world there are 700 cultivars of boxwood, and Paul has brought over 200 in to Virginia to trial and cross. His mission is to get these new types of boxwood out to universities across the southeast to play with and report back on. He sums up his criteria for promoting any new plant selection with this simple formula: First, is it grower friendly (i.e. easy to grow)? And second, does it have wow (impulse cosmetics – i.e. is it pretty)?
When we return to the Omni at 6:15, I dump my things in the room and hurry down to the New Student and New Member Reception. This social activity has proven very successful in the last few years as a way of making students and new members feel welcome to the association. It’s also an excellent opportunity for them to learn more about IPPS by talking with the current leaders.
A half hour later, we are ushered into the ballroom for the annual banquet and fundraising auction. A nifty little retro ensemble entertains us from the stage as we hit the buffet lines for a taste of Virginia vittles.
After dinner and dessert, Dr. Mike Dirr joins with a professional auctioneer to sell the rare plants that have been donated for the live auction. The sides of the room are lined with tables containing hundreds of other plants that are part of the silent auction which will last through tomorrow night.
The bidding becomes heated on some items, with prices reaching hundreds of dollars for a single oddball plant. Of course, Dr. Dirr would have us believe that all the woody plants are unique and valuable. Herbaceous plants are quite another story. When the last plant is sold, with all proceeds going toward worthy IPPS activities, we wander upstairs and put ourselves to bed.
Tuesday October 21, 2008
Bill and I wake up before the crack of dawn and take a stroll down the pedestrian mall behind the Omni. Aside from a few homeless people, a couple of joggers, and some street cleaners, we have the place to ourselves. We find an inviting coffee shop called the Cubano Cafe, and discover they have a full breakfast menu. I order café con leche and an egg, bacon, and cheese biscuit. Bill opts for an omelet. The food is delicious, and the coffee is perfect! We get back to the hotel as the cowbell is being rung to get people in their seats.
After announcements, the student competition begins, pitting two Auburn students against each other for the grand prize. The first talk by Chris Marble is about using composted poultry litter as an amendment for substrates. Next, Michelle McElhannon discusses temperature affects on seed germination of Lenten Rose. Both students do an excellent job of presenting their findings, and one thing is clear…someone from Auburn will win.
Dr. Gary Knox is up next with a paper entitled: “Invasive Plants: Where do cultivars fit in?” Gary describes the work of the Invasive Plants Working Group in Florida to develop a standardized mechanism to identify invasive plants. You can see their work on line at http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/assessment/
He is followed by Stewart Chandler of Monrovia addressing the challenge of plant introductions in the face of the invasive plant issue.
After the break, Dr. Michael Dirr talks about the myths and realities of plant patenting. He lets us know that few people get rich quick through the patenting process. He gives us a web site to visit to search to see if a plant is already patented – www.uspto.gov. Dr. Fred Davies’ presentation, “Opportunities down under”, is a discussion of the various mycrorrhizal products and how to apply them effectively. The final morning program is Dr. Christine Coker’s powerpoint on vertebrate pest control entitled “When animals come to dinner”.
At 11:00 a.m. we grab our box lunches and mount the buses yet again
for an afternoon of touring, but this time we head east toward Richmond VA. Our first stop is the Great Big Greenhouse and Nursery which is a first-class up-scale retail nursery outside of Richmond. Many pictures are taken and plants purchased as the group wanders around on its own, oohing and aahing.
Next stop is the Lewis Ginter Gardens, an amazing little botanical garden with a Victorian-style conservatory, Japanese Garden, Children’s area, and beautiful entry building with gift shop.
Final stop is the Barboursville Vineyard and Ruins. We sample 17 different wines, starting with milder-flavored whites and working our way up to the stronger-tasting reds. Although there are “spittoons” on each table, I don’t see anyone gargling, rinsing, and spitting. Everyone seems to be swallowing. Our host takes us behind the scenes, and we get a tour of the production facility, seeing the metal vats where the wine undergoes fermentation. We leave a little tipsy and each with a souvenir wine glass. As we head back to the Omni, the bus passes neat rows of grape vines on wires that stretch for miles.
Grabbing Buddy Martin and Bill Turk from Martin’s Nursery and April from Magnolia Gardens, we head out to "dinner-on-your-own" at a nearby South African restaurant. Shunning a dish that appears to have something to do with monkey glands, I choose a stew made from lamb – not something my wife ordinarily cooks up. We survive the exotic dining experience, rating the food as pretty tasty and satisfying, then head back to the hotel for the infamous Question Box.
The moderators of the Question Box this year are Dr. Christine Coker of Mississippi State University and Milton Schaefer. In order to preside over the Question Box, you must be part comedian and part lion tamer. After everyone grabs a bowl of ice cream and creates their own personal ice cream sundae, the fireworks begin.
There are many questions for Dr. Fred Davies regarding his talk
earlier today on mycrorrhizal fungi. Charlie Parkerson grabs a mike and claims “it’s all smoke and mirrors”.
A question arises about spraying IBA over the tops of stuck cuttings instead of dipping them in the solution. Fortunately, the owner of Hortus USA is in the audience and gives a good explanation of how it works.
A request is made for Ted Bilderback to perform some bird calls, but he politely declines.
With the box finally empty, we stagger off to bed.
Wednesday October 22, 2008 Last Day in VA
Bill wakes me at 6 a.m. and we pack our gear and load the pickup truck for the return trip to Florida later this afternoon. We take one last walk down the mall in the early morning chill to our favorite breakfast place, the Cubano Café. Best café con leche I ever had, and good food too. Lot of joggers out again today in spite of the cold.
With the ringing of the cowbell, the symposium starts at 8 a.m. on the dot. Excellent talks by Shawn Jones of Lancaster Farms and Dr. Mack Thedford followed by a presentation by Hiram Baldwin (Green Forest Nursery) previewing the next IPPS Southern Region symposium in Biloxi MS October 24-28, 2009.
After the coffee break, the Annual Business Meeting is brought to order by President Patricia Knight. We approve minutes, bow our heads for the Necrology Report, hear from our new secretary/treasurer, Ronnie Stisher, and listen to a long report from our International delegate, Bill Barr. Bill presents an amazing slide show of his trip last May to the International Meeting in New Zealand. We are surprised to see pictures of people bundled up in heavy jackets and standing in snow until Bill explains that since they are below the equator, May is their winter.
The next portion of the business meeting includes inducting new members into the Society, announcing the winning student paper (Michelle), presenting next year’s slate of officers, and finally, the naming of this year’s new Fellows (Stewart Chandler and Ted Bilderback) and the winner of the Sidney B. Meadows Award (Dr. Tom Yeager).
Dr. Patricia Knight hands over the gavel to incoming President Hugh Gramling, director of the Tampa Bay Wholesale Growers Association, and after a small speech by Hugh, we take another break.
When we come back, Bob Geneve and Ronnie Stisher finish off the morning session with talks on seed germination and the financial side of propagation. Another memorable symposium has come to an end. We have enjoyed wonderful hospitality from our Virginia hosts and particularly Tom Saunders and his family. Members shake hands, embrace, and say their final farewells as they prepare to head out by car, train or plane to their homes scattered across the southeastern United States.
Bill and I jump into my truck and begin our 12-hour trek home. We’re going back a faster less scenic way, and we should reach Gainesville before midnight if all goes well. We just need to keep ourselves awake and entertained. "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall. Ninety-nine bottles of beer. Take one down. Pass it around. Ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall".
