April 14, 2008

I made a trip down to San Angelo today to check out the collection. It was beautiful weather in the mid 70's. The nights have been in the 30's and 40's so the tropicals are pretty much non existant. The hardies are very full and blooming. Tomorrow Ken will be tearing them apart to divide them out so they do not overcrowd themselves. He has about 50 students coming down from the school to aid in this big job. It is part of his ties to the local educational system. I plan on getting some photos before they tear them apart. After this it will be about another month before they are back to a blooming size so the next month will be rather bare. Late May is when the tropicals will begin to go into the pools with blooms appearing on them in June.

One personal note that is of concern. There is a very large tree that is growing over the edge of one of the pools. Unfortunately it is throwing debris all over the ground around the pools and more importantly into the pools. As I was down there today I saw three different people who exclaimed dissappointment in the photogenic opportunities because of all of the debris in the pools created by the tree. I will have to sweep it out of the way to try and get good shots tomorrow myself but will at least have the opportunity to be in the water and clear a path myself. Others do not have this opportunity. Hopefully there will be something done to eliminate this problem. It takes all that Mr. Landon can do to keep up with the lilies. The daily maintenance need created by this tree is overwhelming. I checked on the net and found that this tree's debris when it breaks down naturally, it creates tannic acid. This is harmful to a collection that is irreplaceable. In addition to the unsightly mess and chemical dangers it shades a large portion of one pool. As you all know, waterlilies need as much sun as they can get. I hope that the city will aid in removing this tree.

I got the chance to look at some of the plants in the greenhouse at Ken's place as well. There are new tropical hybrids that are beginning to grow out. The biggest thing to comment about is that I got to see two baby dwarf Victorias of the new yet to be confirmed species. This is very noteworthy because it is said to be a very difficult plant to germinate and establish according to Mr. Patrick Nutt who is the leading expert in the field. Once one of these grows out it will be displayed in one of the secondary pond basins so as to easily differentiate it from the other Victorias and give it all the room it wants to take. Now Victoria's really dislike cool water so it will be midsummer before they really get to show anything.

A note for those who follow the major news events. It was a real nightmare trying to get a hotel room this week. For those who are unaware, there was a major raid on a polygamous religious sect here in Texas. Almost 500 children and mothers were taken from the compound and are being housed here until a judge sorts out what will occur next. There are lawyers and press corps from all over the world here. Hopefully the next time the press comes here it will be for Lily Fest 2008.

Tim