COS Summer Picnic
Join us for our annual Summer Picnic at Black Rock State Park this weekend!
When: Sunday July 9th 10am-3pm We are asking everyone to arrive around 10am for setup before a brief business meeting around 10:30am with a presentation from our guest speaker at 11am, followed by a barbecue lunch and socializing. The picnic is under a covered pavilion and will take place Rain or Shine
Where: Black Rock State Park Picnic Pavilion: 2065 Thomaston Rd, Watertown, CT 06795
Directions: From Route 8 north: take Exit 38. Turn left at the end of the exit ramp to first traffic light. Turn left at traffic light onto US Route 6 west. Park entrance is a 1/2 mile on the right on US Route 6.
From Route 8 south: take Exit 38. Go straight ahead at the end of the exit ramp to US Route 6 west. Park entrance is on the right.
You can use 2065 Thomaston Rd for your gps.
The pavilion is visible across the field from the Main Entrance and is adjacent to the parking & bathrooms. Very easy to locate, there should be staff at the entrance who can direct you if you have any difficulty finding the pavilion.
Picnic Info:
The COS will be providing Hot Dogs and Hamburgers and we are asking that everyone bring a side dish, appetizer, dessert, or drinks to share. Please respond to ctorchidsociety@gmail.com directly if you are planning on attending and have not already signed up with a dish or reached out to Karen! We need a rough headcount to plan food. If you are a member and want to bring a guest, please let us know so we can accommodate, there is a $5 guest fee.
There are picnic tables at the facility, but we encourage you to bring your own folding chairs if you would like somewhere comfortable to enjoy the presentation.
There will be a show table, so don’t forget to bring along your blooming plants for this month’s show table. It’s always exciting to see what’s coming into bloom, looking forward to an awesome show table!
Please print and fill out the ID card for the show table below đ
Orchid ID Cards for Show Table
Presentation: Fred Clarke from Sunset Valley Orchids is our guest speaker this month, and his talk will be on âBecoming an 80 Percentile Growerâ. See below info from Fred about his talk.
“Becoming an 80 Percentile Grower”
Ever wonder what the most important requirements are for growing the best orchids?
Learn about the underlying reasons of how and why orchids grow as they do. Then explore the fundamentals and advanced growing techniques to best grow them. Orchid plant culture is explained as you have never heard it before. Learn how to become an 80 percentile grower, expect to be wowed by this talk!
The presenter will be Fred Clarke of Sunset Valley Orchids in Vista. Fred has been growing orchids for 42 years and has been hybridizing for 38 of those years. With over 34 years as a professional grower and manager in the horticultural industry, Fred applies these skills at his orchid nursery; Sunset Valley Orchids, located in San Diego, California.
He is a passionate orchid grower whose curiosity in orchids is broad and varied. Although developing Cattleya hybrids has been his sustaining interest, he is also actively creating new Paphiopedilum and Aussie Dendrobium hybrids plus some others to be named if they work out!
His pioneering work in Catasetum intergeneric hybrids led to the development of several notable hybrids, most recently the grex, Fredclarkeara After Dark, which produced âthe blackest flower ever witnessedâ. This grex has received over 100 awards worldwide with nine FCCâs and thirty AMâs from the AOS judges!