Friday, June 11, 2010

Cactus and Succulent show at the Huntington June 26 & 27

Hundreds of award-winning plants will be on display as the Cactus and Succulent Society of America presents its 45th annual show and sale the weekend of June 26–27 at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Hours for the event are from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both days, with an “early-bird” sale on Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The show will feature the best of the best from prize-winning growers, with a wide array of weirdly wonderful plants to delight connoisseurs, novices, and even the most wary “cactophobe.” Visitors will see graceful aloes and agaves, pastel-hued crassulaceae, prickly euphorbias, dainty pincushion mammillaria, bizarrely shaped crested cacti, towering echinocereus, colorful blooming specimens, and more. Many rare plants from around the world will be showcased, including succulents native to Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Botswana, Madagascar, and the Middle East. The juried competition will also feature categories for photography, paintings, drawings, crafts, miniature dish gardens, and planter arrangements.

A plant sale throughout both days will offer hundreds of unusual cacti, succulents, and related items. Among the highlights of the sale will be a selection of beautiful Echinopsis “Easter Lily” cacti, developed by hybridizer Bob Schick and available through The Huntington’s International Succulent Introductions (ISI) program. Their large, vivid flowers in shades of red, orange, magenta, and yellow make them highly popular with collectors.

Visitors are also invited to explore The Huntington’s own 10-acre Desert Garden, where some 4,000 different species of cacti and succulents provide a year-round display of their own.

Admission to the show is free. For those wishing to extend their visit into the gardens and galleries, adult admission is $20. Discounted rates are offered for seniors, students, and children. Members are admitted free. Information: www.huntington.org or 626-405-2100.

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