Location: Santa Clara Railroad Museum
1005 Railroad Avenue
Santa Clara, CA 95050

SETUP STARTS AT 7PM, MEETING AT 7:30PM

Speaker

Dennis Olivas

Speaker bio

Dennis Olivas was born on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. As a lad, he helped his mom and aunt grow their orchids and got hooked. He joined the Future Farmers of America and his project was raising and selling these beautiful and exotic plants. In 1980 he moved to the mainland and swore off the orchid family; not for long as he was introduced to Rod McLeallan’s Acres of Orchids’. From there his whole life became one downward spiral. First he fills his home with upwards of 6,000 plants. Later he leased a greenhouse space for his ever burgeoning orchid collection. Glutton for punishment, his collection grew overflowing the 3,000 sq. ft. greenhouse in Half Moon Bay.

With the help of his close friends, from the Bay Area, Napa and Fresno, they moved his obsession to a 3,000 sq. ft. greenhouse in Daly City in November of 2013. A whole new ball game of learning how to raise orchids, still without heat but in an area that gets more sun and higher temperatures, good water year round. Currently, Dennis rents 5,500 sq. ft. unheated greenhouse space as his collection increases.

He was President for the Peninsula Orchid Society, San Francisco Orchid Society, Diablo View Orchid Society and the Santa Cruz Orchid Society. He also served as vice-president, board of director, show chairman, membership and many other committees in these societies. He is an accredited judge of the American Orchid Society for over 30 years. Dennis belongs to over 14 orchid societies and tries to assist them whenever possible.

He traveled throughout the United States to speak to numerous orchid societies and garden clubs. He even traveled to Brazil to speak there. Throughout the years since 1988, he has been a vendor in up to 20 shows a year throughout California and Nevada. Although Dennis maintained a business as D&D Flowers, his real job was working for a large corporation in the Bay Area. He retired from the corporation in 2014, after 32 years of service.

Audrey Young-Tarter Purveyor of Peloric, Sepal Peloric and Splashed / Feathered Cymbidium Orchids www.CymserelyYours.com CymserelyYours@yahoo.com

Plant table

Dennis Olivas of D & D Flowers will provide the plant table.