Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Adventures in Houston



A bit ago, my friend Bobby asked me if I wanted to go to the HCSS show and sale.  Sure.  And, so we planned a trip into the big city.

The Houston Cactus and Succulent Society, formed in 1963, is "a group of enthusiastic lovers of cacti and succulents.  The Society’s purpose is to promote interest, study, propagation, and conservation of cacti and other succulent plants."  The group meets at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center on West Gray and, if interested, you can check their website (http://hcsstex.org/) for meeting dates and times.

Okay, first thing I’m going to tell you – if you live west of Houston AND plan to go to the city on Hwy 59 (currently the highway from hell), go on a Sunday, mid-morning.  There was absolutely no traffic.  None.  The roadways were so quiet, it was almost a bit worrisome. 

Next, the HCSS is serious about the show.  These people have some strict, detailed rules participants must follow if they expect to receive a good mark on their entry by the judges.  I saw some beautiful specimens, perfect (at least to my eyes) in their pots, and none received 100%.  Plants were penalized for uneven growth, too plush, too much or little sun, under potted, over potted, off center, top dressing problems (too much, not enough, wrong kind), dirty label, pot chipped (and I’m not talking about a hunk missing – a chip the size of a pin head was penalized) and a bunch more. 

Here are just a few of the plants that caught my attention –








Pretty, well shown plants.

After leaving the show, we stopped for lunch at Mala Sichuan Bistro on Westheimer.  The restaurant itself is a little odd – the building is narrow and deep, so all eating was up stairs with a tiny bar downstairs.  There’s a really cool mural painted along the wall at the entry that is two stories tall.




The food is really good.  Of course, most dishes have one or more little pepper pictures (indicating how hot it is).  The pepper wimp that I am, I looked for something with no pepper pictures and settled on Tea Smoked Duck (good choice since I like tea and duck). 

And, after that, we headed west to big W.

17 Sep 2019

6 comments:

  1. Those plants are beautiful, plus I like the mural on that restaurant, not only that, but that restaurant sounds like it would be a really good place to eat!

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  2. That last plant looks like it's mooning us! I should check on succulents that don't need any sunshine (for my office - I have no windows). They're so interesting!

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  3. I have not had much luck with succulents. The second from the top looks like one I have, but mine doesn't look so good.

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  4. Once upon a time, when I kept house plants, I kept only succulents. They seemed safest.
    The big W, eh? Love it.

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  5. Wish I could have gone to that cactus show. My husband and I are big cacti fans! And no traffic to get there? Even better!

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  6. I think plants #1 and #2 are my favourites.

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