SALEM Branch 2007 Annual Show
By Rodney Bergquist

During the third week of September 2007, Janis & I noticed a window in our schedule that we rarely have, both cats were healthy and the temperatures were scheduled to be in the low 70’s so our fuchsias would not dry out if we left home for four days. The Oct- Dec 2007 AFS Bulletin had received an “OK” from Eureka Printing and the Salem Branch Show was being held at Ron & Debbie Monnies Country Garden Nursery on the 15th & 16th of September
in Woodburn Oregon. I like it when a good plan comes together, a chance to visit with Salem Branch members plus Ron & Debbies Monnier Country Garden all in one trip was more than we could pass up. On short notice we packed our camera gear and headed to Woodburn Oregon 520 miles away to enjoy this fuchsia event.
Everywhere we go our members make us feel so welcomed. We had originally planned to spend Saturday at the show and then go visit some of Salem’s local gardens on Sunday. We enjoyed visiting with everyone so much that we could not think of anything more important or interesting to do on Sunday, than spending another day with our Salem friends.
Ron & Debbie Monnier are members of the local Salem Branch of the American Fuchsia Society. They agreed to host the Salem Branch Show at their nursery and let the branch use one of their big greenhouses for their show.
The show had two large blossom tables, photo contest entries, plus several other speciality displays for visitors to enjoy. For Janis& I an added benefi t of the trip was being able to put faces on names that were familiar from various newsletters. We got to meet George Know who is editor of the Salem Branch Newsletter.
We also got to meet Clarence & Vergna Berger, Editors of the Southwest Portland Newsletter.
When it was time to leave after having breakfast Janis & I decided we could not leave without visiting the Wilson Park Garden which is one of Salem’s most beautiful spots just west of the State Capital Building. The garden contains over 350 fuchsias which were planted as a club project in 1989. Leon Hubbard had the initial idea and was recognized by the club as the person who initially got the project started through his hard work and dedication.
When asked ‘Why have the garden?’ Leon replied, “It was mostly for educating the public about fuchsias.” Wilson park is still maintained by the Salem branch, including cultivation, fertilization, and pruning. The plants are watered by the parks automatic watering system. The majority of the plants survive the winters and only a few need to be replaced each year.