Summary of the activities of A.S.A.C. in the years 1997 - 2001.
Year 1997
The year was closed with an important number of cactomaniacs.
Commented visits of private collections of members and sympathizers.
Trips to nurseries and gardens of Catalonia.
We also undertook two great journeys:
In the month of April 1997 we went for a weekend trip to Mallorca which demonstrated the organizational ability of the Association and the motivational power.
The excursion was done over a weekend. We visited nurseries and the private garden of the March family. It was a real discovery.
"See general J. March"
As was to be expected the welcome that our hosts of the ACYS gave us was magnificent and the visits formidable.
We went to the Valencia Gardens that have a well cared-for collection of cacti. We also saw a couple of very interesting private collections, among them the impressive one of ACYS president D. Antonio Gómez Sánchez. Special mention has to be made of his extensive Mammillaria collection.
We also went to visit some nurseries. For the friends of Internet the nursery Cactus Center Club has a very interesting and entertaining web page. It can be recommended.
On the 20th of December we made a trip to the gardens Marimurtra and Pinya de Rosa.
The former is an interesting garden located in Blanes - Girona (Spain), created by Karl
Faust in 1921, on a mountain side with some spectacular cliffs over the
Mediterranean. The garden is divided into different zones: tropical, temperate and
mediterranean.
In the tropical zone there are some great specimens that make us recommend
a visit to lovers of spiny things.
At only 2 km. distance we find the garden Pinya de Rosa,
created in 1945 by Ferran Riviere de Caralt. It is known world-wide for its big collection
of Opuntias, extensive documentation on their web site. Its poor state of
conservation after the death of its creator is a shame and make us fear for its future.
Year 1998
This year began with the creation of several working groups:
Show committee: A working group that worked in the III Show that took place in the
Glasshouse of the Ciutadella Garden of Barcelona on the 30th and 31st of May.
Own bulletin: After the demise of the bulletin Cactus y Suculentas edited by Àrid, this association is working on publishing its own, called
"Suculentas". It will be distributed among the members.
Internet committee: As you can see, we are underway.
Committee for native
succulents: We created this team in order to study
the species of Crassula, Sedum, Sempervivum, and others that are native in Spain. Please
do join us.
The Association of Cactophiles of the Botanic Garden Juan Carlos I
in Alcalá de Henares, informed us that they created other working groups for
Sedum, Sempervivum, and also add Aeonium. The more the merrier, so welcome!.
Workshop committee: Working group that in our club house will demonstrate the
different activities of culture, caring, disease prevention and treatment,
hydroculture, and other demonstration that we will be preparing. From this committee we
have trhis year learned how to sow seeds as well as whether or not to apply preventive
treatment for the most common diseases in our collections.
In addition to all the committees created and mentioned above, we also made some trips to
buy cacti and succulents from several nurseries of the region, like Bordas
of Gavá and Cactus Costa Brava, where accompanied by
D. Angel Aldrich Ferrer, we visited his important collection "Cactarium
Costa Brava."
Also this year, we visited the private collections of
our members Rosa Pedraza Diaz in Calella, Dolors Feu i Casas and husband and wife Bartomeu
Martorell i Soler and Dolors Palós Muñoz in Sant Climent of Llobregat.
Year 1999
We began this year with a visit to CLAVISA in Vilassar of
Dalt, where apart from purchasing to complete our collections, we had de opportunity
to visit their complete collection. After that, we made use of the time to visit de
greenhouses of NAVARRO for more purchases.
We were invited by the Associatión of Cactófilos of the Botanic Garden Juan Carlos I in Alcalá of Henares to
the "First National Meeting of Cactophiles". Apart
from our hosts, there where representatives of the Valencian A.C.Y.S.
and the Mallorcan Amics dels Cactus i Suculentes, as well as
a representative of CITES. There were two talks, one about Sedum and the other about
current legislation about succulents. Afterwards, they showed us the modern and
magnificent installations of the Royal Botanic Garden for the study and reproduction of
succulents in general.
At the end of April, after having seen some of the greenhouses in our region, we departed
for Valencia where we purchased more cacti that were missing
from our collections. We began with our friends from de Cactus
Center in Náquera, continued with Cactus Valencia in
Catadau and Cactus D'Algar in Callosa de Sarria, where we
were attended with great dedication. After a rest in Alicante,
the next day we continued towards Elche, where we visited the famous Garden Jardín del
Huerto del Cura with its impressive Imperial Palm Tree with eight arms and a weight over
ten tons, furthermore the excellent collection of cactus and other succulents. On theway
home to Barcelona, we couldn't miss dropping in on Cactuslandia in Altea, a private
garden created in the Sixties by Gerardo Stübing with a pretty collection of over 1000
species of cacti and other succulents.
Just after without losing any time, we organized the Fourth Show of
Cacti and other Succulents in the Ciutadella Gardens of Barcelona on the 30th and
31st of May. We concentrated on an exposition of Gymnocalycium. In
addition, with the collaboration of our members, the following talks and workshops were
held:
Just after that show, we organized a Cactus Show in the nearby village of Vallgorguina.
As far as trips to collections of our members go, we made a date with our friends in
Berguedà, where after looking for some mushrooms and having a great meal, we saw the
collection and were impressed how well conserved it was, especially considering the
extreme climatic conditions.
At last, after much search, on the 6th of November 1999 we could celebrate the INAUGURATION OF OUR NEW CLUB HOUSE, within the Hotel D'Entitats. It
is a place financed by the Catalan government where various clubs and non-profit
associations can occupy a small own office. There are meeting rooms, video and slide
projector, photocopier and other amenities. Apart from finding an adequate meeting space,
we also have a place to leave all the club utensils.
Closing this busy year, we decided to visit the Christmas crib exhibition at the Monastery of Pedralbes, as well as the painting collection of Thyssen- Bornemisza. Later we had a good meal.
Year 2000
Of course we held our General Extraordinary Meeting, as well as several other meetings,
and with the help of the workshop committee and our members, we learnt some more things
about our friend the cacti.
Toward the end of March we visited the famous Montjuïc mountain in Barcelona, in order to
see the Garden Mossén Costa i Llobera, created in by
municipal politics in the Sixties and specialized in succulents. It is a garden that
should fill us with pride, but sadly, throws us in a deep depression when we see its
abominable state of conservation, produced by the continuous vandalism of its visitors and
also the abandonment by its responsable gardeners, employess of the City. However, in the
last two or three years we have seen a slight improvement as far as maintenance goes.
Recently, the Association of Friends of the Garden Mossèn Costa i
Llobera has been created. At the moment, it is making an inventory of the cacti and
succulents that are in the garden and that later will try to put some order there, as far
as the City Council will permit it. Later on, we went to the recently inaugurated Botanic Garden of Barcelona on the same mountain. It seems to be
receiving great investments that are diverted from the other gardens.
In the following months before the holiday period, apart from meetings and workshops, we
have made two trips:
On the first, we went to buy cacti at CACT'EUS of Emile
Hamoniaux, Mas Cadell, in Eus, a village very close to the Monastery
of St. Miquel de Cuixa, which we also visited. Both are situated in the south of
France in Prada de Conflent.
On the second trip we went to Castelló D'Empúries where we visited the Butterfly Park of Empuriabrava. In it there are born, live, and die
a great variety of tropical butterflies, among them the largest species of the world.
Aftwards, we went to Cactus Costa Brava to give them more
money in exchange for cactus plants!
For reason outside of the Association, the Fifth Show of Cacti and
other Succulents was held on the 16th and 17th of September (rather than end of May
as usual) in the Garden of the Ciutadella, with the collaboration of many members. We made
an exhibition related to cactus with cephalium.
The talks were:
The genus Gymnocalycium, slide show by Ferran Santiago.
Life of cacti outside of their habitat by
Ferran Betrian.
Products to treat cactus disease by Joaquín
Camps.
In the early days of November, in accordance with our aim of showing our hobby to the
general public as much as possible, a show of cacti and succulents was organized in the
nearby village of Abrera, where furthermore the talk
"Life of cacti outside of their habitat" was given again.
We have also reached the radio, with the aim of making our association known, and with it,
the marvellous world of cacti and succulents. One of our members was interviewed by Radio
L'Hospitalet.
As a farewell to the year, before our end-of-year meal, we made a group visit to the
Science Museum of Barcelona.
Year 2001As usual, the last saturday of january like every year, took place the Ordinary General Assembly, with great representation of members. (Nothing to remember).
During this year some of our associates and members of the Council made an important tour de force for arrange some exhibitions of cactus and other succulents in various locations more or less near to Barcelona to attire the attention of more cactus and succulents hobbyist and, if possible, to make more associates. With the same intention we made many contacts with various mass media.
As for example: at february 10th and 11th , a few of ours were present at the "Tree, Plants, Flowers, Animals and Gardens Market of Mataró" that every year organizes the "Tree, Plants, Flowers, Animals and Gardens Association of Maresme" at de Central Park of Mataró. Later, in the same eve, at april 21th, saturday, was held a conference with slides proyection by an of ours members.
At mars 3th, saturday, our Assotiation was present at the "Shops at the Street Day" held by the Traders Union of Igualada, who made possible that our stand were at the very central square of Igualada.
Well, you see, without time to rest, we were at april 28th and 29th , time of our main exhibition, where most of our associates take part in one form or another. This time was the VI Cactus and Succulents Exhibition and like years before took place at the Barcelona´s Citadele Park Glashouse. For the first time the exhibition had two well different zones:
One where the cactus and succulents were grouped by geographic origin with distribution maps , photos of the plants in her natural habitat, location of different taxa, clima descriptions, etc.
The second, with an important part of the collections of some of our associates and beautiful exemplars lend by nurseries who we oft wisit.
Like precedent years there were held three conferences, the public enjoyed very much, on the topics:
- The fertilizers , by Joaquim Camps.
- The Cactus World, by Enric Martínez.
- Succulents from SW Africa, with slides proyection, by María José González and Josep M. Aurell.
Due to the noveltys or due to the presence of our president Mr. Joan Bofill in an TV program or due to the publicity in the news papers, we coud not well attend so many visitors and buyers that throwed the exhibition.
Working farther our stress for expansion and bee known for as much people as possible, wee token advantage of the may 12th to 20th and were present at the 46th Exhibition of Girona "Flowers Time". At the occasion we take part in one of the wonderfull 45 patios, most in particular houses, of the old quarter of Girona. Our assotiation arranged the patio of the gothic building Pia Almoina, today site of the Architects College. There we distributed information sheets and at the may 19th one of us held a conference whith slides.
Like the year before, in occasion of the Main Fest we were also in the nearby town of Abrera at juny 29th and july the first holding and exhibition of cactus and succulents. Also, again, one of us held a conference with slides.
During the first semester we made two trips for the increasing of ‘our friends’ the cactus, and we went to Cactus Tarraco, at Mont-Roig (Tarragona) and to Cactus Costa Brava at Esclanyá (Girona). Of course the visitors loaded in few minutes a lot of cases full with cactus and succulents.
After the well needed vacancies, at september 29th and 30th we were again present at the Multisectorial Fair of Igualada. The weather was reiny both days but the Anoia School patio, where we stand near the Bonsai Association, was small for so many visitors . Once again was held a conference with slides.
Because the mayority of our associates does not visit the exhibitions in the nearby towns we thought we must organize a trip for them, and we made it. At october 27th we wisited "Marimurtra" and "Pinya de Rosa", two very interesting gardens where it was pleasant to discuss about genera and species. It was a wonderfull ‘sommer’ day with a good lunch in restautant there nearby. To close the event many of ours visited the garden of our associate Rosa Pedraza from Calella, who generously gave us a plenty of cuttings.
ASAC - last updating december 2001
