CP Down Under

by David Lane

About three weeks ago I attended the 7th International Carnivorous Plant Society conference in Sydney, Australia. The traveling was easy after I got past the six hour flight to LA and the thirteen hour flight to Sydney. I’d only been in Australia a couple of hours before I managed to blow out the power to my hotel room using the wrong adapter, surge protector, transformer combination. Being in a five star hotel (Swissotel,) in the middle of the city next to the Sydney tower they very nicely gave me the right transformer and repaired the wiring. This was the first trip for me where I tried to send email and photos from my room back to New Hampshire each day. I could walk everywhere I needed to go in this very modern, but still quite British city, as long as I stayed to the left on the sidewalks. Sydney bills itself as one of the most beautiful cities with its combination of old and new architecture, many parks and open spaces, and large harbor with a mild climate.

CBHL Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids

by David Lane

CBHL (Council on Botanical and Horticultural
Libraries) is the leading professional organization in the field of botanical and horticultural information services.

Our host in Grand Rapids, the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, opened in 1995 on 125 acres donated by the Meijer family. Besides having the largest conservatory in Michigan, it is distinguished by sculptures from well-known artists such as Rodin, Moore, Oldenberg, DiSuvero, and many others.

One of its signature pieces is the largest horse sculpture in the world (one of two). In the attached photo you can see that all of the conference attendees fit under the sculpture.