The Portland African Violet Society

The Portland African Violet Society is a wonderful group of people who meet monthly to share their love of the Saintpaulia, commonly known as the African violet. They trade and sell plants, have slide shows and guest speakers and informational programs, and have shows where plants can be judged (and if you're lucky, win awards!).

Meetings are held on the last Saturday of the month, September through June, at 12:30 pm at the Tabor Heights Methodist Church at 6161 SE Stark Street. They meet in the north annex, the back entrance. Meetings are open to everyone, not just members, so why not drop by and see what we're all about? Visitors are always warmly welcomed.

Perhaps you're saying to yourself, "Why bother? I can buy all the violets I want at the store, and even if it doesn't reflower, I can always just buy another." Well, the violets you see at your local supermarket or florist are only a small fraction of the incredible variety of colors and foliage available. The plain purple ones your grandmother grew have been overtaken by double, frilled, speckled (known as "fantasy"), and striped (known as "chimera") blossoms in a myriad of colors...purples so deep they are almost black, light lavenders that are practically sky blue, dark reds, shocking pinks, snow whites, and now the newest color being developed, yellow. Foliage comes in almost as much variety...ruffled, scalloped, serrated, pointed, spooned, heart-shaped, round, variegated (in white, pink, or tan), etc. There are giants that can grow up to a foot or more across, but there are also tiny ones like "Teeny Bopper" that you can almost grow in a thimble. Why limit yourself to the boring supermarket varieties when there is so much more out there?

Feel free to for more information.

LINKS

(Last updated 01/05/03)

The African Violet Society of America - This is our "mother" organization, of which we are an affiliate.

Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses - A premier hybridizer and grower of not only African violets but orchids as well.

Optimara Violets - A popular variety of violets. My local Fred Meyer store on Southeast 82nd and Johnson Creek Boulevard sells them fairly often.

Holtkamp - They are the hybridizers of the Optimara and Rhapsodie African violets.

There is an African violet email list. To subscribe, send an empty message to africanviolets-subscribe@makelist.com. You can also visit the list archives online here.

The lovely graphics on this page were created by

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page