• •  To study the culture of bromeliads under local conditions.
• •  To strive to use the correct scientific nomenclature for bromeliads.
• •  To study the use of bromeliads in landscape and home gardening.
• •  To aid in civic projects involving bromeliads and promote protection of native species.
• •  To aid and give assistance to educators, to the members, and to the general public, thereby furthering the knowledge of bromeliads.

The Sarasota Bromeliad Society had its first organizational meeting on December 5, 1976 at the Church of the Redeemer.

The Club was welcomed as a member of The Bromeliad Society Inc. (now known as The Bromeliad Society International) on February 4, 1977. The 1977 officers were President — Rita Roehr; Vice President — Doris Pearce; and Secretary–Treasurer — Evelyn Hutchison.

The 1978 Club Roster listed 78 members.

In 1979 Club members Ralph and Hazel Quilhot held an Open House/picnic at their home in Ellenton. In November the club held the First Annual Bromeliad Show at Selby Gardens.

A World Conference in Orlando was held in 1980 and our Club put in a display. Later in the year the Club held our own Show in a tent at Selby Gardens.

For several years we held our Shows in the tent on the lawn. Then in 1983 the Club decided to hold a special event called the Sarasota Bromeliad Society Show & Festival. We had arranged for Bus Tours to local nurseries; special speakers and on Friday night we were to have a dinner and dance on the Selby lawn in the huge Show tent that was being provided by the Old Heidelberg Castle Restaurant. Attire was to be evening gowns, jacket & tie. That night when we arrived at the Gardens we were met at the gate by staff telling us that there had been one of our famous Florida downpours at the Gardens and there was 1 to 2 inches of rain on the tent floor. They had contacted the Heidelberg and they had graciously set up a special area for us and moved the entire dinner & dance to their large restaurant. Thankfully, we had displayed the Show plants in the tent on raised mounds of mulch we had put down, therefore most of them stayed above water.

In 1985 Selby had constructed a new Green House and at the time of our Show the structure was completed, but not the interior, so they let us use it for our Show. It was pretty warm inside, but no rain. We used it again in 1986, but then they finished the interior and we were faced with the outside again.

During this time Selby did not have an enclosed building large enough to hold our shows, so they were held on the covered walkway by the Display House, which puts us at the mercy of the weather again. One year, a night rain blew so hard it came across the walkway and wet all the tables, plants and entry tags. Unfortunately a number of our members had used ink to fill out the entry tags and the next morning the Judges were faced with many tags containing large ink blobs rather than names and entry numbers, etc. The Judges managed to work through the mess. From that time on, we required entry tags to be done with pencil.

Today the Society enjoys having meetings and shows in the Selby Gardens Activities Building.

Patsy Worley,
January, 2010.

Update, Early 2016:  The Society's monthly meetings have been moved to the clubhouse of the Sarasota Garden Club.

Update, April 2018:  The Society's monthly meetings have been moved back to the former "Activities Building" in Selby Gardens. The facility has been extensively remodeled and is now known as "Michael's On The Bay", a gourmet catering and special events venue.

Update, Mid 2024:  Selby Gardens is undergoing a multi-phased construction and improvement project.  As part of that process, the former "Michael's On The Bay" catering and special events venue is now known simply as the "Event Center" or "Great Room"  It remains the location for the Society's monthly meetings.

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