The Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts breaks from tradition and combines its October and November meetings to present a special program with a renowned guest speaker – Panayote Keliadis. Panayote is a world famous plant explorer, garden writer, and public garden administrator at the Denver Botanic Gardens. In the 1990s, Panayoti helped to create Plant Select®, a partnership between Denver Botanic Gardens, Colorado State University, horticulturists, and participants from the landscape and nursery industries. Reading his professional profile from Denver Botanic Gardens, it’s easy to see why this gregarious gardener earned the title, Hero of Horticulture.

Panayoti has worked at Denver Botanic gardens for over 40 years, but his passion for plants has been with him for a lifetime. He grew up in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, just blocks away from Chautauqua Park at the base of the iconic Flatiron mountains. Growing up, he spent many days immersed in the unique wild landscape, as well as his family’s home garden, which he helped plant and maintain. His first endeavor in gardening was planting a rock garden with his brother-in-law when he was just 8 years old.

The event is open to the public and takes place at the Norfolk Public Library, 2 Liberty Lane, Norfolk, Massachusetts 02056, from 1 – 4 pm. For more information visit www.cssma.org