Monterey, California was the chosen venue for 2008. Unfortunately a little out of my range at the time so I had to give it a miss.
In 2009 I did not need to go to the AGM, it came to me. The Cyprus Branch were the hosts with the base being in Limassol (Lemesos).
Day 1 started with a visit to a private garden designed by MGS member, Yiannos Orphanos. This was an enormous undertaking with even a small lake fed by a spring and by the process of attempting to ensure that all rainwater that fell on the property stayed on the property and did not run off into the surrounding countryside.
From there we moved on to another of Yiannos' projects, the gardens surrounding Olympic House, Nicosia (Lefkosia), the building that houses the majority of Cyprus' Olympic sports associations. These had been divided into 5 separate areas, one for each of the rings on the Olympic flag. The plantings, and even the gravel used, represented the colours of the rings.
We stayed in Nicosia for lunch, taken in Akropolis Park, after which we descended into the caves below that had been converted for use as conference rooms. There we were entertained to 2 presentations, one by Oron Peri and the other by Mary Michaelides, President of the Cyprus Cactus & Succulent Society.
On Day 2 we took the members to school, literally. Agii Anargyri Primary School in Larnaka has created a small Botanical Garden in its grounds, the brainchild of a young, female teacher along with the Leader of the Parent's Association. This is used as a hands-on teaching facility for the pupils.
Lunch and a period of free time was taken in the village of Lefkara, famous for a style of drawn thread-work embroidery, using beige 'Irish' linen and white or dark brown cotton thread, and known as Lefkaritika. Legend has it that Leonardo de Vinci visited Cyprus and took some back for the High Altar of Milan Cathedral.
The day ended with a visit to the garden of an internationally known Cypriot artist (one of his works had been accepted for use at the Beijing Olympics) Philippos Yiapanis, in the village of Fasoula.
The General Assembly was held in a restored Carob Mill in Limassol, opposite the medieval castle. Carobs had once been the mainstay of the Cyprus economy, being known as the 'black gold of Cyprus'.
The Optional Days were designed around 2 distinct themes.
Day 1 concentrated on the historical products of the island. It began in Kolossi with the medieval castle and adjacent sugar mill/factory. Sugar cane was grown extensively in and around the region, and the resulting produce was exported to northern European countries where it was unknown. At that time the main method used for sweetening was to use honey. The castle was the HQ (Commanderie) of the Order of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem (Knights Hospitallers) thus giving its name to the sweet dessert wine produced in the area, Commanderia.
The subject of wine was explored in more detail at the Wine Museum in Erimi.
Lunch was taken in Anogyra at the Oleastro Olive Mill and Museum, the buffet featuring many olive dishes.
In the same village we ended the day at a small carob factory to see some of the products made from the aforementioned 'black gold'.
Day 2 highlighted the work carried out by the Cyprus Forestry Department.
We began at the Forest Station, Platania where we collected our Forester guide and saw the nursery that is responsible for producing the plants used in the various Department projects, including their reforestation efforts. From there we moved on to see the area of their major reforestation work, the now defunct asbestos mines at Amiandos. The Cyprus Government had inherited the task of repairing the devastation caused by 80 years of mining activity. Work is being carried out to reforest the area and to create a Botanical Garden centred around a restored mine building that will serve as a Visitor Centre.
Moving higher up the mountain we visited the Environmental Centre, Troodos to learn something about the National Park and its proposed Natura 2000 sites.
Lunch was taken at the highest village on the island, Prodhromos, before rounding off the day at the Forestry Department College in the same village, to see the methods used to train future Foresters, both local and foreign.
I don't recall taking any photos during this programme, being too occupied with trying to ensure its smooth running. In fact I don't think I even took my camera with me!