H. "Rooty Tooty" (Pickles, 2011)

Saturday, September 22, 2012



I can't believe that the first day of autumn is already here. I'm still busier than ever creating new garden beds and moving plants around. But the summer flew by and it's partially because of all the daylily events that took place. After a stranger than strange spring, daylilies began blooming about two to three weeks ahead of schedule and threw all the AHS shows and scheduled conferences into a panic.  How can you have a daylily show without daylilies? But because of the diversity of daylilies, many late blooming cultivars were blooming and daylily fanatics were able to view flowers blooming that normally are not open in time for the shows and meetings. That just proves there's a silver lining to every cloud !! The Region 10 AHS Meeting in Chattanooga, TN and hosted by the Tennessee Valley Club on June 8,9 was a huge success.  It was quickly apparent after the conference started that hours of planning had gone into the meeting as all the scheduled events took place just like clockwork.  And if they didn't, it certainly was a well kept secret from the meeting participants.  Thanks to Jane Dixon and the Tennessee Valley Daylily Society for a wonderful meeting.  And Jane, now that we have discovered your talents as an auctioneer, you will NOT be forgotten. I am still searching for places to plant the cultivars I purchased in Chattanooga at the auction.  About the time the Chattanooga meeting was ending, results of the club shows started appearing on my Facebook page. Thanks to social media, I knew almost the same time as the show winners did of their awards and often had pictures posted on Facebook.  Attached is a picture of Brenda Macy and her Best in Show entry "Octavian Princess" at the Daylily Society of Louisville show.  I still marvel at how Brenda knew to wear purple that day so that she would match her award ribbon. This is the first year that I have had so many daylily friends on my Facebook page and I must admit, the daylily comments and pictures were a bit overwhelming at times. Never let it be said that daylily enthusiasts are not passionate about their hobby. All the Facebook activity seemed to crescendo just after the National Convention which was held in Columbus, Ohio on July 11-14.  I was able to attend the conference and must say that the gardens were spectacular in spite of the dry weather. Within hours of the conference ending, hundreds of pictures and comments started appearing on my Facebook page. I'm sure it was at that point that probably most of my non-gardening Facebook friends decided to unfriend me.  But regardless, apparently everyone seemed to be in agreement that the national convention was one not to be forgotten.  I would like to end with reminding everyone that even though the season may be ending, there is still something to look forward to - the 2013 Mid-Winter Symposium.  Thanks to Lee Pickles and David Kirchhoff, the speakers are already lined up and the program schedule completed. The registration form and program are available on the AHS website portal for Region 10, the Region 10 website, and the AHS website. Being held again at the Hotel Preston in Nashville, TN, the dates are January 18-21, 2013.  I hope to see everyone there!!