Daylily Haiku Thursday | Pink and Orange

<posted March 28, 2013> This is the daylily, H. 'Wide Wide World'

I love pink and orange together.  On my shoes, in my swimsuit, and splashed around my garden - EVERYWHERE!  It is a wildly reckless color combination.  Check out this Pinterest board; your eyes could possibly fly from your head with glee when they see what's there.  She even has some daylilies featured on her inspiration board.  Pretty cool.  It also reminds me of Easter, so this picture jumped out to be featured in today's haiku.

Anyhoo, I wanted to remind you of a few stories from my past four years here that I enjoyed reading again.  According to Google, these are six of your most-visited stories, too.

Skin In the Game - A post on "getting better."

Speak Up! - A post on presentations and the audiences who sleep through them.

Eliminating the Mediocre - A post on collections.

Collection of (for) me - Another post on collections.

A Little Bit of Strategy - A post on getting your seedlings considered for AHS awards.

What's Overrated - A post on keeping up (or not) with the Joneses.  

Enjoy today, and enjoy this upcoming weekend with your families- whether they be formed by law, by blood or by good old fashioned love.

Til next time-

Daylily Haiku Thursday | Much ado about Branching...

<posted March 21, 2013>  

Here is the AHS definition for branching.  

Branching is not a trait that can be used as a ruler across all cultivars in an exhibition show.

There.  I said it.

Something historic, which may only typically have two branches but the clump puts up 14 scapes, should be equally appreciated on the show bench as a cultivar which may show 5-way branching, but it is the only scape that the same-size clump produces.

Here's the scenario:

A panel of judges approaches these two scapes on the show bench. 

Exhibit A: two-way branching, with 18 buds

Exhibit B: five-way branching with 18 buds

Observes Exhibit A: Sees one wispy scape with only terminal Y branching and perfectly spaced blooms. Takes 5 points off for branching (half of the allowed points earned for branching) because “It just isn't there.”

Observes Exhibit B : Sees beefy scape with 5-way branching and perfect blooms. Scores perfect points for branching because it looks stunning in the vase as a single example.

The first one, registered with 2 branches, is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.  Branch 2 ways.  Should judges take points off for branching because “it isn't there?”   In my opinion, no.

I am lenient (yet observant) on branching, until it gets to the head table.  Then, I ask classification for registration information on branching if my Best In Show scores are close.  (NOTE: I've taken to using my iPhone/iPad during the show to access the AHS Database so I can get the information myself.)

The branching points aren't to be used to measure what we would like to see the branching be…it is what it is.  Of course I’d like to see every cultivar have wonderfully spaced 5 way branching, but that isn't reality.

  

We cannot translate garden-value judging to the exhibition-value judging.  Those are apples and oranges.  

Exhibition Judges should use caution when taking off points for branching simply because it is scant as it appears on the table.  You aren't asked to judge whether you think the cultivar has good branching, you are judging whether its branching is showing as it is registered.  You might think that cultivars that only branch with a terminal Y are "scant", but if that's how it is registered, then it is not "scant" it is "as registered."  


While judging sections, unless I see something that is not proportionate or strange that causes me to check the registration data for branching and bud count, I do not tend to deduct much for branching and bud count.  But that's just me.

On the right is a wonderfully branched scape of H. 'Holy Water' from Frank Smith.  This was observed in one of his shade houses during the 2009 National Convention.

MORAL OF THE STORY: A registered cultivar should only be expected to perform to the standards indicated in its registration data, which is provided by the hybridizer.  

While judging an exhibit, judges should never say, “Well, look at the branching on THAT one,”  pointing to the exhibit that is showing somewhere else in the section.  That is an inappropriate comparison to make since registered cultivars are only judged against others in its name class until it reaches the head table. The exhibit competes against itself and its registration data- not other cultivars in the section.

I think some exhibitors are under the impression that only a beefy scape with high branching and high bud count should/could/would win the show.  That couldn't be further from the truth.  Using the AHS Scale of Points correctly, any daylily from any year, any hybridizer or any grower could win Best In Show.

What do you think?

Daylily Haiku Thursday | Daylily Blog about a Blank Slate!

<posted March 14, 2013> 

This is the daylily H. 'Cave Creek Canyon.'  I just love its edge, which seems to stand erect off of the petal, and not just sit on the outskirts of it.   Its tightly sewn, showing off the brilliant gold-metallic coloration!

Here is the spring project, friends.  The boulders and the sandstone stairs are finally in and placed just so.  It's a blank slate for the start of our real front yard.

Will it be round or spiky; tall or short?  Wispy and full of motion, or organized and tidy?  Evergreens, trees, boxwoods, hosta, hydrangea, daylily, daisy, canna, sage, plumbago, phlox, wooly thyme or roses?  YES!

My neighbors are as curious as I am as to what it will become...

C'mon Spring!

Keep Calm and Exhibit On... | Daylily Blog about Daylily Shows

<posted March 11, 2013>

Many clubs have met for the first time of the year and plans have started formulating for the year’s activities.  A topic of much discussion at the local level must be an accredited AHS Exhibition Show, as I have received three emails from three different states in the last 10 days.  Generally, their emails all ask the same question – how can I get my club fired up about having an AHS-accredited show?

The theme is generally the same around the country – “we don’t have the money”, “we don’t have the energy/manpower”, or “we don’t like what the competition brings out in our members.” 

Often the “WE” is a loud minority, who has been-there-and-done-that and isn't interested in going there again.   

I could write a novel about jaded, controlling, bullying behaviors in hobby clubs, but I won’t go there today. Where I will go is to tell those who are just discovering daylily shows, and those who have the desire to host such an event – MOVE FORWARD WITH YOUR GRAND PLANS DESPITE THE RESISTANCE.

One club in my region is struggling with how to get enthused about such an “old-fashioned” thing to do.  I created a new colorful, informative PowerPoint presentation for that club.  

It is filled with my photos that are meant to stimulate discussion, enthusiasm and encouragement around accredited AHS Daylily Shows.  It is also peppered with some educational information to get folks excited about doing a show.  I’m offering it here to you as well – just in case you need a bit of ammunition to get your club talking.  And smiling.  And having a good time bringing in new daylily fans.

Click here to download the presentation. This presentation and the photos contained within remain my personal property, for your private use and not for mass distribution by you to any other forum such as Facebook.  Mind your sharing manners, please.

I was also asked a bit ago to provide my personal perspective to some frequently mentioned ideas around why folks aren't personally enthused about a show:

1.)  "I don't want to waste a whole scape to bring it to the show."
That's a common feeling.  If it’s a new cultivar, or its one you are using for hybridizing, then don’t cut it.  But, on a clump that is surely going to produce multiple scapes, you won’t miss one - I promise.  The feeling of contributing to the public education of daylilies is much greater.  There are over 70,000 registered daylilies.  You have plenty that no one has ever seen before.  Cut one, clean it up and bring it in.  Once you try it, you will wonder why you never did it more in the past.

2.)  "I don't need a 'judge' telling me my flowers are pretty.  I can see that for myself."
Exhibiting daylilies isn't about the 'prettiest' flower, it is about STANDARDS.  Judges look for traits such as scape height, flower texture, flower substance, grooming, flower color, flower size, growing conditions, etc.  Pretty only goes so far.  Judges are judging on a defined set of criteria for each individual flower.  The standard the judge’s use is the hybridizers registration information.  For example:  EL DESPERADO is registered at a certain size.  If an exhibit is shown growing smaller than the registered size, points are deducted.  If it is registered as a bright yellow and is shown as a muddy cream, points are deducted, etc.  Remember, the judges aren’t judging YOU, they are judging flowers to the registered standard.

3.)  "I don't like competition."
That's okay.  The mission of an accredited American Hemerocallis Society Exhibition Show is PUBLIC EDUCATION - not competition.  There are only about 70 shows held each year and being a part of that is a great thing.  Not too many clubs can say they hold an accredited show!

4.)  "I don't grow any new or expensive daylilies." Year, cost or hybridizer does not matter in exhibition shows.  The average year of introduction for section winners in the last decade+ is 1988.  Any daylily can win.  And does.

(H. 'Brookwood Black Kitten' - one of my favorite flowers to exhibit.  This is a very tiny flower.)

I also gave some ideas about how to get exhibitors enthused about exhibiting in the show:

1.)  Get tags early from AHS and distribute.  Have a quick learning session on how to fill them out correctly and completely.

2.)  Offer a raffle prize of good value (a new introduction, AHS coffee table book, 3-year memberships in AHS, etc.) to all exhibitors.  Offer them one chance to win for every scape they enter. 

3.)  Have a grooming clinic given by an AHS judge a couple of weeks before the show.  Groom real scapes.  Bring real tools and let folks use them in this clinic. 

4.)  Add a Photography Contest.

5.)  Add an off-scape section. 

6.)  Add a design section.

7.)  Add a novice section that allows "first-timers" to enter without too much fear. 

8.)  Carpool to nearby shows to see what's being done.  The AHS website contains a list of all accredited shows in the country! 

9.)  Provide a clear picture to your members about what to expect on show day and what the procedures will be.  Informed folks are happy folks.  

The purpose of a daylily show is to get people inspired about daylilies, and we can’t do that if our members don’t bring in a few to share.  I promise, if you bring scapes to the show and participate with an open mind, you will have a GREAT TIME.  How long has it been since you HAD A GREAT TIME doing something different?  You will have connected with the club, you will have connected to the national organization, and you will have connected with other daylily fans like yourself.  

(L-R: a seedling of mine and H. 'Worthy One' - both my exhibits)

(L-R: H. 'Mexican Magic' and H. 'Threshold of a Dream' - both my exhibits)

Having a show for your local gardening public IS WORTH THE EFFORT.  It’s your responsibility to take the daylily to them – to the nurseries, to the libraries, to the malls, to the state fairs, to the farmers markets – in a way they have never seen them.  Getting them to the show will get them to your gardens, and will get them to your club meetings.

Who is hosting a show this year and what are you doing to get your less-than-thrilled members fired up about it?

Keep calm and exhibit on.  This is a tradition worth the effort.

All photos taken at the 2012 Southwestern Illinois Hemerocallis Society Exhibition Show in Alton, Illinois

Click here for some great resources for exhibitors and clubs.

Daylily Haiku Thursday | Daylily Blog worth reading again...

<posted March 7, 2013> 

This is the daylily, H. 'Pistachio Eyes' growing in my Illinois garden.

As gardeners, I think we all yearn for that moment where we can look out over our gardens and say, "Right here, right now, there is nothing else I would change about this view."  Our gardens are designed to create magical moments that carry us away from our inside lives.  My garden is a mini-vacation on an ever-changing landscape that I don't need a passport to enjoy.   Take a moment today to smile about the garden you have carved out for yourself!

Spring is starting to tease us and lists of all sorts are starting to appear...   

What annuals will I use for accent plants this year?  

What hanging baskets will I plant?  

Where will I put the bird feeders?  

When will the plant sale be?  

What shows will I exhibit in this year?

How many plants need new tags?  

What giant clumps need dividing early in the spring?

How will I find 28 hours in a day?

Oh, dear.  

The one big, winter task I set for myself was to update my PlantStep database to enter all the daylilies (with pictures.)  I have not updated it since 2010, and as you know many things have changed since then.  After about 30 hours of work spread out across this whole winter, I am just about finished.  I think I'll also publish an online catalog of my collection using PlantStep's easy catalog publishing feature.  It has not been published yet, but you will be the first to know when it is!

As I've mentioned before, if you aren't using the software for managing your daylily business or personal collection, you are missing out.   It beats any homegrown Excel or Access database with its depth and function.  Love it.  Check out the website here for more information. (and that's not a paid endorsement, it's just my personal opinion.)  

H. 'Little Jazzman' and H. 'Elegant Candy' at the 2012 Atlanta-area daylily show.

While looking for some pictures from my blog to pin to Pinterest, I found two old posts you might have forgotten you had read.  The first one hurt my heart a bit but the yellow daylilies I featured in it hurt my eyes, too!  

My Haunting Yellow Memories

The second post (which was one of the first blogs I ever posted) answers the most asked question when people ask me about daylilies - "How did you discover daylilies?"  There are actually two layers to that answer, and this is the first one:

Read the story of my first experience with daylilies.

A tad off normal topic, but my friend, AHS member and fellow daylily superfreak Shelly Stasney in Texas is also a teacher in a high poverty area and would never toot her own horn about this, but she is using DONORS CHOOSE to help raise money for her classroom to study diversity.  It is frustrating that teachers have to raise their own money (especially ones who love daylilies), and I supported her with a quick, tax-deductible cash donation THAT WAS MATCHED IMMEDIATELY by a Donors Choose grant because I typed in the code INSPIRE when I was checking out here:

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=974244

Just supporting my daylily friends who have amazing lives outside of the garden, and thought maybe you'd want to know about it as well. :)

Til next time-