Daylily Haiku Thursday | We're not all creators...

<posted April 11, 2013>  

There are countless ways to enjoy the wonderful daylily.  Photographers, writers, collectors, painters, landscapers, designers, website creators, authors, editors, auditors, planners, judges, teachers, administrators, speakers, donators, growers, sellers, and ambassadors all cherish the diversity and delight that a daylily brings to the perennial garden.

We buy and sell them in all sorts of ways...

We can sit in dark rooms and listen to hours of lecture on them...

We show them in designs, in so many creative ways...

We tour gardens all over the world as a group - learning together.  Getting stuck on buses together, sitting around pools together, sharing a laugh over a good gumbo...

There are many ways to love daylilies.  It takes many different kinds of people to keep our daylily universe humming along.  

Make sure you search for "daylilies" on Facebook and join some of the groups out there that are sharing photos and stories every day - every minute - about our favorite flower from all over the globe.

touring the Reilly Garden in Enterprise, Florida (2009) - that's Mort Morss on the left!

one of many shade houses at Floyd Cove Nursery - Enterprise, Florida (2009)

The American Hemerocallis Society organizes almost 10,000 people around the daylily.  They provide sales, shows, symposiums, and tours all over the country.

Local daylily clubs bring in speakers who share their passion for growing daylilies.  Some lecture on photographing them, growing them, hybridizing them or collecting them.

The best thing you can do to fuel your daylily love is to plan to visit an AHS Display Garden this summer.  Find them all here and make some plans!

Jump in when you can, in whatever way makes your heart flutter.  

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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.

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2012 National Daylily Convention Recap | Deep Ditch Gardens

Near six weeks later, I am still really enjoying my pics from the 2012 AHS National Convention.  My season was near dried up when I left for Columbus, so these are really the last great daylilies I saw before we put the 2012 daylily season in the history books.  The seventh garden we visited was the five-acre home garden of Donna Kowalczyk, coolly named "Deep Ditch Gardens."

Before we go on, you can read the recaps of the other six gardens here...

First of all, this is Donna's front porch.  How yummy is this?!  Perfect white pillars, perfect deck rail boxes and perfect hummingbirds fluttering all about it...  I love the darker foliage accents in the front planting.  Its echoed in the deckrail boxes, which brings the eye up and extends the garden "backside."

It is no secret that daylily people can eat, and will eat you alive if your refreshments aren't up to expectations.  Over the years, I have collected quite a sampling of photos of food tables at garden homes.  

Donna had a great selection of healthy, fresh, fun snacks to eat, and a the most awesome congregating area in which to enjoy the refreshments.  Here is Nan Ripley enjoying the great skewers.  Skewers are the best garden food implement there is!  Maybe Ill try to find a cookbook or website dedicated to cold skewer appetizers for my own garden parties next summer.  

Here is Donna, the second red shirt from the left in the picture below.  She is hanging out in the snack area, among the macaws, loving cats, children, neat seating solutions and the most delicious beverage served on the National Tour.  (See that punch bowl in the back of this photo below?  That's it!  It was a coffee-chocolate-ice cream-mocha-whipped cream concoction that required its own security guard!)

One of the best parts of this visit were the vignettes of places to enjoy the space.  Here is one of the most ingenious seating ideas I have ever seen.  Bales of hay, covered with a bit of muslin, tied with jute.  Adorable, functional and fun.  I am so stealing this idea.  You could have seating for 12 for less than $50 at your next bonfire...

Like in most daylily gardens, there was an area of "all blue" where Donna had artfully placed several brightly colored accents in another great seating spot.  This small bottle tree caught my interest and may be just the size I need for one of my own.  I love the idea of the blue bottle tree, whose origins are apparently rooted in warding off negative energy in the garden.  I just cant seem to find a version for me that fits my style.  This one was "just enough." 

Here is a great article on these from Felder Rushing if you are interested in why in the world we might have started adding these things to our gardens anyway...  You can click here for a Google Image search on blue bottle trees.  Get your eyes ready for some serious visual overload and inspiration!  Don't click there unless you are prepared to spend about 30 minutes drooling.

But I digress.  Of course there were daylilies at Donna's, too!  She grows about 1000 cultivars, and I especially enjoyed H. 'Marietta Dazzler' with its tiny petal connections in the throat.  Notice where the petal segments attach together in the throat.  That tight little yellow throat sets off the dark self well.  Not a highly decorated daylily, but one that has sass.  Donna also had a neat collection of diverse bird houses on posts dotted all over.  I enjoyed this arrangement on the side of her house.

H. 'Nowhere to Hide' was here, mocking me as usual.  This daylily has escaped my grasp for years.  I have tried to buy it many times, and it is always sold out.  I did get it once, but when my auction purchase arrived it was a tiny pencil of a fan and it didn't survive.  FINALLY I have it on the way from a grower in my area who knows what she is doing, so I hope to have it once and for all.  This one does crazy things on the show table, the indoor lighting really sets off the veining and puts on an unmistakable show.  I cant wait to show this one!

Much like the Hensley and Lucius gardens, I just plain had fun here.  I meandered a lot, which is what I expect Donna wanted us to do.  Long, shady paths beckoned to be discovered, and they seemed to go on forever.  Long, first-time conversations were had here, too.  I got to chat for the first time with Paulette Miller, who is a super interesting lady with a cool vibe.

I also spent time chatting with the bird handler, a few folks who didn't know much about the Stout Medal voting process, and I also spent time alone, enjoying the pond, waterfall, gazebo, the miniature fairy gardens, the Curt Hanson bed, and surprising pieces of art stashed all around the garden.  I shared the story of the grossest moment in my life (I'm not sure WHY) with two folks who won't forget the tale, and I laughed hysterically with old friends who are always in my gardening thoughts, even when we are not together.

bottom row: H. 'Victorian Lace' and H. 'Inca Puzzle'

In this garden, as visitors we were connected and distant.  There was enough room for us to spread out and enjoy it in our own way, and in the same breath, Donna created spaces where we congregated together over stuff "to do."  If you are ever on a garden tour, I would suggest something for your visitors "to do."  We swung in hammocks, ate good food, held a huge parrot and enjoyed a well-thought out daylily collection.  

It was a grand visit to Deep Ditch, and it was great to finally see where Donna does her thing.  I was inspired when I left it, and that is the ultimate indicator of a good visit to another's garden.  I wrote this haiku as our buses pulled away from Deep Ditch that day...

taking time to look

at green spaces of others

inspires me deeply!

Thanks for the inspiration, Donna!!

H. 'Stargate Portal'

SEE THE RECAPS OF THE OTHER GARDENS HERE!

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2012 National Daylily Convention Recap | MarLee Farms

MarLee Farms is a forest wonderland, covered in towering trees and lush foliage. When our bus pulled on to the property, we could feel the years of history and growth sprouting up around us.
This is a 120-acre working farm, and Lee and Marvin feature over 800 daylilies and thousands of hosta here.  The owners have lived here for decades, cultivating a business and a home in the trees.  They have hundreds of hosta for sale and I learned they host quite the Hosta Walk here.  In this picture, you can see Im enjoying the summer colors, with my umbrella closed.  The rain from an hour ago had stopped; the overcast sky and cooler temperatures made our visit to this woody paradise wonderful.  My camera was ready to soak up the sights!  

As I was getting this picture taken by this sunflower (I LOVE sunflowers) someone asked me to guess what this daylily was from where I was standing.  My first guess was H. 'Highland Pinched Fingers.'  

Sure enough, it was!  Here it is close-up:  

This daylily is on the most recent Popularity Poll for Region 2 and I'm starting to see it featured in more gardens!  I only recently saw it in person, and it is a real standout.  

I was most excited about seeing the Region 2 Englerth Bed here, which features a contest of entered seedlings and allows each tour guest to vote on their favorite.  It is a tradition in region 2 at our summer meetings, but this year it was extra-special because our summer meeting is eclipsed by our region hosting the national convention!  This means all national attendees get to vote and evaluate region 2 seedlings.  

That is exciting!

Lee's layout and placement of this bed made it easy for voters to evaluate the contestants.  Lots of "talking space" around the edge, and pathways through to allow for close-up looks.  People lingered here, discussing their choices, using their garden judges training, and sharing evaluating procedures with new eyes.  This was a great teaching/learning moment for those who evaluate seedlings.  The rest of the story and the contest results can be read here - with photos of the winners.

In this picture I can see Dave Niswonger, Dan Trimmer, Jim Murphy, and so many other cool folks.  

What a treat to be able to listen to Margo Reed evaluate a seeding in conversation.  And what a treat to have so many passionate daylily folks evaluate Region 2 seedlings.

I took a walk, grabbing the chance to explore the shade and hear some nature sounds. I saw a lot of green and tried to identify some of the trees.  Im not too good at that, and have been actively trying to study some native Midwest trees to be able to spot more on sight.   The silence of the trees gave my brain a rest and allowed me to recharge a little.

By this time in the trip, I have been away from home for five days with less than 15 hours of sleep and I am at the sixth fabulous garden in the last 24 hours. It's important to let it all happen and enjoy each space consciously.  Doesn't sound like a hard thing to do, but daylily overload is easy to get.  It's that point in the tour when you cant remember where you are, how many gardens you've seen or if you have had lunch yet.  That swirling, Mel Brooks moment when all the gardens look the same - still beautiful - but the same.  This garden shook me back to the moment and my brain was thankful for the refreshing respite.Our sweet, sacred summers used to linger forever and now they seem like a blur of humidity and hot flashes.  

There was a really wide wooden bridge that linked the garden to the woods, and I spent a few minutes there, looking back into the gardens, listening to the laughter and the chatter from my daylily friends.

   

I consciously stamped this photo in my mind.  I wanted to save it for when a "happy place" is needed later.  Apparently a part of your brain, called the amygdala, is in charge of generating and saving memories in your mind.  When the amygdala becomes scared and more active- thus laying down an extra set of memories, to go along with those normally taken care of by other parts of your brain.

Still with me?  Good.

We all feel like as we grow older, time speeds up (just ask any mother of a teenager, a terminally ill patient, or any high school football has-been.)    NEWS FLASH: Time really doesn’t speed up.  Baylor research says that its just as we get older, we pay less attention to the events, as we have probably already lived them, thus physiologically laying down less memory in our minds. 

H. 'Changing Seasons'

H. 'Unfolding Paradox'

Can't I choose to lay down more memories?  Why, yes I can!  

I can write about how I feel on a certain day to remember later.  I can use my camera to capture moments.  I can take 15 extra seconds to watch a monarch butterfly dance among the garden or watch a flock of Canada Geese gracefully glide across the winter sky.

We've already inhaled the intoxicating smell of rain on a spring day. 

We've already ran barefoot through a dewy field. 

We've already jumped the railroad tracks and caught air in an old VW Bug late on a Friday night.

We've already seen Santa Claus – real or otherwise.

We've already stayed up and out all night on the beach.

We've already had our hearts broken.

We've already had them healed.

Today's haiku:

Yes!  I can stop time! 

I can relive those moments.  

My amygdala says so. 

Thank you to MarLee Farms, for such a wonderful, relaxing visit!!

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