SHOW:Region IV show
- To:
- Subject: SHOW:Region IV show
- From: j*
- Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 21:26:52 -0400
Hello, all -- I just returned from the Region IV show hosted by the Tidewater Iris Society in Norfolk, VA, and can't praise it highly enough. We've had some pretty good shows in this Region over the years, but this was outstanding in every respect. A turn of cold weather during the week preceding the show trimmed the number of entries somewhat, but there were still plenty and just generally of excellent quality. I'm not much of a fan of the design section of shows, but this one was quite an exception. There must have been more than 20 entries, and it was one work of art after another. The schedule was just right, even down to the showing on the bus of a video of the Loomis Test Garden which occupied the longest travel interval between two of the gardens. We visited the Fred Huette Center, which featured a mix of classic and modern varieities, and where the Tidewater Iris Society conducts hands-on projects for kids in iris culture. Mary Arneson's garden was a sea of col!
or -- a real English cottage garden, with many flowering shrubs in addition to the irises and miniature roses. Bill and JaNiece Mull's garden featured a Dykes Bed, a Zurbrigg bed, and a happily tumbling waterfall, as well as two beds of Japanese, one of Louisianas, and others of Siberians. At the Fred Huette center we were treated to a delicious and varied continental breakfast that even our group couldn't do full justice to, and a scrumptious lunch awaited us later on. We then toured the Norfolk Botanical Gardens -- 155 acres of camellias, azaleas, tulips, rhododendrons, iris, roses and decorative trees intersticed by waterways. The first evening's banquet was followed by a live auction, and the second evening's banquet featured a silent auction followed by a slide presentation by our own Bill Shear, who took us on a tour of the iris world, all the while urging us to try more and more species beyond the tall bearded. The evening ended with a free-for-all brainstormin!
g session on how to make the Region bigger and better. On the garden
tours, WINESAP (Byers '88) was voted the favorite out-of-region cultivar, and the favorite in-region was Lloyd Zurbrigg's LIGHTLY-SEASONED, (''79) an iris that was ahead of its time. I think I'm missing one more category, but it's time to end this report.
Griff
jgcrump@erols.com in Virginia
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would you like to save big on your phone bill -- and keep on saving
more each month? Join beMANY! Our huge buying group gives you Long Distance
rates which fall monthly, plus an extra $60 in FREE calls!
http://click.egroups.com/1/2567/0/_/486170/_/957144741/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
