Re: growing season, accents, judged shows
- To: i*@Rt66.com
- Subject: Re: growing season, accents, judged shows
- From: S*@SNYBUFAA.CS.SNYBUF.EDU
- Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 18:40:50 -0500 (EST)
One of the wonderful things about the iris world is that there are lots and
lots of prizes. A local group can establish its own award, we have the
Mary Pat award for best pink to honor a now deceased favorite person. The
Region can have its award(s) and the groups can choose to give plaques,
or bowls or something. For best in shows.
Then there are other levels of judging... The garden judging. Judges must
vote the Official Ballot which names just hundreds of iris that must be
seen in gardens inorder to be truthfully voted. The results of this balloting
SHOULD indicate good growers, and eventually, the DYKES and other awards
for garden worthiness.
Good people among us aren't competing personally, their cultivars compete.
Of course, grooming is either an art or a science, but paying attention at
the training in grooming which every club should give before a show is a
way to pay real good attention in your garden, also so that it's always
in show condition for visitors. And everyone knows the stalks are at
the mercy of the weather... nobody can control that. And the good feelings
-- at least in our group -- when we are packed together in a room much too
small and helping each other with the tags, with the popcorn stuffing into
the bottle so the stalk will stand up, the cute warning (don't fondle the
foliage) , the holding back the crowd that wants to see what's going on,
the hurry, it's 10:55 and How's yer mon doing.
The winner is always surprised. Well, I saw one who wasn't one time. But
usually the winner is just overcome and we are all happy for him/her/them.
That means that on Sunday, when the hords and hords of spectators come to
see the blooms that they will see the very best of the very best and will
want to take notes and vote for their favorite of the day and go hone
and mark their calanders for going to the sale and trying to get rhizomes
of those winners (ribboned or not) and look at the catalogues and talk to
the club members and make more purchases than they planned and watch the
demonstrations for dividing and laugh and have fun.
If it ain't fun, it ain't worth doing.
And it seems to me that that is the attitude that the LEADERSHIP has a
responsibility to nurture. If it doesn't happen, something's wrong.
It's a damned flower. Watch the evening news. Get things in perspective.
Carolyn Schaffner
