OT: HIPS Convention

WOW!  What a great job all the folks from HIPS and Region 2 did to bring off 
such a fun and informative meeting.  Dean and I thoroughly enjoyed the time 
spent in Syracuse, NY, and environs, and really appreciate the time and labor 
involved in providing such a smooth-running convention.

We drove up from Louisville, KY, a couple of days early, did some 
sight-seeing and visited Chuck Chapman's garden.  The SDB bloom there was 
about at peak and Chuck took us on a tour of his seedlings as well as all the 
named cultivars that he grows.  It was a treat to go *back in bloom season*, 
since when we left home all we had left blooming were a few LA's and JI's.   
Chuck is doing some exciting things and I can't wait to see where his work 
takes SDB's in the near future.

Dean and I were privileged to judge the iris show on Friday.  It was a 
terrific education for us in historic iris cultivars.  With Mike and Anne 
Lowe, Ginny Spoon, and Sara Marley as the other judges, and Dave Silverberg 
and Larry Harder there as additional experts, we were given a *crash course* 
in identification of historics.  What a treat!  Of course, we had been 
judging for half an hour or so when *The Storm* hit and the power went off!  
There were no windows in the room and even the emergency lights went off 
after a bit.  One panel judged by *snakelight* flashlight and the other 
panel's clerks got their exercise for the week carrying each entry out into 
the hallway by the glass back door (being careful to not slip on the hail 
that had blown in), placing it on a table so that we could see (sort of) and 
judge it, then returning it to its rightful place in the room.  We finally 
got through it and wound up with the lovely historic, FIRECRACKER, as Best 
Historic and Best Specimen.

The garden tours were also very educational.  Between taking photos of as 
many wonderful historic irises as I could manage, I overheard a lot of 
discussions between Mike, Anne, Dave Silverberg, Clarence Mahan and others, 
debating the finer points of identification.

I was very impressed with the great garden quality of many historic iris 
cultivars.  They are absolutely wonderful in clumps full of bloom where their 
simplicity of line makes a beautiful addition to the perennial border. I look 
forward to adding more of these beauties to our garden.

It was also great to meet several iris-talkers and renew acquaintance with 
others!

Judy Hunt in Louisville, KY, Zone 6


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